Angelica Santibanez

Raleigh, NC- Thursday, November 05, 2020– Workers and members of the Farmworker Advocacy Network (FAN) will gather at Bicentennial Plaza in Raleigh, NC to commemorate the lives of farmworkers and poultry and meat processing workers who have died from COVID-19. An altar will be assembled and community members will be invited to lay down an item to honor those who have perished. There will also be large Day of the Dead puppets.

The event will also feature farmworkers and poultry workers speaking about their experiences on the job and about the health and safety risks they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers will call on the North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDOL) to accept a recent rule-making petition that would protect workers during the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. The rule-making petition calls on NCDOL to put an end to dangerous conditions, saying that the current voluntary guidance for workplaces is insufficient in protecting workers who are on the frontlines of the pandemic.

This event and the submission of the rule-making petition to NCDOL comes at a crucial time for farmworkers and meat and poultry processing workers. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 71,000 farm, food-processing, and meatpacking workers have fallen ill with COVID-19 – more than 5,000 in North Carolina alone. Due to lack of transparency regarding the number of cases the exact number is unknown. NCDOL has received roughly 1,000 complaints from workers who report their employers are not taking adequate precautions to protect them from COVID-19. In all but a handful of instances, NCDOL has closed these cases and done nothing more than send the employer a letter outlining best practices and offering guidance. Experts now warn that COVID-19 cases in meatpacking plants may rise again this winter. Farmworkers will continue to work in Western North Carolina until the end of this year, more will arrive in the Spring of 2021. Seasonal workers live in North Carolina year-round with their families. Now is a critical time to protect workers and public health.

“Lack of action from the government has resulted in thousands of Latinx workers testing positive for the virus. Many have died. Employers could provide basic protections for their workers, but many choose not to do so. Our lives are not disposable. There should be consequences for those who ignore our safety and the wellbeing of our families. We call on NCDOL to take action,” said “Alicia Soriano”,  a farmworker and community leader with the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry. 

“Too many workers in North Carolina’s food system have died from COVID-19. These deaths could have been prevented if the NCDOL would have done more to hold companies accountable for their lack of  protection of workers against exposure to COVID-19. The NCDOL has an opportunity to adapt an emergency rule that will ensure workers receive the protections they deserve,” said Bacilio Castro, an organizer with the Western NC Workers’ Center. 

What: Call to action and remembrance of farmworkers and meatpacking workers

When: 5:30 – 6:30pm on Thursday, Nov. 5th, 2020

Where: Bicentennial Plaza, Raleigh, NCSpeakers: Representatives from Western NC Worker’s Center, Eposical Farmworker Ministry, and workers from the farm and poultry worker community, The Rev. Daniel Dario Robayo Hidalgo, Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries at the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and a health outreach worker.

RALEIGH, N.C. — More than 120 labor, farm, environmental, faith and civil rights groups representing millions of people in North Carolina and across the country sent a letter (here in Spanish) today to Governor Roy Cooper, Secretary Cohen, Commissioner Berry, and Commissioner Troxler calling for immediate, comprehensive COVID-19 protections for essential workers in the food supply chain.

More than 3,000 North Carolina workers in meatpacking plants alone have contracted COVID-19, and hundreds of complaints to state health officials have gone unanswered. Despite initially promising a group of Latinx worker advocates that he would issue an executive order protecting workers, Governor Cooper has failed to take action to address this dire situation.

“Workers in North Carolina’s food supply chain face health risks every day this crisis continues, but they show up to do their jobs anyway,” said Edna Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA, one of the organizations delivering the letter. “Workers are essential members of our community. They are our family, friends, and neighbors. Governor Cooper needs to do his job and keep his promise to issue an executive order to protect these workers.”

The open letter calls on the state to adopt an emergency standard to protect workers by enforcing requirements for fundamental safety measures such as physical distancing, improved ventilation, personal protective equipment, COVID-19 screening and transparent reporting about cases of COVID-19.

“Because of the fear, we all got sick and we didn’t know what to do. We were scared to speak up because if it was the virus, they would send us back to Mexico,” says a fieldworker from eastern NC who has requested to remain anonymous out of fear for retaliation. “And the truth is that many of us had symptoms, but we didn’t do anything. They didn’t give us masks or any protection on the job … they never tested us. We felt forgotten.”

“Learning about other workers falling ill or even dying around them but not receiving information, care, or benefits can be deadly for workers. The financial pressures they face arriving in the US in debt and the constant fear of retaliation by their employer for causing upheaval may result in their silence despite being sick,” said Lariza Garzon, Executive Director of the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, “To merely offer guidance during this crisis, as opposed to issuing actual, enforceable base-level requirements, is to ignore the inherent imbalance of power endemic to industries with workers most at risk. We need action now.”

“In times of crisis, we need leaders and leadership requires a moral compass, which means that we actually have to care for our fellow human beings,” said Rev. Fred Clarkson, the Spanish Language Ministry Coordinator of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina. “Secondly, we also need clarity — there is no dichotomy between the economy and people’s lives. Dead people don’t support economies, living people do. Also, there isn’t a segmentation. If certain people get sick, eventually we will all get sick.”

A family member of North Carolina poultry processing workers says, “My mother was infected at this plant because it didn’t have the necessary precautions. There was no protection, they didn’t require masks, and everyone worked shoulder-to-shoulder … then, when my mother returned to work, everything was the same. They said that they had implemented security measures, and sure, they were checking people’s temperatures when they entered, but everything inside was the same. Everyone was working shoulder- to-shoulder.”

Anna Jensen, Coordinator of the Farmworker Advocacy Network, states, “Since the beginning of this deadly pandemic, North Carolina has prioritized corporate profits and industry relationships over the health of our food workers, their families, and our communities. This must end today. We’re calling on state leaders to take immediate action to protect workers who put their lives on the line while sustaining North Carolina’s largest industries and our food supply.”

North Carolina’s field and food processing workers face many barriers to accessing essential services, especially during times of emergency. Agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable in times like these because of isolation, language barriers, lack of transportation, and lack of connection to services in the community.

The NC Farmworker Advocacy Network (ncfan.org) asks you to join us in urging Governor Cooper to take critical action in support of one of our state’s most vulnerable and essential workforces – agricultural workers, so that these workers can be safe and continue to provide the necessary food and agricultural products on which our communities and state economy depends.

• Provide migrant farmworkers with access to healthcare services and other resources.
• Ensure migrant agricultural workers are not put at risk in their employer-provided housing.
• Ensure agricultural workers are able to protect themselves from exposure while working.
• Protect workers who get sick from retaliation. 
• Ensure H-2A farmworkers are able to enroll in the ACA, ensure Spanish interpretation for health information, and provide adequate PPE for healthcare workers serving agricultural workers. 

The agricultural community is one that is often overlooked and excluded from protections, so making sure their needs are considered in our state’s emergency planning is critical. By listing your organization, you agree to have your organization identified on this petition that we will share with Governor Cooper. You can also sign as an individual. If you would like to read the full letter to Governor Cooper, click here.

Signatures

Dear Governor Cooper and Secretary Cohen,

Thank you for your letter responding to the Farmworker Advocacy Network’s (FAN) March 31, 2020 letter asking the state to take urgent action to protect agricultural workers in North Carolina from COVID-19. We are disappointed with the response and that you did not meet with us to discuss our concerns.  During the two months between when we sent our letter and you responded, thousands of farmworkers arrived in North Carolina and outbreaks started happening at migrant labor camps. 

In our letter we acknowledged that NC DHHS has published helpful guidance for migrant housing providers and agricultural employers but expressed our concern that this unenforceable guidance was not sufficient to protect our state’s agricultural workforce.  It is frustrating, therefore, that your response to us simply directed our attention back to this guidance.  

Agricultural workers experience high levels of wage theft and other workplace violations even when there are legal requirements in place. Migrant farmworkers are one of the most marginalized and isolated groups of essential workers in the state, predominantly people of color and non-English speaking immigrants. They cannot count on their employers and housing providers to voluntarily comply with guidance to take the necessary steps to protect their health during this pandemic and they lack the power to insist such guidance is followed themselves.

There are additional concerns that FAN members have witnessed over the last few months that we think it is important for your offices to understand.

Barriers to testing and follow-up care

• Some employers are refusing to provide transportation for workers to get tested and/or get medical care. Outreach workers are not equipped to transport symptomatic workers to get tested and/or medical care. They have not been able to get medical providers to go to migrant labor camps to do large-scale testing.  Some camps have more than 80 people living in them and it makes more sense to bring the testing to them.
• Some hospitals / health departments are refusing to test farmworkers, even when they are identified as being on the NC DHHS priority list due to their congregate living settings. Some workers have had to travel to other counties in order to get tested. Workers have been turned away from hospitals when seeking testing after 5:00 p.m. when most community clinics in rural farmworker areas are closed.
• Some hospitals / health departments are not asking patients about the type of work they do or their housing, which means they are most likely not following relevant reporting protocols or guidance and thus leading to an undercount of infected farmworkers.
• Some hospitals / health departments are refusing to test multiple people in one household if one person is COVID-positive, which means that household members who are presumed positive but work in different locations may not trigger needed isolation or quarantine measures.
• Tests can cost as much as $350, which is unaffordable to farmworkers.
• There is a lack of interpretation available both when seeking diagnosis and in follow-up.

Worker fear and confusion

• Many H-2A workers do not want to report their symptoms or get tested because they are afraid that if it comes back positive it will cause trouble for their employer by triggering a  requirement for a large portion of the labor camp to be isolated and because they fear they will be singled out and face retaliation.  Some workers report considering abandoning their own employment rather than be the worker responsible for creating upheaval and risking their family members’ and co-workers’ jobs with the same employer.
• Workers are reporting that, even if they have symptoms, they hide them and work anyway because they cannot afford to miss a day’s worth of income. Employers are not paying sick leave when needed. The language the workers hear from their employers about the pandemic is threatening rather than reassuring.  The message is that if someone in the labor camp gets sick, everyone is going to lose work and income. Employers, of their own volition, are not addressing any worker misinformation or fear. We are not aware of any agricultural employer group or association that has published a public statement in Spanish reassuring workers that they are eligible for paid COVID-19 leave, and will not face reprisal in North Carolina for reporting symptoms, seeking care, or following a doctor’s orders related to COVID-19 to combat these dangerous fears and messaging.
• Some workers have a false sense of security about being safe from coronavirus because they have not heard of many farmworkers getting sick. While other workers report hearing rumors about workers who got sick, sought care, and were never seen again – leading to more insecurities and fear. The lack of public data available regarding farmworkers and COVID-19 at labor camps and their agricultural work sites reinforces these dangerous narratives. There are so many small agricultural employers, growers and farm labor contractors, that are breaking rules and need more oversight. Many workers report that they are not being provided any sort of PPE and are unable to physically distance while working and traveling between their work sites and their homes.

Recommendations

We continue to encourage the Governor to address the concerns and implement the recommendations from our March 31 letter. Below are additional recommendations based on what we have witnessed over the last two months. 

1. Issue an Executive Order, as has been done by governors of other states including Wisconsin and Michigan, to make compliance with public health guidelines such as those developed by NC DHHS mandatory and enforceable. North Carolina has the 6^th largest farmworker population in the nation, yet we have not taken measures to protect this significant workforce. Farmworkers, agricultural employers and migrant housing providers need to have requirements instead of guidelines in order to motivate them to comply with NC DHHS, OSHA and CDC guidance. Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 131 established required policies for retail establishments.  Agricultural workers need at least as much protection as retail workers. 

2. It is urgent that more accurate and transparent information about the number of COVID-19 positive cases associated with migrant farmworker housing and agricultural worksites is collected and shared.  Based on reports from FAN members, we believe that there are outbreaks at more than 30 farms in 25 counties, including at a migrant labor camp that has capacity to house close to 500 workers.  For the reasons mentioned above about lack of access to testing and reluctance to get tested, we believe the number of camps and worksite with unconfirmed COVID-19 cases is much higher. The current reporting on the NC DHHS COVID dashboard is not adequate both because it is simply reporting on a point in time, but also because by limiting the reporting only to migrant labor camps with more than 10 people and to cases that originated in the labor camps, it is not broad enough to demonstrate the real magnitude of the problem. As a result, stories about farmworkers actually getting tested, seeking care and benefits, surviving quarantine and returning to work, and not getting fired are not normalized.  Additionally, without this information, health care providers and advocates cannot safely assist workers to overcome misinformation and barriers to care and testing in their service areas.  The congregate living data should include reporting specific to migrant housing and NC DHHS should be reporting more broadly about total agricultural worksites affected and worker cases beyond the congregate living data.

3. Testing needs to be free and more widely available, ideally at labor camps or other locations that are more accessible than health clinics and hospitals. Testing and follow-up care need to be culturally competent with Spanish interpretation available and more evening hours. More regular testing and better communication from NCDHHS about what testing means would normalize it and make farmworkers more comfortable with it.  Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 143, “Addressing the Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Communities of Color” provides for more access to testing, but it makes no mention of agricultural workers. Agricultural workers and the particular occupational hazards they encounter certainly need to be included in the work that happens as a result of the EO.  We would like the opportunity to recommend someone for the newly created Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental, and Health Equity Taskforce who is from a farmworker community or someone who can provide meaningful input based on their direct knowledge about the unique experience of farmworkers. We have heard reports within the last few days of Latinx workers still being turned away from hospitals when requesting testing.

4. Where employers are not following guidance issued by NC DHHS and outbreaks are occurring, we encourage Secretary Cohen to use her enforcement authority under N.C. Gen. Stat. §130A-17 through 130A-20 to protect employees from dangerous workplaces.

5. Finally, although it is not directly related to the pandemic, we cannot underscore enough the need for the state to be planning and preparing now for how it will handle evacuation and sheltering of farmworkers, especially farmworkers in isolation or quarantine, in case it is necessitated by a natural disaster this hurricane season. Hurricane shelters and evacuation routes can easily become hotspots for COVID-19 outbreaks. A COVID-informed emergency plan is desperately needed.

We also note that we have not yet received a response to our May 8 letter about the magnifying crisis within meat and poultry processing plants. Many of the recommendations in this letter apply equally to that industry, such as the urgent need for mandatory requirements and the benefit of better reporting. 

We again request to meet with you and request that we receive a timely response that is responsive and appropriate to our concerns and the gravity of the situation. Please contact Anna Jensen, FAN Coalition Coordinator, at 919-915-9990 or annaj@ncfwp.org and/or Clermont Ripley, coordinator of FAN’s Advocacy team, at 919-856-2154 or clermont@ncjustice.org, to discuss how we can carry this important work forward and ensure that farmworkers are not needlessly put in harm’s way.

Sincerely, 
The North Carolina Farmworker Advocacy Network

RALEIGH (May 8, 2020) – Workers, advocates, and policy experts called on state officials this morning to contain the spread of COVID-19 in poultry and meat processing facilities and take some simple but urgent measures to keep them, their families, and their broader communities safe. 

COVID-19 cases continue to rise in essential industries throughout the state such as meat and poultry processing, putting millions of workers – especially workers of color – at risk. Forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder without access to adequate, or in some cases, any protective gear, workers across dozens of essential worksites are contracting and dying from COVID-19.

Sofia and Gregoria, who both worked at Case Farms in Morganton, described being given a single, thin mask to use for months at a time. “We have to pay for food, we have to pay for rent, and so we can’t miss work,” Sofia said. 

Gregoria ended up leaving the plant in early April. “I left because I was really fearful, panicked knowing there were people that were infected and the plant didn’t want to say anything. They have families, they have children,” she said. “Where is the social distancing for the workers? Where is the safety and security?”

Most workers do not have paid sick time or adequate healthcare, most do not have health insurance, and after years earning low wages, they have little reserves to enable them to leave steady employment. 

“Meatpacking and poultry workers are at the frontlines of this pandemic – these workers are putting their lives on the line every day,” said Andre Barnett with UFCW 1208, the nation’s largest food processing union, which represents workers at Smithfield Foods in Tar Heel. “More than ever, companies must be held accountable. It’s not about politics but about the safety of workers.” 

“Safety has to come first at the workplace. Since COVID-19, we don’t feel safe,” said Ella Ellerbe, a worker at Smithfield. “Keep me out of there until they guarantee they’re going to test people, keep us 6 feet apart, give us PPE, and protect us.”

There have been more than 800 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at plants across the state. In the past few weeks, there have been outbreaks at both poultry and pork processing plants, such as Smithfield, where workers in Tar Heel and Clinton have reported unsanitary conditions and a rising number of COVID-19 cases, yet they have no paid sick days. 

“This is an industry whose profits are billions of dollars,” said Hunter Ogletree with the Western North Carolina Workers’ Center, regarding the poultry and meat industry. “We are not asking them to stop providing food for our country, we are asking them to take simple but urgent measures. This is not a binary choice. They have the ability to both provide production and food for our country and protect their workers.”

Meanwhile, those who are being forced to miss work need financial support and are being left out of recent federal bills. Instead of responding to the crisis in meat and poultry processing by requiring essential industries to adopt these guidelines as mandatory, the Trump administration used the National Defense Production Act to make it easier for meat and poultry processors to avoid protecting their workers from the coronavirus, even if conditions are unsafe and unsanitary and contribute to the spread of COVID-19. 

“As part of America’s industrial food chain, these companies will do everything they can to keep the lines running, no matter the cost to workers,” said Angela Stuesse, an Associate Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. “As long as this industry is permitted, they’ll put profit over people. Many knew about outbreaks for weeks before telling their employees. This industry will not regulate itself.”

In a new letter, advocacy groups are asking leaders to take steps to protect those who have been working throughout the pandemic, and enact rules requiring meatpacking and other essential employers to follow guidance on workplace safety and protect their employees from COVID-19. 

“North Carolina’s leaders, as well as the poultry and meat processing industry, have a moral obligation during this time of crisis not only to its workers but also to the public health of all communities in NC,” the letter reads.

If state officials fail to adopt these measures, efforts to re-open the economy will trigger a second and likely third wave of infections before the year is done — just another reminder that the economy is made up of people, and sick people can’t help employers stay afloat.

“We can’t risk workers’ lives for burgers, bacon, and blue jeans,” said MaryBe McMillan, President of the NC State AFL-CIO. “If we want to stop future waves, our Department of Labor and other elected officials must step up and protect the health of workers and our communities.”A recording of this morning’s press event is available upon request. Email julia@ncjustice.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Allan Freyer, allan@ncjustice.org; Clermont Ripley, clermont@ncjustice.org; Julia Hawes, julia@ncjustice.org

Community members, agricultural workers, and advocates share their concerns about what happens when essential workers do not get essential protections.

Contact information:
Lior Vered
Toxic Free NC
909.919.6691
lior@toxicfreenc.org

DUNN, NC (April 18, 2020) – Members of the Farmworker Advocacy Network, their partner organizations, and other individuals are calling on Governor Cooper to take critical action in support of agricultural workers in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The first confirmed and suspected farmworker cases of COVID-19 have already appeared in NC, making it urgent that Governor Cooper acts quickly. The coalition will present testimony from workers; faith leaders, including Bishop Anne Hodges-Copple of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina; and advocates in a Zoom press conference on Tuesday, April 21, at 6:00 pm.

Speakers will address concerns for the health and safety of agricultural workers amid the pandemic. North Carolina’s field and food processing workers face many barriers to accessing essential services, especially during times of emergency. Agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable during this pandemic because language barriers, a lack of transportation, and a lack of connection to services in the community leaves them isolated from resources. Because migrant agricultural workers live in group housing, usually travel to and from work in shared transportation like buses, and work closely next to each other in the fields, “social distancing” is not something they can choose to do, leaving them at constant risk of exposure to the coronavirus.

“Farmworkers are not just essential workers; they are essential parts of our community,” said Dr. Lior Vered, a policy advocate at Toxic Free NC. “They provide us with nourishment, and they deserve essential rights and protections to ensure they are not put at risk as a result of their work. We urge Gov. Cooper to take action and protect the people that bring food to our tables. The agricultural community is one that is often overlooked and excluded from protections, so making sure their needs are considered in our state’s emergency planning is critical.”

The Coalition is calling on Gov. Cooper to:

• Provide migrant farmworkers with access to healthcare services and other resources
• Ensure migrant agricultural workers are not put at risk in their employer-provided housing
• Ensure agricultural workers are able to protect themselves from exposure while working
• Protect workers who get sick from retaliation
• Ensure H-2A farmworkers are able to enroll in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), ensure Spanish interpretation for health information, and provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers serving agricultural workers

Advocates are inviting the community to join their efforts by signing an online petition and making contributions to a farmworker organization of their choice.

The Farmworker Advocacy Network is a statewide network of organizations that works to improve the living and working conditions of farmworkers and poultry workers in North Carolina.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Julia Hawes, julia@ncjustice.org; Clermont Fraser Ripley,clermont@ncjustice.org.