THE DESERT SUN (Palm Springs, California)

April 27, 2010

Lawsuit claims county failed to provide facilities

Riverside County failed to uphold an agreement made a decade ago to provide permanent bathroom, shower and laundry facilities for residents and seasonal workers in Mecca, an attorney for a farm worker said Monday.

California Rural Legal Assistance filed a lawsuit Friday in Riverside, on behalf of Jose Saldivar, charging that the county violated a 2000 settlement agreement made between 30 mobile home park residents who complained they were suffering from racially discriminatory code enforcement practices in the late 1990s.

“We agreed to dismiss our discrimination complaint in 2000 believing that we had reached an agreement that would benefit our families and thousands of other area farm workers,” said Saldivar, who was one of those 30 residents.

Riverside County spokeswoman Lys Mendez said she did not know if the county had been served with the suit, but said the county's lawyer normally reviews lawsuits and makes a determination of what action to take.

The county agreed to provide the facilities in close proximity to the Mecca Farm Worker and Family Service Center, which was constructed as part of the settlement in 2003, according to California Rural Legal Assistance attorney Arturo Rodriguez.

Temporary showers and restrooms were built about a mile and a half from Mecca in a rural location, making them inaccessible to locals, Rodriguez said.

“That's a long way to use the bathroom and take a shower,” Rodriguez said, adding that in the summer, temperatures can reach above 110 degrees.

Rodriguez also said the county never constructed laundry facilities.

Most workers do not use the facilities, forcing them to rely on alternative locations, including bushes, parking lots, irrigation canals or ponds, Rodriguez said.

Saldivar said the county needs to “step forward and honor its agreement.

“There are far too many farm workers and their families living in horrendous conditions in this county. Until we have decent, safe and affordable housing for all of them, this project is critically necessary to protect their health and safety.”