We're getting used to declarations of emergency in the region, but usually for things actually on fire.
Oregon OSHA, the agency charged with protecting workers, recently put emergency rules in place to protect workers from the record-breaking and long-lasting heat wave. The rules order employers to provide shade and water to workers when the heat index climbs above 80 degrees.
The farmworker advocacy group UNETEhas worked long and hard for better protections for farmworkers in the state. We get a reaction to the heat rules from UNETE's Kathy Keesee-Morales.