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July 18, 2008
Schools chief tries to take heat off farmworkers
By Kim Minugh
The state superintendent of schools has joined the campaign against
heat-related illness among farmworkers, offering educational resources
to help spread the word among families about safely working outdoors.
Jack O'Connell announced Thursday that educators with the state's
migrant education program, which serves about 300,000 children
statewide, will distribute information to families about laws that
protect farmworkers and tips on avoiding sickness while working in the
heat.
Since the May death of a 17-year-old worker in a field east of Stockton,
state labor officials have ramped up efforts to protect laborers from
heat-related illnesses and hold employers accountable.
Labor officials have confirmed one other heat-related death – that of a
27-year-old oil field worker – since May and are investigating several
others.
O'Connell said it is time educators do their part to help keep families
healthy.
"That's in the best interest of our children, our families … and our
state," he said Thursday during a joint press conference with officials
from the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency in Stockton.
The state's migrant education program serves children who have moved at
least once in the previous six months because of their parents' changing
agricultural work.
The program offers services such as counseling and tutoring and helps
connect children with emergency dental care if needed. Now educators in
the migrant program also will hand out heat safety information during
health fairs, parent meetings and summer school classes.
Margaret Salazar-Huerta, assistant director of migrant education for the
San Joaquin County Office of Education, grew up working the fields,
planting onions when she was just 4 years old and pulling them until she
was in high school.
"I know exactly the conditions they live with because I lived them. My
parents lived them," Salazar-Huerta said. "I can relate to these
parents."
She remembers working in triple-degree heat that she likened to a sauna.
"That's one feeling I don't want to wish upon anyone," she said.
Victoria Bradshaw, secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency, said farmworkers need to make sure employers provide proper
training to prepare for oppressive temperatures. And for any employers
not abiding by state laws protecting workers in the heat, she issued a
strong warning: "We will shut you down."
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