Rheem Manufacturing, a company with a long history of providing high-quality heating, cooling, and water heating solutions, currently relies on fans for cooling across their production facilities. However, as reported by employees, the fans are not efficient in maintaining a comfortable temperature, especially during hot seasons. This not only affects the comfort of the workforce but can also hamper productivity and increase health risks. 'The American Journal for Industrial Medicine’ has reported how extreme heat environments can increase the risk of accidents due to heat stress, and how this is an especially pertinent issue in manufacturing plants and factories. Upgrading to efficient air-conditioning systems would significantly benefit the workforce's comfort, productivity, and health. Therefore, we call on Rheem Manufacturing to address their employee's concerns and establish appropriate air conditioning solutions in their facilities. Sign this petition and support a comfortable and safer work environment for Rheem Manufacturing's employees. In the era of climate change, summers are warmer and more humid than ever. Heat waves are frequent, and periods of high heat drag on. This raises major issues concerning the general ventilation of factories, where the temperature rises dangerously. With these heat peaks becoming the norm, the ventilation or simply opening garage doors is no longer enough to cool the factory space during the summer. In many cases, the fresh air intake units installed on the roof draw in air that can easily reach 40°C (104°F)!

Workplace Temperature Laws
Some states go above and beyond OSHA’s regulations to protect employees from heat-related illnesses. For example, California has enacted safety orders under state law to protect employees in specific outdoor industries such as agriculture, construction, landscaping, and transportation. The law requires employers in those industries to:

Provide shade for outdoor employees,
Provide water and encourage their workers to hydrate every hour,
Allow their employees to take cool-down rests,
Implement high-heat procedures when the temperature goes over 95°F,
Have heat illness emergency response procedures in place,
Closely observe new employees for acclimatization,
Train employees around heat exposure and illness, and
Maintain a heat illness prevention plan.