Welcome to the HeatDome

Recently the coast of Canada and the US found itself in an historic heatwave – a region wide “heat dome” pushed temperatures as high as 120°F/48°C. These temperatures are 40% over the usual.

This shocking example of Capitalism’s changing of the climate has led to a lot of hand ringing by the bourgeois classes – both small and large.

The small capitalists have to keep operations going to maintain their position in society. But at best, they will apologize to your face over the conditions you have to face. So get to work.

Like characters in a story by Edgar Allan Poe, the large bourgeoise – the financiers and Oil Barons and Hotel tycoons – of course just push fast forward into the climatic apocalypse. They need the machine to continue full steam ahead and damn the climatic hurricanes.

Of course, those who have been suffering are workers, whose labor is needed to keep the satantic Rube Goldberg machine system going. The system which is creating the conditions which threaten to kill them.

Unofficial scoring for regional deaths caused by the 4 days of heat were over 40 in Oregon, 30 in British Columbia and 20 in Washington State.

An example from the “heat dome event”, comes from our friends who work in the farms, orchards and warehouses in Washington State’s Yakima Valley. A friend of the ICP – a warehouse worker – was hospitalized for several days with heat stroke.

A comrade working in manufacturing next to machines radiating 400°F/ 204°C. The building’s ambient temperatures were well above 110°F/43°C degrees. Our comrade was generously offered “popsicles, AC units near the lines, plus they give out these cooling neck towels…”

There are reports of the various regional Farm Workers unions – which, due to federal laws, tend to be semi‑legal and divided by locality, led walk outs from fields undoubtedly saving lives.

Worker action took place last year, culminating into a valley‑wide strike that spread to six major packing-facilities. Though, warehouse laborers have been suffering just as much from the heat and other abuses from employers, they have not engaged in real action.