New York City is bracing for an extended heatwave where temperatures could exceed 100 degrees by Thursday and Friday. With added humidity, the "feels like" heat index temperature will be in the 105 to 110 degree range, according to NBC 4 New York.
Last year, more than 500 New Yorkers died prematurely from preventable heat linked diseases. If you are elderly or have heart disease or asthma, you're at even greater risk.
The most extreme days are predicted to be Thursday and Friday leading up to the July 4th 250th commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The National Weather Service is reporting this prolonged heat wave will cover a massive swath of the United States across the lower Great Lakes, the mid-Atlantic as well as the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.
The dangerous heat wave will cover New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and extend out to Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit as well as into the south.
Temperature records have been alo broken across Europe in countries like Germany and Poland. The World Health Organization attributed more than 1,300 excess deaths in Europe to the heat just since June 21st.
These kinds of conditions are particularly dangerous for workers whose work is outdoors in the emergency services, transport, and construction sectors. Expect New York City's already understaffed and under-resourced FDNY EMS system to feel an even greater strain leading to even longer response times.
Earlier this month, Mayor Mamdani signed a landmark executive order directing city agencies to develop contingency plans and safeguards for the 1.4 million New Yorkers whose work forces them outdoors.
Meanwhile, the Trump regime continues to dismantle the kind of public science capability that can help local and state governments cope with the accelerating climate crisis that's upon us while simultaneously scuttling alternative energy developments all to promote the acceleration of the use of polluting fossil fuels.
This morning our current events panel included Larry Hamm, Dr. Joe Wilson and New Hampshire talk show host Arnie Arnesen who joined us for the whole morning.
We got an important update on the homeless crisis in upstate New York from Jonathan Petrick, WBDY-LP in Binghamton, New York, one of Pacifica's 18 affiliates in the Empire state. Jonathan has been reporting on the fallout from a deadly fire that killed six people in a derelict motel local welfare officials used up in Broome County to house the homeless.
In our second hour we were joined by Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA who talked about her union's success in getting close to 170 members of Congress to sign on to a letter to Delta Airlines demanding the airline stop its flagrant attempts at union busting.
"It's against the law for employers to interfere with rank and file voting in a union election--it's just following the law," Nelson said, adding that there's currently no consequences when employers violate those laws.
The AFA leader said winning the organizing drive among Delta's 30,000 flight attendants, many of whom work out of the airline's Atlanta hub, would be a major boost for organizing efforts throughout the "right to work" south where the minimum wage is still stuck at $7.25.
Nelson observed that it was decades ago, when the nation's union density was over 30 percent that the United States had its "greatest shared prosperity."
In our D Block, we spoke with Brandon Mancila, who leads UAW Region 9A, which the City Reporter newspaper described as the "unlikeliest kingmaker" in last week's Democratic Primary that will likely send Assembly Member Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, two of the union's members to Congress in the fall.
Mancilla emphasized that his union tried to recruit union members to run for elective office because voters "trusted" them "more than your average Democrat."
"I think that says something--a union candidate who has experience working within the labor movement, as a rank and file member, as a shop steward, leader, or organizer, they've been through many tough fights--organizing--bargaining--representing members during the toughest moments in members' lives," Mancilla said.
Mancila's union was also the first to endorse Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, in what was then his longshot bid for the mayoralty.
