Local labor advocates, wine industry coalition square off over farmworker safeguards

A new wine industry coalition is pushing back against renewed claims made by a labor advocacy group that Sonoma County vineyard workers are put in jeopardy during wildfire season.

Sonoma Wine Industry for Safe Employees assembled about 100 vineyard workers Monday at the Mary Agatha Furth Center in Windsor where the workers dismissed claims raised by North Bay Jobs with Justice that they have been placed at risk during recent wildfires.

At a competing event Monday outside the Sonoma County Administration Building in Santa Rosa, more than 100 people listened as several Sonoma County farmworkers shared stories of hardships they experienced while working during wildfires. Sponsored by North Bay Jobs with Justice, the gathering was meant to convince county leaders farmworker safeguards are needed.

The labor-backed group is urging the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to make three worker protections — hazard pay, disaster insurance and language justice — a requirement for winery and farm owners who seek to access their lands during wildfires and other types of emergencies through a county permit.

Workers interviewed Monday differed greatly in their viewpoints on the issue.

“We choose to lose crops rather than putting our workers into danger,” said Santa Rosa resident Nicolas Hernandez, a supervisor who has worked 12 years in the Sonoma County vineyard industry. “Even if you wanted to go pick, you would have the sheriff’s (office) or CHP. They will not let you work.”

There are an estimated 6,810 vineyard employees in Sonoma County with about 90% of those being full-time, according to industry-provided data. Some can make more than $30 per hour during harvest.

North Bay Jobs with Justice contends the number of full-time workers actually represents a smaller portion of the workforce, pointing to a 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics report that puts the total number of workers in Sonoma County’s wine industry at 11,000, including seasonal and part-time workers.

Sonoma Wine Industry for Safe Employees will later bring in more voices from the industry and the business community in support of its cause, said John Segale, a spokesman for the group. He also has worked with the Sonoma County Winegrowers trade group.

“North Bay Jobs with Justice is making these wild claims. But when you talk with (workers) what’s really going on, it’s completely different,” Segale said.

At the labor-backed event, Isidro Rodriguez, a Santa Rosa resident who has been a farmworker in Sonoma County since 1996, recounted harvesting grapes with his co-workers in a haze of smoke without masks during the 2017 Tubbs Fire.

Ultimately, the vineyard he worked for had to throw out 400 tons of smoke-tainted grapes, which translated into lost wages for Rodriguez and the other farmworkers.

“(We were) looking for extra work on the weekends when we were supposed to be with family,” Rodriguez said.

Other farmworkers spoke about having to choose between harvesting during wildfires to pay rent and staying home with their families in case danger struck.

After introducing herself to the crowd in her native Mixteco, Margarita Garcia, another farmworker, highlighted the importance of workers having access to emergency safety information in their native languages.

“What is it like to hear Mixteco and not understand what I’m saying?” she asked those gathered around. “That’s what it feels like when they talk about our rights in languages that we don’t understand.”

North Bay Jobs with Justice has garnered support from 80 organizations and businesses in their appeal to the county board. The group also continues to advocate for two other safety provisions, clean bathrooms and fresh water and community safety observers’ access to work sites. Those were introduced by the nonprofit last fall along with the three other demands.

County supervisors are to discuss the evacuation zone access during a May 3 public meeting. That’s when an ad hoc committee formed to help draft a policy around access to evacuated farmlands will present an update to the board.

Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, one of the members of the six-person committee, said the ad hoc group has so far focused their efforts on researching polices and practices around evacuation access in other counties, as well as a state law related to the topic.

While the nonprofit’s three demands have been discussed by the ad hoc, Hopkins said the complexity of the topic and the buy-in needed by several other stakeholders may make it difficult to incorporate the nonprofit’s requests in a formal policy.

“It’s not necessarily enough time to develop an ordinance, a program and enforcement mechanisms in time for fire season,” she said.

The ad hoc has had conversations about drafting the policy in two phases, one that would be approved by summer in time for the worst of fire season. A second phase would give the county additional time to develop a more comprehensive evacuation zone access policy, Hopkins said.

She added that she’s requested the issue of paid disaster leave for farmworkers be discussed during this year’s budget hearings. The Board of Supervisors will determine whether there’s enough support to allocate funding for that item in June, she said.

The new wine coalition has not yet identified the main backers behind the group. Segale said there is concern that some wineries will be unfairly singled out for protest as was the case at a picket last November at Healdsburg’s Simi Winery. Workers interviewed on Monday did not identify their employer over such fears.

But the latest tactic by the new group is similar to what has occurred at Amy’s Kitchen, headquartered in Petaluma, where the natural foods company has encountered a campaign by the Teamsters union over workplace safety concerns. In return, Amy’s has presented its own employees who have defended the company’s safety record to fight against such charges.

Segale also noted that many of the concerns raised by the labor group are not the purview of the county government as opposed to the state level, where Cal/OSHA oversees workplace safety issues for all workers.

A key point of contention is evacuation zones. That’s an area where the county has had tremendous influence over issuing permits to farmers to access their property in evacuation zones.

Farmers have been able to secure an emergency permit with the county agriculture commissioner. The process was first started during the Tubbs and Nuns fires of 2017 and carried over to recent wildfires. A public records request filed by North Bay Jobs with Justice turned up 663 applications during the 2020 wildfire season.

The wine group contends that even with the issuance of such permits, law enforcement on the ground should be final arbiter of who should be allowed to access property, Segale said.

“The public safety people should be in charge,” he said. “It should be no different than what Napa is doing or what Santa Barbara is doing.”

Fabian Garcia, a supervisor who has worked for 12 years in the local vineyards, also said he has felt safe during the past wildfire seasons.

“Human resources exceeded my personal expectations as far as encouraging each and every one of us to look after each other and ensuring that each and every one of us made it safe to our loved ones,” said Garcia, who like others on Monday wore a T-shirt that read: “NBJwJ does NOT speak for me!”

Davida Sotelo Escobedo, a North Bay Jobs with Justice spokesperson , countered Segale, saying county supervisors had a responsibility to address the concerns of the local agricultural workforce, and could do that by enacting policy changes at a local level.

While Cal/OSHA is the state body tasked with ensuring employee safety, Sotelo Escobedo said the agency does not have the capacity to thoroughly investigate unsafe working conditions and reporting violations can be a complicated process.

As for the existing permitting system, Sotelo Escobedo underscored that it was put together in the midst of the 2017 firestorm and did not account for the needs of farmworkers.

“(Farmworkers) deserve to know that you’re either getting paid to work in this dangerous situation, or you get to go home to your family and not lose your job and still get some income,” Sotelo Escobedo said.

Hopkins was one of several locally elected officials who from around the county who attended Monday’s rally. She said it was important to her that someone from the board be present to hear the farmworkers’ testimonies.

“That’s what was so beautiful about the event, empowering the folks that don’t often get heard from the government,” Hopkins said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets. You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.