Grape Workers Recount Difficult Conditions

Here in snowy Cambridge, California may seem like a sunny paradise--but after 32 years as a California grape worker, Rosa Felipe says life in the grape vines remains extremely harsh.

Pesticides, harassment, poor sanitation and low wages continue to present problems for California grape workers, Felipe said in a telephone interview conducted through a United Farm Workers (UFW) interpreter on Nov. 20.

Though conditions have improved since Cesar Chavez began organizing workers in the late 1960s, Felipe said she would not support buying most California grapes if she were a Harvard student.

"It has been over 13 years since I've had a grape, but I like them," she said.

One of the most severe problems workers face is exposure to dangerous pesticides, she said. Over the course of a picking season, it is nearly impossible for workers to avoid getting rashes, she said.

Creams prescribed by doctors do little to ease itching and burning, she said. Growers and state authorities are largely unresponsive, she added.

"[The growers] claimed that the reasons people were getting these rashes were that they were not taking a bath, that it had nothing to do with the fields," Felipe said.

Felipe's worst rash occurred three years ago, when her entire stomach and chest were covered, she said. Though her doctor said pesticides were the reason, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CAL-OSHA) would not investigate further, she said.

UFW Vice President Lupe Martinez, who acted as Felipe's interpreter, observed that Felipe's hands are scarred from all the rashes she has had over the years.

Felipe did not know the names for the chemicals her company uses, but she said that when the they were applied on the vine, workers "were wearing a mask and breathers and everything."

Harassment was also a problem, according to Felipe. Before she was fired, supervisors frequently criticized her for not working hard enough, she said.

"I told the supervisor that I was not a machine," said Felipe, who is 53 years old. "I couldn't be the equivalent of someone who was 19 or 20."

Supervisors ride around the farm in air-conditioned trucks and avoid pesticide exposure, she said.

Felipe also noted that dirty bathrooms, a shortage of drinking water and low wages, have contributed to workers' problems.

She added that the situation has greatly improved since the 1960s when California passed legislation enforcing better sanitation and working conditions California passed legislation enforcing better sanitation and working conditions in the fields.

"When I started working, there were no bathrooms, and I had to go under the vines to do the necessities," Felipe said.

She added that water was provided without ice or cups--workers would share a drink from vegetable soup cans tied up with a piece of wire.

In order to improve her working conditions, Felipe said she recently appealed to the UFW. But when her company found out, she was fired, she said.

Felipe said she is currently suing her company, which is located in Bakersfield, Calif. She declined to name her company for legal reasons.

"All that we want is to be treated fairly and [to have] better working conditions."

The Crimson was able to contact Felipe through UFW public-relations representatives.

--Caitlin E. Anderson contributed to the reporting of this story

"When I started working, there were no bathrooms, and I had to go under the vines to do the necessities," Felipe said.

She added that water was provided without ice or cups--workers would share a drink from vegetable soup cans tied up with a piece of wire.

In order to improve her working conditions, Felipe said she recently appealed to the UFW. But when her company found out, she was fired, she said.

Felipe said she is currently suing her company, which is located in Bakersfield, Calif. She declined to name her company for legal reasons.

"All that we want is to be treated fairly and [to have] better working conditions."

The Crimson was able to contact Felipe through UFW public-relations representatives.

--Caitlin E. Anderson contributed to the reporting of this story