Over 50 Sonoma County businesses and organizations sign open letter supporting the adoption of a formal local policy that addresses farmworker health & safety concerns
Santa Rosa, CA, April 6, 2022 – With intensifying drought and another unpredictable wildfire season on the horizon, farmworkers are continuing their push on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to adopt a formal, local wildfire evacuation zone policy that addresses farmworker health and safety concerns by June 1st. The “Cuentos del Campo / Voices from the Frontlines” speak-out will highlight worker testimonies and take place on Monday, April 18, from 5-7pm in front of the County of Sonoma Administration Building.
North Bay Jobs with Justice, a grassroots coalition based out of Santa Rosa, has been circulating an open letter to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors with calls for a local policy that responds to farmworker concerns by including Language Justice, Hazard Pay, and Disaster Insurance in a formal evacuation zone policy. “It is grossly irresponsible to let another year pass – let alone a few months – without formalizing these basic health and safety measures,” reads the letter, “Our ability to respond effectively to the impacts of climate change depends on our ability to integrate the agency and voices of those most directly impacted.”
As of today, 58 businesses and organizations have signed the letter, including several agricultural and wine-related businesses such as Front Porch Farm, EARTHSeed Farm, Idlewild Wines, Legend Imports, The Vinguard, Red H Farm, B-Side Farm, Justice Grace Vineyards, Pollen & Fox, Chiatri de Laguna Farm, Miracle Plum, and Coyote Family Farm.
Zoe Hitchner, the Farm Manager at Front Porch Farms, a 110-acre organic farm outside of Healdsburg, affirmed their support by saying, “Farmworkers are the backbone of this county and shouldn’t have to choose between personal safety and financial stability. We need to adapt in a changing climate.”
According to the US Drought Monitor, nearly all of Sonoma County has now returned to “extreme” drought conditions, as well as 40% of the entire state of California. Wildfire experts predict that dry fuel loads coupled with climate change fueled extreme weather events – like windstorms, dry lighting, and heat waves – have set the conditions for escalated fire risk over longer periods of the year.
Pandora Thomas, Founder and Land Steward at EARTHSeed Permaculture Center and Farm, an all-black owned organic farm in Sebastopol, recognizes the leadership of farmworkers as stewards of the land: “The central voice that will guide us through these times are those whose lives have been spent stewarding our land and feeding our communities. [Farmworkers] continue to show us what resilience looks and feels like when equity is at the center and as a farm steward in Sonoma County I’m honored to learn from and partner with my sisters and brothers on this journey.”
North Bay Jobs with Justice is a growing grassroots coalition of 32 labor and community organizations building power and winning economic and racial justice for workers on the frontlines of climate change.
