Since 1990, when California officials set up an advisory committee to reduce heat-related issues in the workplace, labor unions have waited anxiously for the state to adopt regulations.
Prodded by Valdivia's death, the United Farm Workers' top legislative priority this year is a bill that would require the state to establish standards to reduce heat illnesses and subject employers who flout the law to misdemeanor charges.
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Last year, Schwarzenegger became what farmworker advocates say is the first Republican governor to sign a UFW-sponsored bill in California.
