WA does not require employers to provide us with the heat protections needed to save our lives. This must change.
It’s cherry season so conditions are incredibly dangerous. With labor needs at peak, workers from 12 years old to 70+ are out working. High tomorrow of 118° here. 1/
OR is in the process of creating better rules to protect us against heat injury, but the process won’t be finalized until September.
In the meantime, will farm workers die preventable deaths? These are unprecedented temperatures.
We are grateful to the volunteers helping us do emergency outreach, checking on worksites and distributing information, water and electrolytes.
Many are vineyard workers who are using a day off, helping migrant workers employed in other sectors. They shouldn’t need to do that.
Since most are paid by piece rate, there’s a perverse incentive to work faster, to not slow down or take breaks. Rest is money out of pocket.
For children, or for adult workers not used to these extreme temperatures, the situation is dire. Without protections people will die.
Governors of affected states could issue emergency protections via executive order, but we also need a federal heat protection standard. Visit here to urge your members of congress to pass these bills and create a federal standard. ufw.org/heat21_t
Once you’ve told your governor and your members of Congress what you think, here’s another way to help: send us money.
Donations help us do everything we can to save farmworker lives. We are stretched very thin trying to respond to this crisis.
Donate @ ufw.org/heatdonate
We’ll end on a moral math equation:
This crew is trying to save the cherry harvest in Benton City, WA. It was 113 today, high of 117 tomorrow. They’re being paid 30 cents per pound. #WeFeedYou
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
On Feb 21 in Buffalo, NY, farm workers are rallying alongside community and labor allies outside the U.S. Courthouse.
The court will be hearing New York Vegetable Growers Association v. Hochul.
At stake: Do farm workers in New York have a right to organize?
Farm workers are mostly excluded from federal labor laws. In 2019, NY passed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act which gives farmworkers the right to unionize in NY state. Since then we’ve won certification at 5 farms so far, with more pending. theguardian.com/us-news/2023/j…
Rather than recognize their workers choice to unionize the growers banded together to sue the state and stop the law. They target the fact that many workers who want to unionize are H2A workers. They want to overturn the whole law and strip ALL NY farm workers of their rights.
Much of the USA is under heat warning. Heat is a deadly threat for farm workers, and conditions are getting worse.
There are a myriad of dangers caused by extreme heat that most people don’t consider when they open the refrigerator in their air conditioned kitchen. 1/
Even one shift of outdoor agricultural work in hot weather can be detected in bloodwork — heat strain causes acute kidney injury. https://t.co/pklc8GQtEGoem.bmj.com/content/74/6/4…
One of the symptoms of heat stress is a decline in cognitive function. This means a worker may not recognize they’re in danger before developing lethal heat stroke.
Cesar Chavez followed Dr King’s career since the 1950s Montgomery bus boycott. Whenever newspapers carried accounts of #MLK battles, the stories "would jump out of the pages at me," Cesar said. MLK reaffirmed Cesar's commitment to nonviolent struggle & inspired UFW's boycotts. 1/
Although the two never met, they corresponded. Dr. King preached that genuine equality was not possible without economic equality. "What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't have enough money to buy a hamburger?" #MLK declared. 2/
Only one month before his death, Dr. King joined in solidarity by sending a telegram to Cesar, who was then fasting for 25 days in Delano CA, to rededicate his farm workers' movement to the principles of nonviolence practiced by #MLK and Gandhi. 3/
As you shop and prepare your #Thanksgiving meals, we'd like you to know a little more about the work behind the ingredients and the people doing that work to put food on our tables.
Here's a thread for everyone who wants to thank a farm worker this week.
Sweet potatoes are mostly unearthed by harvesting machinery but then cleaned and sorted by hand. Here’s a video Raquel sent from Livingston, CA. #WeFeedYou
Today the farm worker movement is out marching for #AB2183 and fair choices when organizing, free from fear and retaliation. This past Cesar Chavez Day we let California know we were ready to march.
We’re marching for @CAgovernor Newsom’s support of #AB2183. We deserve choices in how we access the democratic process of union elections.
As things are now, elections are held on the growers’ private property under the watchful eye of the employer. fresnobee.com/news/californi…
Rooted in a historic legacy of sacrifice and resilience, our march is also a step forward.
California is ready for a bold, inclusive labor movement that will meet workers where we’re at. Solidarity, no matter where we work or where we’re from. #AB2183latimes.com/california/sto…