Key Documents and News Articles

Compiled by members of Strengthening Sanctuary Alliance

 

Documents:

 

2017 Agricultural Workforce Report (from WA. State Dept. of Employment Security)

    Published 2029

 

Proclamation by Governor Inslee Protecting the Health of Agricultural Workers (May 28, 2020) https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/COVID19Proc20.57AgrWorkersHealth.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

 

Governor Inslee’s Agricultural Covid-19 Requirements (May 28, 2020)

https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/COVID19AgriculturalSafetyPlan.pdf

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Letter to Governor Inslee: Strengthening Sanctuary Alliance Asks for Protection for Agricultural Workers

 

WA. State Department of Health Reports:

           COVID-19 Cases by Occupation (June 2020)

           Shows disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on agricultural workers

 

            COVID-19 Cases by Race, Ethnicity and Language (July 2020)

            Shows disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color, especially Latino/as and Hawaian and Pacific Islanders

 

            COVID-19 Death Reports (July 2020)

            Shows high rates of deaths in Yakima County

 

            Confirmed Cases, Hospitalizations and Deaths

https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus

 

Statement on COVID-19 and Risks to Farmworkers

            Signed by 12 Farmworker Advocacy Groups

            Powerful summary of the many challenges farmworker communities face that make them vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

From National Center for Farmworker Health:  COVID-19 in Rural America: Impact on Farms & Agricultural Workers

http://www.ncfh.org/msaws-and-covid-19.html

    

 

Articles: conditions facing farmworkers and their families.

Some general information, some specific to Yakima:

 

Pre-existing Conditions, No Sick Leave and Health Insurance Put Farmworkers at Increased Coronavirus Risk (The Counter, March 18, 2020)

 https://thecounter.org/farmworkers-uninsured-covid-19-coronavirus/

Vulnerability of farmworker communities in in Florida, New York State, Washington State, and Arizona.

 

David Bacon, Are Washington’s Farmworkers COVID-19 Guinea Pigs?

https://capitalandmain.com/are-washingtons-farmworkers-covid-19-guinea-pigs-0521

 

https://letshaveaplan.blog/2020/05/24/farm-workers-at-risk-covid19-has-killed-more-workers-than-anything-else-osha-has-issued-zero-citations/

 

https://crosscut.com/2020/06/yakima-county-farmworkers-called-sacrificial-lambs-pandemic 

 

https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/editorials/guest_editorials/guest-opinion-yakima-valley-s-farm-workers-have-been-invisible-for-too-long/article_8a9c2d24-8d6d-56d1-8db1-69353120905f.html

 

6/19/20: “Latinos have the most coronavirus cases in Washington State.”

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/1587175951882/latinos-have-the-most-coronavirus-cases-in-washington-state

 

https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/striking-workers-and-a-strike-team-yakima-valleys-rise-in-coronavirus-cases-garners-attention/281-79e74fe0-21f2-4f37-84ca-83b4da1c147e

 

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/in-yakima-county-as-cases-soar-community-spread-increasingly-drives-the-pandemic/?utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning+Brief+6-22-20_6_22_2020&utm_term= 

 

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/22537/hundreds_washington_fruit_apple_packing_workers_strike_striking_union 

 

https://www.labornotes.org/2020/06/apple-shed-strikes-win-recognition-fight-goes 

 

https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/yakima-health-district-announces-directive-requiring-face-masks-in-public/article_7b0c54ce-a438-11ea-8a11-838d535b0e24.html 

 

https://www.yakimaherald.com/special_projects/coronavirus/health-officer-for-yakima-county-thrust-into-center-of-pandemic/article_6e073528-b0d3-54dd-a672-f10587905112.html 

 

https://kuow.org/stories/during-pandemic-yakima-farmworkers-kept-their-jobs-raising-risk-of-infection 

 

Excellent general resource, for immigrant health/labor perspective:

The Stand, from the WA State Labor Council

https://www.thestand.org – daily section on Covid-19

Archive of news, resources, guidance  - section: Immigrant Workers

https://www.wslc.org/covid-19/