|
State, ag groups hold heat-illness
prevention seminars
Farm labor
contractor Jesse Alderete of Salinas doesn't want any of the nearly
3,000 workers he employs to fall victim to the summer's blazing
temperatures. It's why he built
a custom-made trailer that includes toilets, a washing station, drinking
water and a large shade canopy that can be set up when needed. Alderete hauled
his trailer to the Fresno area Wednesday to help kick off a statewide
series of heat illness prevention seminars designed to help farmers and
contractors comply with California's worker protection rules. More than 500
contractors, supervisors and growers attended one of several morning
seminars at an Easton meeting hall. Alderete, whose
crews pick crops from Stockton to Indio, declined to discuss the cost of
the trailer, saying money was not a factor. "To us, the cost
of this trailer is a small price to pay to make sure our employees are
safe," Alderete said. "Cost is not an issue. This is something we must
do." But not everyone
in farming is following the heat illness rules that were triggered in
2005 following five worker deaths in July. Last year, $1.6
million in penalties were issued statewide for violations of the law, up
from $822,990 in 2007, according to the Department of Industrial
Relations. And while the
number of people attending the seminars continues to grow, state
regulators admit it will take a combination of penalties and continued
education to ensure worker safety. "We know there are
still problems in the fields and we will go after those," said John
Duncan, director of the Department of Industrial Relations. "But
prevention is sure better than penalties and developing partnerships is
the way to go." Wednesday's
seminars were organized by the the state along with several influential
agricultural groups including the Nisei Farmers League, California Grape
and Tree Fruit League, the Cotton Ginners and Growers Association and
the Fresno County Farm Bureau. The seminars cover
the four elements of heat illness prevention: providing water and
encouraging workers to drink it; access to shade; completed training;
and written reports showing compliance efforts. Manuel Cunha,
president of the Fresno-based Nisei Farmers League, estimates that more
than 4,000 growers and 1,000 farm labor contractors are expected to
attend the training sessions that will be held in various locations this
summer. The United Farm
Workers union said that while educating farmers about the risks of heat
illness is important, enforcement must be tougher. The union, in a
statement released Wednesday, urges Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to push
for criminal penalties for those "whose gross negligence has caused the
death of innocent people." State officials
said they will go after those who flagrantly violate the law, as in last
year's case involving an Atwater-based farm labor contractor who was
fined $262,000 in connection with the heat-related death of a
17-year-old farmworker. The contractor,
Merced Farm Labor Contractor, surrendered its operating license three
days before a revocation hearing, according to the Department of
Industrial Relations. "Make no mistake,
if there is a flagrant violation we will shut them
down," said Len Welsh, chief of Cal-OSHA.
|