The toll has increased yet again:
BAKERSFIELD — Maria de Jesus Alvarez, 63 has become the latest victim of this summer’s deadly heat.
Alvarez had been picking table grapes for Anthony Vineyards and was employed through farm labor contractor Manuel Torres during the afternoon of July 15. She began feeling ill and went home. According to witnesses, she was working in a crew of 150 workers and they had no shade nor had they received training in heat stroke prevention and precautions as mandated by state law…
“Once again we must bury another farm worker, who died needlessly and all because a criminal grower and labor contractor did not respect and honor the importance of the life of a farm worker,” said UFW President Arturo S. Rodriguez. “We ask Gov. Schwarzenegger when this black summer will end.”
Take action: tell Governor Schwarzenegger it’s time for the state of California to enforce its laws providing protection from the heat for farmworkers. It’s a message he needs to act on before any more workers die in California’s fields.
UPDATE (August 13): Re-reading this post, I realize that the headline isn’t as clear as it should be. Maria is the fifteenth farmworker to die of heat stroke since Governor Schwarzenegger took office; she’s the sixth to die in the fields this summer. My apologies for any confusion.
Also, on Daily Kos, diarist TomP is covering this story:
Yet another has fallen, a 63 year old woman, working in the fields. Would people ignore her death if this were their mother or grandmother? She’s somebody’s mom and somebody’s grandmother. She has value in herself. We all do and this should not happen to anyone.