We often get asked why we cover our skin even in hot weather. Why do we need long pants, long sleeves and head/face coverings in 100+ weather?

Reason one: health experts advise anyone to dress in light layers to keep cool when working in the sun. (1/thread) #WeFeedYou
Even pre-covid, we covered our faces to protect ourselves from inhaled irritants and toxins. Pesticides, dust, or even crop debris such as the tiny hairs on okra vines can damage lungs. So can Valley Fever, a fungal infection caused by inhaled particles. aghealth.ucdavis.edu/news/research-…
Some crops are toxic in themselves, like tobacco. Handling fresh tobacco is hazardous — nicotine is readily absorbed through the skin and it is neurotoxic.

This is particularly dangerous to children (and yes it is legal for children to harvest tobacco). theatlantic.com/family/archive…
Many plants are “phytotoxic” which means their fresh juice is caustic to the skin when combined with sunlight. Sometimes called “celery blisters,” this painful reaction to celery, carrot and many other juices can cause extensive and permanent skin damage. medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319001
Pesticides especially haunt farm worker parents. When we get home, we don’t hug our kids until we change clothes. We cover seats in our cars, and wash our clothes separately from our children’s clothing.

We had bans on DDT in our union contract years before the EPA banned it.
In many places we work, the presence of rattlesnakes means we need to wear jeans and boots. This past week in Yakima County, WA hundreds of workers using headlamps were harvesting at night to avoid extreme heat. That’s rattlesnake country!
Wasps love fig trees.
We don’t love being stung.
Of course our work also means a lot of cuts and scrapes. Whether we’re using a machete to harvest brussel sprouts or just hand harvesting limes. (Did you know lime trees are covered in thorns?)
In conclusion, we are completely covered up at work so we aren’t cut, burned, stung, bitten, poisoned, maimed or scorched to death at the end of a workday. #WeFeedYou
If you learned something new (or feel bad about throwing away food we worked so hard to provide) you can always donate here.

Donations will help us keep doing everything we can to save lives and help each other.
ufw.org/heatdonate

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More from @UFWupdates

28 Jun
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.
Read 7 tweets
26 Jun
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-…
Read 10 tweets
24 Jan
Thread: Ever think about the logistics of the food on your plate and the human costs of our food supply? #WeFeedYou
When it rains, workers either wait (unpaid) for the storm to lift, or go to work in the rain among slippery, muddy rows. If they’re paid a piece rate, the work is slower but the piece rate stays the same.
When you see workers jogging, that’s because of piece rate economics. The rows are slippery, and the crates are also heavier. Sometimes double the weight.
Read 16 tweets
13 Dec 20
Why is Mitch McConnell refusing to agree to aid without shields for corporations? Let’s reflect on why corporations don’t want to be liable.

Last summer a massive outbreak swept through a Foster Farms plant. Hundreds got sick. At least 9 died. (1/thread)
latimes.com/politics/story…
Workers found out about this outbreak from the media. After suggesting —then ordering— the company to make changes that were ignored, Merced County finally ordered the plant shut down.

Foster Farms directed the workers to come work their shifts anyway.
latimes.com/california/sto…
How could this happen? How can a county ordered shutdown be defied while a deadly, massive outbreak grows?

Foster Farms was supported by the federal government, so maybe they felt safe refusing to comply. For 2 more days the spread continued.
latimes.com/california/sto…
Read 13 tweets
11 Dec 20
As COVID-19 continues to sweep through Foster Farms facilities, a desperate quest for information gets a three word reply. “Continue to ignore.”

This indifference is what @senatemajldr is trying to shield.
Read: kqed.org/news/11850332/…
For those still haunted by the outbreaks last summer— at least 9 people died— we ask ourselves some terrible questions.

How can we still be where we were this summer?

Why should human lives be sacrificed while corporations are protected?

calmatters.org/california-div…
For grieving people like Martha Vera, who lost her husband this summer, this is the sequel to a horror story that is all too real.

“What does this company really want?” she said through tears in August. “How many more people do they think should die?”
latimes.com/politics/story…
Read 4 tweets
22 Nov 20
Can confirm.

Also, have we told you about ‘celery blisters’ yet?
The juices from cut celery can cause a number of skin reactions that vary from person to person. When celery comes into contact with the skin, it creates a toxic sensitivity to sunlight.

After, even a small amount of subsequent sun exposure can cause severe blistering.
In addition to celery, carrots and dill frequently trigger photoxic reactions.

Cucumber, squash and okra plants have nearly-invisible hairs that not only irritate our skin but can also float into our eyeballs and cause severe inflammation.

Happy Thanksgiving! #WeFeedYou Image
Read 5 tweets

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