Texas Workers, Congressman Protest Greg Abbott’s Cruel Water Break Ban With a Thirst Strike

Just last month, in one of his most blatantly cruel, evil tyrant gestures, Texas’ Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed into law the so-called Death Star Bill, which banned ordinances providing water breaks to Texas laborers in the heat, and now people are fighting back. 

Democratic Rep. Greg Casar led a one-day thirst strike Tuesday on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., with the hopes that he can gain enough attention to reverse some of the damage done by Abbott and his backers and put protections in place for the future. Tuesday morning the United Farm Workers Twitter retweeted Rep. Cesar’s image of himself and famed labor leader Dolores Huerta in his office drinking from a paper cup, with the caption reading, “Just took my last drink of water before my thirst strike with the one and only, Dolores Huerta. #WorkersCantWait.”

Also striking with Casar was Jasmine Granillo, the sister of a worker who died from heat stroke while being denied a break during a construction job in Dallas, eight years ago. At the time, her father, working with the Workers Defense Project, participated in a thirst strike at Dallas City Hall, which helped lead to one of the water break mandates that Abbott just quashed. “My brother would still be here if he just had a water break,” Granillo told the Texas Observer.

On Monday, Casar released a letter signed by over 100 senators and congresspeople asking Biden and OSHA to quickly implement a federal standard for preventing heat-related work injuries, which would include language about breaks and hydration, and would, of course, overrule any local laws on the Texas state level.  

Mostly due to its intense heat, working outdoors can be lethal in the Lonestar state. “Texas is the deadliest state when it comes to construction, where one worker dies every three days in our state,” Ana Gonzalez, deputy director of politics and policy at AFL-CIO, a major labor federation in Texas, told NBC news.

Yes, Abbott is that much of an asshole that he went out of his way to end mandates for a simple 10-minute water break every four hours in places that required construction laborers to work outdoors in weather that often stays in the triple digits. Why? Because fewer breaks and consistent rules benefit business owners and because it’s clear the Texas GOP doesn’t see manual laborers as people with basic rights and needs. 

(featured image: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)