‘Brutal’ trade-offs keep some South Bay farmworkers laboring in dangerous heat

As Cesilia Perez Lopez harvested cherries on the outskirts of Gilroy early this summer, the temperature in the field crawled into the 90s. She and her co-workers desperately needed water. But a jug carrying their supply had spilled earlier that day, and when she asked the foreman to replace the water he was supposed to provide, he ignored her, even as the farmworkers toiled through the mounting heat.

“We suffered that day because of the heat,” said Perez Lopez in Spanish. “It felt so terrible, I can’t explain it, like this feeling of desperation. … We could have died.”

This summer has been the hottest in the history of California, and as temperatures rise, farmworkers like Perez are at greater risk from the high heat, potentially leading to heat stroke, hospitalization and even death.

Even though the state mandates heat protections, many employers throughout the state aren’t taking the necessary precautions to protect their workers, and a culture of fear keeps some workers from speaking up when they are denied safety measures.  And, when employers do provide breaks and water, perverse incentives keep many on local farms working in dangerous conditions, creating a set of grim dilemmas that threaten to keep local farmworkers silent or working in the heat.

“The trade-offs are brutal,” said Matt Sparke, a geographer who studies health inequality at UC Santa Cruz. “And the risks are compounding on so many levels.”

In general, farmworkers are paid by the hour or by each box of fruit or vegetables that they pick. This means with every break, farmworkers are “losing out on money,” since they are not on the clock or picking.

Some will even forgo drinking water to avoid bathroom breaks, says Sparke, who is conducting focus groups with local farmers as part of a research project examining the effects of climate change on the health of local farmworkers. Bathrooms are often scarce or distant, so some decide to risk dehydration rather than lose precious time and income walking across the field to the bathroom or waiting in line.

While high heat can threaten anyone’s health, farmworkers can be particularly vulnerable as they are more likely to have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or respiratory issues — which can be worsened by exposure to pesticides and wildfire smoke, according to Sparke, and they often have limited access to health care and health insurance.

In theory, however, preventing heat-related workplace injuries is relatively straightforward: stay hydrated, take breaks and find ways to cool down. In fact, California  instituted heat protections for outdoor workers nearly two decades ago, and workers are now entitled to safety training, access to shade, water and mandated breaks above certain heat thresholds. However, inconsistent compliance and economic considerations by farmworkers make those protections weaker in practice.

Farmworkers, generally, earn low wages — with the median farmworker in California making $42,753, according to the California Employment Development Department. Many farmworkers hope to maximize their work during the growing season of about eight months, said Eloy Ortiz, Special Projects Manager for Regeneracion Pajaro Valley, a climate justice organization based in Watsonville. “There’s all this pressure to be in the fields, and once you’re in the field, you’re subjected to heat.”

Dehydration puts farmworkers at even greater health risk since sweat is among the main ways that the human body cools itself, and chronic dehydration can increase the risk of kidney stones or even kidney disease.

While most of the farmworkers interviewed by the Mercury News noted that they try to prioritize their health when they can, for others, the economic pressure is too great.

“Many don’t focus on their own health. They neglect themselves to try and support their families,” said Watsonville farmworker and public health student H. L. in Spanish, who asked that only her initials be used out of concern for privacy. “They can’t find that income anywhere else, so they keep working.”

Many reported working with employers who complied with the law, but several also noted that treatment varies widely.

Ernestina Solorio of Watsonville has worked in the fields since 1993, and says that while generally things have improved, she still has seen workers forced to work through the heat and getting sick in the fields, especially as temperatures rise. “It’s hotter than before … some days, the heat is unbearable,” said Solorio in Spanish.

In the cases when farmworkers are mistreated, many refuse to complain for fear of losing work or being deported.

Josefina Reyes picked berries in Watsonville for years and was one of a group of farmworkers working in the fields in the summer of 2020 when temperatures rose above 90 degrees. As Reyes and her co-workers feared for their health, she, her husband and others in the fields decided to go home. 

When she returned the next day, the foreman told her there was no work left for her or her husband. 

Reyes’ story illustrates why a 2022 study by UC Merced found that over one-third of farmworkers are unwilling to report a workplace violation, most for fear of retaliation.

Even when farmworkers do complain, many have trouble getting responses from regulators. When Perez Lopez called the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, to complain about her situation, she says she was directed to another office, who did not take up her complaint.

Cal/OSHA, which is tasked with enforcing regulations meant to keep workers safe, has struggled with striking staffing shortages, showing a 37% vacancy rate among enforcement positions, according to the most recent numbers released by the organization.

In an email response, a spokesperson for Cal/OSHA asserted that they aim to “ensure that all complaints are handled in a timely manner” and would “continue to ramp up … enforcement efforts” and “aggressively work to increase hiring.” They also noted that the division plans to expand enforcement by creating a new, dedicated agricultural unit.

Until then, a new bill by local state Senator Dave Cortese looks to skirt around current shortages. The bill, SB 1299, would help farmworkers receive workers’ compensation if they were injured, fell ill or died due to a heat-related incident. If an employer was not in compliance with heat safety law, any heat-related injury would be assumed to be work-related, though employers could dispute that presumption.

While the bill could help speed up and ease the workers’ comp process, advocates for the bill hope it also works as a preventative. If employers comply with laws, they benefit by avoiding workers’ compensation claims, which can cost employers money by driving up insurance premiums, argued Cortese.

“It’s both a carrot and a stick,” said Cortese. “We don’t want the illness. We don’t want the death. All we want is these guys to comply with the 19-year-old (heat) statute.”

However, Bryan Little, Employment Policy Director for the California Farm Bureau, argues that it is “difficult at best” to prove that an employer is in compliance, noting that some insurers already process workers’ comp claims related to heat, and questioning why the law applies to farmworkers and not all outdoor workers.

“This is probably applying the wrong solution to the problem,” said Little. “I think compliance is pretty comprehensive, and you’ll see that if you go out and talk to employers.”

Currently, the bill has passed the State Senate and has moved to the Assembly, and was approved this month by the Appropriations Committee. 

At the local level, advocates favor “know your rights” training for farmworkers, and Sparke is partnering with local advocacy groups to create and provide legal resources and educational materials about how to safely navigate higher heat and other threats from a changing climate.

Cortese admits that the legislation will not fix the problem overnight, but argues that the bill is urgent. “This is about as close to emergency legislation as you can get,” he said. “This is not meant to be any kind of final solution or a silver bullet. This is trying to reduce harm right now.”