Thread by @UFWupdates

It’s peak cherry season in WA— so TEN MILLION pounds of cherries are being harvested each day, in this brutal, record-breaking heat wave.

Heat like this is hard on cherries and it’s even harder on the workers harvesting them. It’s terrifying.
(1/thread) seattletimes.com/seattle-news/w…

Cherries shrivel in extreme heat, so there’s pressure to harvest them as fast as possible.
Temps will reach 115* this week and even overnight it stays warm.

Heat like this can be fatal. In WA it’s legal to house workers in tents so the exposure is 24/7. nytimes.com/2020/08/12/mag…

Many folks know the risks and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. For most people, knowing what it takes to walk out the door and not die *today* is enough.

For us, it isn’t enough. The damage to our bodies is ongoing.
farmworkerjustice.org/blog-post/new-…

Here’s where we pause (like a commercial break!) to ask you to go tell your members of congress RIGHT NOW to protect farm workers with federal heat protections.

It takes 2 mins. This thread will be here when you get back! ufw.org/heat21_t

Climate change (like so many other issues in the US) will disproportionately cause harm to poor folks and people of color. When it’s hot we CAN’T rest indoors.

If we’re paid by piece rate, there’s a perverse incentive that pushes us to the brink of death. abcnews.go.com/US/farmworkers…

“To the brink of death” is literal. We are working frantically to educate each other on how not to literally die of heat while working, let alone how to prevent organ damage that will shorten our lives.

In most states, the law is not on our side. thecounter.org/climate-change…

Farm workers have been excluded from the most basic protections since the laws were written in the 30s. Overtime. Min wage. CHILD LABOR LAWS. The scars of slavery laid bare.

So 2021, here we are. Its 115 degrees in Oregon and we still don’t have heat protections. #WeFeedYou

How can you help? We assume you already visited this link and told your members of congress to save our lives and set a federal heat standard. If you did, now send it to your friends.
ufw.org/heat21_t

Want a next step? Send us some money so we can keep doing everything we can.

We are stretched thin trying to respond to the needs of millions of incredibly vulnerable farm workers, even as our COVID vaccine clinics are being cancelled due to the heat. ufw.org/covid19donatio…

Our lives are not disposable. As climate change sears with heat, burns with brushfire, and poisons our air— we are not disposable. Protect us. #WeFeedYou