Photo credit: Edgar Franks
A recent article “Rising danger: Urgency grows for Washington to protect the most vulnerable from extreme heat features” features an interview with LNS Board Member Edgar Franks. Franks is political director of Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a union that represents hundreds of Indigenous Mexican migrant farmworkers in Skagit County, WA.
People who work outdoors, such as landscapers, construction workers and farmworkers, are at especially high risk for heat exposure. According to Franks, the agricultural industry is grueling. During harvest season, workers toil from dawn to dusk with limited breaks and often receive pay that is effectively below the minimum wage. They brave the elements, facing cold rain in the winter and wildfire smoke in the autumn.
During a heat wave in the summer of 2017, 28-year-old Honesto Silva Ibarra passed away while working on a blueberry farm in Sumas, a city in northern Washington. Silva Ibarra, who also had diabetes, requested breaks numerous times but was denied. Four other workers were also treated for heat exhaustion. More than 70 workers went on strike to protest against Silva Ibarra’s treatment and were subsequently fired by the owner, Sarbanand Farms. Franks said the incident catalyzed a movement to fight for climate protections for farmworkers.
Up until that moment, we did not know anything that existed but at least could give any protection for workers for either wildfire smoke or heat,” Franks said. “There was really nothing in the books that we could point to and say, ‘Look, workers that are outdoors all day need these protections to stay alive.’
Familias Unidas por la Justicia petitioned Washington Labor and Industries to better protect outdoor workers, holding rallies and participating in meetings with regulators. Finally, in June 2023, L&I adopted permanent rules requiring employers to provide water, shade, breaks and other accommodations for farmworkers when temperatures exceed 80 F. L&I also adopted more limited rules in December, requiring employers to provide N95 respirators to outdoor workers when wildfire smoke creates hazardous air quality levels.
This summer is the first time these new rules will be activated. Franks said that while he is proud of the changes FUJ advocacy has won, L&I could go further. He also said he is not sure how the department will enforce the rules to ensure growers are informing workers of their rights at non-unionized farms. Franks hopes employers will not discipline workers for taking breaks that are guaranteed under state law during extreme heat events. “In the past, if you asked for a break, they would fire you almost on the spot,” Franks said.
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