Worked to Death

As the summer begins to heat up, it’s a good time to remember the people who work outside – especially in the fields. Hot summer days are a mild inconvenience for those with desk jobs, but for those who labor in agriculture, the heat can be a matter of life and death.

Last month, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration kicked off a national outreach initiative to educate workers and their employers about the hazards of working outdoors in the heat and steps needed to prevent heat-related illnesses. The initiative includes new training materials in Spanish and a smartphone app that workers and employers can use to monitor the heat index.

“For outdoor workers, 'water, rest and shade' are three words that can make the difference between life and death," Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said. "If employers take reasonable precautions, and look out for their workers, we can beat the heat."

Each year, thousands of outdoor workers experience serious illnesses such as heat exhaustion. For 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 4,190 workers suffered from heat illness and 40 died from heat stroke and related causes on the job. Although outdoor workers in a variety of industries are susceptible to heat illness, those in construction and agriculture are the most vulnerable.

Bringing It Home

In North Carolina, heat stroke killed seven farmworkers within a recent five-year period. One of those workers was Juan Jose Soriano, who died of heat stroke while harvesting tobacco in Wayne County on August 1, 2006.

The NC Department of Labor (NCDOL) investigation found that “the employer did not furnish to each of his employees conditions of employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees, in that employees were exposed to heat-related hazards without adequate provisions to protect them.”

The investigation also found that “12 migrant farmworkers were exposed to heat indices of 105-110 degrees without the opportunity to adequately hydrate or cool down” and that subsequently one worker died of hyperthermia. The grower has contested the findings and the proposed penalty of $2100. The Workers’ Compensation claim is currently denied by the grower’s insurance carrier. At the time of death, Juan Jose Soriano had 5 children, 3 under the age of 18.

Every farmworker should have access to clean water, breaks and shade when the temperature gets too hot. No one should be worked to death in our fields.

Get involved in the Harvest of Dignity campaign today.

Workers’ Memorial Day: Remembering those who have died on the job in NC

By Tom O'Connor, Executive Director, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

2011 was a bad year for North Carolina’s Hispanic workers, especially those working in construction and agriculture. Although they make up only about seven percent of the state’s population, Latinos accounted for 30 percent of deaths on the job in NC in 2011 according to a report to be released this week in conjunction with Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28. A majority of these deaths occurred in the construction and agriculture industries and most were due to highly preventable causes.

"North Carolina Workers: Dying for a Job," produced by the Raleigh-based National Council for Occupational Safety and Health and the recently formed Triangle area Jobs with Justice chapter, found that:

• The State Department of Labor grossly understates the problem of worker deaths in NC. The NCDOL reported earlier this year that 53 people died on the job in NC in 2011. The report counted a total of 83 deaths.
• Fines imposed by Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry’s OSHA are pathetically low, even in cases of worker deaths. The median fine paid by employers in cases of worker deaths in NC in which at least one OSHA violation was found was only $3,250. These fines are far too low to act as an effective deterrent to unsafe employer behavior.
• State and local governments are using taxpayer dollars to support some employers who criminally neglect their workers’ safety and health, sometimes with tragic consequences.

The case of Triangle Grading and Paving is a prime example. Luis Castaneda Gomez, an employee of the company, told his wife that he feared for his life on his construction job. “Luis didn't want to work for the company….He would say they would force him to do stuff that was dangerous,” his wife told a reporter. But he couldn’t find any other jobs in the slow economy. Sadly, the 34 year old construction worker’s worst fears came to pass. He and a co-worker, Jesus Martinez Benitez, were sent down into a manhole on the site of a road construction project in Durham. The men had not been given oxygen detectors nor equipment that is required for work in confined spaces. Both men died from asphyxiation in the oxygen-deficient atmosphere of the manhole. The company had been awarded the contract because they were the lowest bidder, despite a long history of OSHA violations and a previous fatality. (Click here for more on this case.)

The groups will be releasing their report at a Workers’ Memorial Day commemoration event in front of the State Department of Labor office at 4 W. Edenton St. in downtown Raleigh on Friday April 27 at 12:00 noon.

Please come out and show your support for safe workplaces for all North Carolina workers!

"Uprooted Innocence" featured on "The State of Things"

Photo by Joe Wolf

Did you know that almost half a million children work in agriculture in the U.S.?

Emily Drakage with the Children in the Fields campaign and Catherine Bittar, a Duke University student who helped produce the short documentary "Uprooted Innocence" talk about the reality of child labor with WUNC's "The State of Things."

• Listen to "The State of Things"
• Watch "Uprooted Innocence"
• Take action with the Harvest of Dignity Campaign

New study: Rampant housing violations at migrant worker camps

Wake Forest University Study Finds Violations Rampant in Migrant Housing

Study reveals multiple housing law violations at every camp inspected; advocates urging NCDOL to increase inspections of farm worker housing

RALEIGH (March 30, 2012) – A newly released study from the Center for Worker Health at Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that migrant housing in North Carolina is plagued with violations. Researchers uncovered at least four violations of housing law in each of the 183 camps they inspected for the study.

The study, printed in the March edition of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, is the largest and most comprehensive study of farm worker housing ever conducted in the Southeastern United States. Researchers documented many serious violations of the North Carolina Migrant Housing Act, including:

-Infestations of roaches, mice and rats;
-Non-working toilets and showers;
-Contaminated drinking water;
-Lack of fire safety equipment and smoke alarms.

The North Carolina Department of Labor is responsible for enforcing migrant housing law. Wake Forest University researchers used NCDOL migrant housing standards to evaluate the homes and labor camps they visited.

Farmworker advocates will meet with NCDOL Commissioner Cherie Berry next week to discuss the findings of the study.

For questions regarding the Wake Forest University study, contact Dr. Thomas A. Arcury, PhD at (336) 716-9438, or tarcury@wakehealth.edu.

For More Information, Contact:  Clermont Fraser, NC Justice Center, (919) 861-0606(office), clermont@ncjustice.org; Ana Duncan Pardo, Toxic Free North Carolina, (919) 818-5933, ana@toxicfreenc.org; Jeff Shaw, Director of Communications, NC Justice Center, (503) 551-3615, jeff@ncjustice.org.

Thank you for showing love for farmworkers this past Valentines Day

If you sent a heartfelt valentine to NC Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry this past Valentines Day asking her to get serious about protecting farmworkers and their families, then by now you've probably received a disappointing form letter in response...that you've likely seen before. In February, farmworker supporters across the state rallied to show their passion for workers' rights (and demonstrate artistic talent!) by mailing in nearly 100 special valentines to the commissioner, calling on her to 'stop breaking hearts" and enforce the laws in place to protect some our state's most vulnerable residents from hazardous, and sometimes fatal, living and working conditions.

 

Unfortunately, the department's response to our action was to send an identical copy of the form letter they mailed to those who participated in FAN's Christmas card action in December last year. We feel that farmworkers deserve more. Stay tuned for more opportunities to stay involved.

 

Día de los Muertos Video

Check out this new video from our Nov. 1 Día de los Muertos event:

Indy Weekly Notes Appalling Conditions in NC Fields

Earlier this month, the Independent Weekly did a feature-length story on farmworker conditions, especially in North Carolina’s tobacco fields. With the insight of a new report issued jointly by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and Oxfam America, the public is learning more and more about the deplorable conditions in the fields that make possible huge agribusiness profits. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

We found shocking pieces in all of those different categories. We've seen some pretty bad conditions, but this was the first time that we were able to really take an in-depth, personal look and hear from the workers in a very detailed way about a lot of the abuses," says FLOC representative Briana Connors, who helped write the report and conduct 86 farmworker interviews.

In another Wilson County camp, I spoke with a group of teenage workers from Guatemala. The young men opened a flimsy wooden door to reveal a cramped, flea-infested space with unfinished particleboard flooring and old mattresses void of sheets, bedding or pillows, their corners black with mold. According to the report, when some workers complained about bedbugs, their growers allegedly told them to buy Clorox and bleach their mattresses, or to spray the mattresses, and themselves, with Raid.

Similar complaints were filed with the North Carolina Department of Labor (DOL), according to farmworker accounts in the report, which stated the agency initially investigated them but did not follow up.

Continue reading the story and download the report here. You can also learn more about a recent complaint filed against the NCDOL for not enforcing existing laws on the books that are meant to protect farmworkers.

Farmworker Conditions Make National Headlines

NBC News recently ran a national story that highlights the poor living and working conditions that farmworkers face here in North Carolina. From the report:

WILSON, N.C. – The lines on Celdin’s face and the dim look in his eyes make him seem at least 10 years older than his age, 53. They reflect the 12 long years the undocumented migrant worker from Honduras has spent laboring in the fields of North Carolina and doing construction in the United States.

"Kneeling down is hard on my knees," Celdin said in a tired voice as he showed off the inflatable bed that he keeps on the floor. "But it sure beats getting devoured by bed bugs." He says he saved up to buy the plastic mattress that helps keep the insects away.

He wouldn't begin to describe the bathroom conditions at the labor camp in Wilson, N.C., that he shares with dozens of other workers. He wanted me to see it for myself. 

Walking in, one is immediately hit by a dreadful stench coming from a small garbage can on the floor that’s overflowing with used pieces of toilet paper. At the end of the room stand three showerheads with no curtains, and to the left, three toilets side by side, but without stalls or panels to provide workers any privacy.

Continue reading here.

Help put an end to these dehumanizing conditions - get involved in the Harvest of Dignity campaign today.