Thread: California Mexican State Government catering to illegals...

and the illegal alien loving news media loves it.

Heat rules ignored, workers say
Employers 'laugh at the law' on outdoor protection, farm labor groups contend.
By E.J. Schultz / Bee Capitol Bureau
07/20/07 04:54:13

SACRAMENTO -- Farmworkers laboring in the hot sun are still not getting enough access to shade and water, even though regulations requiring the protections have been on the books for nearly two years, farm labor groups said at a Capitol hearing Thursday.

The rules cover outdoor workers and were enacted in August 2005 in response to several heat-related deaths.

Workers are guaranteed one quart of water per hour and access to shade for at least five minutes when requested. But the United Farm Workers union says some employers ignore the rules.

"We believe that farmworkers are dying because the laws on the books are not the laws in the fields," UFW representative Esperanza Ross said at a hearing of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee.

Several farmworkers testified that they were fed dirty water and given only a small umbrella's worth of shade.

A large canopy is generally required.

Employers "laugh at the law," said Manuel Nuñez, an Alpaugh resident who picks grapes near Bakersfield.

Industry groups and the state department overseeing the rules say progress is being made, but there is still work to be done.

"We're still ramping up, to be honest, to get the word out, to do the enforcement," said Len Welsh, acting chief of the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Inspectors have already issued 136 citations this year, about as many as were issued all of last year, he said.

A total of about $500,000 in civil penalties has been assessed.

In a recent letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger, the UFW said a "huge majority of farms are not implementing the regulation."

Three farmworkers died from the heat last summer, including 38-year-old Rodolfo Valladares, who collapsed in Firebaugh.

The weather has been cooler this year, but the union told the governor that the heat has contributed to at least one death so far.

Eladio Hernandez, 54, of Mexico died in May after becoming ill while picking peaches at an orchard in the Kettleman Hills area. According to a Kings County autopsy, Hernandez died of cardiac arrhythmia, due to coronary atherosclerosis.

YNT Harvesting, which employed Hernandez, has denied a UFW report that Hernandez had fallen off a ladder after becoming ill.

State officials said education is the key to preventing deaths. The law requires employees to be trained on the importance of drinking water and learning how to adjust to intense heat.

Welsh said 90% of employers are providing enough water, but sometimes the workers aren't drinking enough.

Employer groups said they are doing their part to spread the word. Western Growers Association issues regular reminders about the heat regulations and has distributed "hundreds of thousands" of wallet-sized cards for workers that contain heat tips, said Dave Puglia, an association spokesman.

"We have, I think, set a very positive record embracing the regulation," he said.

But Anne Katten, of the farmworker advocacy group California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, said companies are sending "mixed messages" by demanding output that leaves little time for breaks. In some cases, farmworker pay is based on how much work gets done, not how long employees work.

State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who led the hearing, said he will press the state to hire more investigators. At present, about 215 investigators handle all workplace inspections for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Florez also questioned state officials on a report that the state undercounted the number of deaths caused by last year's heat wave.

The Associated Press recently reported that the number of statewide deaths in July 2006 was 466 higher than the July average over the previous six years -- a spike many health officials attributed to the record heat. The figure is three times more than the 143 people the state officially said died from the heat.

Dr. Kevin Reilly, the state Health Department's deputy director for prevention services, told the AP that the state's count is probably too low. The report prompted Schwarzenegger to order health officials to track the death toll from heat waves more accurately.

Dr. Roger Trent, who oversees epidemiology for the Department of Public Health, told the committee that the AP report "gave a false impression."

Trent said people who are already sick may be "pushed over the edge" by heat, but "the best diagnostician in the world probably couldn't say for sure that it was heat that made the difference."

When all the Hollywood, Frankenstein "elite" types finally get their town-castle run over with these leaches, where are they going to go? Maybe they will finally realize what they have done? Their ivory towers will come down one day soon in California if things do not change fast. But then most of the elite bunch in California will get what they deserve.

Texasgal, and I for one am looking forward to Calif. getting what they deserve, at least the politicans who are taking that state down, daily!!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---- "ACTIVE PROJECTS"----PLEASE GET INVOLVED -----
WILLIAMS IN DC AND NEEDS HELP!!
CALLING ALL ALIPACERS AND LOOKIE LOU'S DO YOU WANT OUR LAWS ENFORCED? PLEASE HELP! LINK BELOW!
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=74297
Stop the "Dream Act" in-state tuition for illegals!
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=73960
DIXIE NEEDS HELP ON A PROJECT!!
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=73375
ALIPAC needs donations to stay afloat and in the fight Please give what you can!!
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=C ... page&pid=9

But the United Farm Workers union says some employers ignore the rules.

Say it isn't so! The Ag business employers ignoring the rules?!?!?!

I'm not really shocked. They have been ignoring the rules and laws for years.

"We believe that farmworkers are dying because the laws on the books are not the laws in the fields," UFW representative Esperanza Ross said at a hearing of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee.

Huh...interesting, because I believe that:

- illegal immigrants are dying in the middle of nowhere because the laws on the books are not the laws at the border.

- illegal farmworkers are HERE because the laws on the books are not the laws at the border.

- illegal farmworkers are HERE because the laws on the books are not the laws at the farm employment office.

....so? Since when did "laws" become so important to this industry...the same industry that continues to mock our immigration policies and flaunt the profits at the expense of the middle class LEGAL citizens of the US?

I'd LOVE to get the same enforcement team on THAT issue as, say, immigration policies or food labeling.

Yeah, let's have the beef council get some lobbyists RIGHT ON that issue...

Workers are guaranteed one quart of water per hour and access to shade for at least five minutes when requested. But the United Farm Workers union says some employers ignore the rules.

...Gee, I didn't know things were so tough here for them. Well, they'd better head back to Mexico, or wherever, where they'll be much beter treated.

A total of about $500,000 in civil penalties has been assessed.

...So we assess penalties against employers for not providing a big enough shade umbrella but not for hiring illegal aliens?

Welsh said 90% of employers are providing enough water, but sometimes the workers aren't drinking enough.

...well, you can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who led the hearing, said he will press the state to hire more investigators. At present, about 215 investigators handle all workplace inspections for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

...Whoa, Whoa, I said whoa! Dear Dean...are these workers your so concerned for LEGAL agricultural workers? Why don't you invest at least as much time in ensuring they are working her legally as you are making sure the have a big enough shade umbrella and drink water like they're suppose to.