Trump pick for workplace safety agency sparks fears heat protections will be derailed

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Trump in February nominated David Keeling to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha). Keeling formerly served as an executive at the United Parcel Service (UPS) and Amazon - both of which have faced citations from Osha for worker injuries and deaths amid heat exposure. The companies deny the deaths were heat-related.

Under Keeling, Osha is expected to thwart heat protections. After years of pressure from organized labor, the agency in 2021 began working to create a federal heat standard, and last year rolled out a draft rule aimed at requiring access to water, shade, breaks and training which the Biden administration estimated would protect 36 million workers.

But corporations have pushed to gut the rules, and there are concerns among safety advocates and some workers that Keeling could help them do so.

Seth Pacic, a UPS delivery driver and union steward in Dallas, Texas, who has experienced heat exhaustion on the job, said he feared "any meaningful policy to combat heat injuries will be put on hold while he holds the position".

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