Lots of meta, lots of anger, lots of real issues dealing with speech and a privately owned blog that indirectly depends on readership for income. Plenty of diaries for that.
I want to talk about something else. The action I ask for here can help save lives. Dramatic? Yes. But true.
Let's go back to last year. On May 16, 2008, a 17 year old farmworker, Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, died in the California fields from the heat and lack of water. At least five other California farm workers died last summer from the heat. Here is a list of those who fell in the fields in 2008:
August 2, 2008: Maria de Jesus Alvarez
July 31, 2008: Jorge Herrera
July 9, 2008: Ramiro Carrillo Rodriguez
July 9, 2008: Abdon Felix Garcia
June 20, 2008: Jose Macrena Hernandez
May 17, 2008: Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez
Fifteen farm workers have died of heat-related complications since July 2004.
How we can help prevent more deaths this year, after the fold.
Doroteo Jimenez, an uncle of Maria Isabel, spoke at a Los Angeles area vigil commemorating Maria's life last week:
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."
These deaths are why why SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers must be passsed and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill will make it easier for farm workers to organize and help enforce the laws that California's government cannot enforce. Where the union is strong, water is available and the legally mandated heat breaks happen. It literally is a matter of life and death.
SB789 passed the California state senate and will next be heard in the state assembly and then go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Please sign the letter:
Take action on the anniversary of Maria Isabel's heat death
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.
Si, Se Puede!
You can learn more details about this continuing tragedy in these diaries I wrote last year:
Yesterday we mourned, Today we act, Tomorrow we will gain justice. Sí se puede!
Sixth Farm Worker Dies from the Heat this Summer in California. A Call for Action.
Another Farm Worker dies. Does anyone give a damn? The Netroots Do.
United Farm Workers Calls for Manslaughter Charges Against Company in Death of 17 Year Old
How many Farmworkers must die before someone cares??
Please Tell Fallen Farm Worker's Family We Care
"How much is the life of a farm worker worth? Is it less than the life of any other human being?"
Please sign the letter.
Take action on the anniversary of Maria Isabel's heat death
If you get time later, this short documentary made late last summer is worth watching. It's 20 minutes long. California’s Harvest of Shame is narrated by Speaker Emeritus Nunez, himself the son of a migrant farm worker, and includes a prologue and epilogue by actor and activist Martin Sheen.
California's Harvest of Shame from California Assembly Access on Vimeo.