Vasquez Stands With Energy Workers in Hobbs, Calls to Put Workers’ Health First

HOBBS, N.M. – On August 7, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) joined members of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a statewide organization dedicated to promoting racial and worker justice, to rally support for his Energy Workers Health Improvement and Compensation Fund Act. The bill requires the largest oil and gas companies to invest a fair share of their profits back into the workers who keep the nation’s energy economy running.

“New Mexico’s energy economy is powered not by its millionaire CEOs, but by its workers,” said Vasquez. “Every day, these workers face dangerous, strenuous conditions to power our communities. This legislation ensures big oil and gas companies don’t turn their backs on the very people who make their success possible.”

At least 30 members of Somos un Pueblo Unido attended the gathering, including several who shared personal testimonials about the toll unsafe job conditions and insufficient health coverage have taken on oil and gas workers and their families.

The Energy Workers Health Improvement and Compensation Fund Act would:

• Require large oil and gas companies to contribute annually to a dedicated fund in an amount equal to the total compensation of their 10 highest-paid executives.
• Reimburse eligible workers and their families for out-of-pocket medical costs linked to asthma, heat-related illness, and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases caused by exposure to methane, particulate matter, and smog.
• Establish a federal commission — including labor and immigrant advocates and energy workers from six states — to monitor health outcomes, ensure transparency, and hold companies and the federal government accountable for worker protections.

Vasquez underscored the urgent need for the legislation, noting that immigrant and Latino workers in the Permian Basin often face the harshest conditions, with little recourse when companies cut corners on safety.

"Son muy pocas las clínicas que hay en Hobbs. Tengo amigas que trabajan en el aceite y no tienen ninguna cobertura médica. Estas amigas han tenido que viajar hasta Santa Fe para recibir anticonceptivos, y muchas mujeres aquí en Hobbs que trabajan en el aceite y no pueden conseguir servicios comprensivos de salud de la mujer,” said Natalie Smith, Hobbs resident.

“New Mexico relies heavily on oil and gas revenues, but lawmakers often ignore the grave cost to frontline communities and industry workers,” said Eduviges Hernandez, Community Organizer for Somos Un Pueblo Unido in Lea County. “Immigrant families in the Permian Basin are disproportionately impacted by inadequate enforcement of health and safety standards, long hours, and extreme work conditions. That’s why they are organizing and demanding adequate compensation, safer and better jobs, and more public investments in their families and communities. We are greatly encouraged by Congressman Vasquez’s willingness to listen to and stand up for these essential workers, not just industry owners.”

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