CALIFORNIA
FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“BLACK LIVES MATTER; WHY NOT FARM WORKER LIVES?”
Black Lives Matter. That’s not only
true, but since late May it’s been an act of political incorrectness to suggest
that other lives matter, too. Saying “All Lives Matter” today invites
accusations of racism. And yet…
This summer has seen protest marches
stressing that both transgender and LGBTQ lives matter. But no one has marched
for the well-being of farm workers, who are almost uniquely exposed to the
coronavirus plague.
In Monterey County, the contrast
between wealth along the coast north of Big Sur and the poverty of farm workers
laboring in fields two dozen or so miles inland has long been stark. Now the
contrast is clear in another vital way: Coastal areas with more than one-third
of the county’s population accounted for less than 15 percent of its COVID-19
cases as of June 27. The agricultural Salinas and south county areas with a
host of farm workers chalked up more than 80 percent of cases in the county. So
far, Soledad State Prison has contributed very little to county case and death
totals.
Drive through the Salinas Valley on
Highway 101 or any of dozens of byways and reasons for the caseload disparity become
obvious.
Many farm workers ride old, re-painted
school buses to the valley’s lettuce, strawberry, spinach, cauliflower and
broccoli fields. They are often crammed in like schoolchildren in pre-pandemic
days.
They work parallel rows of plants side
by side, any social distancing purely accidental. Workers return home on the
same buses, living in conditions far more crowded than all but a few homes
along the coast. It’s an open invitation to the coronavirus.
The upshot couldn’t be more clear:
Farm worker lives don’t matter.
Almost everyone in America who has
participated in this year’s protests and unrest, no matter their ethnicity, eats
food produced by these workers and folks like them. Their absence would
instantly disrupt America’s food supply.
And conditions in the Salinas Valley
are not unique. The agriculture-centered Central Valley has lately seen a rise
in coronavirus cases, prompting several members of Congress to urge that Gov.
Gavin Newsom prioritize COVID-19 testing for farm workers and food packers.
The federal Centers for Disease
Control issued guidelines calling for farm workers to use face masks and other
personal protective equipment, but it’s difficult to spot any worker doing
that. While farm workers are deemed essential laborers, the guidelines are not
mandatory, leaving compliance to the discretion of farm owners and foremen.
So it’s no surprise that COVID-19
outbreaks among farm workers around California grow steadily more severe and
frequent.
Edgar Franks, political director of a
farm worker union in Washington state, told a reporter most farms are not as
scrupulous about educating and equipping workers as companies in urban
settings, where inspections are more frequent. “I haven’t seen much enforcement
of guidelines in the fields,” he said. “No social distancing, no giving out
masks, too little spacing between rows, everyone huddling close together during
crew meetings.”
Combined with crowded living
conditions, that’s a recipe for disease.
Meanwhile, pay is low and many workers
fear being fired if absent. So labor advocates report few farm workers get tested,
while many report for duty when feeling ill.
Newsom has responded, but only a bit.
One of his many executive orders requires anyone employing fewer than 500 food
sector workers to provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to workers affected
by COVID-19. But testing is less common in agricultural areas than in large
cities, so it’s difficult for workers at big farms to qualify for those two
weeks of sick pay. And what about workers on larger farms not
affected by Newsom’s order?
Farm worker advocates also report that
Cal-OSHA, the state’s occupational safety and health agency, has been reluctant
to investigate directly in fields where the advocates say safety guidelines are
ignored.
The full extent of this problem
remains unknown, partly because of the paucity of formal investigations and partly
because most COVID-19 testing programs do not identify occupations of persons
testing positive.
Change is plainly needed, if only to
prevent contagion in the food chain. It’s also high time someone asserted forcefully
that farm worker lives do matter.
-30-
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
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