'We have to adapt': Farm worker advocates fight for protections amid heat wave

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Amid a record-breaking heat wave that has seen Oregon hit the triple digits on multiple days this past week, crop pickers have no choice but to face the outdoors head-on for their livelihood.

Ever since the 2021 heat dome resulted in heat illness-related deaths across the state, including a farmer laborer, Oregon's Occupational Safety and Health Administration implemented rules to keep these hard workers safe.

"If it's above 80 degrees, you got to start paying attention to what's going on," said Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers Executive Director Mike Doke.

Now, with another heat dome upon us, the new rules are making it a requirement for employers to provide water, rest, shade, training and acclimatization. Oregon OSHA even has a heat emphasis program during the summer months in which compliance officers will inspect a workplace without advance notice.

Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers is an advocacy group in Hood River that helped Oregon OSHA create its new rules. Doke said many farms go even further than what is mandated to keep their workers cool and safe.

At a tree fruit farm, "they usually start the day's work about 4 or 5 a.m. when the light first comes up for our workers," he said. "You can get a full workday in and we can get the harvest off."

"Part of agriculture is that it is outside. We don't have a choice in that," said Tamura Orchards President Lesley Tamura. "And so we have to do what we can to mitigate the heat risk to our employees."

Tamura Orchards has been owned and operated by the same family for four generations. But the owners say they've been adapting to changes throughout the decades.

"Climate is different than it was 20, 30 years ago, and we have to adapt to that," Tamura said.

At a different farm during the 2021 heat dome, 38-year-old farm worker Sebastian Francisco Perez died. That's why Tamura said they always work to comply with not only OSHA's rules during the heat wave but also go above and beyond to keep employees safe.

"If that means we are quitting early, then we quit early for the day," she said.

When it comes to working conditions, Doke and Tamura said fruit growers also try to keep themselves accountable.

"There's peer pressure and recognition that they want to do a good job for the industry. And so if somebody is not following the rules, their neighbors are going to let them know about it," Doke said.

"They're the ones pruning and thinning and picking, and that's hard work. And they're doing it in cold temperatures during the winter. They're doing it in warm temperatures in the summer. And so it's on all of us to make sure that we're protecting them because we do need them," Tamura said.

Over the years, Oregon OSHA has issued 174 citations involving heat violations, resulting in over $140,000 in penalties across various industries, including construction, restaurants and agriculture.