Host Michelle Marques talks with Davin Cardenas, Director of Organization at North Bay Jobs with Justice, and Anabel Garcia, farmworker and activist. North Bay Jobs with Justice are working to standardize a fair plan to protect farmworkers during emergencies, specifically during devastating fires that threaten vineyards and important harvests. They have developed a plan called Five for Farmworkers, with the following goals:
- Language Justice - emergency information and training should be provided in workers' first languages including indigenous languages
- Disaster Insurance - should farmworkers not be able to work due to wildfire, they should receive assistance to cover lost wages. Wineries currently get financial assistance from the federal government during these big emergencies, but they are not required to pass any of it along to farmworkers
- Community Safety Observers - when farmworkers are required to work during a wildfire, there should be observers there to make sure health and safety protocols are being followed
- Premium Hazard Pay - if a farmworker is asked to work in an evacuation zone, in smoky conditions, near a wildfire, or in extreme heat, that farmworker should get adequate compensation
- Clean Bathrooms and Water - fires drop ash into the air and it gets on everything, quickly making portable toilets dirty. Farmworkers should always have access to clean bathrooms and water, but especially during smoky conditions prevalent during wildfires
Sonoma County does not currently have a comprehensive plan for farmworker protections during wildfires, and that is why Davin and Anabel are having this conversation today to get the community talking and working on a plan that takes care of the entire community, especially those on the front line who are protecting valuable crops from being lost to wildfires and smoke.
Learn more about Community Action Partnership Sonoma County at capsonoma.org
