Grape-picker's death leads to UFW call for more relief from heat [View All]

[Kadie]

Grape-picker's death leads to UFW call for more relief from heat

JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer
Monday, August 2, 2004


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(08-02) 14:28 PDT BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) --

A grape picker died after working 10 hours in a field outside Bakersfield in triple-digit heat. Now his son and union representatives are appealing to companies to take the commonsense measures that could have saved his life.

"There isn't much I can do now, but I don't want other workers to go through what I'm going through now," said Luis Angel Valdivia, who watched his 53-year-old father, Asuncion Valdivia, faint among the grape vines, and eventually die in his car, as he sped toward the hospital seeking medical help.

California's grape harvest happens in the middle of summer, when temperatures in the state's fertile Central Valley often soar past 100, and lead to frequent complaints of dizziness and nausea among workers_ the symptoms of heat stroke, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers.

"There is not a whole lot we can do, except put pressure on the growers to give them what they need to take care of their bodies," said Rodriguez. "They just need to use commonsense. If it's 100 degrees out, workers need more breaks, and more water, than the minimum required."

The state's Division of Occupational Health and Safety requires employers to give workers two ten-minute breaks in one day, plus a half-hour lunch. Cool water should also be provided for the workers.

more....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/08/02/state1728EDT7546.DTL



and to contrast, take a look at this story....



USDA: Price No Reason To Avoid Produce
Fresh Produce Usually Costs Less

POSTED: 2:19 pm EDT August 2, 2004
UPDATED: 2:40 pm EDT August 2, 2004

CONCORD, N.H. -- There goes another excuse for not eating more vegetables.

A government study found that though many people say cost prevents them from eating more produce, consumers can get the recommended three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for just 64 cents.

That would account for 12 percent of daily food spending per person, which averaged $5.50 in 1999.

"That's a lot of good nutrition for only 64 cents, only 225 calories and less than 1 gram of fat," said the study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "That leaves 88 percent of their food dollar left for the other three food groups."

more...
http://www.thekcrachannel.com/money/3606425/detail.html