AMERICAN LABOUR CALIFORNIA:

HAVE A HEART: SUPPORT THE UFW IN CALLING FOR A BAN ON METHYL IODIDE;


This Valentine's Day give a gift to farm workers and rural residents in California and ask that the toxic fungicide be banned in the state of California. Here's the article from the United Farm Workers (UFW).

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CA appoints new director of pesticide regulations
Urge Gov. Brown and Dir. Leahy to take action on methyl iodide now
BREAKING NEWS: Governor Brown has just appointed Brian Leahy as the new Director of California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). California is now poised to reverse the decision to permit the use of the cancer-causing pesticide, methyl iodide.

For over a year, Gov. Brown has not taken action on methyl iodide, saying that the decision must rest with the incoming head of DPR. That person, Brian Leahy, is now in place. Please join us in calling for immediate action on methyl iodide.

More than 85% of the country’s strawberries are grown in California so actions here will have national implications. It may give the EPA a new opportunity to re-evaluate this chemical that has no safe place in agriculture.

Methyl iodide is a known carcinogen that could cause spontaneous miscarriages and contaminate groundwater. Injecting it as a gas into the soil presents unacceptable risks to farm workers, nearby rural communities, pregnant women and children. Clearly, this toxic chemical is dangerous and should be banned.

The UFW is joining with a coalition of environmental groups to send a petition to Director Leahy telling him to prioritize banning of methyl iodide. Sign the petition today!

* If possible, please add a paragraph personalizing your comment.
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The Letter
Please go to this link to send the following letter to Californian Governor Jerry Brown and his director of pesticide regulation.
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Dear Governor Brown and Director Leahy,

I am writing to urge you to take action on methyl iodide in the new year. In March, Gov. Brown said he would take a “fresh look” at the chemical slated for use on California’s strawberry fields, and since then, the case against cancer-causing pesticide has only gotten stronger.

Scientists have said time and time again that methyl iodide causes cancer, poses extremely high risks to farmworkers and pregnant women, and has the potential to contaminate our scarce groundwater resources. And based upon recent court findings, it’s clear that the Schwarzenegger Administration ignored that body of science in its zeal to approve the chemical.

We are hopeful that Director Leahy has the right farming and government experience needed to pull methyl iodide off the market.

We trust that that you have had enough time to “look” at methyl iodide. In looking you would have seen that the chemical doesn’t belong in California – not near farmworkers, rural children or any community.

Sincerely,

AMERICAN LABOUR CALIFORNIA:

WHAT IS A LIFE WORTH ?:

The following appeal is from the American United Farm Workers, and it's about the excessively lenient sentence for the contractor responsible for the death of Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez. This case has been mentioned before here at Molly's Blog. The basic fact is that this young woman was killed by the heat while forced to work in adverse conditions as an agricultural labourer in California. Reports say that the contractor responsible will be let go with a suspended sentence and a minimal fine. The UFW feels that this is totally out of line with the magnitude of the crime. It certainly is as the penalty for a traffic accident causing death would be far harsher in almost every jurisdiction. And this was not an "accident". Here's the story and appeal.

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DA plea deal reduces manslaughter to community service
Less than 5 days left to fight this travesty

Time is running out and we need you to take action. March 9th is the hearing for the sentencing of the two people responsible for the heat death of 17-year old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez. Maria died of heat stroke in 2008 while laboring in the scorching grape vineyards near Stockton. Her body temperature reached 108.

News reports state the district attorney is going with a plea deal that would let the accused go without even jail time, possibly with just community service. Can you believe it?

3 years probation and 40 hours community service for the owner of the labor contractor company and 400 hours of community service and a $1000 file for the company's "Safety Coordinator," instead of the original involuntary manslaughter charge?

The family and the UFW have met with the DA to no avail. The DA has told the family he is proud of setting precedent in California by convicting a labor contractor of a felony .

Is that an even exchange for the life of a young girl? What does it matter if the system calls it a "felony," if justice is not served?

I'm sure you will join us in saying “No. That is not enough!” There were laws in place to protect farm workers from heat stroke and the labor contractor and her safety supervisor had the responsibility to ensure they were followed. It's simple. They didn't. Not even the most basic heat laws were followed.

This was not a one time occurrence for this employer. In 2006, Merced Farm Labor was fined for failure to have a written heat stress prevention plan and heat stress training for workers, as required by law. But they did not care. They never even paid the fine.

Please send an e-mail immediately and tell the District Attorney, James Willett, not to set a precedent that farm workers' lives are unimportant. There must be serious consequences. Tell him that jail time is a must and nothing short of that will satisfy the family or the public.


http://action.ufw.org/pleadeal2

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THE LETTER:

Please go to the highlighted link above to send the following letter to the Disrict Attorney in charge of this case.

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Please do not go ahead with your planned plea bargain in the tragic heat death of 17-year old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez.

California’s 650,000 farm workers face a daily risk of death and illness from toiling in stifling summer heat. They are at the mercy of agricultural employers and farm labor contractors who many times fail to live up to their constitutional and statutory duties to protect the safety of farm workers. Farm workers are literally dying because of the state’s broken system, which is designed in a way that ensures inadequate enforcement of the law. The laws in the books are not the laws in the fields. You have the opportunity to change this and ensure there a real consequences for breaking the law.

You have the unique opportunity to set a precedent that will make agricultural employers think twice about not following the laws of California and putting at risk the life of a human being. This will only happen if there are real consequences to farm employers breaking the law. The word "felony" is not enough.

The case of Maria Isabel Vazquez Jimenez is hard to accept, because it didn't need to happen. There is no difference between a driver killing someone while breaking our traffic laws and a labor contractor breaking the law and killing this beautiful young woman.

Maria's family and the public ask that you do everything in your power to ensure that these farm labor contractors are sentenced to the fullest extent of the law. Fines and community service hours aren't enough. Anything less than jail time is a desecration of Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez' death.

Thank you.

AMERICAN LABOUR CALIFORNIA:

SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE:

Down in California the Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado is setting a rather bad public example in regards to worker safety at his own farm. Here's the story and appeal from the United Farm Workers.

FWFWFWFWFW
Take action against serious safety violations at California's Lt. Governor's strawberry farm

Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2010
Lieutenant governor's family farm has had many safety violations

A worker at Abel Maldonado's 6,000-acre Santa Maria operation was crushed by a tractor. The firm has had numerous other Cal/OSHA citations, plus tax liens. The Republican says some citations stemmed from overzealous regulation that harms California businesses.
Click for full story


Today's Los Angeles Times reported serious workplace violations and a farm worker death at Lt. Governor Maldonado's strawberry farm. Please read the below action alert and then immediately "take action" and send a e-mail to Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado.

With as many as 16 farm worker deaths due to heat illness alone during Governor Schwarzenegger's administration, the report of a farm worker death at Maldonado's farm is of deep concern.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "the run-in with regulators was part of a pattern for Agro-Jal Farming Enterprises, the farm in Santa Maria that pays Maldonado a six-figure salary to serve as controller. Maldonado, a telegenic former state senator, is running for the seat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to earlier this year.

Agro-Jal has accumulated dozens of violations from Cal/OSHA since 1990, hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax liens, and multiple citations for exposing workers to toxic pesticides and skirting clean water regulations, government records show. Four of the violations were for running tractors across the fields with no driver at the wheel and no means of steering or stopping the machines.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the lieutenant governor said in an e-mail, "that many of the violations against the farm are the product of overzealous regulators 'who put businesses out of business and dissuade new businesses from coming to California.'"

Lt. Governor Maldonado frequently serves as acting Governor. We need confidence that Lt. Governor Maldonado will be enforcing the law and ensuring the safety of farm workers laboring in California's fields--including his own.

Please e-mail Lt. Governor Maldonado today and encourage him to meet with UFW President Arturo Rodriguez so they can discuss how Lt. Governor Maldonado can support labor protections for farm workers that have real teeth in them.



http://action.ufw.org/maldonado

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THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to end the following letter to Lieutenant Governor Maldonado of California.

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Dear Lt. Governor Maldonado:

I was concerned to read today's Los Angeles times story entitled, "Lieutenant governor's family farm has had many safety violations."

In this story, you are quoted as saying, “My family never forgets that we started out as field hands.” We are writing to ask that you have an opportunity to put that memory to productive use.

It has been good politics for the Governor to allow you to take executive action when he is out of the state. Irrespective of the outcome of the November 2 election, you will have that opportunity again in the upcoming months.

While the Times reported that you assign blame for your farm’s repeated safety violations to “overzealous regulators”, our experience has been much different.

More farm workers have died from abuse at work under Governor Schwarzenegger than under any other Governor in California’s history.

We fail to see the overzealous regulators you refer to. Rather, the record points to unrepentant agricultural employers.

That record of 16 dead farm workers killed by heat, no one in jail, and fines lower than those for reckless driving indicate to us that regulations don’t work because meaningful punishment is never the consequence.

Would your farm have had a heat-illness prevention plan in place if the fine were $9,300 instead of $930?

We ask that at your earliest convenience you meet with United Farm Worker President Arturo Rodriguez. In this meeting we hope you will discuss several steps you can take as acting-Governor to honor the memory of Raul Garcia Osorno who died on your farm.

Thank you.

AMERICAN LABOUR CALIFORNIA:

SOLIDARITY WITH LAID OFF NURSERY WORKERS:

The following appeal for solidarity with laid off nursery workers in the USA comes from the United Farm Workers.

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Stand in Solidarity with Laid Off Nursery Workers

Nurserymen’s Exchange is one of the nation’s largest wholesalers of nursery plants. Until recently they employed a work force of around 300. The situation at Nurserymen’s Exchange wasn’t great. There were ridiculous quotas, injuries and other problems, but workers still stuck around because it was a least a steady paycheck. Then in early July they laid off nearly half of their employees. Many of these workers were long time employees who worked with the company for decades.

Twenty-nine year employee and team leader, Lourdes Patino was one of these 132 laid off workers. She tells us to add insult to injury, the company told the employees the reason they were laid off was because there was no work for them, but in reality the company wanted to hire out of town labor contractor workers so they could pay cheap wages and no benefits. Lourdes told us she knew this because “on our last day, management told us they would give us the phone number of the farm labor contractor so we can talk to him and he could hire us to work again, paying us minimum wage and no benefits. I think it’s not fair for us because they want to bring us back to work for the minimum wage.”

Shortly after they were laid off, the workers contacted the union and we are doing all we can to help them get their jobs back. Help us take a stand to hold corporations like this accountable. A bad economy is not an excuse for sleazy behavior. Won’t you help?

ALALALALAL

THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to Nurserymen's Exchange in California.

ALALALALAL

I am deeply disappointed in your company for laying off nearly half of your workforce--many of whom were with your company for decades. This is simply immoral. A bad economy is not an excuse for sleazy behavior. Trying to cover your company by paying workers the minimum compensation that the law requires you to pay anyway does not satisfy your responsibility to these workers.

Mass layoffs and then hiring back cheaper labor contractor workers is outrageous. Especially as it is reported that to add insult to injury, "on our last day, management told us they would give us the phone number of the farm labor contractor so we can talk to him and he could hire us to work again, paying us minimum wage and no benefits."

Immediately recall or rehire these 132 workers who have stayed loyal to your corporation through ridiculous quotas, injuries, foreman pressure and more.

AMERICAN LABOUR CALIFORNIA:

HELP KEEP METHYL IODIDE OUT OF CALIFORNIA FIELDS:

The following appeal to help keep methyl iodide out of agricultural use in California comes from the United Farm Workers.

MIMIMIMIMIMIMI
Take Action to Keep Methyl Iodide Out of California Fields

Comment period expires in a week on June 29th

California is on the verge of approving a dangerous carcinogenic gas for use on strawberry fields and other food crops. Methyl Iodide is so toxic that scientists in labs use only small amounts and wear special protective equipment. In fact it’s so reliably carcinogenic that it’s used to induce cancer in the lab. It’s a fumigant so there is a constant threat of it drifting to farm workers and rural communities.

Yet the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is on the verge of approving its use in the fields. They are doing this despite their Independent California Scientific Review Committee (SRC) issuing a final report (PDF), which found (PDF) that "any anticipated scenario for the agricultural…use of this agent would…have a significant adverse impact on the public health."

Last Thursday a Sacramento hearing was convened by the California Senate Food and Agriculture Committee, where members of the panel testified. Dr. John Froines of UCLA who chaired the committee, said, "This is, without question, one of the most toxic chemicals on earth." DPR does not seem to be listening to the scientists they hired.

Please help. If Methyl Iodide use is approved, this toxic poison can be released directly into California’s air. We have to stop this. The DPR is accepting public comments on its proposal through June 28. Please take the time to send an e-mail to the DPR immediately and ask them not to release this toxin into our environment.

There is little to debate about Methyl Iodide’s toxicity. It is a known neurotoxin, disrupts thyroid function, damages developing fetuses, and has caused lung tumors in laboratory animals. California already classifies it as a human carcinogen. Fumigating fields with the gas, even with the strictest regulations, would no doubt still result in unacceptable exposures to farm workers and nearby communities.

We have one last chance to stop Methyl Iodide from being used in our fields. Please submit your comment today and tell DPR that we don’t want to be exposed to this poison.

MIMIMIMIMIMIMI
THE LETTER:
Please go to this link to send the following letter to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
MIMIMIMIMIMIMI

I am deeply concerned with the pending approval of Methyl Iodide for use on strawberries and other food crops in California. Methyl Iodide is a known human carcinogen, as well as a neurotoxin and disruptor of thyroid function. It can be especially damaging during fetal development, and it has no business being used as a fumigant in the open atmosphere.

I understand that the DPR has recently completed a study of the chemical. Scientists on the external panel that reviewed the DPR's findings on methyl iodide stated that agricultural use would ,"result in exposures to a large number of the public and thus would have a significant adverse impact on public health." I don’t understand how you can release this dangerous toxin into Californias’s environment, with these findings.

Even the strictest regulations on application will surely not prevent exposure of workers and nearby communities to this hazardous chemical.

Please do not go ahead with your proposed approval of methyl iodide. I ask the DPR to take responsibility and immediately withdraw the recommendation to approve its agricultural use. The public health of all Californians demands no less.

AMERICAN LABOUR:

SHOW OF SOLIDARITY WITH RIO TINTO MINERS:

Since January 31 borax miners in Boron California have been locked out by international mining giant Rio Tinto. The struggle has gained worldwide attention, and recently there was a show of solidarity from people in the Los Angeles area. Here's the story from the AFL-CIO blog.

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It’s a ‘Hard Land’ for Locked-Out Miners
by Mike Hall, Mar 21, 2010
Several hundred Los Angeles-area union members recently came together to lend support and solidarity to the nearly 600 members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 locked out at Rio Tinto’s Borax mine in Boron, Calif. Now, you can get a firsthand look at this union solidarity in action with this slide show set to the word and music of Bruce Springsteen’s “This Hard Land.”

A caravan, organized by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, delivered more than $30,000 in food and other supplies to support the miners fighting the international mining conglomerate’s move to outsource jobs, convert full-time jobs to part-time temporary work, slash retirement benefits and gut grievance protections and other workplace rules.

John Kawakami, the federation’s communication specialist, put together this stirring slide show covering the day’s events—an early morning rally at a Dodger Stadium parking lot; the drive to Boron, 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles; and the delivery of the much-needed supplies to the workers and their families.

The workers were locked out Jan. 31, after they voted down the giveback-packed contract from Rio Tinto. According to the ILWU, Rio Tinto in 2009 made nearly $5 billion in profits, despite a worldwide recession.

The London-based company operates mines on five continents and has a long record of union-busting actions, according to the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM).
For more information, visit Local 30’s website here.

AMERICAN LABOUR- SAN FRANCISCO:

IWW AT THE BAY AREA ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:

This one is for our readers in California. Just in from the IWW, the Bay Area branch of the IWW will be tabling at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair this coming weekend. Here's their notice.

IWWIWWIWWIWWIWW

Visit / Join the Bay Area IWW at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair
Start: Mar 13 2010 - 10:00am
End: Mar 14 2010 - 5:00pm

Disclaimer: The IWW is not an anarchist organization and makes no requirement that members be anarchists (or not), nor has the Bay Area IWW endorsed this event. The Bay Area IWW's participation in this event is for informational, educational, and fundraiisng purposes.

The Bay Area IWW will have its usual table at the annual Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair. This is an excellent place to catch up with your fellow IWW members, pay dues, join the union, plug in to various Bay Area IWW organizing efforts, or help the Bay Area IWW by purchasing awesome (usually union made) IWW merchandise.
For more information on the book fair, visit this page.
For more information on the Bay Area IWW, visit bayarea.iww.org.
Bay Area IWW on Facebook.

The Bookfair is open from 10 AM - 6 PM Saturday and 11 AM - 5 PM Sunday
Location(s)
SF County Fair Bldg / Golden Gate Park
9th and Lincoln San Francisco, CA
United States

See map: Google Maps
Related Links
Bay Area IWW

AMERICAN LABOUR-CALIIFONIA:

HUNGER STRIKE AGAINST DISNEY:

You know I've always held a visceral dislike of "The Mouse". The reasons are many and various, but one of the main ones is an understanding of how Disney has always exploited the workers who maintain its paper-mache fantasy worlds. Down Los Angeles way some workers are fighting back publicly against Disney management's attempts to squeeze the last drop of blood out of their labour. Their weapon- a public hunger strike which they hope will shame the Corp into some sort of decency. the idea that Disney management can feel shame may be a forlorn hope, but they may fear the adverse publicity. Here's the story from the AFL-CIO Blog.

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Disneyland Hotel Workers Fast For Safer Work:
by James Parks, Feb 9, 2010
Disneyland hotel workers began a water-only fast Tuesday to protest what they describe as life-threatening safety issues on the job. The more than 2,000 bellmen, dishwashers, room attendants, and cooks, members of Unite Here! Local 11, have been working without a contract since February 2008. They say new work requirements at three resort hotels and the villas at the Grand Californian Hotel have led to serious health problems among workers, including heart attack, stroke and musculoskeletal injuries.

Disney management also is demanding to make drastic cuts in workers’ health insurance.
During the fast, eight Disneyland hotel workers, two Los Angeles International Airport food service employees–who also are members of the local–and one adult son of a Disneyland hotel worker will refrain from eating and consume only water. Fast participants will remain, 24-hours a day, in front of the Grand Californian Hotel, sleeping in tents on the sidewalk and surrounded by a large shrine to injured workers.

Part of the shrine will pay tribute to Grand Californian housekeeper Rosario Casas, who is out of work on disability after suffering a heart attack on the job in October. Casas said her doctor said the heart attack was due to stress.

Narciso Guevara, a houseman at the Grand Californian Hotel, who plans to fast, said:
"We’re fighting for our health. We need better, safer conditions on the job, healthcare we can afford, and even more importantly, we need the company to respect us."

Maria Navarro, a housekeeper at the Grand Californian, who was injured at work just three days after Disney remodeled the hotel, said she is fasting to bring attention to the injuries she and several of her co-workers have suffered.

Since the changes were implemented at the Grand Californian, things have gotten worse. There are many people in my department who are hurt, but work through the pain because they are afraid of losing their jobs. So much pressure creates an unsafe place. We must make it stop.

Throughout the fast, community and religious leaders, unions, musicians, students and residents will call on Disney to address the health and safety issues at the hotels to by participating in daily actions, rallies and concerts.

The fasting workers are blogging about the action at:

http://www.disneyisunfaithful.org/work-shouldnt-hurt

and more information also is available here.

AMERICAN LABOUR-CALIFORNIA:

BAY AREA IWW PROTEST:

Tomorrow, January 21, members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) who are in contract negotiations with Curbside Recycling in Berkeley California will be holding a protest rally against the demands of management. Molly urges her readers in the Bay Area to attend. Tell 'em Molly sent you. Here's the notice from the IWW website.

IWWIWWIWWIWW

Bay Area IWW Labor Protest - Recycling Workers Say "NO!" To Management's Proposed Cuts!

- Thursday, Jan 21, 2010
The IWW is engaged in contract discussions with the Ecology Center, which runs Curbside Recycling - the outfit that picks up recyclable trash in Berkeley. They have presented a series of demands for draconian cut backs.

This includes demanding that the workers pay 20% of the cost of their health insurance premiums. Their position is that everywhere else such cuts are being instituted and they have to do the same. Our position is that these cuts have to be stopped somewhere, or, to paraphrase Harry Truman, "the cuts stop here." At the same time, Buyback - the recycling yard that is on the same property as Curbside and also under IWW contract - has announced that they will be laying off a worker, a first there.

The IWW is holding a "safety meeting" rally to protest these twin events. This will be in their yard at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21. The yard is on 2nd Street, just north of Gillman in north Berkeley (near the freeway).

We are urging all union members and supporters, students and community members to participate.

AMERICAN LABOUR-CALIFORNIA:
SUPPORT STUDENTS AND STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA:
The following appeal is from the United Students Against Sweatshops. Earlier today, after the Board of Regents of the U. of C. failed to listen to the demands below various acts of resistance began on campus. The situation at this hour is unclear.
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University of California Crisis Fest:
As budget cuts devastate many of our campuses, the state of California is facing one of the worst budgetary crises in the nation. The UC Regents are meeting now and have already made an initial vote in favor of an unprecedented 32% fee increase for students and they continue to carry out devastating cuts and reductions to campus workers and faculty. Hundreds of students, workers, and faculty have been protesting for the past 24 hours to demand the UC Regents prioritize the needs of the larger community and have come up with an alternate budget that would save the UC system millions of dollars. Over a dozen students have already been arrested in these protests. As we continue to organize locally to demand that our schools prioritize the needs of the campus community and broader public over the needs of a privileged few, tell the UC Regents to stop attacking public education and working people!
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): UC Regents 2009
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THE LETTER:
Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to the University of California Board of Regents.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: In Defense of Public Education
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
We write in support of University of California system workers, students, and faculty that are currently protesting the proposed fee increase for students and the cuts and reductions that have already been made to the workforce and faculty.




We urge you to follow recommendations provided to you by unions for alternate budget decisions that would save hundreds of millions of dollars in potential savings. It is reprehensible that students have been arrested for standing up for these basic values. The UC Regents have a responsibility to make decisions for the interest and needs of the larger public in the University of California system. We support the following demands:
1. Lower Student Fees.
2. Stop the Privatization of Public Schools.
3. Defend the Right to Quality Higher Education.
Prioritize funding to public education.
a) Provide budget transparency, provide transparency in the decision making process, allow for an independent audit of the UC budget, and implement progressive budget solutions.
b) Maintain our resources, including weekend library access.
c) Maintain comprehensive, critical, and culturally representative educational excellence.
d) Stop cuts to Humanities, Social Sciences and Ethnic Studies.
e) Cut funding for war. No military recruitment on our campuses
.f) Tax the rich and prioritize funding in the public interest.
4. Stop the Resegregation of Public Education. Ensure access and diversity in higher education.
a) Increase underrepresented minority student enrollment.
b) Provide full scholarships for AB540 Students.
c) No ICE/UCPD collaboration on our campuses.
d) Expand the Blue and Gold Opportunity Program to ensure access for low-income students.
e) Allocate funds for recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority students.
5. Respect Workers' Rights and Contracts
a) Reverse the layoffs, protect vital services, and stop pay cuts for the lowest paid workers.
b) Stop the union busting and bargain in good faith.
c) No furloughs for workers who make $40,000 or less.
d) No ICE/UCPD collaboration on UC campuses.
Sincerely,

AMERICAN LABOUR-CALIFORNIA:

THE TERMINATOR STRIKES AGAIN:

Once more (for the third time) California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has "terminated" a bill that would have given greater organizing rights to farm workers in the state of California. It seems that Conan has been bought off by Hyrkanian gold. Here's the story and the further appeal from the United Farm Workers.

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Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoes UFW's SB789:
We need to share some very disappointing news with you. Late yesterday, California Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB789.

We are disappointed, but we are not surprised. It has unfortunately become very clear that the governor has no idea what it is like to work in the fields as a farm worker.

His decision to veto SB789 emphasizes the deep disconnection between his words and the reality that hundreds of thousands of farm workers have to endure every day while harvesting the fruits and vegetables that feed America. The governor says he knows that farm workers are subjected to sexual harassment, heat illness, abuses and intimidation at the workplace. He has acknowledged this problem and promised to change the situation.

Yet, again and again, he has failed to protect farm workers. Instead, he continues to support employers who are responsible for at least 95% of the reported violations during union election campaigns.
Please take a moment and send a message to Governor Schwarzenegger and let him know how disappointed you are.
http://www.ufwaction.org/ct/HdzuCuF1ha17/takeaction

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

ALALALALALALAL

I am deeply disappointed in you. You have talked many times about protecting farm workers from the abuses in the fields. However, every time you have a chance to make a difference in their lives, you have chosen to veto the bill that can protect them--and instead protect agribusiness.

Your decision to veto SB789 emphasizes the deep disconnection between your words and the reality. You are aware of the abuses that hundreds of thousands of farm workers have to endure every day while harvesting California's fruits and vegetables. You know that farm workers are subjected to sexual harassment, heat illness, abuses and intimidation at the workplace. You've acknowledged this problem and promised to change the situation.

Yet, again and again, you have failed to protect farm workers. Instead, you continue to support employers who are responsible for at least 95% of the reported violations during union election campaigns.

I'm tired of your excuses. You know the laws on the books are not the laws in the fields and that the only recourse for farm workers to protect themselves would have been through the collective bargaining process as provided for in SB789.

Your hypocrisy is a deep disappointment.

AMERICAN LABOUR-CALIFORNIA:

TELL RITE-AID TO DO RIGHT:

The following appeal is from the American Rights at Work Coalition, and it's about the stubborn anti-union tactics of the American pharmacy chain Rite-Aid. Workers at their warehouse in Lancaster California have unionized, but the company has continued to stall and pig-headedly refuses to bargain in good faith. Here's the story and appeal from the American Rights at Work group.

ALALALALALALAL
Tell Rite Aid: it's personal:‏
Tell Rite Aid: You're right, it's personal.
Rite Aid’s workers won an uphill battle to form their union, but now Rite Aid has delayed their negotiations for over a year.

You can help Rite Aid workers fight back.
Tell CEO Mary Sammons to stop delaying union negotiations.

You've seen it on TV. Smiling customers, happy employees, and the slogan: "Rite Aid. With us, it's personal."

Well here's what we take personally...

Rite Aid's employees faced a campaign of misinformation and intimidation for trying to form a union. After two years, they finally formed their union, but the company has stalled contract negotiations for over a year.

Rite Aid employees have been working non-stop to get their company to do the right thing, But they need our help to break this damaging stalemate.

Let's make it impossible for Rite Aid to ignore their workers any longer: Write CEO Mary Sammons right now.

Here's what's happening...

Rite Aid employees in Lancaster, CA, decided they wanted to form a union to improve working conditions, like sweltering heat in their warehouse. Rite Aid's response was to oppose the union. Workers reported they were threatened and intimidated, and some were even fired for supporting the union!

The federal government stepped in and prepared to charge Rite Aid with 49 labor law violations. But because Congress hasn't yet passed protections like the Employee Free Choice Act, Rite Aid has been able to repeatedly break the law, facing little more than a slap on the wrist.

The workers thought they finally had prevailed in March 2008 when they successfully voted to form a union. But Rite Aid refused to negotiate seriously with them, instead bringing in a notorious anti-union consulting firm to try and fight the workers!

These workers are paying the price for Rite Aid's delay tactics every day. Please, tell Rite Aid execs to bargain fairly with their workers!

American Rights at Work is pulling out all the stops to enact the Employee Free Choice Act, which would hold companies accountable for anti-union tactics like these. But until we pass that law, Rite Aid workers will need your help.
Thanks for all that you do.
Sincerely,
Liz, Manny, Elizabeth B. and the American Rights at Work team

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The Letter:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to Rite Aid management.

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As a consumer who cares about working people, I am deeply troubled by reports that Rite Aid has used stalling tactics in its contract negotiations with workers at its distribution center in Lancaster, CA.

Interfering with workers' attempts to improve their lives and working conditions is wrong. Rite Aid has received big tax breaks, and promised good jobs, to locate in Lancaster. The public expects better.

I want Rite Aid to immediately reach an agreement with its workers. This is very important to me as a consumer. While I have heard things have improved somewhat thanks to their efforts and to the help of a mediator, I'm deeply disappointed that it has gone on for this long.

I plan to share the news of Rite Aid's treatment of its workers with my friends, co-workers, and members of the community. Your workers deserve to have a voice at work, and I firmly believe that they will use that voice to make the company better.

Again, I urge you to immediately reach a first union contract with your workers in Lancaster.
Respectfully,

AMERICAN LABOUR-CALIFORNIA:

DON'T FAST TRACK METHYL IODIDE:

The following appeal is for solidarity with California farmworkers who may be exposed to the potentially dangerous fumigant methyl iodide if the California authorities "fast track" its approval. The appeal is from the United Farm Workers.

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TAKE ACTION: Chemical industry urges CA governor to ignore science:
We've written to you before about methyl iodide. Thousands of UFW supporters have written to California authorities and begged them to do the right thing and refuse approval of this deadly, mutagenic compound.

This highly toxic new pesticide is currently being given a comprehensive review by the Department of Pesticide Regulations and the agency's registration decision is pending advice from a panel of scientists convened specifically to review this chemical.

However, according to inside sources, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being pressured by corporate interests to fast-track registration of this toxic pesticide--despite serious concerns from the state's own scientists at the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR).
"Methyl iodide is so toxic that scientists working with it in the laboratory take extreme precautions when handling it, using a ventilation hood, gloves, and special equipment for transferring it so it does not escape to the air," notes Dr. Susan Kegley. "This degree of protection is not possible in an agricultural setting where the pesticide would be applied at rates of 175 pounds per acre in the open air. Buffer zones of 400 feet for a 40-acre fumigation would still result in a dose of methyl iodide to neighbors that is 375 times higher than DPR believes is acceptable. For workers, the numbers are much worse, with exposures estimated at 3,000 times higher than DPR's acceptable dose for some tasks."

Methyl iodide's manufacturer, Arysta, withdrew its New York application for registration after state officials raised concerns about groundwater contamination and potential exposure for workers, bystanders and nearby residents--especially children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Now the industry is asking California's governor to order DPR to fast track the registration of this deadly fumigant. This is not acceptable. Please take action and tell the Governor to keep methyl iodide of California's fields.

http://www.ufwaction.org/ct/YpzuCuF1wBaN/takeaction

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
I am writing to urge you to allow science and public process to take their due course in the review of methyl iodide, a dangerous new fumigant pesticide.

California's Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is currently weighing the public health risks associated with registering methyl iodide as a soil fumigant in California. DPR's plans include convening an independent Scientific Review Panel -- a critical step to ensure scientific integrity of the decision.

Methyl iodide is a known carcinogen and prone to drift. It has no appropriate place as a new chemical in California agriculture--one of the largest agricultural states in the U.S.
Bush's USEPA registered this chemical last year despite serious concerns from environmentalists, farm workers, rural residents and a group of over 50 eminent scientists, including five Nobel Laureates. These scientists expressed profound concern for the health of people living near methyl iodide application sites--especially pregnant women, farm workers, children and the elderly.

However, this is no excuse for California to bow to the pressure of agribusiness and introduce a new pesticide to our environment. There is overwhelming evidence of potential harm from exposure to this pesticide--a chemical so toxic that scientists take precautions to use methyl iodide in a ventilation hood in very small quantities. In contrast, if registered as a soil fumigant, methyl iodide would be applied in agricultural fields at rates up to 175 pounds per acre. Since fumigants spread as a gas, they drift from the application site, poisoning neighboring residents and farm workers in nearby fields.

California needs to follow the example of New York where Methyl iodide's manufacturer, Arysta, withdrew its application for registration after state officials raised concerns about groundwater contamination and potential exposure for workers, bystanders and nearby residents--especially children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Methyl iodide is a clear threat to public health, could contaminate groundwater, and is not needed to build a secure, viable and healthy agricultural economy in California. We strongly urge you to not fast-track the registration of methyl iodide. Instead allow DPR's process that incorporates independent scientific review and public input to proceed as planned.
Thank you.

AMERICAN LABOUR:

IN MEMORY OF AUDON FELIX:

The following appeal from the United Farm Workers is a personal one. It's from the niece of Audon Felix who died of heat stroke on February 9, 2008. She adds her voice to others who support the UFW in their campaign to support legislation in the California Assembly that will make it easier for farm workers to organize and thereby prevent future tragedies.

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Request from Alma Felix on the anniversary of the heat death of her uncle:
Nearly a year ago I remember sitting at my parents’ dining room table. We had just finished having an early dinner when my mom, dad and myself began talking about the Felix brothers and sisters. (How ironic, right?) We were talking about where everyone was now and what had become of the family after the tragic death of my grandfather who had been killed by a hit and run accident. The phone began to ring and none of us had bothered to pick it up since we were so in depth into our conversation.

It's very rare that I pick up my parents’ home phone...but on this particular day that the phone kept ringing. I picked it up. On the other end was my uncle Raudel, whom we had not spoken to in years.

He asked to speak to my mom and after talking to him for a couple of minutes he broke the news to me about my uncle Audon being in the hospital. A minute later he confessed my uncle had just passed.

How could I tell my mom that one of her baby brother had just passed? How did I become the one to break this news to her? I gave her the news of what seemed to be the most dreadful conversation I've ever had with my mother and right then and there IT HIT ME THAT I HAD LOST MY FAVORITE UNCLE...the one who helped raised me while my mother would be at work, the one who would pick me up from school and the one to always give me my "domingo" because I WAS his favorite little niece.

That same day I looked up information about my uncle's death and noticed that the UFW had immediately began with providing information to the public. I e-mailed the UFW to thank them for what they had begun to do. For that MY FAMILIA and I thank you ALL tremendously for what you have done, not only for my uncle, but for those who have died a preventable death.

Thank you all for reaching out to us in a very personal level and know that this has helped us with dealing with my uncle's death. I have made it now my personal mission to educate those who I cross paths with because I have learned that by educating/informing one person I have reached five!The UFW is working on a bill that would give farm workers like my uncle a voice in the fields. It could help stop more preventable heat deaths like my uncle’s so other families don’t have to suffer like ours. The bill SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers passed the Assembly appropriations last week. It can soon be voted on by the full Assembly and then go to CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Governor has talked a lot about how he cares about this issue, but his actions have not shown it. Farm workers like my uncle are dying due to heat. Violations of safety laws--like water and shade--in the fields occur way too much. It has to change. I can't bear the thought of more families dealing with what we had to.

Please help. Send CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger an e-mail today and tell him to pass this bill. GRACIAS for all that you've done!Alma Felix & Familia

http://www.ufwaction.org/ct/2dzuCuF1LQzT/takeaction

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THE LETTER:

Please go to the link above to send the following letter to California Governor Arnold Schwartenegger.

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It is simply unacceptable that 15 farm workers have died due to heat since the summer of 2004. We need your help to do more to prevent unnecessary deaths this year. Having laws on the books that are often unenforced is not enough. Please sign SB789, a bill that will give farm workers the power to protect themselves.

Today I join with the UFW and thousands of others to mourn the anniversary of the passing of Audon Felix Garcia, Ramiro Carillo Rodriguez, Salud Zamudio Rodriguez and Ramon Hernandez.

* Audon Felix Garcia, 42, died July 9, 2008 - Audon died while working for Sunview Vineyards in Arvin. After loading grapes in 108 degree temperatures, Audon and a coworker were driving the fruit to a cold storage facility when he collapsed. The co-worker called 911 but when the ambulance arrived, Audon was not breathing. He died at the hospital where his body temperature was recorded at 108 degrees. Audon was married and the father of 3 children.
* Ramiro Carrillo Rodriguez, 48, died July 10, 2008 - The father of two children, Ramiro picked nectarines for Sun Valley Packing in Reedley. After working all morning in temperatures that reached 112 degrees, he complained of feeling ill and was left to rest under a tree for two hours. Eventually the foreman took Ramiro home where he lost consciousness. "Why did no one run over to help him in an emergency?" asked his grieving sister Natividad. "Maybe his life could have been saved." Ramiro died on the way to the hospital.
* Salud Zamudio-Rodriguez, 42, died July 13, 2005 -Salud was stricken while laboring in the pepper fields near Arvin, CA, as he tried to keep pace with a work speed-up in 105 degree heat. On this day, the grower's foreman doubled the usual pace. A few minutes before his shift ended, Salud became delirious, began to shake violently and then walked up to his boss and collapsed.The boss tried to bring him around by fanning him with his hat. Salud was subsequently moved to some shade under an almond tree and workers insisted that an ambulance be called. It took 30 minutes for help to arrive but by then it was too late. "We watched him die in the field," said one of the workers who was there that day.
* Ramon Hernandez, 42, died July 14, 2005- Ramon's desiccated body was discovered in a melon field near the west Fresno County town of Huron in California's Central Valley.

Please support SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg). This important bill will make it easier for farm workers to organize and enforce the laws that California's government is not enforcing.

AMERICAN LABOUR-CALIFORNIA:

NEW 'HEAT PROTECTION' LEGISLATION FOR FARM WORKERS INSUFFICIENT:

The following story and appeal is from the United Farm Workers, and they are asking you to petition the California Legislature for legislation that actually does something to protect farm workers in that state who far too often suffer the 'ultimate penalty' of death due to heat stroke. The legislation that the UFW are asking for will make it easier for farm workers to organize and enforce the rules themselves, rules that that government agencies seem to be lax in applying.

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New Cal-OSHA heat regs still won't work
Tomorrow(yesterday actually due to Molly's tardiness) we mourn the one year anniversary of Jose Macarena Hernandez’ death due to extreme heat. A veteran field worker, Jose died during record-breaking heat while harvesting squash in Santa Maria. Temperatures that day reached 110 degrees. Jose was found in the outhouse, his body blistered from the heat.

As we mark the one year anniversary of Jose's death, we must look at what Governor Schwarzenegger and the state of California have done to prevent more needless deaths. Unfortunately, it is very little.

Last week, Cal-OSHA admitted that its regulations do not adequately protect farm workers from the heat. Then, yesterday, they proposed revised regulations.

Unfortunately it’s just a mirage. In reality, the Schwarzenegger administration is still failing to take adequate action to protect farm workers—after finding that employers weren’t complying with its weak regulation, the state gave them a bit more to comply with, but did nothing to:
***increase employers’ incentives to comply
***give workers a means to enforce the law themselves(NB !!!!-Molly)
***strengthen Cal-OSHA’s well-documented shortcomings, such as its inability to identify noncompliance, its failure to verify whether a violation has been remedied, and its disappointing record on penalty collection.

The state's own reports highlight its poor record. Despite an extensive campaign to train employers, the number of identified cases of non compliance were more in two weeks this year than they were in all of last year.

The new proposed heat regulations are full of exceptions and won’t protect the workers.
The state's failure to protect farm workers from heat illness is just one of the reasons farm workers need a system to protect themselves. It's why SB789 is so vital. SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg), will make it easier for farm workers to organize and help enforce the laws that California's government hasn’t enforced. SB789 passed the California State Senate on April 23. It will next be heard in the State Assembly and then go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Please take action today.
http://www.ufwaction.org/ct/e1zuCuF1DPKP/takeaction

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WHO WAS JOSE MACARERENA HERNANDEZ ?

It's often useful to attach the real person to the abstract event. What do the actions of employers mean in terms of actual people ? Here is the story of the man Jose from the UFW site, and the legislation (or lack thereof) that condemned him to death.

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Jose Macarena Hernandez
On June 20, 2008, sixty-four year-old Jose Macarena Hernandez died due to extreme heat, while harvesting squash in Santa Maria. He was working under 110-degree heat. He stopped to use the restroom and did not come out alive. Family members said Hernandez' body was blistered when it was discovered.

At a press conference before his funeral services, his niece, Maria Elena Curiel, expressed her frustration to a local TV station. "We have a lot of unanswered questions that no one has come forth. The employer has not contacted us to at least explain the situation, what was going on that day, was he not feeling well."

She went on to say, "We surely hope that he didn't suffer very long to the point where he was feeling all this going on with his body that he was cooking basically underneath this heat."
Examples of CA’s Flawed Enforcement and Farm Worker Protections:
Cal-OSHA does not have enough staff to protect farm workers:
* Cal-OSHA has only 187 safety and health compliance inspectors to inspect more than 1 million workplaces throughout the state and to protect some 17 million California workers, 650,000 of whom are farm workers. (The ratio would be impressive even if it were only farm workers-Molly)
Cal-OSHA under-inspects agricultural workplaces:
* In 2008, Cal-OSHA conducted only 750 agricultural inspections out of approximately 35,000 farms--many of whom use several labor contractors.
* Almost 40% of the farms inspected –289 companies– violated the Heat Illness Prevention regulation
Cal/OSHA does not verify whether violations it identifies have been fixed:
* Cal-OSHA spokesperson Dean Fryer recently admitted that it is “not unusual” for Cal-OSHA to fail to do return visits at companies where it has found violations to see if the violations were fixed.

Cal-OSHA regularly imposes no or absurdly low fines for violations of the heat regulations:
* Fines for heat violations that result in death average less than $10,000 and have even been as low as $250.
Cal-OSHA does not collect fines it imposes:
* In the much-publicized heat-related workplace death of 17-year-old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez in 2008, Cal-OSHA had already fined the employer, Merced Farm Labor, $2,250 in 2006 for serious occupational safety violations, but never collected the fine. (Atrocious but not unexpected; as the UFW say, the only real "guarantee" is for workers to be able to enforce the regulations themselves-Molly)
Profile of employer abuse:

* Employer YNT Harvesting was cited in 2007 for two serious safety violations when worker Eladio Hernandez died after picking peaches at the company, and was assessed $25,310 in penalties* After a settlement, Cal/OSHA deleted a serious violation and reduced the penalty to $7,310* Cal-OSHA cited YNT Harvesting again in August 2008

* YNT Harvesting has yet to pay any of its penalties.
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THE LETTER:

Here is the letter that the United Farm Workers would like you to send to the California State Assembly and the Governor of California.

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Dear Decision Maker,

California's 650,000 farm workers routinely toil in hard working conditions. They work long days in temperatures that regularly exceed 100 degrees all summer long. These workers are entitled to protection from workplace injury and death. California's heat regulations-including the new proposed regulations that you issued yesterday-- just don't do it.

I'm disappointed to see that the State of California has taken inadequate action to protect its workers. After finding that employers weren't complying with its weak regulation, the state gave them a bit more to comply with--but took no further action to take care of vital issues such as: increasing employers' incentives to comply, giving workers a means to enforce the law themselves, and fixing Cal-OSHA?s well-documented shortcomings--such as its inability to identify noncompliance, its failure to verify whether a violation has been remedied, and its' disappointing record on penalty collection.

The Schwarzenegger administration had repeatedly said that they would do something to protect farm workers. Despite these promises, employers continue to flout the law, without effective penalty.Eleven farm workers have suffered heat-related deaths since 2005, when California enacted its first emergency Heat Illness Prevention Regulation--six farm workers died last summer alone. Employers with as many as six heat regulation citations in three years are still not been considered repeat violators. Employers routinely avoid paying fines because the state fails to check to see whether the fines have been paid. Fines imposed, even in instances of worker heat-related death, have been as low as $250.

This must stop now--farm workers need tools with which to protect themselves.Please support SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg), which has passed the Senate and will next be heard in the Assembly. This important bill will make it easier for farm workers to organize and enforce the laws that California's government is not enforcing.

AMERICAN LABOUR:

THE TERMINATOR WIELDS AN AXE:

Arnie, Arnie, Arnie, how could you ? Seems that Governor Schwarzenegger of California wants to cut the wages of home care workers in that state down to $8/hour. This is less or equal to the minimum wage in many Canadian provinces. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is protesting these cuts, and they are asking you to add their voice to theirs. Here's the story and the appeal. Look out Arnie. "They'll be back".

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What happened when Gov. Schwarzenegger drove by?:‏
Earlier this week, thousands gathered outside the Capitol in Sacramento, California to protest the pending home care cuts.

As they listened to passionate pleas from pastors, workers and those who depend on their care, a limo drove by.

The car slowed and a backseat window rolled down ... A smug, cigar-chomping failed Governor peered out at the crowd.And when Governor Schwarzenegger looked, he was immediately met by chants of "stop the cuts! stop the cuts!"

Check out pictures from the 48-hour vigil in Sacramento and send your personal message to Gov. Schwarzengger telling him not to cut home care for the most fragile among us

http://action.seiu.org/homecarerally

When he heard the chants, the governor's limo sped away.

But he can't run from the fact that his misguided priorities have propelled California to the edge of insolvency.

Now, the Governor wants to cut the pay of the workers who help seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes down to $8 an hour. That could force thousands out of their own homes and into nursing homes, costing the state four times as much as in-home care!

Send a message to the Governor telling him his short-sighted policies will send California deeper into fiscal abyss.

http://action.seiu.org/homecarerally

We can win this fight, but it will take you lending a voice to the effort today.

Rock the boat,

Tim Tagaris

New Media Director,

SEIU

AMERICAN LABOUR:

TAKE ACTION ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF MARIA'S DEATH:

One year ago today 17 year old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez became another grim statistic in the all too frequent deaths of agricultural workers in the heat of California's fields. Today the United Farm Workers is asking that you remember her death by joining them in pressing the government of California to pass a bill removing some of the impediments to unionization of agricultural labourers in that state. Only strong unions can prevent such unnecessary deaths. Here is the UFW's appeal.

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Take action on the anniversary of Maria Isabel's heat death:
“Maria was a beautiful human being who came to this country with a lot of dreams and the desire to work hard and help her mom and younger siblings, but her dreams were cut short. A year after her passing, the best way to honor her is by making sure farm workers are protected and treated with dignity and respect.” --Doroteo Jimenez, uncle of 17 yr-old Maria Isabel, speaks at a Los Angeles area vigil commemorating Maria's life.(Video)

We want to tell you a story. We wish we could say this story is fictional. It isn't. It's a story of agribusinesses greed and indifference. It’s the story of a young girl whose life was lost before she even had a chance to start living it.

Yesterday, we marked the one year anniversary of when 17-year old Maria Isabel collapsed of heat stroke. The anniversary of her death is tomorrow on on May 16.

Maria collapsed while working for Merced Farm Labor in a vineyard owned by West Coast Grape Farming outside of Stockton, CA. Maria worked for nine hours in temperatures that reached 101 degrees. There was no water nearby. There was no shade.

After about 2 hours of delays, Maria was finally taken to a clinic. Her temperature upon arrival was 108.4 degrees. Maria's heart stopped six times in the next two days before she passed away. Doctors said if emergency medical help had been summoned or she had been taken to the hospital sooner, she might have survived. (click to read Maria's story.)

Governor Schwarzenegger came to her funeral and said words that gave workers hope: "Maria’s death should have been prevented, and all Californians must do everything in their power to ensure no other worker suffers the same fate. We have put in place employer regulations to prevent heat illness, and I cannot say strongly enough that they must be followed...There is no excuse for failing to protect worker safety."

Unfortunately, these were words, like the words said in movies. The state has finally filed charges in Maria's case. This is good. However, violations occur every day and little is done.

Complaints regarding lack of drinking water, shade and work breaks to make use of these simple but lifesaving measures are an everyday occurrence for farm workers (see worker stories). Last year five other farm workers died of heat-related causes after Maria's death.
It's why SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg) is so vital. This bill, will make it easier for farm workers to organize and help enforce the laws that California's government cannot enforce. SB789 passed the California state senate and will next be heard in the state assembly and then go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Please take action today and tell them to pass SB789, a bill that will give farm workers the power to protect themselves.

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to members of the California Assembly.

WWWWWWWWWW

Today I join with the UFW and thousands of others to mourn the passing of 17-year old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez who died one year ago. Maria collapsed on May 14 while working for Merced Farm Labor in a vineyard owned by West Coast Grape Farming outside of Stockton, CA. Maria worked for nine hours in temperatures that reached 101 degrees. There was no water nearby. There was no shade.

After about 2 hours of delays, Maria was finally taken to a clinic. Her temperature upon arrival was 108.4 degrees. Maria's heart stopped six times in the next two days before she passed away. Doctors said if emergency medical help had been summoned or she had been taken to the hospital sooner, she might have survived.

Maria's unnecessary death is not alone. Five other farm workers died of heat related illnesses last summer. Fifteen farm workers have died of heat-related complications since July 2004. The UFW will be conducting vigils on the anniversary of each of their death to keep the memory of these hard working men and women alive and to tell you that enough is enough--farm workers need a tool where they can protect themselves.

The state has finally filed charges in Maria's case. However, violations occur every day and nothing is done. Complaints regarding lack of drinking water, shade and work breaks to make use of these simple but lifesaving measures are an everyday occurrence for farm workers. Last year five other farm workers died of heat-related causes after Maria's death.

Please support SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg), which has passed the senate and will next be heard in the assembly. This important bill will make it easier for farm workers to organize and enforce the laws that California's government is not enforcing.

We need your help to do more to prevent unnecessary deaths from occurring this year. Having laws on the books that often are not enforced is not enough. Please pass SB789, a bill that will give farm workers the power to protect themselves.