https://www.bpr.org/2023-09-07/mexican-farmworkers-death-under-investigation-by-north-carolina-department-of-labor
Mexican farmworker's death under investigation by North Carolina
Department of Labor
WFAE | By Kayla Young
Published September 7, 2023 at 2:10 PM EDT
WFAE |
By Kayla Young
Published September 7, 2023 at 2:10 PM EDT
LISTEN • 1:52
Workers loaded watermelons onto a truck last week in Wilson County, on a day
when temperatures were in the 90s. Extreme heat is a challenge for outdoor
workers.
David Boraks
/
WFAE Workers with a separate H-2A
team load watermelons onto a truck in Wilson County, on a day when
temperatures were in the 90s. Extreme heat is a challenge for outdoor
workers.
The North Carolina Department of Labor is
investigating the death of a seasonal farm worker on Tuesday morning in Nash
County.
Thirty-year-old José Arturo González Mendoza of Guanajuato, Mexico was in
North Carolina under an H-2A visa for temporary agricultural workers. One of
the man's relatives says lack of water and breaks from the heat were factors,
though a cause of death hasn’t been officially determined.
González Mendoza began working at Barnes Farming in Spring Hope, about 40
miles east of Raleigh, less than two weeks before he died. His younger
brother said they began working at the farm after years of taking H-2A jobs
elsewhere.
North Carolina has about 15,000 H-2A visa holders, who work seasonal jobs
harvesting tobacco, cotton, sweet potatoes and more. While summer heat puts
outdoor workers at risk of heatstroke and other serious issues, there are no
labor regulations currently in place mandating water breaks or other safety
measures.
Workers loaded watermelons onto a truck last week in Wilson County, on a day
when temperatures were in the 90s. Extreme heat is a challenge for outdoor
workers.
Workers
are at risk in extreme heat, but North Carolina has no protections
González Mendoza's family said workers weren’t provided enough food or water
during the day, but many are afraid to lose their jobs if they complain.
The brothers worked in separate fields on Tuesday. His younger brother said
went to see his González Mendoza's body before he was transported to the
morgue.
“He was harvesting sweet potatoes. He warned that he wasn’t feeling well but
they didn’t pay attention,” he said. “When they called the ambulance, he was
already lifeless.”
The Nash County Division of 911 Communications said it received a call at
10:42 a.m. reporting a cardiac or respiratory arrest case off of Old Bailey
Highway. Shortly before noon, González Mendoza’s body was transported from
the site to the Nash County morgue.
A statement from Barnes Farming said González Mendoza notified his field
supervisor that he wasn’t feeling well and went to rest at the back of the
bus used to transport workers. A manager then checked on him, the company
said, and called 911.
Barnes Farming said it is working with the North Carolina Growers Association
to pay for the funeral and other expenses, as well as to provide grief
counseling to employees.
El Centro Hispano, a nonprofit advocacy group, is working with the family to
refer the case to the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh.
According to the National Weather Service, the heat index was in the high 90s
when Gonzalez Mendoza fell ill. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is
pending.
González Mendoza is survived by two sons, ages 11 and 7, and a wife, his
brother said.
--
Rudy Arredondo
President/CEO/Founder
Latino Farmers & Ranchers International, Inc.
731 Central Avenue E
Edgewater, MD 21037
Mobile: (301) 366-8200
Email: latinofarmers@gmail.com
Website: www.LFRINC.org
|
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