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Emergency Preparedness Should Include Everybody!

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Written by barb howe Thursday, 21 August 2008 17:21

hurricane supplies.jpgAs Tropical Storm Fay floods my home state of Florida, the Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) paper has a timely story about the dangers to non-English speaking populations when language barriers impede people's access to emergency information.

Farmworker Justice works to prevent illness and injury in migrant farmworker communities.  Our work on health and safety issues covers many areas from training community organizations in how to adapt HIV prevention programs to fit the needs of migrant communities to providing pesticide safety trainings for farmworkers.  We are also trying to make emergency preparedness measures more accessible.

Do you know what to do in case of a natural disaster?  Where to go for assistance with food, housing, unemployment insurance?  How does your immigration status affect your access to these things?  Does not having your papers mean you're on your own?

Well, Farmworker Justice is pleased to announce that now there are brochures specifically targeted to immigrant populations that can answer these very questions.  We have just published the following three brochures in English and Spanish:


Many factors contribute to isolating farmworking families: language, migration, poverty, living in rural areas.  The cost of this isolation in terms of health and safety issues can be high.  It doesn't have to be.  We can help.


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Heat Related Illnesses 100% Preventable

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Written by Bruce Goldstein Monday, 04 August 2008 16:27

The Los Angeles Times published an op-ed by California Rural Legal Assistance criticizing the state government and employers for allowing 6 farmworkers to die of heat stress this year.  All of these deaths were preventable.

We need to change the mindset of this nation regarding farmworkers.  Farmworkers are not beasts of burden.

California state law contains stronger protections for workers in the fields than does federal law.  Recent deaths among farmworkers in North Carolina could have been averted.  Federal law needs to change. But extra protections are useless if they are not enforced.  The government and employers need to make a commitment to prevent heat from taking the health and lives of the people who put fruits and vegetables on our table.



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Two more farmworkers die from heat

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Written by barb howe Thursday, 10 July 2008 20:30


If you are in California, you might want to join the UFW campaign to pressure Gov. Schwarzenegger to take action.



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Autopsy Report Confirms Heat Stroke Diagnosis

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Written by barb howe Thursday, 19 June 2008 18:05

The autopsy report released yesterday (June 18th) by the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office confirmed that Maria Isabel, the 17 year old farmworker who collapsed in a California vineyard last May died of "heat stroke/sun stroke due to occupational environmental exposure".  Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.  You can download the complaint here.  Marcos Camacho who is on Farmworker Justice's Board of Directors is one of the lawyers representing Maria's family.

 

 FJ Report: Heat Related Illness: An Occupational Health Concern for Farmworkers

 

In other health news, the California State Department of Managed Health Care announced the funding of a new program to help health care providers obtain better access to the health records of migrant farmworkers so that when they travel, their health records travel with them.  


 



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