Tag Archives: agriculture injuries

Protecting the Hard Working Hands

Posted on March 25, 2014 by AFOP

Farmworkers are some of the most forgotten and unacknowledged workers in the United States. The general public has little knowledge of the many challenges agriculture workers face on a daily basis: extremely limited access to health care; poverty incomes; exposure … Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Safety Programs | Tagged "employee rights", "health and safety", "organic food", "safe food", agriculture injuries, chemicals, environmental, environmental health, EPA, fair, Fair Food, Fair Labor Standards Act, Farmworker, food justice, hazard, Hazardous Orders, health, justice, migrant, organic, OSHA, pesticide, pesticide drift, pesticides, protection, SAFE, safety, seasonal, worker | Comments Off

Workers Memorial Week Reflection

Posted on April 29, 2013 by AFOP

“Every day in America, 13 people go to work and never come home. Every year in America, nearly 4 million people suffer a workplace injury from which some may never recover. These are preventable tragedies that disable our workers, devastate … Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Safety Programs | Tagged agriculture injuries, EPA, grain bin entrapments, Heat Stress, OSHA, pesticides, U.S. Department of Labor, Worker Protection Standard, Workers Memorial Week | Comments Off

Socioeconomic Status and Life Expectancy: Can Job Training Improve the Odds for Farmworkers?

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Jeanna Vaughn, Director of Workforce Development, AFOP

Many facets of life are affected by socioeconomic status. These include quality of education and health care, job benefits, such as paid time off and sick leave, access to transportation and services, and many more. One you may not have … Continue reading →

Posted in AFOP | Tagged agriculture injuries, American Farms, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Job Training, MET, National Farmworker Awareness Week, national farmworker jobs program, NFJP, pesticides | Comments Off

Further Action Needed to Protect Farmworkers

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Ayrianne Parks, Communications Director, AFOP

This week we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), which was signed into law on January 14, 1983. The landmark legislation serves as the backbone of protections afforded to our nation’s farmworkers. … Continue reading →

Posted in AFOP, Children in the Fields Campaign, Health & Safety Programs | Tagged agriculture injuries, California Institute for Rural Studies, Child Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act, Farmworker Justice, H-2A guestworker program, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, pesticides, poverty, Secretary Solis, sexual harassment, Southern Poverty Law Center, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, wage theft, Workforce Investment Act | 1 Comment

2012: A Year of Victories and Challenges

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Daniel Sheehan, Executive Director, AFOP

I joined the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs this past September, taking over for retiring executive director David Strauss, who had served as the organization’s leader for the last 11 years. I was faced with the challenge of learning about … Continue reading →

Posted in AFOP, Children in the Fields Campaign, Health & Safety Programs | Tagged agriculture injuries, American Farms, Child Labor, Children in the Fields Campaign, Chipotle, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, H.R. 4297, Hazardous Orders, Heat Stress, immigration, national farmworker jobs program, pesticides, Sequestration, U.S. Department of Labor, wage theft, Workforce Development, Workforce Investment Act | 1 Comment

Farmworkers at Higher Risk for Parkinson’s

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Valentina Stackl

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative condition of the central nervous system that causes tremors in the body, difficulty walking, and trouble coordinating movements. In later stages, the disease also causes emotional and cognitive problems such as depression, hallucination, memory loss, … Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Safety Programs | Tagged agriculture injuries, benomyl, Environmental Justice, German University Clinic Carl Gustav Carus, Harvard School of Public Health, maneb, National Institutes of Health, paraquat, Parkinson’s disease, pesticides, UCLA, ziram | Comments Off

Honoring Cesar Chavez

Posted on March 31, 2012 by David Strauss, AFOP's Executive Director

In 1968-69, I remember first hearing about the United Farm Workers (UFW) and Cesar Chavez. Many of my friends were getting ready to participate in the grape boycott and, after hearing about the plight of California’s farmworkers, I had to … Continue reading →

Posted in AFOP, Children in the Fields Campaign | Tagged agriculture injuries, American Farms, Cesar Chavez, Child Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act, food justice, living wage, National Farmworker Awareness Week, Secretary Solis, U.S. Department of Labor | Comments Off

Roots of Change

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Norma Flores López, Director of the Children in the Fields Campaign

National Farmworker Awareness Week is a time to increase awareness on both the difficult conditions farmworkers live and work under, and of what is being done by advocates to help improve their lives. This year’s National Farmworker Awareness Week was … Continue reading →

Posted in Children in the Fields Campaign | Tagged agriculture injuries, Child Labor, Children in the Fields Campaign, National Farmworker Awareness Week, Norma Flores Lopez, pesticides, poverty | Comments Off

Methyl Iodide on the Chopping Block?

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Valentina Stackl

While all pesticides are designed to harm living things, there are some that are considered more dangerous than others. One of those pesticides is the controversial chemical methyl iodide, which has been used in strawberry fields in California since 2010. Many environmental groups and health professionals warned state regulators about the dangers of methyl iodide before it was approved at the end of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s term; they were ignored. The state’s own scientific advisors, as well as an independent panel of scientists, warned that the chemical can cause cancer, among other dangerous health effects. Now these groups, and others such as EarthJustice, are asking Alameda County Superior Court to put an end to its use. Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Safety Programs | Tagged agriculture injuries, American Farms, California Environmental Quality Act, environmental health, Environmental Justice, EPA, Farmworker, methyl iodide, pesticides, Valentina Stackl | 2 Comments

The Fields Claim First Life in 2012

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Valentina Stackl

“Every day in America, 12 people go to work and never come home. Every year in America, 3.3 million people suffer a workplace injury from which they may never recover. These are preventable tragedies that disable our workers, devastate our … Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Safety Programs | Tagged agriculture injuries, farm accident, Farmworker, fatality rate, occupational safety, preventable tragedies, rapid city south dakota, training, U.S. Department of Labor | Comments Off