Washington, D.C. — On this July 4 holiday, the UFW Foundation will circle Capitol Hill, Union Station and the Wharf area with a truck hosting large mobile billboards with images urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish a federal heat standard to protect farm workers and other outdoor workers from extreme heat. The campaign is a part of the UFW Foundation’s Farm Worker Voices, a groundbreaking docuseries spotlighting the impacts of climate change on agricultural workers who produce the great abundance of food America enjoys at Independence Day festivities. 

The mobile billboards start July 4 and 5 with the truck traversing a route around Capitol Hill and Union Station and conclude on July 6 around the Wharf area with its historic fish market, restaurants and shops. The images on the billboards call for OSHA to move swiftly on federal heat rules so that farm workers and other workers are safe from the perils of extreme temperatures. The billboards come after OSHA released a proposed rule on July 2, with a public comment period to follow. 

From record-breaking temperatures to the growing frequency and strength of natural disasters, farm workers are often on the front lines of climate shifts placing them—and our country’s food supply— at risk. Through Farm Worker Voices, viewers gain first-hand insights on the challenges field workers confront and the resiliency they demonstrate in the face of adversity and hardship. 

Erica Lomeli Corcoran, UFW Foundation’s interim chief executive officer, said: 

These mobile billboards remind our nation that farm workers on the front lines of climate change suffer immensely while performing arduous labor in extreme temperatures to produce the rich bounty of food Americans enjoy each day. The billboards serve as a visual reminder that farm workers urgently need a federal heat standard and that we need swift action from OSHA to save lives and protect communities. Without farm workers, we wouldn’t have 4th of July picnics, barbecues or outdoor celebrations. This July 4, let’s remember the farm workers who ensure our food supply remains abundant. 

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