On July 11, family members and friends held a funeral service at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church in Orcutt, honoring the life of 64-year-old Jose Macarena Hernandez.
Hernandez died during last month’s record-breaking heat wave while harvesting butternut squash on a farm in Santa Maria, United Farm Workers of America reported.
His death—along with the deaths of four other California farm workers, including a 17-year-old girl from Stockton—led United Farm Workers of America and several other organizations to rally in an effort to save lives and strengthen farm workers’ rights.
In an interview with the Sun, United Farm Workers’ Communications Director Vicki Adame said that since Hernandez’s death on June 20, there have been two more deaths with heat as the suspected culprit—one in Kern County and the other in Fresno County.
“Another man is in the hospital on a respirator, and it doesn’t look good,” Adame said, adding that such situations are especially horrible because they are preventable.
In 2005, the state enacted emergency regulations for heat illness prevention. The regulations require that farming contractors and workers be educated about heat illness prevention, and that farm workers have access to shade and cold water at all times and be allowed five-minute breaks during peak temperatures.
However, Adame said that the regulations generally aren’t being properly enforced around California.
“Throughout the state, we’ve found that a lot of the farm workers don’t have [access to shade or water],” she said. “You can drive out to any field, orchard, or vineyard and see that most workers don’t have either of those. There’s no shade, especially in the Central Valley.
“Something is seriously wrong here. Our state can’t uphold its own laws,” Adame said.
In response to the deaths, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration is providing 13 workshops statewide on how to prevent heat-related illness.
Held in Fresno on July 10, the first workshop covered all four elements of the emergency regulations for heat-related illness prevention, including training for both supervisors and workers on how to recognize the symptoms of heat illness, such as fever and changes in complexion, and what to do about it.
The workshops are scheduled to last through Aug. 7, and will be held in several counties. For a full schedule of workshop times and locations, visit www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/HeatIllnessinfo.html.
On top of the workshop announcement, the governor released a statement with tips on how all California residents can prevent heat-related illness.
“I urge all Californians to take proper health precautions as the temperatures rise into the 90s and 100s across the state—drink plenty of water and check your neighbors who may be more vulnerable,” Schwarzenegger said in the release.
Some of the preventive steps being taken by the state and local agencies include the opening of cooling centers and providing people at risk—such as seniors, children, and people with chronic illnesses—with medical attention.
The Public Health Department in Santa Barbara County recently issued a statement with tips on how to stay cool if—and when—a heat wave occurs.
Susan Klein-Rothschild, a public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, said that it’s important for people to heed the heat advisories.
“Heat happens so frequently, but people usually don’t give it the serious consideration it deserves,” she said.
Currently, the county is working with other local agencies to ensure the safety of residents, especially at-risk locals.
“We’re asking landlords of people living in single rooms only to check in on their tenants regularly,” she said.
Also, the county has compiled a city-by-city list of cool places residents can go to if they don’t have air conditioning, including Santa Maria Town Center, Edwards Santa Maria 10, local libraries, and community centers.
Adame of United Farm Workers said that her organization plans to continue pressuring the state into better enforcing its heat emergency regulations.
“The workshops are great. We commend the effort, but in reality how many contractors are actually going to go out and implement what they learned?” Adame said.
“The workers need a voice, they need representation in the fields,” she said. “A lot of them are afraid that if they speak up, there’s a chance that they’ll get fired. The workers need to be able to speak up for their rights without fear of being fired.”
INFOBOX: Beat the heat
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently released a statement with tips on how all California residents can prevent heat-related illness.
• stay indoors in air-conditioned settings
• drink plenty of non-alcoholic beverages
• reduce strenuous activities, especially during the peak of the day
• if you must be outside, limit physical activity and take frequent breaks
• take cool showers
• wear lightweight, light-colored clothes
• wear a hat outdoors
• never leave children, pets, or other people in a parked vehicle, even with the windows rolled down
Contact Staff Writer Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 17-24, 2008.