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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has become the first state to implement a law that addresses working conditions for warehouse workers, like those working for Amazon, Walmart and other major retailers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/09/22/governor-newsom-signs-nation-leading-legislation-expanding-protections-for-warehouse-workers/\">Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 701\u003c/a>, which takes effect in the new year, into law on Wednesday. The law aims to address the impact of quotas on worker injuries and health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It establishes new standards for companies to make clear to warehouse staff what their production quotas are. The legislation ensures workers cannot be fired or retaliated against for failing to meet an unsafe quota.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot allow corporations to put profit over people. The hardworking warehouse employees who have helped sustain us during these unprecedented times should not have to risk injury or face punishment as a result of exploitative quotas that violate basic health and safety,” Newsom said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m proud to sign this legislation giving them the dignity, respect and safety they deserve and advancing California’s leadership at the forefront of workplace safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law gives the state Labor Commissioner the authority to issue citations to companies in violation of the new rules. The department is also allowed to access workers’ compensation data to find facilities where there are high rates of injury and investigate whether they are due to unsafe quotas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also bars the use of algorithms that track rests and bathroom breaks, and specifically prohibits the firing of workers for failing to meet unsafe quotas because they are taking breaks in compliance with health and safety laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation would also bar companies from retaliating against workers who raise concerns about warehouse conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though not explicitly stated, the new rules are widely considered to be targeted toward Amazon. The Seattle-based behemoth runs more than 60 warehouses across the state, and is known for its demanding productivity requirements.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Sheheryar Kaoosji, head of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center\"]‘It’s not that those companies can’t afford to do the right thing. It’s what those companies can get away with. And if they’re not held accountable, that’s what they’ll continue to do.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon relies on its thousands of workers to fill its massive warehouses, which it calls “fulfillment centers.” During the pandemic, Americans have relied heavily on online shopping for their goods. In turn, the company, the second-largest employer in the U.S. behind Walmart, hired thousands of workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-to-hire-125000-full--and-part-time-logistics-employees-2021-09-14?mod=article_inline\">and plans to hire an additional 100,000 workers \u003c/a>this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers and labor organizations argue that Amazon’s warehouse rules create an unsafe work environment. \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/amazon-injury-rates/\">Investigations \u003c/a>by various \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/01/amazon-osha-injury-rate/\">news organizations\u003c/a>, in addition to the labor-backed \u003ca href=\"https://thesoc.org/amazon-primed-for-pain/\">Strategic Organizing Center\u003c/a>, have found that \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/how-amazon-hid-its-safety-crisis/\">the rate of serious injuries at Amazon warehouses has been nearly double the industry average\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tracked by algorithms, Amazon warehouse workers rush to pack and ship nonstop shopping orders that often must be delivered in a matter of hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While workers are on the job, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1034776936/amazon-warehouse-workers-speed-quotas-california-bill\">Amazon watches their “time off task,”\u003c/a> which the company says is to monitor for “issues with the tools that people use.” But it also serves to identify underperforming workers. And that, critics say, essentially pressures workers to forgo their state-mandated breaks, or to wait until the end of their shifts to use the bathroom — creating unsafe and unfair working conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the bill, authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, is intended more generally to help state regulators get a better handle on how a growing number of employers are using tech in the workplace to control the productivity of their workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 206,700 workers in the warehousing and storage industry in California as of June. That figure, however, doesn’t include temporary workers, like the many likely to take on warehouse work in the run-up to the holiday shopping season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A significant portion of that workforce is employed by Amazon. Behind the big yellow “Place your order” button on the company’s site is a vast network of warehouses, filled with nearly 1 million non-union logistics employees across the country — 40,000 in the Inland Empire alone, according to Amazon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/12/01/367703789/amazon-unleashes-robot-army-to-send-your-holiday-packages-faster\">the tech-obsessed retailer is famous for using robots\u003c/a>, sensors and software to maximize productivity, it’s also infamous for burning out its workers, many of whom head to the exit doors suffering from repetitive stress injuries and, well, stress overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How did you come up with this rate? Was it based on what your understanding of what a human body can do? Or was it based on what you think you need to get through in order to make a profit this quarter?” said Sheheryar Kaoosji, executive director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center in Ontario, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the clock, an army of trucks and trains transport cargo from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to vast warehouses in the Inland Empire counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. There, imported goods are sorted and redistributed onto long-haul trucks, which move them to distribution centers across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon’s rivals, like Walmart and Home Depot, are nipping at the tech titan’s heels, eager to adopt the algorithm-driven productivity tracking tools employed by the company, which logistics experts widely agree is the industry leader in this practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not that those companies can’t afford to do the right thing,” said Kaoosji, who has pushed for them to institute humane working conditions that follow labor laws in spirit, as well as practice. “It’s what those companies can get away with. And if they’re not held accountable, that’s what they’ll continue to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]In \u003ca href=\"https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/5f/e6/725042574e2da4440c3844f7b40c/senate-judiciary-analysis-ab-7-1.pdf\">a letter this summer to the state Senate Judiciary Committee in support of her legislation\u003c/a>, Gonzalez wrote, “The demand for speed in these warehouses has led to the increasing use of workplace performance metrics and the imposition of work quotas that employees must meet or suffer adverse consequences, including potentially losing their jobs altogether. There is evidence strongly suggesting that the pressure to meet these quotas leads to significantly higher workplace injury rates.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Kaoosji, of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, argues there “will never be enough enforcement agents to address the millions of workplaces in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He and other industry watchers say labor regulation at the state level has historically been weak and largely complaint-driven, and that’s made many workers who are afraid of retaliation unlikely to seek redress from authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key is giving workers the protections, voice and power to feel like they can speak up at work about injustices and legal violations and not face immediate retaliation, termination,” Kaoosji said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He considers the new requirements laid out in AB 701 to be only modest improvements, a compromise between labor organizers and big business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon declined to comment specifically on the legislation, but a spokesperson said in an email that the company abides by state and federal laws, such as providing paid breaks and ready access to toilet facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you read some of the news reports, you might think we have no care for employees,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO at the time, said in his \u003ca href=\"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/2020-letter-to-shareholders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2020 letter to shareholders\u003c/a>. “In those reports, our employees are sometimes accused of being desperate souls and treated as robots. That’s not accurate. They’re sophisticated and thoughtful people who have options for where to work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, which strongly opposed the legislation, said the new rules will disrupt the supply chain and hurt consumers, even arguing that the shipment of COVID-19 tests from warehouses and distribution centers to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor’s offices will be slowed because of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are disappointed Governor Newsom signed AB 701, which will exacerbate our current supply chain issues, increase the cost of living for all Californians and eliminate good-paying jobs,” she \u003ca href=\"https://calretailers.com/cra-responds-to-governor-gavin-newsom-signing-ab-701-into-law/\">said in a statement Wednesday\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\n[aside postID=\"news_11881047,news_11870797,forum_2010101882947\" label=\"Related Coverage\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With California’s ports facing record backlogs of ships waiting off the coast and inflation spiking to the fastest pace in 13 years, AB 701 will make matters worse for everyone — creating more back-ordered goods and higher prices for everything from clothes, diapers and food to auto parts, toys and pet supplies,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the absence of union representation on warehouse floors, a modest set of new workplace improvement measures may be all that can be accomplished right now, according to Catherine Fisk, a labor law professor at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon, among other logistics companies, has so far successfully fought attempts to unionize any constellation of its vast employee base.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Workers have been trying to unionize warehouses for years, with no success, because companies are so adept at thwarting it by using turnover, anti-union campaigns, restrictions on employee communication with each other, and prohibitions on union organizers from contacting workers,” Fisk said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/pdf/2019/Future-of-Warehouse-Work.pdf\">Beth Gutelius\u003c/a>, research director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois Chicago, has studied the logistics industry for more than a decade. She said that current state and federal laws are notably outdated, to the detriment of workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem with existing law is that, in general, in California and nationwide, it just hasn’t kept up with the state of technological change and productivity gains, coming at the cost of workers’ health and safety,” Gutelius said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gutelius noted, however, that she is encouraged by AB 701’s requirement that warehouse operators disclose quotas and work-speed metrics to their employees and to government agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, it’s kind of a black box. And I think the case of Amazon offers us pretty ample evidence that we can’t just rely on companies to weigh these costs and benefits and act in the interests of workers,” she said. “Someone else has to do that and that is traditionally what government’s role has been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes additional reporting from NPR’s Jaclyn Diaz.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon relies on its thousands of workers to fill its massive warehouses, which it calls “fulfillment centers.” During the pandemic, Americans have relied heavily on online shopping for their goods. In turn, the company, the second-largest employer in the U.S. behind Walmart, hired thousands of workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-to-hire-125000-full--and-part-time-logistics-employees-2021-09-14?mod=article_inline\">and plans to hire an additional 100,000 workers \u003c/a>this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers and labor organizations argue that Amazon’s warehouse rules create an unsafe work environment. \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/amazon-injury-rates/\">Investigations \u003c/a>by various \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/01/amazon-osha-injury-rate/\">news organizations\u003c/a>, in addition to the labor-backed \u003ca href=\"https://thesoc.org/amazon-primed-for-pain/\">Strategic Organizing Center\u003c/a>, have found that \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/how-amazon-hid-its-safety-crisis/\">the rate of serious injuries at Amazon warehouses has been nearly double the industry average\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tracked by algorithms, Amazon warehouse workers rush to pack and ship nonstop shopping orders that often must be delivered in a matter of hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While workers are on the job, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1034776936/amazon-warehouse-workers-speed-quotas-california-bill\">Amazon watches their “time off task,”\u003c/a> which the company says is to monitor for “issues with the tools that people use.” But it also serves to identify underperforming workers. And that, critics say, essentially pressures workers to forgo their state-mandated breaks, or to wait until the end of their shifts to use the bathroom — creating unsafe and unfair working conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the bill, authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, is intended more generally to help state regulators get a better handle on how a growing number of employers are using tech in the workplace to control the productivity of their workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 206,700 workers in the warehousing and storage industry in California as of June. That figure, however, doesn’t include temporary workers, like the many likely to take on warehouse work in the run-up to the holiday shopping season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A significant portion of that workforce is employed by Amazon. Behind the big yellow “Place your order” button on the company’s site is a vast network of warehouses, filled with nearly 1 million non-union logistics employees across the country — 40,000 in the Inland Empire alone, according to Amazon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/12/01/367703789/amazon-unleashes-robot-army-to-send-your-holiday-packages-faster\">the tech-obsessed retailer is famous for using robots\u003c/a>, sensors and software to maximize productivity, it’s also infamous for burning out its workers, many of whom head to the exit doors suffering from repetitive stress injuries and, well, stress overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How did you come up with this rate? Was it based on what your understanding of what a human body can do? Or was it based on what you think you need to get through in order to make a profit this quarter?” said Sheheryar Kaoosji, executive director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center in Ontario, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the clock, an army of trucks and trains transport cargo from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to vast warehouses in the Inland Empire counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. There, imported goods are sorted and redistributed onto long-haul trucks, which move them to distribution centers across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon’s rivals, like Walmart and Home Depot, are nipping at the tech titan’s heels, eager to adopt the algorithm-driven productivity tracking tools employed by the company, which logistics experts widely agree is the industry leader in this practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not that those companies can’t afford to do the right thing,” said Kaoosji, who has pushed for them to institute humane working conditions that follow labor laws in spirit, as well as practice. “It’s what those companies can get away with. And if they’re not held accountable, that’s what they’ll continue to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/5f/e6/725042574e2da4440c3844f7b40c/senate-judiciary-analysis-ab-7-1.pdf\">a letter this summer to the state Senate Judiciary Committee in support of her legislation\u003c/a>, Gonzalez wrote, “The demand for speed in these warehouses has led to the increasing use of workplace performance metrics and the imposition of work quotas that employees must meet or suffer adverse consequences, including potentially losing their jobs altogether. There is evidence strongly suggesting that the pressure to meet these quotas leads to significantly higher workplace injury rates.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Kaoosji, of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, argues there “will never be enough enforcement agents to address the millions of workplaces in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He and other industry watchers say labor regulation at the state level has historically been weak and largely complaint-driven, and that’s made many workers who are afraid of retaliation unlikely to seek redress from authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key is giving workers the protections, voice and power to feel like they can speak up at work about injustices and legal violations and not face immediate retaliation, termination,” Kaoosji said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He considers the new requirements laid out in AB 701 to be only modest improvements, a compromise between labor organizers and big business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon declined to comment specifically on the legislation, but a spokesperson said in an email that the company abides by state and federal laws, such as providing paid breaks and ready access to toilet facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you read some of the news reports, you might think we have no care for employees,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO at the time, said in his \u003ca href=\"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/2020-letter-to-shareholders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2020 letter to shareholders\u003c/a>. “In those reports, our employees are sometimes accused of being desperate souls and treated as robots. That’s not accurate. They’re sophisticated and thoughtful people who have options for where to work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, which strongly opposed the legislation, said the new rules will disrupt the supply chain and hurt consumers, even arguing that the shipment of COVID-19 tests from warehouses and distribution centers to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor’s offices will be slowed because of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are disappointed Governor Newsom signed AB 701, which will exacerbate our current supply chain issues, increase the cost of living for all Californians and eliminate good-paying jobs,” she \u003ca href=\"https://calretailers.com/cra-responds-to-governor-gavin-newsom-signing-ab-701-into-law/\">said in a statement Wednesday\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With California’s ports facing record backlogs of ships waiting off the coast and inflation spiking to the fastest pace in 13 years, AB 701 will make matters worse for everyone — creating more back-ordered goods and higher prices for everything from clothes, diapers and food to auto parts, toys and pet supplies,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the absence of union representation on warehouse floors, a modest set of new workplace improvement measures may be all that can be accomplished right now, according to Catherine Fisk, a labor law professor at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amazon, among other logistics companies, has so far successfully fought attempts to unionize any constellation of its vast employee base.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Workers have been trying to unionize warehouses for years, with no success, because companies are so adept at thwarting it by using turnover, anti-union campaigns, restrictions on employee communication with each other, and prohibitions on union organizers from contacting workers,” Fisk said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/pdf/2019/Future-of-Warehouse-Work.pdf\">Beth Gutelius\u003c/a>, research director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois Chicago, has studied the logistics industry for more than a decade. She said that current state and federal laws are notably outdated, to the detriment of workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem with existing law is that, in general, in California and nationwide, it just hasn’t kept up with the state of technological change and productivity gains, coming at the cost of workers’ health and safety,” Gutelius said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gutelius noted, however, that she is encouraged by AB 701’s requirement that warehouse operators disclose quotas and work-speed metrics to their employees and to government agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, it’s kind of a black box. And I think the case of Amazon offers us pretty ample evidence that we can’t just rely on companies to weigh these costs and benefits and act in the interests of workers,” she said. “Someone else has to do that and that is traditionally what government’s role has been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes additional reporting from NPR’s Jaclyn Diaz.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "california-firefighters-keep-getting-injured-during-training-and-some-have-died",
"title": "California's Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died",
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"headTitle": "California’s Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Even as he lay dying on the side of a Southern California mountain — his lips blue, the color gone from his face — wildland firefighter Yaroslav Katkov wanted to push on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re getting to the top. We’re finishing,” his captain recalled Katkov saying after collapsing atop a ridge during a training hike in hot weather, according to state records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s speech was garbled. He tried to stand, but couldn’t find his footing. His body temperature was reaching dangerous levels. He was suffering from heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happened on that sun-soaked July day in 2019 is one thread in a larger story about firefighter training in an era of intensifying heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the past 18 months, more than 150 firefighters were sickened by heat exposure while working for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a quarter of heat-related incidents — the largest category — involve firefighters who fell ill during routine training exercises, Columbia Journalism Investigations, KPCC and LAist found. Like Katkov, nearly all of these firefighters worked part time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889335\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1390px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889335 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration of a red firefighter helmet and goggles above five blurry white dots, on a black background.\" width=\"1390\" height=\"935\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg 1390w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-800x538.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-1020x686.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1390px) 100vw, 1390px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incidents, documented in Cal Fire’s workplace-injury logs, were specifically classified as heat related and occurred between Jan. 1, 2020, and Aug. 3, 2021. CJI and LAist were unable to ascertain how typical the case numbers are. Cal Fire refused to say whether they were unusual or in line with annual totals for heat illnesses among workers over the past decade. The department declined to provide data that could put the numbers into a broader context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CJI and LAist compiled less comprehensive data from internal Cal Fire reports on employee training injuries dating back to 2001, in addition to other state records. These documents show at least 14 other incidents that bear what some experts say are hallmarks of heat-related illness. In five of these incidents, the firefighters died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='right']Over the past 18 months, more than 150 firefighters were sickened by heat exposure while working for Cal Fire.[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the firefighters succumbed to injuries not on the fire line in some remote California wilderness, but during required training. Many were decked out in full wildland gear — wearing long-sleeve jackets, pants and helmets while carrying heavy tools — and doing activities meant to simulate wildfire fighting — taking short hikes into the woods, for instance, or laying hoses up a mountainside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All but one of the deaths occurred in temperatures ranging from 70 to 87 degrees. Four of the victims were incarcerated, participating in a state program meant to bolster firefighting forces that dates back to WWII.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and federal workplace regulators agree that heat-related illnesses and deaths are 100% preventable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts, a review of hundreds of pages of government records detailing firefighter injuries and deaths and an analysis of worker heat death cases reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. Combined, they make up about half of the agency’s nearly 10,000-strong firefighting force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s death was exceptional in just how many institutional failures occurred during his hike, records show. But many of the other cases of heat-related injuries and deaths indicate the same underlying problems — a punitive culture that can endanger firefighters’ health, a lackluster physical screening process and an ineffective plan for building up firefighters’ tolerance for heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889384\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1380px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889384 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration composed of nine black-and-white squares that include images of the Lippe Hike, overlaid with a red outline of the trail.\" width=\"1380\" height=\"920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg 1380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov collapsed on his second lap of the 1.45 mile Lippe Hike in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula. According to documents related to the hike, Katkov’s captain ignored signs from Katkov of potential illness. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Warning signs\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>On the day of Katkov’s hike, Cal Fire officials later found that his captain, Joe Ekblad, had missed opportunities to act on several telltale signs of heat illness. Not until Katkov collapsed at the top of that ridge did Ekblad begin emergency procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The captain later explained he believed that they could cool Katkov down if they moved fast enough. They stripped off his jacket and drenched him in water. But it didn’t work. Katkov took several deep “gulpy breaths,” according to documents obtained from the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA. Still, Ekblad delayed calling for emergency help because he thought Katkov “would snap back out of it,” the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Statement from Cal Fire\"]‘[Cal Fire] vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.’[/pullquote]Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the next day. Cal Fire demoted Ekblad. The department found he had “failed to identify a crew member … in physical and/mental distress.” Ekblad didn’t respond to requests for comment. Records show he told investigators that Katkov was a willing participant in the exercises.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to several requests to interview the department’s head of safety. In a statement, it said it “vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department says it trains all its firefighters — seasonal, incarcerated or otherwise — on the dangers associated with wildland firefighting, “including methods to prevent, recognize and respond to symptoms of heat related illnesses.” It described its efforts to combat heat-related injuries and deaths as “a partnership” with individual firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each must do his/her part year-round to ensure that they are preparing for the upcoming fire season,” the department wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On July 28, 2019, Katkov embarked on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike, a 1.45-mile loop at Cal Fire’s Station 16 in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gavin Bledsoe, one of the station’s other fire captains, later told Cal/OSHA investigators that “he had concerns with Joe pushing Yaro hard,” and that Ekblad had pushed other firefighters without giving them enough time for breaks in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889386\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889386 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view from Lippe Hike: several hills and a light cloudy sky.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Lippe Hike winds through the hills just behind Cal Fire Station 16 in northern San Diego County. \u003ccite>(Jacob Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to documents related to Ekblad’s demotion, the hike that preceded Katkov’s death had never been timed before that morning, and Bledsoe believed the standard for finishing it was set “specifically with Yaro in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Joe has been pushing really hard to get Yaro to quit or up to his standards,” Bledsoe told Cal/OSHA investigators about the rookie firefighter who regularly hiked the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bledsoe didn’t respond to multiple phone calls and text messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889397\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 427px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889397 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg\" alt=\"A studio portrait of a man in a Cal Fire uniform smiling at the camera.\" width=\"427\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg 427w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1-160x240.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cal Fire firefighter Yaroslav Katkov. Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the day after embarking on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A quarter-mile into the hike, seasonal firefighter Matthew Guerrero told investigators, Katkov was breathing heavily. At one point, as the hike wound from mountains alongside a road, Katkov was slow to move out of oncoming traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad wrote in his notebook, “Road Hazard – Cognitive Question.” This was an early sign of heat illness that Ekblad ignored, Cal Fire documents show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio completed the hike in about 40 minutes — 10 minutes slower than the time Ekblad had set for the station that morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re gonna do it again. The first hike was unacceptable,” Ekblad said, according to the Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad later told the agency’s investigators that doing the hike twice wasn’t standard practice. Cal Fire concluded that it was “clearly unnecessary” given the signs of distress Katkov had exhibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio rested for 20 minutes, drank some water and set off to do the hike again. By then, the temperature had climbed to nearly 88 degrees — five degrees hotter than the 40-year average for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the steep, often-shadeless path, Katkov told Ekblad he was exhausted — another symptom of heat illness that Ekblad should have recognized, Cal Fire documents said. Rather than seek emergency care, however, the captain encouraged both firefighters to press on, and they pushed up the hill. Guerrero helped steady Katkov’s balance, but Katkov stumbled and had to pause at least 20 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atop the 650-foot ridge, Katkov fell forward and sat down. Ekblad told him to take off some of his wildland gear, and Guerrero tried to shade him with a jacket. They poured water on him, but his eyes rolled back. He eventually passed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly an hour after starting the hike a second time, Ekblad called for help. Katkov began to shake uncontrollably. It took another hour for an air ambulance to get to the remote location and transport Katkov to Temecula Valley Hospital. He died the next day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors found that Cal Fire:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Hadn’t provided enough water or shade on the hike.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Failed to monitor Katkov for preexisting sensitivities to heat.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t prepare Katkov for the intensity of the job, as required under Cal Fire’s heat-illness prevention plan.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t initiate an emergency medical response until it was too late.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA fined the department $80,875 — almost five times the average Cal/OSHA fine of $17,000 for all types of cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A ‘toughness mentality’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Katkov’s longtime girlfriend, said she was shocked after reading the investigation. It was clear that Cal Fire hadn’t done everything it should have done to protect Katkov, she said. Its safeguards against workplace heat appear to have failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told me that everything that could have been done was done, and that there was no waste of time,” Vallario said. “I believed them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to written questions about Katkov’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889399\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11889399\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A sign that reads, 'Cal Fire De Luz Station 16' next to a country road.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1696\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-2048x1357.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1920x1272.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov worked at Cal Fire De Luz Station 16 located in the hills just outside of Temecula.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rank matters at Cal Fire. Impressing superiors can help a seasonal firefighter move on to a coveted full-time spot. But a tough paramilitary culture often pushes Cal Fire employees to their physical limits, even in hot temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, that culture has contributed to serious heat-related injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, for instance, a Cal Fire firefighter was at a “rehire” training session in Riverside, meant for seasonal employees about to rejoin their crews. He and the other trainees were forced to do “extra rigorous” exercises after someone had arrived late, according to a Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the group practiced a simulated fire attack, the firefighter complained about feeling ill and asked his supervisor if he could take off his jacket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor said no and told the firefighter to sit down in the sun, the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11886628\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/RS50596_019_SanFrancisco_HeatWaveImpacts_08062021-qut-1020x680.jpg\"]About 10 minutes later, a colleague reported that the firefighter did “not look good.” His legs cramped, and he was gasping for breath — both symptoms of heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter was hospitalized for two days, and Cal/OSHA fined the department $18,560 for violating California’s heat standard by failing to allow the employee to take an adequate rest break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a similar case in 2017, another Cal Fire firefighter was working in full wildland gear while moving a hose for a training exercise, according to Cal/OSHA records. After a break, a new instructor took over another round of the activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter later told Cal/OSHA that the work was more strenuous the second time, and that the instructor had “pushed the employee to do more.” The firefighter struggled to finish the task. He was so confused that he couldn’t answer questions, Cal/OSHA records show. An altered mental state is a red flag for heat illness, medical experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor mocked the firefighter and suggested he “go to Orange County since their training is easier,” the inspector wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in the earlier case, the firefighter spent two days in the hospital. Cal Fire was fined another $2,430 for failing to educate employees about heat’s threats and not providing ready access to water and shade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Robert Salgado, Former Cal/OSHA inspector and wildland firefighter\"]‘We don’t want the smartest guy … we just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.’[/pullquote]Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie, who leads several fire stations based in San Diego, including Katkov’s former station, said the department is working to root out the “toughness” mentality that has pervaded its ranks. Some heat-related incidents “have been an unfortunate wake-up call that maybe that culture needs to change,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that may be difficult. Robert Salgado, a former Cal/OSHA inspector and wildland firefighter, notes that Cal Fire’s do-or-die attitude is one of the “very deep-rooted cultural practices in the fire service” that is passed from department to department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t want the smartest guy … we don’t want the most trained guy,” Salgado said. “We just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire union president Tim Edwards of Local 2881 recalls a recent incident in which supervisors pushed firefighters in training activities beyond their limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll admit it, we had problems in San Diego in the last four months,” he said, explaining that one supervisor was warned about the way he was treating firefighters after a union member filed a complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisor was pushing firefighters to hike “when they weren’t feeling good,” Edwards said, “making them hike thinking if he pushed them a little bit further, it would help them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire, for its part, acknowledges that the department spoke with the supervisor but said he was not reprimanded. It describes the incident as an example of how the department and the union can work together to address potential health issues before they get worse.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Don’t blame the firefighters’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Another problem, insiders say, is that Cal Fire doesn’t have a physical fitness standard that makes clear what kind of shape seasonal and incarcerated firefighters must be in when they return to duty after months off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11836399\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/44642_transform-1.jpg\"]Without such a standard, firefighters may not realize they’re not fit enough until they’re on training hikes or in the field on hot days. At that point, it’s up to individual supervisors to say whether it’s a problem for any firefighter, and what that firefighter needs to do to improve. And that can make for trouble when those supervisors push their employees too hard, especially on hot days, to reach whatever level they deem correct, insiders say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards, of Cal Fire Local 2881, notes that the union has “been pushing for years to have a minimal physical fitness standard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the union wants seasonal firefighters to have their fitness tested over a week, with intense physical exercise and step-by-step goals to measure their progress. If they fail to pass those tests, he said, they could be set on a remedial path or let go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards blames the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for issues involving incarcerated firefighters. He argues that Cal Fire has little control over these abilities when they arrive at fire camps, even though the 11 heat-related incidents involving incarcerated people identified by CJI and LAist occurred during official Cal Fire trainings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Corrections Department said Cal Fire has always trained incarcerated firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, when a firefighter falls behind on fitness requirements, Cal Fire’s system leaves it up to individual stations to determine how that firefighter will move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889391\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889391 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A line of firefighters wearing bright orange uniforms and carrying equipment walk alongside a forest in front of a firefighter wearing a traditional yellow uniform.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incarcerated firefighters on a training hike with Cal Fire. Incarcerated individuals make up a big chunk of California’s firefighters during wildfire season, but some firefighter union officials point out that incarcerated firefighters don’t receive enough physical training from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation before they join a crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When firefighters are assigned to a crew for the season, they are allotted an hour each day for personal training, and given access to wellness coordinators and workout gear. Supervisors are required to sign off on each firefighter’s monthly progress as part of a “Physical Fitness Documentation Log.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In more than half of heat-illness cases examined by CJI and LAist, the firefighters didn’t have a fitness plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with a Cal/OSHA investigator, some of Katkov’s former colleagues raised concerns about his physical fitness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Statement from Cal Fire\"]‘Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead.’[/pullquote]But Cal/OSHA found that Ekblad had not created a fitness plan or any documentation to measure Katkov’s progress, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its statement, Cal Fire said it has no control over its firefighters’ “fitness efforts, caffeine intake, eating habits, water intake, sun exposure, alcohol consumption, or other factors that may impact their ability to perform their job functions” when they are off-duty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can take weeks or months for firefighters to safely build up their fitness, and experts say it’s not something that can be forced with strenuous exercise in a short period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead,” Cal Fire said in its statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brent Ruby, a University of Montana professor who has studied the physical demands of wildland firefighting, said ad hoc training is not the ideal way to train because there’s “a tendency to try to push” new or young recruits. As these firefighters press on, he said, the strain on their body builds up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hike faster, they produce more heat,” Ruby said, “but the environment is still bearing down on them and pushing back on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Dr. Thomas Ferguson, Consultant for Cal Fire\"]‘We’ve got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.’[/pullquote]Dr. Thomas Ferguson, a consultant who says he reviews 8,000 medical files for Cal Fire each year, has seen how firefighters who are pushed too hard can get blamed for not meeting physical expectations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson told Cal/OSHA investigators that seasonal firefighters like Katkov are most vulnerable to heat illness. According to Cal/OSHA’s investigative file on Katkov’s death, Ferguson urged the department to adopt a fitness standard for seasonal and incarcerated firefighters partly for this reason.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t blame the firefighters,” he said in a recent interview. “We’ve got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889395\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11889395\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two firefighters seem to be pulling a long hose through the forest.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters with Cal Fire San Diego practice a progressive hose lay during training. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Identifying the hidden risks\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Even before starting the job, Cal Fire’s health screening processes may miss conditions that could jeopardize firefighters’ lives, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seasonal and incarcerated firefighters get little more than a basic physical, which experts say doesn’t always screen for potentially problematic health conditions. That has had dire consequences on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2001, eight firefighters with underlying health problems have died during training — five of them likely from heat exposure, experts say. All of them were incarcerated except for Katkov. Four died from cardiovascular issues, such as heart attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not all of those cases were directly tied to heat, researchers say high temperatures often play a hidden role in injuries and deaths, especially in workers who have underlying or preexisting health conditions, such as heart or kidney disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said its screening policy requires “an annual medical evaluation for all applicants and employees who are required to be medically cleared.” Tests intended to check for preexisting conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and some cancers, are voluntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview with CJI and LAist, Ferguson said Cal Fire has a hard time keeping up with the basic screenings for thousands of seasonal and incarcerated firefighters each year. “It’s an operational issue for them,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union’s Edwards goes further. “When the State of California is hiring a temporary employee, and this is just the sad truth of it, they’re not going to want to invest a whole lot of time and money,” he said. “We don’t agree with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not until age 40 that full-time Cal Fire employees are required to take heart and blood tests, according to the union. Seasonal firefighters are offered the opportunity, but it’s not mandatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heart issues, which could be caught by more extensive tests, are among the preexisting conditions exacerbated by heat. When a firefighter dies, heat can be overlooked as the primary factor, creating a pattern of uneven enforcement, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='right']It’s not until age 40 that full-time Cal Fire employees are required to take heart and blood tests.[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April 2015, Raymond Araujo, a 37-year-old incarcerated man assigned to work in the Bautista Conservation Camp, set off on a training hike in Banning, California, about 30 miles from Palm Springs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Cal/OSHA records, Araujo covered two miles of steep terrain. The temperature reached 81 degrees — 10 degrees hotter for the area for that time of year. He stumbled during the exercise. His colleagues tried to carry him to the finish but eventually he lost his vision and fell to his knees. About an hour after the hike began, paramedics declared him dead, according to the records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11889336\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/RS50579_002_SanFrancisco_HeatWaveImpacts_08062021-qut-1-1020x680.jpg\"]A Cal/OSHA investigation named heat as a contributing factor in Araujo’s death, but the Riverside County coroner determined the cause was “hypertensive cardiovascular disease,” according to an autopsy report. Cal/OSHA’s medical unit, noting the preexisting condition, concluded that “it did not appear likely that a heat illness or other work-related illness or injury played any role in Araujo’s sudden death,” records show. The agency closed the case without issuing any citations for violating the state’s heat standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Garrett Brown, a Cal/OSHA inspector from 1994 to 2014, investigated more than 100 work sites for heat issues. He reviewed the Araujo case at our request and said it was impossible to know why the agency chose not to address the heat standard violations. Despite that decision, Brown said the incident resembled many heat cases he had handled, in which workers suffered heart or kidney failure because of hot temperatures, and likely should’ve been handled as possible heat standard violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Cal/OSHA spokesperson defended the agency’s handling of Araujo’s death. “Cal/OSHA Enforcement relied on the Medical Unit’s opinion,” the spokesperson, Frank Polizzi, wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson isn’t the only one who’s raised concerns about Cal Fire’s health-screening process. During the Cal/OSHA investigation into Katkov’s death, Tammy Stout, manager of the Cal Fire medical unit, was blunt in her assessment of the process, explaining that she had received medical clearance even though she believed she was physically incapable of doing a firefighter’s job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire Captain Cesar Nerey put it simply. “You could get a better physical playing high school football than the one required by Cal Fire,” he told the Cal/OSHA investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A gap in existing heat protections\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>There’s another concerning factor in how Cal Fire brings new firefighters onto the job: a lack of a department-wide regimented acclimatization plan that would ease employees into the heat. Instead, as with fitness training, Cal Fire leaves it up to individual stations to craft their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11886402\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1773-1020x680.jpg\"]Here’s why that matters. Acclimatization — building up a tolerance for heat — is a crucial part of training firefighters to operate in extreme conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Easing firefighters into the work in hot temperatures is widely viewed as one of the best ways to prevent heat illnesses and deaths. It should happen during a new or newly returned firefighter’s two weeks of training, health experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For nearly 25 years, since the death of a California firefighter from heat exposure while constructing a fire line in 1997, a federal agency has recommended the state follow specific protocols for acclimatization of firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protocols, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), call for:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>New employees working in heat no more than 20% of their first shift, with a daily increase of the same percentage until fully acclimated.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Experienced firefighters returning from an extended break working in heat more than 50% of the first day, with a gradual increase over the course of a week.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said that it is considering those recommendations, but it “may not be achievable in all situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department said following them “could cause issues in protecting the people and resources of California,” since firefighters often are thrust into emergency situations when a fire erupts and may come from areas across the state and be used to different climates. Cal Fire did not address non-emergency training scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"science_1976705\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/09/MexicanCrew-Casimiro-1020x765.jpg\"]Some heat-related incidents have occurred early in a firefighter’s tenure and during training. Of all the incidents identified by CJI and LAist, records show at least 14 employees were sickened by heat at the Cal Fire training academy during their first weeks. Dozens more suffered from heat illnesses on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a two-month period in the summer of 2014, three firefighters were hospitalized after they had trained in the heat. Two of these incidents occurred in the same week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA considers an acclimatization plan the pinnacle of heat awareness — indeed, it is one of the four pillars of heat safety in the state’s standard. Yet the agency leaves the details on how to acclimate employees up to individual employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, Cal/OSHA said “the acclimatization period, when employees are introduced to high heat, is the most critical in terms of illness prevention.” The agency rarely cites employers for failing to acclimatize their employees, as compared to other heat-related violations, having done so only 68 times since 2015, as of July 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What can prevent a tragedy\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While heat continues to be an issue during Cal Fire training activities, a responsive supervisor can make the difference between life and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly a year after Katkov’s death, yet another firefighter came close to dying on a training hike in Mariposa, 150 miles east of San José. The firefighter had suffered leg cramps and vomited on the same trail just two weeks earlier, according to Cal Fire documents. A physician cleared him for work, but people with prior injuries can be more susceptible to heat stress, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a hike in July 2020, the temperature reached 87 degrees. According to Cal Fire records, the captain, who said he’d been aware of the firefighter’s medical issues, watched his progress during the 60-minute exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the firefighter gasped for breath, the captain implored him to slow down. When his legs cramped, a colleague helped him down a hill. The captain called an ambulance, and the crew gave him oxygen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Airlifted to a trauma center, the firefigher was treated for heat stroke and a heat-related condition known as rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscle tissue to break down and leak toxins into the blood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889393\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 623px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889393 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg\" alt=\"A smiling couple in formal dress sit together at a table at a party.\" width=\"623\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg 623w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov with his longtime partner, Ashley Vallario. Vallario considered filing a lawsuit after Katkov’s death but later decided against it. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Yaroslav Katkov’s partner, who considered filing a lawsuit but decided against it, still can’t understand why Katkov wasn’t given the same level of care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov was selfless, she said, someone who would help others even to his detriment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early in their relationship, Vallario remembers Katkov taking her on a date to pick up trash on the beach. Initially, that gave her pause, but she’s come to realize it was Katkov’s way of giving back. “It definitely made me, like, a better person,” Vallario said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Katkov’s death, she has pushed Cal Fire to demand more of its leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re supposed to have faith that those people would keep them safe,” she said. “It shows what kind of leadership that they’re willing to allow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Brian Edwards reported this story as a fellow for Columbia Journalism Investigations, an investigative reporting unit at the Columbia Journalism School in New York, along with Jacob Margolis, a science reporter at KPCC and LAist, and a member of The California Newsroom.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "California's Firefighters Keep Getting Injured While Training. Some Have Died | KQED",
"description": "Extensive interviews with current and former members of Cal Fire and reviews of hundreds of government records reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety that put at risk those who fight California's wildfires.",
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"source": "The California Newsroom",
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"nprByline": "Brian Edwards and Jacob Margolis",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Even as he lay dying on the side of a Southern California mountain — his lips blue, the color gone from his face — wildland firefighter Yaroslav Katkov wanted to push on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re getting to the top. We’re finishing,” his captain recalled Katkov saying after collapsing atop a ridge during a training hike in hot weather, according to state records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s speech was garbled. He tried to stand, but couldn’t find his footing. His body temperature was reaching dangerous levels. He was suffering from heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happened on that sun-soaked July day in 2019 is one thread in a larger story about firefighter training in an era of intensifying heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the past 18 months, more than 150 firefighters were sickened by heat exposure while working for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a quarter of heat-related incidents — the largest category — involve firefighters who fell ill during routine training exercises, Columbia Journalism Investigations, KPCC and LAist found. Like Katkov, nearly all of these firefighters worked part time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889335\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1390px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889335 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration of a red firefighter helmet and goggles above five blurry white dots, on a black background.\" width=\"1390\" height=\"935\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration.jpg 1390w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-800x538.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-1020x686.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/firefighter-hat-illustration-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1390px) 100vw, 1390px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The incidents, documented in Cal Fire’s workplace-injury logs, were specifically classified as heat related and occurred between Jan. 1, 2020, and Aug. 3, 2021. CJI and LAist were unable to ascertain how typical the case numbers are. Cal Fire refused to say whether they were unusual or in line with annual totals for heat illnesses among workers over the past decade. The department declined to provide data that could put the numbers into a broader context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CJI and LAist compiled less comprehensive data from internal Cal Fire reports on employee training injuries dating back to 2001, in addition to other state records. These documents show at least 14 other incidents that bear what some experts say are hallmarks of heat-related illness. In five of these incidents, the firefighters died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the firefighters succumbed to injuries not on the fire line in some remote California wilderness, but during required training. Many were decked out in full wildland gear — wearing long-sleeve jackets, pants and helmets while carrying heavy tools — and doing activities meant to simulate wildfire fighting — taking short hikes into the woods, for instance, or laying hoses up a mountainside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All but one of the deaths occurred in temperatures ranging from 70 to 87 degrees. Four of the victims were incarcerated, participating in a state program meant to bolster firefighting forces that dates back to WWII.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and federal workplace regulators agree that heat-related illnesses and deaths are 100% preventable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interviews with current and former Cal Fire employees, medical personnel and wildland firefighting experts, a review of hundreds of pages of government records detailing firefighter injuries and deaths and an analysis of worker heat death cases reveal multiple issues involving workplace safety during Cal Fire training activities. This is true especially for those who don’t work year-round, such as seasonal and incarcerated firefighters. Combined, they make up about half of the agency’s nearly 10,000-strong firefighting force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov’s death was exceptional in just how many institutional failures occurred during his hike, records show. But many of the other cases of heat-related injuries and deaths indicate the same underlying problems — a punitive culture that can endanger firefighters’ health, a lackluster physical screening process and an ineffective plan for building up firefighters’ tolerance for heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889384\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1380px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889384 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration composed of nine black-and-white squares that include images of the Lippe Hike, overlaid with a red outline of the trail.\" width=\"1380\" height=\"920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration.jpg 1380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Warning-signs-illustration-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov collapsed on his second lap of the 1.45 mile Lippe Hike in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula. According to documents related to the hike, Katkov’s captain ignored signs from Katkov of potential illness. \u003ccite>(Illustration by Alborz Kamalizad / Photography courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Warning signs\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>On the day of Katkov’s hike, Cal Fire officials later found that his captain, Joe Ekblad, had missed opportunities to act on several telltale signs of heat illness. Not until Katkov collapsed at the top of that ridge did Ekblad begin emergency procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The captain later explained he believed that they could cool Katkov down if they moved fast enough. They stripped off his jacket and drenched him in water. But it didn’t work. Katkov took several deep “gulpy breaths,” according to documents obtained from the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA. Still, Ekblad delayed calling for emergency help because he thought Katkov “would snap back out of it,” the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘[Cal Fire] vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the next day. Cal Fire demoted Ekblad. The department found he had “failed to identify a crew member … in physical and/mental distress.” Ekblad didn’t respond to requests for comment. Records show he told investigators that Katkov was a willing participant in the exercises.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to several requests to interview the department’s head of safety. In a statement, it said it “vigorously rejects the notion that a punitive culture exists in relation to the fitness, safety, or wellbeing of our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department says it trains all its firefighters — seasonal, incarcerated or otherwise — on the dangers associated with wildland firefighting, “including methods to prevent, recognize and respond to symptoms of heat related illnesses.” It described its efforts to combat heat-related injuries and deaths as “a partnership” with individual firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each must do his/her part year-round to ensure that they are preparing for the upcoming fire season,” the department wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On July 28, 2019, Katkov embarked on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike, a 1.45-mile loop at Cal Fire’s Station 16 in Fallbrook, California, a mountain town ringed by ranches just outside of Temecula.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gavin Bledsoe, one of the station’s other fire captains, later told Cal/OSHA investigators that “he had concerns with Joe pushing Yaro hard,” and that Ekblad had pushed other firefighters without giving them enough time for breaks in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889386\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889386 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A view from Lippe Hike: several hills and a light cloudy sky.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Lippe-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Lippe Hike winds through the hills just behind Cal Fire Station 16 in northern San Diego County. \u003ccite>(Jacob Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to documents related to Ekblad’s demotion, the hike that preceded Katkov’s death had never been timed before that morning, and Bledsoe believed the standard for finishing it was set “specifically with Yaro in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Joe has been pushing really hard to get Yaro to quit or up to his standards,” Bledsoe told Cal/OSHA investigators about the rookie firefighter who regularly hiked the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bledsoe didn’t respond to multiple phone calls and text messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889397\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 427px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889397 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg\" alt=\"A studio portrait of a man in a Cal Fire uniform smiling at the camera.\" width=\"427\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1.jpeg 427w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-1-160x240.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cal Fire firefighter Yaroslav Katkov. Katkov died of hyperthermia at a hospital the day after embarking on a training exercise called the Lippe Hike. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A quarter-mile into the hike, seasonal firefighter Matthew Guerrero told investigators, Katkov was breathing heavily. At one point, as the hike wound from mountains alongside a road, Katkov was slow to move out of oncoming traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad wrote in his notebook, “Road Hazard – Cognitive Question.” This was an early sign of heat illness that Ekblad ignored, Cal Fire documents show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio completed the hike in about 40 minutes — 10 minutes slower than the time Ekblad had set for the station that morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re gonna do it again. The first hike was unacceptable,” Ekblad said, according to the Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ekblad later told the agency’s investigators that doing the hike twice wasn’t standard practice. Cal Fire concluded that it was “clearly unnecessary” given the signs of distress Katkov had exhibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio rested for 20 minutes, drank some water and set off to do the hike again. By then, the temperature had climbed to nearly 88 degrees — five degrees hotter than the 40-year average for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the steep, often-shadeless path, Katkov told Ekblad he was exhausted — another symptom of heat illness that Ekblad should have recognized, Cal Fire documents said. Rather than seek emergency care, however, the captain encouraged both firefighters to press on, and they pushed up the hill. Guerrero helped steady Katkov’s balance, but Katkov stumbled and had to pause at least 20 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atop the 650-foot ridge, Katkov fell forward and sat down. Ekblad told him to take off some of his wildland gear, and Guerrero tried to shade him with a jacket. They poured water on him, but his eyes rolled back. He eventually passed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly an hour after starting the hike a second time, Ekblad called for help. Katkov began to shake uncontrollably. It took another hour for an air ambulance to get to the remote location and transport Katkov to Temecula Valley Hospital. He died the next day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors found that Cal Fire:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Hadn’t provided enough water or shade on the hike.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Failed to monitor Katkov for preexisting sensitivities to heat.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t prepare Katkov for the intensity of the job, as required under Cal Fire’s heat-illness prevention plan.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Didn’t initiate an emergency medical response until it was too late.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA fined the department $80,875 — almost five times the average Cal/OSHA fine of $17,000 for all types of cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A ‘toughness mentality’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Katkov’s longtime girlfriend, said she was shocked after reading the investigation. It was clear that Cal Fire hadn’t done everything it should have done to protect Katkov, she said. Its safeguards against workplace heat appear to have failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told me that everything that could have been done was done, and that there was no waste of time,” Vallario said. “I believed them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire didn’t respond to written questions about Katkov’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889399\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11889399\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A sign that reads, 'Cal Fire De Luz Station 16' next to a country road.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1696\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-2048x1357.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Cal-Fire-Station-Sign-1920x1272.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov worked at Cal Fire De Luz Station 16 located in the hills just outside of Temecula.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rank matters at Cal Fire. Impressing superiors can help a seasonal firefighter move on to a coveted full-time spot. But a tough paramilitary culture often pushes Cal Fire employees to their physical limits, even in hot temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, that culture has contributed to serious heat-related injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, for instance, a Cal Fire firefighter was at a “rehire” training session in Riverside, meant for seasonal employees about to rejoin their crews. He and the other trainees were forced to do “extra rigorous” exercises after someone had arrived late, according to a Cal/OSHA investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the group practiced a simulated fire attack, the firefighter complained about feeling ill and asked his supervisor if he could take off his jacket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor said no and told the firefighter to sit down in the sun, the records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>About 10 minutes later, a colleague reported that the firefighter did “not look good.” His legs cramped, and he was gasping for breath — both symptoms of heat illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter was hospitalized for two days, and Cal/OSHA fined the department $18,560 for violating California’s heat standard by failing to allow the employee to take an adequate rest break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a similar case in 2017, another Cal Fire firefighter was working in full wildland gear while moving a hose for a training exercise, according to Cal/OSHA records. After a break, a new instructor took over another round of the activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firefighter later told Cal/OSHA that the work was more strenuous the second time, and that the instructor had “pushed the employee to do more.” The firefighter struggled to finish the task. He was so confused that he couldn’t answer questions, Cal/OSHA records show. An altered mental state is a red flag for heat illness, medical experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The instructor mocked the firefighter and suggested he “go to Orange County since their training is easier,” the inspector wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in the earlier case, the firefighter spent two days in the hospital. Cal Fire was fined another $2,430 for failing to educate employees about heat’s threats and not providing ready access to water and shade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We don’t want the smartest guy … we just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie, who leads several fire stations based in San Diego, including Katkov’s former station, said the department is working to root out the “toughness” mentality that has pervaded its ranks. Some heat-related incidents “have been an unfortunate wake-up call that maybe that culture needs to change,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that may be difficult. Robert Salgado, a former Cal/OSHA inspector and wildland firefighter, notes that Cal Fire’s do-or-die attitude is one of the “very deep-rooted cultural practices in the fire service” that is passed from department to department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t want the smartest guy … we don’t want the most trained guy,” Salgado said. “We just want a guy who can throw on a pack and hike hills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire union president Tim Edwards of Local 2881 recalls a recent incident in which supervisors pushed firefighters in training activities beyond their limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll admit it, we had problems in San Diego in the last four months,” he said, explaining that one supervisor was warned about the way he was treating firefighters after a union member filed a complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisor was pushing firefighters to hike “when they weren’t feeling good,” Edwards said, “making them hike thinking if he pushed them a little bit further, it would help them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire, for its part, acknowledges that the department spoke with the supervisor but said he was not reprimanded. It describes the incident as an example of how the department and the union can work together to address potential health issues before they get worse.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Don’t blame the firefighters’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Another problem, insiders say, is that Cal Fire doesn’t have a physical fitness standard that makes clear what kind of shape seasonal and incarcerated firefighters must be in when they return to duty after months off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Without such a standard, firefighters may not realize they’re not fit enough until they’re on training hikes or in the field on hot days. At that point, it’s up to individual supervisors to say whether it’s a problem for any firefighter, and what that firefighter needs to do to improve. And that can make for trouble when those supervisors push their employees too hard, especially on hot days, to reach whatever level they deem correct, insiders say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards, of Cal Fire Local 2881, notes that the union has “been pushing for years to have a minimal physical fitness standard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the union wants seasonal firefighters to have their fitness tested over a week, with intense physical exercise and step-by-step goals to measure their progress. If they fail to pass those tests, he said, they could be set on a remedial path or let go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edwards blames the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for issues involving incarcerated firefighters. He argues that Cal Fire has little control over these abilities when they arrive at fire camps, even though the 11 heat-related incidents involving incarcerated people identified by CJI and LAist occurred during official Cal Fire trainings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Corrections Department said Cal Fire has always trained incarcerated firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, when a firefighter falls behind on fitness requirements, Cal Fire’s system leaves it up to individual stations to determine how that firefighter will move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889391\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889391 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A line of firefighters wearing bright orange uniforms and carrying equipment walk alongside a forest in front of a firefighter wearing a traditional yellow uniform.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Incarcerated-Hike-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incarcerated firefighters on a training hike with Cal Fire. Incarcerated individuals make up a big chunk of California’s firefighters during wildfire season, but some firefighter union officials point out that incarcerated firefighters don’t receive enough physical training from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation before they join a crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When firefighters are assigned to a crew for the season, they are allotted an hour each day for personal training, and given access to wellness coordinators and workout gear. Supervisors are required to sign off on each firefighter’s monthly progress as part of a “Physical Fitness Documentation Log.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In more than half of heat-illness cases examined by CJI and LAist, the firefighters didn’t have a fitness plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with a Cal/OSHA investigator, some of Katkov’s former colleagues raised concerns about his physical fitness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But Cal/OSHA found that Ekblad had not created a fitness plan or any documentation to measure Katkov’s progress, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its statement, Cal Fire said it has no control over its firefighters’ “fitness efforts, caffeine intake, eating habits, water intake, sun exposure, alcohol consumption, or other factors that may impact their ability to perform their job functions” when they are off-duty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can take weeks or months for firefighters to safely build up their fitness, and experts say it’s not something that can be forced with strenuous exercise in a short period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just as a runner cannot expect to run a marathon without months of preparation, a firefighter cannot show up for the beginning of fire season … without preparing their body for the tasks ahead,” Cal Fire said in its statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brent Ruby, a University of Montana professor who has studied the physical demands of wildland firefighting, said ad hoc training is not the ideal way to train because there’s “a tendency to try to push” new or young recruits. As these firefighters press on, he said, the strain on their body builds up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hike faster, they produce more heat,” Ruby said, “but the environment is still bearing down on them and pushing back on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We’ve got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Dr. Thomas Ferguson, a consultant who says he reviews 8,000 medical files for Cal Fire each year, has seen how firefighters who are pushed too hard can get blamed for not meeting physical expectations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson told Cal/OSHA investigators that seasonal firefighters like Katkov are most vulnerable to heat illness. According to Cal/OSHA’s investigative file on Katkov’s death, Ferguson urged the department to adopt a fitness standard for seasonal and incarcerated firefighters partly for this reason.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t blame the firefighters,” he said in a recent interview. “We’ve got to educate the supervisors to recognize that they need to pay attention to this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889395\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11889395\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two firefighters seem to be pulling a long hose through the forest.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Progressive-Hoselay-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firefighters with Cal Fire San Diego practice a progressive hose lay during training. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cal Fire)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Identifying the hidden risks\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Even before starting the job, Cal Fire’s health screening processes may miss conditions that could jeopardize firefighters’ lives, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seasonal and incarcerated firefighters get little more than a basic physical, which experts say doesn’t always screen for potentially problematic health conditions. That has had dire consequences on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2001, eight firefighters with underlying health problems have died during training — five of them likely from heat exposure, experts say. All of them were incarcerated except for Katkov. Four died from cardiovascular issues, such as heart attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not all of those cases were directly tied to heat, researchers say high temperatures often play a hidden role in injuries and deaths, especially in workers who have underlying or preexisting health conditions, such as heart or kidney disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said its screening policy requires “an annual medical evaluation for all applicants and employees who are required to be medically cleared.” Tests intended to check for preexisting conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and some cancers, are voluntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview with CJI and LAist, Ferguson said Cal Fire has a hard time keeping up with the basic screenings for thousands of seasonal and incarcerated firefighters each year. “It’s an operational issue for them,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union’s Edwards goes further. “When the State of California is hiring a temporary employee, and this is just the sad truth of it, they’re not going to want to invest a whole lot of time and money,” he said. “We don’t agree with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not until age 40 that full-time Cal Fire employees are required to take heart and blood tests, according to the union. Seasonal firefighters are offered the opportunity, but it’s not mandatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heart issues, which could be caught by more extensive tests, are among the preexisting conditions exacerbated by heat. When a firefighter dies, heat can be overlooked as the primary factor, creating a pattern of uneven enforcement, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April 2015, Raymond Araujo, a 37-year-old incarcerated man assigned to work in the Bautista Conservation Camp, set off on a training hike in Banning, California, about 30 miles from Palm Springs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Cal/OSHA records, Araujo covered two miles of steep terrain. The temperature reached 81 degrees — 10 degrees hotter for the area for that time of year. He stumbled during the exercise. His colleagues tried to carry him to the finish but eventually he lost his vision and fell to his knees. About an hour after the hike began, paramedics declared him dead, according to the records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A Cal/OSHA investigation named heat as a contributing factor in Araujo’s death, but the Riverside County coroner determined the cause was “hypertensive cardiovascular disease,” according to an autopsy report. Cal/OSHA’s medical unit, noting the preexisting condition, concluded that “it did not appear likely that a heat illness or other work-related illness or injury played any role in Araujo’s sudden death,” records show. The agency closed the case without issuing any citations for violating the state’s heat standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Garrett Brown, a Cal/OSHA inspector from 1994 to 2014, investigated more than 100 work sites for heat issues. He reviewed the Araujo case at our request and said it was impossible to know why the agency chose not to address the heat standard violations. Despite that decision, Brown said the incident resembled many heat cases he had handled, in which workers suffered heart or kidney failure because of hot temperatures, and likely should’ve been handled as possible heat standard violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Cal/OSHA spokesperson defended the agency’s handling of Araujo’s death. “Cal/OSHA Enforcement relied on the Medical Unit’s opinion,” the spokesperson, Frank Polizzi, wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferguson isn’t the only one who’s raised concerns about Cal Fire’s health-screening process. During the Cal/OSHA investigation into Katkov’s death, Tammy Stout, manager of the Cal Fire medical unit, was blunt in her assessment of the process, explaining that she had received medical clearance even though she believed she was physically incapable of doing a firefighter’s job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire Captain Cesar Nerey put it simply. “You could get a better physical playing high school football than the one required by Cal Fire,” he told the Cal/OSHA investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A gap in existing heat protections\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>There’s another concerning factor in how Cal Fire brings new firefighters onto the job: a lack of a department-wide regimented acclimatization plan that would ease employees into the heat. Instead, as with fitness training, Cal Fire leaves it up to individual stations to craft their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Here’s why that matters. Acclimatization — building up a tolerance for heat — is a crucial part of training firefighters to operate in extreme conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Easing firefighters into the work in hot temperatures is widely viewed as one of the best ways to prevent heat illnesses and deaths. It should happen during a new or newly returned firefighter’s two weeks of training, health experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For nearly 25 years, since the death of a California firefighter from heat exposure while constructing a fire line in 1997, a federal agency has recommended the state follow specific protocols for acclimatization of firefighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protocols, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), call for:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>New employees working in heat no more than 20% of their first shift, with a daily increase of the same percentage until fully acclimated.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Experienced firefighters returning from an extended break working in heat more than 50% of the first day, with a gradual increase over the course of a week.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said that it is considering those recommendations, but it “may not be achievable in all situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department said following them “could cause issues in protecting the people and resources of California,” since firefighters often are thrust into emergency situations when a fire erupts and may come from areas across the state and be used to different climates. Cal Fire did not address non-emergency training scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some heat-related incidents have occurred early in a firefighter’s tenure and during training. Of all the incidents identified by CJI and LAist, records show at least 14 employees were sickened by heat at the Cal Fire training academy during their first weeks. Dozens more suffered from heat illnesses on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a two-month period in the summer of 2014, three firefighters were hospitalized after they had trained in the heat. Two of these incidents occurred in the same week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA considers an acclimatization plan the pinnacle of heat awareness — indeed, it is one of the four pillars of heat safety in the state’s standard. Yet the agency leaves the details on how to acclimate employees up to individual employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, Cal/OSHA said “the acclimatization period, when employees are introduced to high heat, is the most critical in terms of illness prevention.” The agency rarely cites employers for failing to acclimatize their employees, as compared to other heat-related violations, having done so only 68 times since 2015, as of July 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What can prevent a tragedy\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While heat continues to be an issue during Cal Fire training activities, a responsive supervisor can make the difference between life and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly a year after Katkov’s death, yet another firefighter came close to dying on a training hike in Mariposa, 150 miles east of San José. The firefighter had suffered leg cramps and vomited on the same trail just two weeks earlier, according to Cal Fire documents. A physician cleared him for work, but people with prior injuries can be more susceptible to heat stress, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a hike in July 2020, the temperature reached 87 degrees. According to Cal Fire records, the captain, who said he’d been aware of the firefighter’s medical issues, watched his progress during the 60-minute exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the firefighter gasped for breath, the captain implored him to slow down. When his legs cramped, a colleague helped him down a hill. The captain called an ambulance, and the crew gave him oxygen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Airlifted to a trauma center, the firefigher was treated for heat stroke and a heat-related condition known as rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscle tissue to break down and leak toxins into the blood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11889393\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 623px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11889393 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg\" alt=\"A smiling couple in formal dress sit together at a table at a party.\" width=\"623\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5.jpeg 623w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Yaro-5-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaroslav Katkov with his longtime partner, Ashley Vallario. Vallario considered filing a lawsuit after Katkov’s death but later decided against it. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ashley Vallario)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ashley Vallario, Yaroslav Katkov’s partner, who considered filing a lawsuit but decided against it, still can’t understand why Katkov wasn’t given the same level of care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katkov was selfless, she said, someone who would help others even to his detriment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early in their relationship, Vallario remembers Katkov taking her on a date to pick up trash on the beach. Initially, that gave her pause, but she’s come to realize it was Katkov’s way of giving back. “It definitely made me, like, a better person,” Vallario said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since Katkov’s death, she has pushed Cal Fire to demand more of its leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re supposed to have faith that those people would keep them safe,” she said. “It shows what kind of leadership that they’re willing to allow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Brian Edwards reported this story as a fellow for Columbia Journalism Investigations, an investigative reporting unit at the Columbia Journalism School in New York, along with Jacob Margolis, a science reporter at KPCC and LAist, and a member of The California Newsroom.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Biden administration is pushing for new worker protections after record-setting temperatures across the country left dozens of workers injured and dead this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20210920\">Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday\u003c/a> that \u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2021-09-01#Attachment4\">it will prioritize inspections on hot days\u003c/a>, target high-risk industries nationally, and, as reported earlier this summer, begin developing a federal rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses, a move long sought by worker advocates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/20/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-mobilizing-the-administration-to-address-extreme-heat/\">Biden released a joint statement with OSHA\u003c/a>, calling the initiative an “all-of-government effort to protect workers, children, seniors, and at-risk communities from extreme heat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An investigation last month by NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations found \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1026154042/hundreds-of-workers-have-died-from-heat-in-the-last-decade-and-its-getting-worse\">a dramatic rise in preventable worker deaths from high temperatures\u003c/a>, and that 384 workers died from environmental heat exposure in the U.S. during the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11886402\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1773-1020x680.jpg\"]The fatalities included workers performing essential services across the country: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11886402/why-california-workers-are-still-dying-from-heat-despite-protections\">farm laborers in California\u003c/a> and Nebraska, \u003ca href=\"https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2021/09/07/407895/texas-workers-are-dying-in-the-summer-heat-and-companies-arent-being-held-accountable/\">construction workers and trash collectors in Texas\u003c/a>, and tree trimmers in North Carolina and Virginia. An analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics by NPR and CJI showed the three-year average of worker heat deaths had doubled since the early 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers of color have borne the brunt: Since 2010, for example, Latino people have accounted for a third of all heat fatalities, yet they represent a fraction — 17% — of the U.S. workforce, NPR and CJI found. Health and safety experts attribute this unequal toll to Latinos’ overrepresentation in industries vulnerable to dangerous heat, such as construction and agriculture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OSHA said in the news release that despite “widespread underreporting, 43 workers died from heat illness in 2019, and at least 2,410 others suffered serious injuries and illnesses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congressional \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2193?s=1&r=4\">Democrats who had previously introduced legislation to create a heat standard\u003c/a> applauded Monday’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11886628\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/RS50596_019_SanFrancisco_HeatWaveImpacts_08062021-qut-1020x680.jpg\"]“Without urgent action, the human and financial costs of excessive heat will continue to climb,” said Rep. Robert Scott (D-Va.), who chairs the House Committee on Education and Labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Michaels, who led OSHA during the Obama administration, called the new measures “a major step forward.” Michaels said presidents rarely weigh in on OSHA standards, suggesting that the White House is committed to fast-tracking a heat standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is unusual for this to happen, especially so early in the rulemaking process,” he said.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Department of Labor will prioritize inspections on hot days, target high-risk industries and begin developing a federal rule to protect workers during heat waves.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Biden administration is pushing for new worker protections after record-setting temperatures across the country left dozens of workers injured and dead this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20210920\">Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday\u003c/a> that \u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2021-09-01#Attachment4\">it will prioritize inspections on hot days\u003c/a>, target high-risk industries nationally, and, as reported earlier this summer, begin developing a federal rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses, a move long sought by worker advocates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/20/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-mobilizing-the-administration-to-address-extreme-heat/\">Biden released a joint statement with OSHA\u003c/a>, calling the initiative an “all-of-government effort to protect workers, children, seniors, and at-risk communities from extreme heat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An investigation last month by NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations found \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1026154042/hundreds-of-workers-have-died-from-heat-in-the-last-decade-and-its-getting-worse\">a dramatic rise in preventable worker deaths from high temperatures\u003c/a>, and that 384 workers died from environmental heat exposure in the U.S. during the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The fatalities included workers performing essential services across the country: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11886402/why-california-workers-are-still-dying-from-heat-despite-protections\">farm laborers in California\u003c/a> and Nebraska, \u003ca href=\"https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2021/09/07/407895/texas-workers-are-dying-in-the-summer-heat-and-companies-arent-being-held-accountable/\">construction workers and trash collectors in Texas\u003c/a>, and tree trimmers in North Carolina and Virginia. An analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics by NPR and CJI showed the three-year average of worker heat deaths had doubled since the early 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers of color have borne the brunt: Since 2010, for example, Latino people have accounted for a third of all heat fatalities, yet they represent a fraction — 17% — of the U.S. workforce, NPR and CJI found. Health and safety experts attribute this unequal toll to Latinos’ overrepresentation in industries vulnerable to dangerous heat, such as construction and agriculture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OSHA said in the news release that despite “widespread underreporting, 43 workers died from heat illness in 2019, and at least 2,410 others suffered serious injuries and illnesses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congressional \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2193?s=1&r=4\">Democrats who had previously introduced legislation to create a heat standard\u003c/a> applauded Monday’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Without urgent action, the human and financial costs of excessive heat will continue to climb,” said Rep. Robert Scott (D-Va.), who chairs the House Committee on Education and Labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Michaels, who led OSHA during the Obama administration, called the new measures “a major step forward.” Michaels said presidents rarely weigh in on OSHA standards, suggesting that the White House is committed to fast-tracking a heat standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is unusual for this to happen, especially so early in the rulemaking process,” he said.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Labor unions put a massive effort into helping Gov. Gavin Newsom defeat the recent recall attempt against him. Labor-sponsored get-out-the-vote campaigns rallied tens of thousands of volunteers to make millions of phone calls and texts and knock on hundreds of thousands of doors throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Labor Federation’s spokesperson Steve Smith said it was one of the largest such efforts in the state’s history. And, he said, unions now expect to see their hard work pay off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got a lot of work to do on COVID protections, on restoring our economy, on tackling income inequality,” Smith said. ” And we expect big things to happen over the course of the next several years on those issues and others.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith says the Labor Federation’s legislative agenda isn’t set for next year yet. But he said they want the governor to support efforts to raise worker pay, improve protections for gig workers and lessen income inequality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Smith said labor’s primary motivation was preventing a Republican from winning the governor’s office. Unions were especially worried about Larry Elder, a right-wing radio host who led with voters among candidates seeking to replace Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made a lot of progress, not just under Governor Newsom, but for the last couple of decades on workers’ rights,” Smith said. “We’re a national leader on workers’ rights and that was under threat with this recall. Any one of those Republicans, especially Larry Elder, would have taken us in the wrong direction at light speed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Max Arias, executive director of the Service Employees International Union Local 99, said the defeat of the recall was a huge victory for working people — one they hope to build on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thousands and thousands of volunteers and members didn’t turn out because they have a specific expectation of the governor,” Arias said. “They turned out because that is exactly how we build power. And we expect and hope that the governor will continue to work in partnership with working people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union turnout came at a crucial time for Newsom. A \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/07/27/newsom-holds-only-slim-margin-in-recall-vote-berkeley-igs-poll-finds/\">late July poll\u003c/a> showed the governor barely beating the recall, largely due to Democrats being unengaged in the election. The Labor Federation’s Smith said the union’s get out the vote campaign was able to mobilize quickly to turn out their voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was undertaken over the course of, really, eight weeks that we had from the time the program ramped up to Election Day,” Smith said.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, union members made over 31 million phone calls to potential voters and knocked on 1.5 million doors. The SEIU alone spent $6 million fighting the recall. The union said it was focused on turning out communities of color. According to the Political Data Inc. election tracker, \u003ca href=\"https://www.politicaldata.com/2021-special-election-tracker/\">total voter turnout \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politicaldata.com/2021-special-election-tracker/\">so far \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politicaldata.com/2021-special-election-tracker/\"> is about 44%\u003c/a>. Turnout stands at 40% for for Latino voters, 43% for Asian voters and 40% for African American voters.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Labor unions put a massive effort into helping Gov. Gavin Newsom defeat the recent recall attempt against him. Labor-sponsored get-out-the-vote campaigns rallied tens of thousands of volunteers to make millions of phone calls and texts and knock on hundreds of thousands of doors throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Labor Federation’s spokesperson Steve Smith said it was one of the largest such efforts in the state’s history. And, he said, unions now expect to see their hard work pay off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got a lot of work to do on COVID protections, on restoring our economy, on tackling income inequality,” Smith said. ” And we expect big things to happen over the course of the next several years on those issues and others.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith says the Labor Federation’s legislative agenda isn’t set for next year yet. But he said they want the governor to support efforts to raise worker pay, improve protections for gig workers and lessen income inequality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Smith said labor’s primary motivation was preventing a Republican from winning the governor’s office. Unions were especially worried about Larry Elder, a right-wing radio host who led with voters among candidates seeking to replace Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made a lot of progress, not just under Governor Newsom, but for the last couple of decades on workers’ rights,” Smith said. “We’re a national leader on workers’ rights and that was under threat with this recall. Any one of those Republicans, especially Larry Elder, would have taken us in the wrong direction at light speed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Max Arias, executive director of the Service Employees International Union Local 99, said the defeat of the recall was a huge victory for working people — one they hope to build on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thousands and thousands of volunteers and members didn’t turn out because they have a specific expectation of the governor,” Arias said. “They turned out because that is exactly how we build power. And we expect and hope that the governor will continue to work in partnership with working people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union turnout came at a crucial time for Newsom. A \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/07/27/newsom-holds-only-slim-margin-in-recall-vote-berkeley-igs-poll-finds/\">late July poll\u003c/a> showed the governor barely beating the recall, largely due to Democrats being unengaged in the election. The Labor Federation’s Smith said the union’s get out the vote campaign was able to mobilize quickly to turn out their voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was undertaken over the course of, really, eight weeks that we had from the time the program ramped up to Election Day,” Smith said.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, union members made over 31 million phone calls to potential voters and knocked on 1.5 million doors. The SEIU alone spent $6 million fighting the recall. The union said it was focused on turning out communities of color. According to the Political Data Inc. election tracker, \u003ca href=\"https://www.politicaldata.com/2021-special-election-tracker/\">total voter turnout \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politicaldata.com/2021-special-election-tracker/\">so far \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politicaldata.com/2021-special-election-tracker/\"> is about 44%\u003c/a>. Turnout stands at 40% for for Latino voters, 43% for Asian voters and 40% for African American voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>The Bay’s How To newsletter series (\u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform\">sign up here\u003c/a>) is an extension of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bythepeople\">By the People\u003c/a> episodes that look into how democracy functions in the spaces around us — and where, exactly, each of us can plug in. These features include changemakers who have learned how to get involved locally and now are sharing their step-by-step guides.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888461 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-800x200.png\" alt='A graphic with a picture of Sandra Celedon called \"How to Get a Measure on the Ballot.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-800x200.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-1020x255.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-160x40.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-1536x384.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4.png 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11881651/maybe-you-should-run-for-office-heres-how\">running for office\u003c/a> isn’t your thing, maybe working with your neighbors to change a local issue is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let’s say you want to propose a new law for the state of California or your own city or county. You can, through the ballot!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if lawmakers pass something you are not in favor of, guess what? You can start \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Veto_referendum\">a process to revoke it\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_measure\">24 states\u003c/a> offer residents the chance to submit statewide ballot measure initiatives, and \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/History_of_Initiative_and_Referendum_in_California\">California is one of them\u003c/a>. Ballot measures propose new laws that can apply to cities and/or counties or to the entire state (then called propositions). Both need to be voted on and are included in voting ballots alongside the candidates running for office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ballot measures allow California voters to make new laws, change or repeal existing laws, change the state constitution, or approve a bond measure, without having to rely on lawmakers to do so. As a matter of fact, the 2021 recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom is partly the result of a voter initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California secretary of state has compiled \u003ca href=\"https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ballot-measures/pdf/statewide-initiative-guide.pdf\">an extensive guide on how to navigate the bureaucracy and paperwork when organizing to get a measure on the state ballot\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888453 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-800x450.png\" alt=\"A graphic titled "Steps for an initiative to become law" with 6 steps available at Rob Bonta's Ballot Initiative website. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to make a change in your city or county, getting a measure on a local ballot is also an option in California and that can happen through one of two paths:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Direct\u003c/strong>: You collect the needed signatures and your initiative goes straight to the ballot.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Indirect\u003c/strong>: You submit your initiative and it goes to a legislative body (like a city council), which then votes on it.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>Where you live determines the rules you have to follow to successfully submit a ballot measure. It’s important to know the procedures and timeline because it can be an intricate and lengthy process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, many cities in California, like San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San José and Fresno, are “charter cities.” This means that they each have their own process for getting a measure on their local ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Sandra Celedon, organizer, Fresno for Parks\"]‘Taking issues to the ballot is the pinnacle of people-led movements.’[/pullquote]If you live in a charter city and want to know what the process is like, you can call the city directly (reach out to the city clerk) and ask for what their process looks like, or you can check their website (\u003ca href=\"https://sfelections.sfgov.org/sites/default/files/Documents/candidates/2020Nov/Nov2020_MeasuresGuide_updated22120.pdf\">here’s an example from San Francisco\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you don’t live in a charter city, you should still contact your city clerk, who should walk you through the next steps. Your ballot initiative will eventually go to a legislative body (like your city council), who then can do one of three things:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Pass your ballot initiative without having to put it on a ballot for voter approval.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Approve the ballot initiative to be placed on the ballot for approval.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Ask for a report on the impact of the initiative, although \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_local_ballot_measures_in_California\">that is rare\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>Sandra Celedon and \u003ca href=\"https://click.email.kqed.org/?qs=a8449da0086608c3266738bc923bcd4cd689bafc408c8e47544d7093aa19ed1fa19076c2e12826911e49aa36a8f823ce46d9c5b403a815f5\">Fresno for Parks\u003c/a> are an example of a successful local community- and youth-led ballot initiative. Celedon was part of the group that identified a community issue, gathered signatures and wrote Measure P aimed to provide clean, safe neighborhood parks, trails and recreational and art programs throughout Fresno back in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Taking issues to the ballot is the pinnacle of people-led movements,” Celedon told KQED. While there were \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article247933200.html\">ups and downs\u003c/a>, Measure P passed and Celedon shared her tips with us:\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>1. Get community and data to inform your issue\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Make sure issues connect to your community’s concerns and priorities. Even if they seem important to you, it may not be for your neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11883205\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-43-1.png\"]When Celedon began organizing back in 2017, some advocates believed housing was the most pressing issue to address. But when they hosted a town hall that 300 people showed up to, some young people asked Celedon why they weren’t focusing on parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Celedon asked why they should, and one young person said, “Well, they suck! They don’t have any working bathrooms, there’s no grass, there’s no activities, and there aren’t any nearby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Celedon called it a “gut check and humility point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bottom line for Celedon and her team was to make long-lasting change in response to the concerns and priorities the community was highlighting. It is essential to take the time to hear what the community wants and needs, and to be flexible enough to shift priorities to meet those needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group quickly got to work and surveyed young people in the community to see if they also thought parks were an issue worth focusing on. Turns out they did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They understood how parks connected to land use, neighborhoods, wellness and all of the things that we now take as fact,“ says Celedon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, Celedon and advocates didn’t really know about issues facing parks, like the complexities of land use and development in Fresno. So research had to be done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Sandra Celedon, Fresno for Parks organizer\"]‘[The youth] understood how parks connected to land use, neighborhoods, wellness and all of the things that we now take as fact.’[/pullquote]Celedon suggests looking at public city documents, like budgets, and comparing them to other cities. Research national organizations that conduct annual studies and compile statistics on your issue. All of the information that organizers were learning was then shared back with the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We hosted huge community meetings of 300 to 400 people — at one point 900 — to just really break it down,” says Celedon. “We said, ‘Here’s what we understand. What do others understand? What do we want to learn more about?’ And then we started to bring in other experts to confirm we understood what was happening with land use and development in Fresno.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also important to continuously survey your community. “We had been running citywide voter surveys every year,” Celedon says. “We were just calling folks and asking, ‘Why do you care about parks? Would you be willing to pay more for parks?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These surveys, plus door-to-door canvassing, allowed the coalition to build relationships with residents, obtain more than 35,000 signatures and set the foundation for funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Note: Certain local bond and tax measures require approval by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures\">55% or a two-thirds vote of the electorate\u003c/a>. A statewide ballot measure can be approved by a majority vote of the people. Unless a city charter specifies anything different, 10% of registered voters are needed to pass a measure (not bond or tax), but check your county or city laws for the required percentage of votes it needs to pass.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888452 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-800x450.png\" alt='A graphic titled \"Get Community & Data to Inform Your Issue,\" with 4 steps that are covered in the article.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>2. Launch your campaign\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11881651\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/alexlee_horizontal-copy-1376x1032.jpg\"]Once you’ve identified the issue your community cares about and have the data to prove why it’s important, it’s time to increase the public’s awareness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno for Parks decided to do a communication campaign using city bus ads to highlight the statistics they discovered through their research. When the ads were being placed on buses, an employee notified them they weren’t going to run the ads, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article22569339.html?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=The%20Bay&mc_key=00Q1Y00001wB9IBUA0\">claiming they were too political\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was the biggest gift the city could have given us because it actually got us tons of free media,” says Celedon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At press conferences, the coalition shared more data like the fact that the parks budget makes up 4% of general fund spending, while police make up about half.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>3. Get that money!\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Everything takes money. You will need to explain how your proposed measure will be funded if it’s passed into law. So, it’s helpful to know off the bat whether voters are willing to see their tax money used to support their proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Fresno for Parks, their annual surveys informed them early on that they had the financial support of residents. They also asked for help from \u003ca href=\"https://www.tpl.org/\">The Trust for Public Land\u003c/a>, a national organization that provides annual park scores. They conducted a study to find out all the ways parks can be funded and how other communities were doing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Measure P’s funding source was a 3/8-cent city sales tax — a sales tax increase smaller than 1 cent per purchase — that ensured visitors and non-Fresno residents also paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing that costs money is the campaign in favor of the measure itself, plus any potential legal fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://www.centralvalleycf.org/advocacy\">federal law\u003c/a>, support for ballot measures is considered a form of direct lobbying, and such support may take many forms. Fresno for Parks got money from the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.centralvalleycf.org/\">Central Valley Community Foundation\u003c/a>, which had just received an endowment specifically for parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the IRS, under what’s called the expenditure test, an organization’s tax-exempt status will not be jeopardized if the amount \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/measuring-lobbying-activity-expenditure-test\">does not exceed a specific amount\u003c/a>. This amount usually depends on the size of the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are just some examples highlighting the financial needs and costs of an initiative. It is by no means \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/initiatives\">a comprehensive list\u003c/a>, but rather a reality to consider for this process.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>4. No losses, only setbacks\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The process may be arduous and slow, but Celedon says you have to stay committed. Measure P \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article247933200.html\">faced a lot of opposition\u003c/a> from prominent city officials. The “Vote No On Measure P” campaign was backed by Fresno’s former mayor, police chief, and fire chief and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='Related Coverage' tag='fresno']In the 2018 local elections, Measure P received about 52% of the yes vote after votes were certified. But the city of Fresno argued that the ballot measure needed a two-thirds majority to pass, not a simple majority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dispute carried on until December 2020 — more than two years after the election — when California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article247933200.html\">overturned the opinion of a lower court\u003c/a>. Ultimately, Measure P passed thanks to that successful appeal, and since then the city has approved a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnoforparks.com/commissioners\">Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission\u003c/a> to oversee Measure P expenditures. The commission is currently \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/fresnoforparks/status/1428838794975842304\">accepting project proposals for parks, trails and arts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can follow Fresno for Parks \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/fresnoforparks\">on Twitter\u003c/a> to see how they are ensuring the proper planning, budgeting and projects made possible by Measure P.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Search for information about \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/November_3,_2020_ballot_measures_in_California\">the local ballot measures on the recent November 2020 ballot in California\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888454 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-800x450.png\" alt='A chart reads \"Tips on Getting a Measure on the Ballot\" with 4 categories, which are covered in the article.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Isabeth Mendoza is the engagement producer for The Bay, a podcast that explores local news every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We launched a newsletter and episode series called \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bythepeople\">By the People\u003c/a> shortly after Election Day in the U.S. in 2020. The purpose of the series was to look into how democracy functions in the spaces around us, and by extension \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform'\">the newsletter\u003c/a> continued the conversation focusing on how to plug in. We looked at how to run for office, how to use digital spaces for advocacy and how to get a measure on a ballot. If any of these spark your curiosity, keep reading because we break it down for you in simple how-to guides.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>The Bay’s How To newsletter series (\u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform\">sign up here\u003c/a>) is an extension of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bythepeople\">By the People\u003c/a> episodes that look into how democracy functions in the spaces around us — and where, exactly, each of us can plug in. These features include changemakers who have learned how to get involved locally and now are sharing their step-by-step guides.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888461 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-800x200.png\" alt='A graphic with a picture of Sandra Celedon called \"How to Get a Measure on the Ballot.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-800x200.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-1020x255.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-160x40.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4-1536x384.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/How-To-Headers-4.png 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11881651/maybe-you-should-run-for-office-heres-how\">running for office\u003c/a> isn’t your thing, maybe working with your neighbors to change a local issue is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let’s say you want to propose a new law for the state of California or your own city or county. You can, through the ballot!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if lawmakers pass something you are not in favor of, guess what? You can start \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Veto_referendum\">a process to revoke it\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_measure\">24 states\u003c/a> offer residents the chance to submit statewide ballot measure initiatives, and \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/History_of_Initiative_and_Referendum_in_California\">California is one of them\u003c/a>. Ballot measures propose new laws that can apply to cities and/or counties or to the entire state (then called propositions). Both need to be voted on and are included in voting ballots alongside the candidates running for office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ballot measures allow California voters to make new laws, change or repeal existing laws, change the state constitution, or approve a bond measure, without having to rely on lawmakers to do so. As a matter of fact, the 2021 recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom is partly the result of a voter initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California secretary of state has compiled \u003ca href=\"https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ballot-measures/pdf/statewide-initiative-guide.pdf\">an extensive guide on how to navigate the bureaucracy and paperwork when organizing to get a measure on the state ballot\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888453 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-800x450.png\" alt=\"A graphic titled "Steps for an initiative to become law" with 6 steps available at Rob Bonta's Ballot Initiative website. \" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/2.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to make a change in your city or county, getting a measure on a local ballot is also an option in California and that can happen through one of two paths:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Direct\u003c/strong>: You collect the needed signatures and your initiative goes straight to the ballot.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Indirect\u003c/strong>: You submit your initiative and it goes to a legislative body (like a city council), which then votes on it.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>Where you live determines the rules you have to follow to successfully submit a ballot measure. It’s important to know the procedures and timeline because it can be an intricate and lengthy process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, many cities in California, like San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San José and Fresno, are “charter cities.” This means that they each have their own process for getting a measure on their local ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>If you live in a charter city and want to know what the process is like, you can call the city directly (reach out to the city clerk) and ask for what their process looks like, or you can check their website (\u003ca href=\"https://sfelections.sfgov.org/sites/default/files/Documents/candidates/2020Nov/Nov2020_MeasuresGuide_updated22120.pdf\">here’s an example from San Francisco\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you don’t live in a charter city, you should still contact your city clerk, who should walk you through the next steps. Your ballot initiative will eventually go to a legislative body (like your city council), who then can do one of three things:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Pass your ballot initiative without having to put it on a ballot for voter approval.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Approve the ballot initiative to be placed on the ballot for approval.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Ask for a report on the impact of the initiative, although \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_local_ballot_measures_in_California\">that is rare\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>Sandra Celedon and \u003ca href=\"https://click.email.kqed.org/?qs=a8449da0086608c3266738bc923bcd4cd689bafc408c8e47544d7093aa19ed1fa19076c2e12826911e49aa36a8f823ce46d9c5b403a815f5\">Fresno for Parks\u003c/a> are an example of a successful local community- and youth-led ballot initiative. Celedon was part of the group that identified a community issue, gathered signatures and wrote Measure P aimed to provide clean, safe neighborhood parks, trails and recreational and art programs throughout Fresno back in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Taking issues to the ballot is the pinnacle of people-led movements,” Celedon told KQED. While there were \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article247933200.html\">ups and downs\u003c/a>, Measure P passed and Celedon shared her tips with us:\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When Celedon began organizing back in 2017, some advocates believed housing was the most pressing issue to address. But when they hosted a town hall that 300 people showed up to, some young people asked Celedon why they weren’t focusing on parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Celedon asked why they should, and one young person said, “Well, they suck! They don’t have any working bathrooms, there’s no grass, there’s no activities, and there aren’t any nearby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Celedon called it a “gut check and humility point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bottom line for Celedon and her team was to make long-lasting change in response to the concerns and priorities the community was highlighting. It is essential to take the time to hear what the community wants and needs, and to be flexible enough to shift priorities to meet those needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group quickly got to work and surveyed young people in the community to see if they also thought parks were an issue worth focusing on. Turns out they did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They understood how parks connected to land use, neighborhoods, wellness and all of the things that we now take as fact,“ says Celedon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, Celedon and advocates didn’t really know about issues facing parks, like the complexities of land use and development in Fresno. So research had to be done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘[The youth] understood how parks connected to land use, neighborhoods, wellness and all of the things that we now take as fact.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Celedon suggests looking at public city documents, like budgets, and comparing them to other cities. Research national organizations that conduct annual studies and compile statistics on your issue. All of the information that organizers were learning was then shared back with the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We hosted huge community meetings of 300 to 400 people — at one point 900 — to just really break it down,” says Celedon. “We said, ‘Here’s what we understand. What do others understand? What do we want to learn more about?’ And then we started to bring in other experts to confirm we understood what was happening with land use and development in Fresno.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also important to continuously survey your community. “We had been running citywide voter surveys every year,” Celedon says. “We were just calling folks and asking, ‘Why do you care about parks? Would you be willing to pay more for parks?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These surveys, plus door-to-door canvassing, allowed the coalition to build relationships with residents, obtain more than 35,000 signatures and set the foundation for funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Note: Certain local bond and tax measures require approval by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures\">55% or a two-thirds vote of the electorate\u003c/a>. A statewide ballot measure can be approved by a majority vote of the people. Unless a city charter specifies anything different, 10% of registered voters are needed to pass a measure (not bond or tax), but check your county or city laws for the required percentage of votes it needs to pass.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888452 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-800x450.png\" alt='A graphic titled \"Get Community & Data to Inform Your Issue,\" with 4 steps that are covered in the article.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/1.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>2. Launch your campaign\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Once you’ve identified the issue your community cares about and have the data to prove why it’s important, it’s time to increase the public’s awareness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno for Parks decided to do a communication campaign using city bus ads to highlight the statistics they discovered through their research. When the ads were being placed on buses, an employee notified them they weren’t going to run the ads, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article22569339.html?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=The%20Bay&mc_key=00Q1Y00001wB9IBUA0\">claiming they were too political\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was the biggest gift the city could have given us because it actually got us tons of free media,” says Celedon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At press conferences, the coalition shared more data like the fact that the parks budget makes up 4% of general fund spending, while police make up about half.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>3. Get that money!\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Everything takes money. You will need to explain how your proposed measure will be funded if it’s passed into law. So, it’s helpful to know off the bat whether voters are willing to see their tax money used to support their proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Fresno for Parks, their annual surveys informed them early on that they had the financial support of residents. They also asked for help from \u003ca href=\"https://www.tpl.org/\">The Trust for Public Land\u003c/a>, a national organization that provides annual park scores. They conducted a study to find out all the ways parks can be funded and how other communities were doing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Measure P’s funding source was a 3/8-cent city sales tax — a sales tax increase smaller than 1 cent per purchase — that ensured visitors and non-Fresno residents also paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing that costs money is the campaign in favor of the measure itself, plus any potential legal fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://www.centralvalleycf.org/advocacy\">federal law\u003c/a>, support for ballot measures is considered a form of direct lobbying, and such support may take many forms. Fresno for Parks got money from the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.centralvalleycf.org/\">Central Valley Community Foundation\u003c/a>, which had just received an endowment specifically for parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the IRS, under what’s called the expenditure test, an organization’s tax-exempt status will not be jeopardized if the amount \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/measuring-lobbying-activity-expenditure-test\">does not exceed a specific amount\u003c/a>. This amount usually depends on the size of the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are just some examples highlighting the financial needs and costs of an initiative. It is by no means \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/initiatives\">a comprehensive list\u003c/a>, but rather a reality to consider for this process.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>4. No losses, only setbacks\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The process may be arduous and slow, but Celedon says you have to stay committed. Measure P \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article247933200.html\">faced a lot of opposition\u003c/a> from prominent city officials. The “Vote No On Measure P” campaign was backed by Fresno’s former mayor, police chief, and fire chief and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In the 2018 local elections, Measure P received about 52% of the yes vote after votes were certified. But the city of Fresno argued that the ballot measure needed a two-thirds majority to pass, not a simple majority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dispute carried on until December 2020 — more than two years after the election — when California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article247933200.html\">overturned the opinion of a lower court\u003c/a>. Ultimately, Measure P passed thanks to that successful appeal, and since then the city has approved a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnoforparks.com/commissioners\">Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission\u003c/a> to oversee Measure P expenditures. The commission is currently \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/fresnoforparks/status/1428838794975842304\">accepting project proposals for parks, trails and arts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can follow Fresno for Parks \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/fresnoforparks\">on Twitter\u003c/a> to see how they are ensuring the proper planning, budgeting and projects made possible by Measure P.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Search for information about \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/November_3,_2020_ballot_measures_in_California\">the local ballot measures on the recent November 2020 ballot in California\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11888454 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-800x450.png\" alt='A chart reads \"Tips on Getting a Measure on the Ballot\" with 4 categories, which are covered in the article.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/3-2.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Isabeth Mendoza is the engagement producer for The Bay, a podcast that explores local news every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We launched a newsletter and episode series called \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bythepeople\">By the People\u003c/a> shortly after Election Day in the U.S. in 2020. The purpose of the series was to look into how democracy functions in the spaces around us, and by extension \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform'\">the newsletter\u003c/a> continued the conversation focusing on how to plug in. We looked at how to run for office, how to use digital spaces for advocacy and how to get a measure on a ballot. If any of these spark your curiosity, keep reading because we break it down for you in simple how-to guides.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the summer of 2005, a terrible three-week heat wave swept the West, driving temperatures to triple-digit levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four farmworkers working the fields of central California died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state quickly put in place emergency orders, which evolved into the first workplace heat standards in the nation: Employers would have to give employees water, rest and shade as they toiled in high temperatures. Until then, there were no rules when it came to hot weather and the workplace.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Frank Polizzi, Cal/OSHA spokesperson\"]‘We believe that virtually all heat-related deaths and illnesses can be prevented. Periods of high heat are part of our new reality worldwide, and definitely in California.’[/pullquote]Since then, California has seen hotter average temperatures in 12 of the past 16 years. Even as the climate emergency has grown more acute, the state’s once-groundbreaking heat-safety rules have not kept pace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and federal workplace regulators say they consider heat-related illness and death to be 100% preventable. But California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health — Cal/OSHA — the agency that enforces the heat standard, has been chronically underfunded and understaffed. The result, according to dozens of interviews, a review of government records and an analysis of worker heat-death cases: Farmworkers, firefighters, construction workers and others required to work in hot environments continue to die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s failure to adequately invest in Cal/OSHA has undercut the agency’s ability to crack down on companies that violate the heat standard. Its most recent budget request admitted as much, describing enforcement as “minimal to non-existent due to the lack of occupational health inspectors.” Rising temperatures caused by climate change have compounded the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some say the standard is already obsolete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a startling point of view considering that California’s heat standard is held up as a model. Its water, rest and shade measures are considered both stringent and eminently achievable by former and current officials at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Workers’ rights advocates and OSHA officials have decried the lack of a similar standard to protect workers nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Absent that safeguard, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1026154042/hundreds-of-workers-have-died-from-heat-in-the-last-decade-and-its-getting-worse\">workers of color across the country have borne the brunt of dangerous heat in the U.S.\u003c/a>, according to an investigation by Columbia Journalism Investigations, NPR, KPCC and The California Newsroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA declined multiple requests for on-the-record interviews for this story. In response to 39 written questions from CJI and The California Newsroom, the agency stressed the need for businesses to do their part to help stem the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe that virtually all heat-related deaths and illnesses can be prevented,” Frank Polizzi, a Cal/OSHA spokesperson, wrote in a response on Aug. 13, 2021. “Periods of high heat are part of our new reality worldwide, and definitely in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Where things stand\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Over the past 10 years — during a period when state regulators lowered temperature limits that trigger workplace protections from 85 to 80 degrees — nearly four dozen California workers died from heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses. The deaths occurred across the state but were concentrated in the lower Central Valley, in and around Bakersfield, according to an analysis of federal data on worker heat deaths by CJI and NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the official death count doesn’t begin to reflect heat’s toll on workers. California, unlike other states, doesn’t record the number of serious worker injuries involving overnight hospital stays due to heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses. That makes it difficult to understand heat’s full impact on the state’s workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886406\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1824-scaled-e1630006553116.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886406 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1824-scaled-e1630006553116.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a long-sleeved shirt, T-shirt, apron, neck wrap, visor, mask and surgical gloves pulls leeks beneath a cloudless sky.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1635\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworker Sonia Bonce harvests leeks on a 90-degree day at Muranaka Farms in Moorpark. \u003ccite>(Jacob Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jisung Park, an economist at UCLA, studies the effects of rising temperatures on the labor force. Using a computer model of temperature increases over 20 years and workers’ compensation claims, he estimates that heat sickens, or contributes to injuries among, at least 15,000 California workers each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park attributes the gap in part to misclassified injuries. Heat, for example, can cause a construction worker standing on a ladder to fall and get hurt, but the injury likely won’t be categorized as heat-related. Heat illnesses also occur at lower temperatures than expected; Park has found that workers experienced heat exhaustion and similar conditions on days when the temperature was as low as 75 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=california workers\"]Cal/OSHA said in its written response that the data the agency collects is not comparable to Park’s analysis. Insiders within the agency acknowledge the limitations of official data, however, and endorse the analysis. The agency also defended its record and said inspectors investigate every heat complaint reported by workers and advocates. In 2019, for instance, Cal/OSHA conducted more than 4,000 heat-related inspections and cited employers in 47% of them. Heat inspections, citations and fines have increased almost every year since the standard has been in effect, except for 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic affected such activities across the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Cal/OSHA insiders say that accelerating temperatures across the state — especially in the thousands of miles of valleys, where temperatures now exceed 100 degrees more than a dozen times a year — have \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1028542777/workers-are-dying-of-heat-outdoors-without-standards-to-protect-them\">made the 16-year-old standard outdated\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Extreme heat costs lives. CJI and NPR reporters analyzed 267 worker heat deaths recorded by the U.S. Department of Labor between 2010 and 2020 and compared the high temperature on the date of each incident to historic averages over 40 years. More than 66% of these deaths occurred when temperatures reached at least 90 degrees. In California — one of two states where at least 40 workers died — almost half of all deaths happened on days that were unusually hot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’ve seen over the last few years, certainly since I was chief of OSHA, is catastrophic warming of the earth,” said Ellen Widess, who led Cal/OSHA from 2011 to 2013. “The hundreds of thousands of farmworkers we depend on are extremely vulnerable, exploitable, dependent on these jobs, even in high heat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The current standards\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While water always needs to be available, once the thermometer reads 80 degrees, California’s heat standard kicks in. Employers are required to provide shade to their workers. Companies must ease workers into a job to enable them to adapt to hot temperatures, a practice known as acclimatization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886413\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886413\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1.png\" alt=\"Two photos, one of a freestanding shade structure, one of a water cooler atop a plastic basket, both in the middle of a field.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1.png 3639w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-800x262.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-1020x334.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-1536x503.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-2048x670.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-1920x628.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California’s heat standard mandates that shade and water be available to workers throughout the day, as seen here at Muranaka Farms in Moorpark. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At 95 degrees, employers must offer additional safeguards: a 10-minute break every two hours, a team meeting to remind workers of the signs of heat illness, and the designation of an employee to call emergency services in the event of a heat incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is it enough?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Widess, who says she was forced out at Cal/OSHA during Jerry Brown’s third term as governor, said the state’s standard has “certainly improved” over the years but “remains inadequate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also the issue of enforcement. The United Farm Workers has twice sued Cal/OSHA for what the labor group claimed was a systemic failure to enforce the rule. After a six-year legal battle, in 2015 the agency agreed to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Commission enforcement audits.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Create a system to monitor heat-related worker complaints.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Set up a UFW-affiliated hotline so workers could report employers who flouted the standard.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increase inspections and crack down on repeat offenders.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>In the five years since Cal/OSHA tightened its standard, agency data shows it issued thousands of citations. Most citations involved employers that didn’t offer heat training or prepare written heat-stress plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The audit reports, obtained by CJI and The California Newsroom, show that Cal/OSHA often failed to interview eyewitnesses about heat complaints if an inspector couldn’t find an obvious violation. At times, job sites named in complaints were dismantled and moved before an OSHA inspector ever reached them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has fewer than 200 inspectors in total to police a state with 18 million workers. According to Cal/OSHA, it has only 35 employees working in enforcement who speak Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886418\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886418 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three men in wide-brimmed hats chat near a stack of leeks in the middle of a field.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworker Juan Chavez speaks with colleagues while harvesting leeks on a 90-degree day at Muranaka Farms in Moorpark. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Garrett Brown, a former Cal/OSHA inspector who also served as a special assistant to Widess, has tracked the agency’s staff vacancies for years. As of July 31, at least 25% of its about 250 inspector positions remained open. About 33% of posts in its legal division were unfilled as of June, according to an analysis published on Brown’s website, \u003ca href=\"https://insidecalosha.org/\">Inside Cal/OSHA\u003c/a>. With such high turnover, Brown said, the agency’s inspectors simply can’t keep up with complaints. Were Cal/OSHA inspectors to visit every farm in the state annually, they’d be outmatched by the sheer number: There are more than 350 farms for each inspector.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA said it is hiring inspectors as “quickly as possible,” noting the 70 inspector positions it has filled since January 2020. Twenty-three of those posts involved internal promotions, resulting in additional vacancies. The agency denied it has experienced any hiring delays and said the candidate pool for workplace safety inspectors “is smaller than for other state classifications.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA lawyers often are outnumbered when companies appeal a citation by legal teams that flood the agency with paperwork to escape enforcement until the cases are resolved, Brown said.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An independent study commissioned by Cal/OSHA identified the need for as many as 258 additional positions. Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his budget that included $14.4 million for 70 new posts. Only a small fraction of those will be inspectors. In a statement to CJI and The California Newsroom, the governor’s office said it is considering a phased-in approach for hiring more Cal/OSHA employees in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most recent Cal/OSHA chief, Doug Parker, is awaiting confirmation to head federal OSHA, leaving the state agency without a permanent leader.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Garrett Brown, former Cal/OSHA inspector\"]‘You have an agency that’s barely able to do what it’s supposed to do and presents no threat to irresponsible employers.’[/pullquote]“You have an agency that’s barely able to do what it’s supposed to do,” Brown said, “and presents no threat to irresponsible employers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA laid out additional ways it is attempting to improve its enforcement practices, such as streamlining the citation process and reviewing protocols for closing cases. The agency said even one work-related fatality or serious illness is “too many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cal/OSHA investigates all notifications of suspect work-related fatalities to determine the cause, identify violations and require employers to correct unsafe or unhealthy conditions,” the agency said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A repeat offender\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In 2017, a 16-year-old girl working in a watermelon field in Sutter grew ill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Cal/OSHA inspectors visited the field where the teenager had collapsed, they couldn’t examine the worksite because the harvest had finished and the workers had moved to a new location. Cal/OSHA interviewed the worker and her mother through a translator and cited the company that hired them, Ceja Reyes, for not making them aware of the dangers of heat. Cal/OSHA fined the company $31,365 and told it to make sure all employees received heat training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ceja Reyes, based in Sutter County, provides contract farm laborers. Cal/OSHA has cited the company for at least six heat violations in the last decade — many of them after the agency said Ceja Reyes failed to properly train workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roberto Ceja, president and partner at Ceja Reyes, refuted Cal/OSHA’s findings. He said in an interview that the mother and daughter had been trained, but the company forgot to have them sign off on their training sheets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly two years after the teenager got sick on the job, Cal/OSHA found that Ceja Reyes failed to provide its heat plan to an inspector who made an on-site visit. Cal/OSHA fined the company another $635 for failing to make the plan readily available to workers. Cal/OSHA’s heat program coordinator suggested in the investigative file that Ceja Reyes be considered a repeat offender in the case, which would have meant higher possible fines for similar violations in the future. But the acting district manager at the time declined that designation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ceja blamed Cal/OSHA for the string of violations. He said inspectors interpret the law in various ways, making it impossible for farms and contractors to keep up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think their inspectors have plenty of training before they send [them] to the field,” Ceja said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ceja said he supports more stringent heat rules, such as halting all work at 95 degrees, which he said his company does in most cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Why it matters\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Put into practice, heat standards can work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September of last year, Sonia Bonce was working at the Muranaka Farm in Moorpark. The temperature was rising steadily, and it was beyond 90 degrees by lunchtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886420\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1854-scaled-e1631073034135.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886420 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1854-scaled-e1631073034135.jpg\" alt=\"A line of five vehicles at the edge of a rocky field, with car doors and trunks propped open for workers to sit and lean.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers at Muranaka Farms take a break from harvesting leeks to eat lunch. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Bonce stood up to take a lunch break and began walking toward the shade, her vision became blurry, her legs weak. She passed out and hit her head. The farm’s foreman, recognizing the signs of heat-related illness, alerted a supervisor, who called an ambulance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She felt exhausted and sore for a couple of days; otherwise, there were no lingering physical effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonce, who has worked the fields since leaving El Salvador more than a decade ago, was spared serious injury or death in part because of her employer’s buy-in. Muranaka’s supervisors noticed the warning signs of heat illness and responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other employers have not been as attentive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maria Jimenez, 17, traveled 2,500 miles from her hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, to rural Lodi to find work after her father died. Her uncle, Doroteo Jimenez, had worked in the area for two decades. Maria was employed by Merced Farm Labor Contractors and soon found herself tying grapes into bundles at a local vineyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On May 14, 2008, the temperature rose to 86 degrees, seven degrees hotter than the average high for that date over the previous 40 years. Maria was working in the vineyard without shade or water breaks, as required by the heat-safety rules. She became dehydrated and fainted. Another employee took her to a drugstore to try to revive her with rubbing alcohol before bringing her to a hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, it was too late. Jimenez had a core body temperature of 108 degrees — hot enough for the brain, liver and kidneys to shut down. Her heart stopped six times while doctors tried to revive her. It was then they learned she was pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Joaquin County filed criminal manslaughter charges against the owner, safety director and supervisor of Merced Farm, which eventually was shuttered by the state. Cal/OSHA imposed a fine of more than $250,000. In 2011, the company’s executives pleaded no contest to failing to provide shade and were sentenced to community service, $1,370 in fines and no jail time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a company supervisor first contacted him by phone when his niece collapsed, Doroteo Jimenez remembers the supervisor saying she was dizzy. He didn’t think it was that serious. He only realized the gravity of her injuries when he went to visit her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At that point, I couldn’t even talk to her anymore,” he said. She died the next day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ordeal prompted Doroteo and his wife, Juana, to join union leaders and other activists to push for farmworker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91240378\">Hundreds of workers walked with Doroteo and Juana some 50 miles to the state Capitol carrying two coffins\u003c/a> over several days to draw attention to Maria’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years later, the state fortified its heat standard. This time, the state required employers to make water readily available, expand shade coverage and increase the number of breaks. In 2018, on the 10th anniversary of Jimenez’s death, the standard was renamed in her memory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There have been many deaths before,” Doroteo said in Spanish through a translator. “I said that I am going to do something that would not just be thrown away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A broader problem\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>California’s farmworkers aren’t the only workers dying from heat. In the last decade, there have been 10 deaths in construction and four deaths in landscaping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For California’s workers, the difference between a heat standard that works and one that doesn’t often hinges on employers’ good faith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonia Bonce, the farmworker at Muranaka, said in Spanish through a translator that she appreciates how her employer responded to her bout with heat exhaustion. The company agreed to cover her medical expenses, including the cost of the ambulance. She was allowed to take off the two work days she needed to recuperate, though she said she had to forgo her earnings those days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1766-scaled-e1630008683701.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886425 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1766-scaled-e1630008683701.jpg\" alt=\"A tractor rolls thorough a field of leeks.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworkers processing a field of leeks on a 90-degree day at Muranaka Farms. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The UFW’s Roman Pinal, who organizes laborers in California’s fields, commended the farm’s management for allowing workers to speak up whenever they see problems — a rarity, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Valuing human lives and a little bit less the production,” Pinal said. “That’s when we’re heading in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many employers aren’t as conscientious. Until Cal/OSHA hires more inspectors and becomes more proactive, former inspector Brown said, the agency won’t make significant headway against heat deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with increased inspections, California’s existing heat standard may need another boost. In Moorpark, for instance, where Muranaka Farm is located, the average maximum temperature has risen one degree in the 16 years since the standard was implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some Cal/OSHA insiders said state lawmakers should consider mandating a split work day for outdoor laborers to address the ever-escalating temperatures. During the record-breaking heat wave that blanketed the Pacific Northwest in June, many farms switched to early morning and late-evening hours so workers could avoid the most punishing conditions. Public health officials already recommend that workers avoid midday heat whenever possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others advocate for more drastic labor reforms, such as canceling work on days above 105 degrees. The human body, they say, is simply not equipped to endure such temperatures over long periods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enhanced protections can’t come soon enough. At Muranaka Farm in June, a crew of sweat-soaked farmworkers harvested leeks under the scorching sun. The temperature exceeded 90 degrees that day — the second day of an early heat wave. Nearly two dozen laborers, aligned in a row on their hands and knees, plucked the long-stemmed plants from the dirt. They sliced off extraneous leaves with their knives and tossed the vegetables into a pile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already this summer, Bonce has felt heat overtake her while she is in the fields. Her chest grows tight and her head spins. Recognizing the warning signs, she’s taken some time off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is hot. It’s not easy work,” Bonce said. “We are struggling every single day to do this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Brian Edwards reported this story as a fellow for Columbia Journalism Investigations, an investigative reporting unit at the Columbia Journalism School in New York. Jacob Margolis is a reporter at KPCC and LAist, and a member of The California Newsroom. David Nickerson, a reporting fellow at CJI; Robert Benincasa, a senior data reporter at NPR; and Cascade Tuholske, a climate impact scientist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, contributed to the data analysis. Public Health Watch, an independent investigative nonprofit, helped produce this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California is seen as a nationwide leader in hot-weather protections, but its workers are still getting sick and dying from heat. Experts and insiders say climate change and a dysfunctional workplace regulatory agency are to blame.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the summer of 2005, a terrible three-week heat wave swept the West, driving temperatures to triple-digit levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four farmworkers working the fields of central California died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state quickly put in place emergency orders, which evolved into the first workplace heat standards in the nation: Employers would have to give employees water, rest and shade as they toiled in high temperatures. Until then, there were no rules when it came to hot weather and the workplace.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We believe that virtually all heat-related deaths and illnesses can be prevented. Periods of high heat are part of our new reality worldwide, and definitely in California.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since then, California has seen hotter average temperatures in 12 of the past 16 years. Even as the climate emergency has grown more acute, the state’s once-groundbreaking heat-safety rules have not kept pace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and federal workplace regulators say they consider heat-related illness and death to be 100% preventable. But California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health — Cal/OSHA — the agency that enforces the heat standard, has been chronically underfunded and understaffed. The result, according to dozens of interviews, a review of government records and an analysis of worker heat-death cases: Farmworkers, firefighters, construction workers and others required to work in hot environments continue to die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s failure to adequately invest in Cal/OSHA has undercut the agency’s ability to crack down on companies that violate the heat standard. Its most recent budget request admitted as much, describing enforcement as “minimal to non-existent due to the lack of occupational health inspectors.” Rising temperatures caused by climate change have compounded the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some say the standard is already obsolete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a startling point of view considering that California’s heat standard is held up as a model. Its water, rest and shade measures are considered both stringent and eminently achievable by former and current officials at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Workers’ rights advocates and OSHA officials have decried the lack of a similar standard to protect workers nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Absent that safeguard, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1026154042/hundreds-of-workers-have-died-from-heat-in-the-last-decade-and-its-getting-worse\">workers of color across the country have borne the brunt of dangerous heat in the U.S.\u003c/a>, according to an investigation by Columbia Journalism Investigations, NPR, KPCC and The California Newsroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA declined multiple requests for on-the-record interviews for this story. In response to 39 written questions from CJI and The California Newsroom, the agency stressed the need for businesses to do their part to help stem the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe that virtually all heat-related deaths and illnesses can be prevented,” Frank Polizzi, a Cal/OSHA spokesperson, wrote in a response on Aug. 13, 2021. “Periods of high heat are part of our new reality worldwide, and definitely in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Where things stand\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Over the past 10 years — during a period when state regulators lowered temperature limits that trigger workplace protections from 85 to 80 degrees — nearly four dozen California workers died from heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses. The deaths occurred across the state but were concentrated in the lower Central Valley, in and around Bakersfield, according to an analysis of federal data on worker heat deaths by CJI and NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the official death count doesn’t begin to reflect heat’s toll on workers. California, unlike other states, doesn’t record the number of serious worker injuries involving overnight hospital stays due to heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses. That makes it difficult to understand heat’s full impact on the state’s workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886406\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1824-scaled-e1630006553116.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886406 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1824-scaled-e1630006553116.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a long-sleeved shirt, T-shirt, apron, neck wrap, visor, mask and surgical gloves pulls leeks beneath a cloudless sky.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1635\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworker Sonia Bonce harvests leeks on a 90-degree day at Muranaka Farms in Moorpark. \u003ccite>(Jacob Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jisung Park, an economist at UCLA, studies the effects of rising temperatures on the labor force. Using a computer model of temperature increases over 20 years and workers’ compensation claims, he estimates that heat sickens, or contributes to injuries among, at least 15,000 California workers each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park attributes the gap in part to misclassified injuries. Heat, for example, can cause a construction worker standing on a ladder to fall and get hurt, but the injury likely won’t be categorized as heat-related. Heat illnesses also occur at lower temperatures than expected; Park has found that workers experienced heat exhaustion and similar conditions on days when the temperature was as low as 75 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Cal/OSHA said in its written response that the data the agency collects is not comparable to Park’s analysis. Insiders within the agency acknowledge the limitations of official data, however, and endorse the analysis. The agency also defended its record and said inspectors investigate every heat complaint reported by workers and advocates. In 2019, for instance, Cal/OSHA conducted more than 4,000 heat-related inspections and cited employers in 47% of them. Heat inspections, citations and fines have increased almost every year since the standard has been in effect, except for 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic affected such activities across the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Cal/OSHA insiders say that accelerating temperatures across the state — especially in the thousands of miles of valleys, where temperatures now exceed 100 degrees more than a dozen times a year — have \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1028542777/workers-are-dying-of-heat-outdoors-without-standards-to-protect-them\">made the 16-year-old standard outdated\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Extreme heat costs lives. CJI and NPR reporters analyzed 267 worker heat deaths recorded by the U.S. Department of Labor between 2010 and 2020 and compared the high temperature on the date of each incident to historic averages over 40 years. More than 66% of these deaths occurred when temperatures reached at least 90 degrees. In California — one of two states where at least 40 workers died — almost half of all deaths happened on days that were unusually hot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’ve seen over the last few years, certainly since I was chief of OSHA, is catastrophic warming of the earth,” said Ellen Widess, who led Cal/OSHA from 2011 to 2013. “The hundreds of thousands of farmworkers we depend on are extremely vulnerable, exploitable, dependent on these jobs, even in high heat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The current standards\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While water always needs to be available, once the thermometer reads 80 degrees, California’s heat standard kicks in. Employers are required to provide shade to their workers. Companies must ease workers into a job to enable them to adapt to hot temperatures, a practice known as acclimatization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886413\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886413\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1.png\" alt=\"Two photos, one of a freestanding shade structure, one of a water cooler atop a plastic basket, both in the middle of a field.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1.png 3639w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-800x262.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-1020x334.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-1536x503.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-2048x670.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/water-shade-1-1920x628.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California’s heat standard mandates that shade and water be available to workers throughout the day, as seen here at Muranaka Farms in Moorpark. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At 95 degrees, employers must offer additional safeguards: a 10-minute break every two hours, a team meeting to remind workers of the signs of heat illness, and the designation of an employee to call emergency services in the event of a heat incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is it enough?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Widess, who says she was forced out at Cal/OSHA during Jerry Brown’s third term as governor, said the state’s standard has “certainly improved” over the years but “remains inadequate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also the issue of enforcement. The United Farm Workers has twice sued Cal/OSHA for what the labor group claimed was a systemic failure to enforce the rule. After a six-year legal battle, in 2015 the agency agreed to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Commission enforcement audits.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Create a system to monitor heat-related worker complaints.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Set up a UFW-affiliated hotline so workers could report employers who flouted the standard.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increase inspections and crack down on repeat offenders.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>In the five years since Cal/OSHA tightened its standard, agency data shows it issued thousands of citations. Most citations involved employers that didn’t offer heat training or prepare written heat-stress plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The audit reports, obtained by CJI and The California Newsroom, show that Cal/OSHA often failed to interview eyewitnesses about heat complaints if an inspector couldn’t find an obvious violation. At times, job sites named in complaints were dismantled and moved before an OSHA inspector ever reached them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has fewer than 200 inspectors in total to police a state with 18 million workers. According to Cal/OSHA, it has only 35 employees working in enforcement who speak Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886418\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886418 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three men in wide-brimmed hats chat near a stack of leeks in the middle of a field.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1833-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworker Juan Chavez speaks with colleagues while harvesting leeks on a 90-degree day at Muranaka Farms in Moorpark. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Garrett Brown, a former Cal/OSHA inspector who also served as a special assistant to Widess, has tracked the agency’s staff vacancies for years. As of July 31, at least 25% of its about 250 inspector positions remained open. About 33% of posts in its legal division were unfilled as of June, according to an analysis published on Brown’s website, \u003ca href=\"https://insidecalosha.org/\">Inside Cal/OSHA\u003c/a>. With such high turnover, Brown said, the agency’s inspectors simply can’t keep up with complaints. Were Cal/OSHA inspectors to visit every farm in the state annually, they’d be outmatched by the sheer number: There are more than 350 farms for each inspector.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA said it is hiring inspectors as “quickly as possible,” noting the 70 inspector positions it has filled since January 2020. Twenty-three of those posts involved internal promotions, resulting in additional vacancies. The agency denied it has experienced any hiring delays and said the candidate pool for workplace safety inspectors “is smaller than for other state classifications.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA lawyers often are outnumbered when companies appeal a citation by legal teams that flood the agency with paperwork to escape enforcement until the cases are resolved, Brown said.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An independent study commissioned by Cal/OSHA identified the need for as many as 258 additional positions. Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his budget that included $14.4 million for 70 new posts. Only a small fraction of those will be inspectors. In a statement to CJI and The California Newsroom, the governor’s office said it is considering a phased-in approach for hiring more Cal/OSHA employees in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most recent Cal/OSHA chief, Doug Parker, is awaiting confirmation to head federal OSHA, leaving the state agency without a permanent leader.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“You have an agency that’s barely able to do what it’s supposed to do,” Brown said, “and presents no threat to irresponsible employers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA laid out additional ways it is attempting to improve its enforcement practices, such as streamlining the citation process and reviewing protocols for closing cases. The agency said even one work-related fatality or serious illness is “too many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cal/OSHA investigates all notifications of suspect work-related fatalities to determine the cause, identify violations and require employers to correct unsafe or unhealthy conditions,” the agency said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A repeat offender\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In 2017, a 16-year-old girl working in a watermelon field in Sutter grew ill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Cal/OSHA inspectors visited the field where the teenager had collapsed, they couldn’t examine the worksite because the harvest had finished and the workers had moved to a new location. Cal/OSHA interviewed the worker and her mother through a translator and cited the company that hired them, Ceja Reyes, for not making them aware of the dangers of heat. Cal/OSHA fined the company $31,365 and told it to make sure all employees received heat training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ceja Reyes, based in Sutter County, provides contract farm laborers. Cal/OSHA has cited the company for at least six heat violations in the last decade — many of them after the agency said Ceja Reyes failed to properly train workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roberto Ceja, president and partner at Ceja Reyes, refuted Cal/OSHA’s findings. He said in an interview that the mother and daughter had been trained, but the company forgot to have them sign off on their training sheets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly two years after the teenager got sick on the job, Cal/OSHA found that Ceja Reyes failed to provide its heat plan to an inspector who made an on-site visit. Cal/OSHA fined the company another $635 for failing to make the plan readily available to workers. Cal/OSHA’s heat program coordinator suggested in the investigative file that Ceja Reyes be considered a repeat offender in the case, which would have meant higher possible fines for similar violations in the future. But the acting district manager at the time declined that designation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ceja blamed Cal/OSHA for the string of violations. He said inspectors interpret the law in various ways, making it impossible for farms and contractors to keep up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think their inspectors have plenty of training before they send [them] to the field,” Ceja said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ceja said he supports more stringent heat rules, such as halting all work at 95 degrees, which he said his company does in most cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Why it matters\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Put into practice, heat standards can work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September of last year, Sonia Bonce was working at the Muranaka Farm in Moorpark. The temperature was rising steadily, and it was beyond 90 degrees by lunchtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886420\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1854-scaled-e1631073034135.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886420 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1854-scaled-e1631073034135.jpg\" alt=\"A line of five vehicles at the edge of a rocky field, with car doors and trunks propped open for workers to sit and lean.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers at Muranaka Farms take a break from harvesting leeks to eat lunch. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Bonce stood up to take a lunch break and began walking toward the shade, her vision became blurry, her legs weak. She passed out and hit her head. The farm’s foreman, recognizing the signs of heat-related illness, alerted a supervisor, who called an ambulance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She felt exhausted and sore for a couple of days; otherwise, there were no lingering physical effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonce, who has worked the fields since leaving El Salvador more than a decade ago, was spared serious injury or death in part because of her employer’s buy-in. Muranaka’s supervisors noticed the warning signs of heat illness and responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other employers have not been as attentive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maria Jimenez, 17, traveled 2,500 miles from her hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, to rural Lodi to find work after her father died. Her uncle, Doroteo Jimenez, had worked in the area for two decades. Maria was employed by Merced Farm Labor Contractors and soon found herself tying grapes into bundles at a local vineyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On May 14, 2008, the temperature rose to 86 degrees, seven degrees hotter than the average high for that date over the previous 40 years. Maria was working in the vineyard without shade or water breaks, as required by the heat-safety rules. She became dehydrated and fainted. Another employee took her to a drugstore to try to revive her with rubbing alcohol before bringing her to a hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, it was too late. Jimenez had a core body temperature of 108 degrees — hot enough for the brain, liver and kidneys to shut down. Her heart stopped six times while doctors tried to revive her. It was then they learned she was pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Joaquin County filed criminal manslaughter charges against the owner, safety director and supervisor of Merced Farm, which eventually was shuttered by the state. Cal/OSHA imposed a fine of more than $250,000. In 2011, the company’s executives pleaded no contest to failing to provide shade and were sentenced to community service, $1,370 in fines and no jail time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a company supervisor first contacted him by phone when his niece collapsed, Doroteo Jimenez remembers the supervisor saying she was dizzy. He didn’t think it was that serious. He only realized the gravity of her injuries when he went to visit her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At that point, I couldn’t even talk to her anymore,” he said. She died the next day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ordeal prompted Doroteo and his wife, Juana, to join union leaders and other activists to push for farmworker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91240378\">Hundreds of workers walked with Doroteo and Juana some 50 miles to the state Capitol carrying two coffins\u003c/a> over several days to draw attention to Maria’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years later, the state fortified its heat standard. This time, the state required employers to make water readily available, expand shade coverage and increase the number of breaks. In 2018, on the 10th anniversary of Jimenez’s death, the standard was renamed in her memory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There have been many deaths before,” Doroteo said in Spanish through a translator. “I said that I am going to do something that would not just be thrown away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A broader problem\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>California’s farmworkers aren’t the only workers dying from heat. In the last decade, there have been 10 deaths in construction and four deaths in landscaping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For California’s workers, the difference between a heat standard that works and one that doesn’t often hinges on employers’ good faith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonia Bonce, the farmworker at Muranaka, said in Spanish through a translator that she appreciates how her employer responded to her bout with heat exhaustion. The company agreed to cover her medical expenses, including the cost of the ambulance. She was allowed to take off the two work days she needed to recuperate, though she said she had to forgo her earnings those days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11886425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1766-scaled-e1630008683701.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11886425 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/DSCF1766-scaled-e1630008683701.jpg\" alt=\"A tractor rolls thorough a field of leeks.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworkers processing a field of leeks on a 90-degree day at Muranaka Farms. \u003ccite>(Jason Margolis/LAist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The UFW’s Roman Pinal, who organizes laborers in California’s fields, commended the farm’s management for allowing workers to speak up whenever they see problems — a rarity, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Valuing human lives and a little bit less the production,” Pinal said. “That’s when we’re heading in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many employers aren’t as conscientious. Until Cal/OSHA hires more inspectors and becomes more proactive, former inspector Brown said, the agency won’t make significant headway against heat deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with increased inspections, California’s existing heat standard may need another boost. In Moorpark, for instance, where Muranaka Farm is located, the average maximum temperature has risen one degree in the 16 years since the standard was implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some Cal/OSHA insiders said state lawmakers should consider mandating a split work day for outdoor laborers to address the ever-escalating temperatures. During the record-breaking heat wave that blanketed the Pacific Northwest in June, many farms switched to early morning and late-evening hours so workers could avoid the most punishing conditions. Public health officials already recommend that workers avoid midday heat whenever possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others advocate for more drastic labor reforms, such as canceling work on days above 105 degrees. The human body, they say, is simply not equipped to endure such temperatures over long periods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enhanced protections can’t come soon enough. At Muranaka Farm in June, a crew of sweat-soaked farmworkers harvested leeks under the scorching sun. The temperature exceeded 90 degrees that day — the second day of an early heat wave. Nearly two dozen laborers, aligned in a row on their hands and knees, plucked the long-stemmed plants from the dirt. They sliced off extraneous leaves with their knives and tossed the vegetables into a pile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already this summer, Bonce has felt heat overtake her while she is in the fields. Her chest grows tight and her head spins. Recognizing the warning signs, she’s taken some time off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is hot. It’s not easy work,” Bonce said. “We are struggling every single day to do this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Brian Edwards reported this story as a fellow for Columbia Journalism Investigations, an investigative reporting unit at the Columbia Journalism School in New York. Jacob Margolis is a reporter at KPCC and LAist, and a member of The California Newsroom. David Nickerson, a reporting fellow at CJI; Robert Benincasa, a senior data reporter at NPR; and Cascade Tuholske, a climate impact scientist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, contributed to the data analysis. Public Health Watch, an independent investigative nonprofit, helped produce this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A judge Friday struck down a California ballot measure that exempted Uber and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from a state law requiring drivers to be classified as employees eligible for benefits and job protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional.[aside postID=\"news_11842964\" label=\"More Prop. 22 coverage\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters approved the measure in November after Uber, Lyft and other services spent $200 million in its favor, making it the most expensive ballot measure in state history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber said it planned to appeal, setting up a fight that could likely end up in the California Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This ruling ignores the will of the overwhelming majority of California voters and defies both logic and the law,” company spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said. “You don’t have to take our word for it: California’s attorney general strongly defended Proposition 22’s constitutionality in this very case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the measure will remain in force pending the appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge sided with three drivers and the Service Employees International Union in a lawsuit that argued the measure improperly removed the state Legislature’s ability to grant workers the right to access to the state workers’ compensation program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/LorenaSGonzalez/status/1428912910793723905\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For two years, drivers have been saying that democracy cannot be bought. And today’s decision shows they were right,” said Bob Schoonover, president of the SEIU California State Council.[aside postID=\"news_11843123\" label=\"An explainer on Prop. 22\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proposition 22 shielded app-based ride-hailing and delivery companies from a labor law that required such services to treat drivers as employees and not independent contractors, who don’t have to receive benefits such as paid sick leave or unemployment insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft threatened to leave the state if voters rejected the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor spent about $20 million to challenge the proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Supreme Court initially declined to hear the case in February — mainly on procedural grounds — but left open the possibility of a lower court challenge.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proposition 22 shielded app-based ride-hailing and delivery companies from a labor law that required such services to treat drivers as employees and not independent contractors, who don’t have to receive benefits such as paid sick leave or unemployment insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft threatened to leave the state if voters rejected the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor spent about $20 million to challenge the proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Supreme Court initially declined to hear the case in February — mainly on procedural grounds — but left open the possibility of a lower court challenge.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-former-employees-at-a-berkeley-bastion-for-literary-presses-ignited-a-reckoning",
"title": "How Former Employees at a Berkeley Bastion for Literary Presses Ignited a Reckoning",
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"headTitle": "How Former Employees at a Berkeley Bastion for Literary Presses Ignited a Reckoning | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When J. Worthen was hired as a warehouse assistant at Small Press Distribution in Berkeley in 2014, they hoped to work there for the rest of their career. The mission of Small Press Distribution, or SPD, is to make writing by underrepresented communities more accessible. Worthen loved having a role in helping to make that happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by 2018, Worthen said it became impossible to ignore the divide between the nonprofit’s mission and how they were being treated because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a trip to Tampa, Florida, for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference that year, Worthen was eating dinner with their boss, Brent Cunningham, and Abigail Beckel, the founder of \u003ca href=\"https://rosemetalpress.com/\">Rose Metal Press\u003c/a>, one of SPD’s publishers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of nowhere, according to Worthen and Beckel, Cunningham said Worthen was asexual, and went on to ask a series of intrusive questions. Worthen said at one point he asked whether they would still be asexual if they weren’t so close to their sister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really was in escape mode. I didn’t know how to address it at the moment without jeopardizing my job,” Worthen said. “[Rose Metal Press] is one of SPD’s top publishers. He had no problem creating an uncomfortable situation for both of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beckel said she thought Cunningham’s behavior was “wildly inappropriate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few months later, Worthen published an \u003ca href=\"https://www.vidaweb.org/body-of-a-poem-neither-here-nor-there-asexual-and-agender-in-the-literary-world/\">essay\u003c/a> that described the experience. While Worthen did not name anyone in their piece, they still expected to lose their job, or for there to be some sort of reaction from the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Cunningham “liked” the essay on Facebook and after that, Worthen said, they never heard from members of the SPD board or leadership about the incident until Cunningham apologized over two years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt like I didn’t exist. It just felt like the experience meant nothing to the people who played a part in it,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883911\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883911\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">J. Worthen, who started as a warehouse assistant at Small Press Distribution in 2014, says they loved playing a role in helping to make literature accessible. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of J. Worthen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cunningham, who left SPD in June, said in a statement that he “profoundly misread” the dinner and a number of situations with Worthen. Worthen said Cunningham referred to them as “my J.” and commented on their cheap lunches and “Midwestern work ethic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I deeply apologize for any and all comments I made that were insensitive, and regret them. I never intended to hurt but now understand the unintended impact of my words. I have worked on and will continue to work on rooting out as much unconscious bias as I can in the hopes of being a better ally to marginalized people going forward,” Cunningham said in the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worthen said the issue was not just Cunningham’s behavior but the way the SPD board responded when employees came forward and denounced his behavior in posts \u003ca href=\"https://wearespd.medium.com/?p=21ce94bf25e0\">online\u003c/a>. In February 2021, Worthen says, they filed a harassment complaint when a different employee persistently misgendered them and sent them condescending messages. Cunningham was one of two people who determined whether that behavior violated SPD policies, emails shared with KQED show, even though a majority of SPD employees had previously penned an open letter that called for his termination or resignation. [pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation='J. Worthen, a former employee at SPD']‘I really felt like this could kill me, staying in a situation with no end in sight, having to deal with the person who harmed me, while the people who should have been holding him accountable were protecting him.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alan Bernheimer, the president of the SPD board of directors, did not comment on the work dinner or respond to questions related to the complaint about Cunningham’s behavior or how the board responded. He also declined interview requests and declined to answer almost all questions sent to him with criticism or allegations about Cunningham or SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SPD did, however, hire a law firm, Oppenheimer Investigations Group, to conduct an independent assessment of the nonprofit earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The OIG assessment concluded that SPD needed a reboot of its management, workplace policies, and relationship between staff and leaders,” Bernheimer wrote in a statement to KQED. “The OIG report was completed the first week in March, and we announced [Cunningham’s] departure as [executive director] on March 8.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to a series of questions sent to him last month, Bernheimer wrote in an email sent to KQED seemingly by mistake, “For any response we provide, we should strongly consider aligning with what Brent [Cunningham] is telling her [KQED reporter Holly McDede].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11884265\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-800x314.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-800x314.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-1020x401.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-160x63.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response.png 1360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He did not answer any specific questions after that, writing instead, “No further comment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worthen, who learned they had cancer in 2019, worried the stress of staying at SPD could affect their health. Soon after they filed the complaint, they decided to leave the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really felt like this could kill me, staying in a situation with no end in sight, having to deal with the person who harmed me, while the people who should have been holding him accountable were protecting him,” they said. “I needed to get away from that so that I can heal from cancer and have a fighting chance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11884059\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11884059\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-800x456.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-800x456.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-1020x582.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-160x91.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-1536x876.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Small Press Distribution currently warehouses some 350,000 books. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Sam Lefebvre)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>A Reckoning for Literary Spaces\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Since its founding in 1969, Berkeley-based Small Press Distribution has distinguished itself as the place for indie publishers to get experimental, avant-garde works in the hands of booksellers and customers nationwide. The nonprofit has a staff of fewer than a dozen people and works with some 400 presses, and has distributed titles that have won prestigious awards, like Pulitzer in poetry winner “Olio” by Tyehimba Jess. On its website, SPD emphasizes this commitment: “Everything we do is aimed at helping essential but underrepresented literary communities participate fully in the marketplace and in the culture at large.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some former employees said that incidents like what Worthen experienced, and an overall lack of personal or professional boundaries, were part of a broader problem at SPD. They said management seemed to push the idea that employees were more like friends than co-workers. Workers said that contributed to a toxic environment where staff concerns were not taken seriously or addressed through formal mechanisms, and it felt impossible to hold people accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bernheimer said in a public statement that human resources departments were not commonplace when SPD was founded in 1969, particularly in small nonprofits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it’s inexcusable that we failed to grow with the times and that SPD employees suffered as a result,” Bernheimer wrote. “We believe a holistic HR approach, run by specialized experts, will preclude recurrences, as well as foster a healthy workplace with interactional and procedural justice for all.” [pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation='Jeffrey Lependorf, former executive director at SPD']‘For many years, long before me, SPD was a small group of poets trying to get books out … We were not HR professionals. We were artists running an arts organization. We were doing our best to learn and to institute HR processes. We, in many ways, did a good job, and failed a lot in our best efforts. I think that’s fair to say.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofits have a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/the-plight-of-the-overworked-nonprofit-employee/497081/\">reputation\u003c/a> for low pay, burnout and high turnover. Some former employees said they expected disorganization or poor treatment at SPD because those issues are common in arts nonprofits, bookstores and other creative industries. Former employees said the SPD board, which included poets and publishers, was absent or out of touch when it came to working conditions at SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cunningham said in a written statement that the working conditions and the culture at SPD were not meaningfully different from or worse than those at any under-resourced nonprofit. He said the primary obstacle to any change was always a lack of resources rather than a lack of will, and that there was also a lack of agreement or articulation among the staff about the real, practical changes they wanted to see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For many years, long before me, SPD was a small group of poets trying to get books out,” said Jeffrey Lependorf, who was the executive director at SPD until 2020. “We were not HR professionals. We were artists running an arts organization. We were doing our best to learn and to institute HR processes. We, in many ways, did a good job, and failed a lot in our best efforts. I think that’s fair to say.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bernheimer said since allegations were first made online in December, the SPD board has invited staff to attend board meetings and created a staff-board liaison process to improve communication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11884055\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11884055 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-800x596.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-800x596.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-1020x760.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes.jpg 1180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clay Banes, a former Small Press Distribution employee, also worked at Pegasus Books in Berkeley, where he organized a reading series. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Clay Banes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But while some of the longstanding problems at SPD may be common to many organizations, SPD holds a unique position as the only nonprofit literary distributor in the country. Small literary presses rooted in social justice and committed to bringing underrepresented voices to readers have few other distribution options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s pretty much no other. Whoever has existed, SPD is the one left standing. Even as we speak, everything is getting consolidated in the commercial distributing world,” Clay Banes, a former employee at SPD, said. “So many writers, so many publishers, so many poets, for the most part, none of these people want to get into the fray of this. No one wants to harm SPD, including me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the pandemic caused workers all over the country to question not only their safety but also how they’re valued on the job — including at nonprofits and bookstores. Current and former Black and trans booksellers at Pegasus Books in Berkeley and Oakland created an \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEK89VTpFOC/\">anti-racist bookstore initiative\u003c/a> to demand better treatment. Booksellers at \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/moesbooksunion?lang=en\">Moe’s Books in Berkeley\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/bscworkers?lang=en\">Bookshop Santa Cruz\u003c/a> voted to form unions this year, a rare move for any independent bookstore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883930\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883930\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rows of books line the second floor at Moe’s Books in Berkeley on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think there still is a perception that somehow these professions are special or have cultural capital,” said Amy Wilson, a poet, an organizer and a master’s student at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. “But what workers are saying is you can’t eat [or] can’t pay your rent with cultural capital.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Toxicity in the Workplace\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Many of the former workers who spoke to KQED said they had tried to fix the culture and structure at SPD internally, but not enough seemed to change. The environment became increasingly hostile in 2019, they said, when employees were told SPD was in the midst of a financial crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SPD is making available books that don’t make a lot of money,” said Jeffrey Lependorf, then-executive director of SPD. “And the book industry at that time was facing tough times. And we were a part of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees said it seemed like workers who were vocal about changes they wanted to see at SPD were also under the most scrutiny during SPD’s financial challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like SPD could fall apart at any moment, [so] we have to be hypervigilant and never change how we do anything,” said E Conner, who worked at SPD during that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883932\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883932\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-800x672.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-800x672.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-1020x857.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-160x134.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-1536x1291.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-2048x1721.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-1920x1614.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E Conner worked at Small Press Distribution until late last year. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of E Conner)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former employees said managers began an “efficiency audit” to identify redundancies. As part of that effort, staff said they were asked to describe in detail what they did during the day. But Conner said it felt like even when she explained how she spent her workday, the manager didn’t believe her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As I was explaining what I did, I was told, ‘But you don’t really do that, right?'” Conner said. “And I explained that ‘I’m just trying to tell you what I do.’ Everybody was terrified we were going to lose our jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another former employee at SPD, Nich Malone, said he was outspoken about some of the issues at SPD, like the lack of clear job descriptions or the need for professional boundaries. But he said his suggestions only seemed to make some of his bosses uncomfortable, and the efficiency audit felt like an attempt to wear him down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was literally, like, sitting in a room for an hour, not doing work, so you could justify your job,” Malone said. “It would sort of break you down so that you work harder so that you’d keep your job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While these audits were happening, Lependorf lived on the other side of the country — another issue that employees said they found frustrating as they, and their lower-paid co-workers, faced the threat of layoffs. “He lived and worked in Hudson, New York, while Small Press Distribution is in Berkeley, California,” Conner said. “The knowledge and the skill to navigate through this very chaotic organization was all on the lower-paid workers to do, and do well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lependorf said the remote position made sense for years, considering that many valuable ties in the publishing industry are in New York. But he said his distance from the nonprofit seemed less practical as the climate at the workplace became more toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were issues of misgendering, there were issues of gender bias, there were issues of crossing boundaries, and [it] became more difficult … it was certainly difficult for me not being present,” he said. “I was in a position of being a little helpless to deal with some of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said management was working hard to make sure employees could keep their jobs, but he could also understand how the financial issues made staff feel threatened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were really, really trying to listen. We were out there trying to pull in pennies to keep everyone employed,” he said. “You don’t want to scare your staff, but you also don’t want to hide things from them. It’s a tricky balance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11884456\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11884456\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-800x472.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-800x472.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-1020x601.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-160x94.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-1536x906.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Poetry covers the walls of the break room at Small Press Distribution in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Sam Lefebvre)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lependorf left SPD last year, and Cunningham said Lependorf’s departure was the solution to the financial challenges. (Lependorf said he was planning to leave within a year or two anyway.) Cunningham, who became executive director after Lependorf left, said he could not comment on personnel matters out of concern for privacy. Cunningham said of himself that he treated all employees fairly and equally, and that while in leadership at SPD, he did not witness any other SPD director treating any employee in a way he would call unfair, unequal or retaliatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then around the time of the nonprofit’s financial issues, staff learned from management about errors related to payroll. SPD leadership said in a statement last year that a total of five employees had been underpaid, and that staff had also been given pay stubs that were not in compliance with the law; they did not show hourly wages or hours worked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One person was underpaid a total of more than $4,000 throughout most of 2019, documents shared with KQED show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SPD board of directors, Cunningham and SPD Finance Director Andrew Pai released a statement saying that as soon as the payroll errors came to their attention, leaders apologized to staff, informed all staff of the error and remedied the mistakes — including paying missing wages with interest to those affected. They said they also switched to a different payroll processing company that complies with current regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883934\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11883934 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-800x760.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-800x760.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-1020x969.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-160x152.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-1536x1460.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-2048x1946.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-1920x1824.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E Conner’s desk at Small Press Distribution, where she worked until late 2020. She advocated for better working conditions while an employee there. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of E Conner)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former employee Malone said that these financial issues and mismanagement contributed to the hostile environment at SPD, where employees felt they had to justify their positions, and eventually it became too much. Malone decided to leave last March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just figured, if I could leave the organization, that means my friend who is also on the chopping block, at least … they probably won’t lose their job,” he said. “I couldn’t still be part of something that I loved so much, watching it slowly die.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 60% of employees who worked at SPD in September 2019 have since left the nonprofit. [ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The Conversation Moves Online\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It took a Medium \u003ca href=\"https://damagedbookworker.medium.com/terrorized-by-spd-612014765e7c\">post\u003c/a> published last December by a former employee to force the conversation open about working conditions at SPD. Hundreds of writers, publishers and community members signed an \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJKgNqaN_FZ7GWKiciKDFQQZgLZ1JI895b_Z3Apx5Ic/edit\">open letter calling for Cunningham to resign from his leadership position at SPD. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re using a pseudonym — Marisela — to protect the identity of the former employee who wrote the post because of concern that being identified would put their safety or employment opportunities at risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the post, Marisela described how management continued to ask them to perform intensive physical labor in the warehouse in spite of a reported physical disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They wrote that Cunningham would regularly “unload” to them about his personal life. They said he would approach their desk in the morning and begin complaining about personal issues with his family — emotional labor that Marisela, as well as several other former employees, said made them uncomfortable, particularly from a boss. Marisela described feeling like a “captive audience” as he overshared details about his life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marisela was also the employee who was underpaid more than $4,000 in 2019, documents shared with KQED show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883938\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883938\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-800x600.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1.jpeg 1331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A former employee at Small Press Distribution, who asked to be called Marisela, published a piece about working conditions at Small Press Distribution last December. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Marisela and Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Marisela said over a month before first learning they were underpaid, they had to borrow money from a church to pay rent. They said their mental and physical health continued to decline, and the stress was making it impossible to work there. They felt like they had no choice but to leave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Cunningham said he apologizes for and regrets “any instance of sharing too much personal information with staff members.” He also said he responded to all safety and employee health concerns as soon as they came to his attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few days after Marisela handed in their resignation, SPD offered them a $2,500 severance agreement. In order to receive the money, Marisela would also have to sign nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses, requiring them to pay $500 for every instance they disparaged SPD or broke the agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Marisela did not sign it, and thus did not receive any severance pay, they said it made them afraid to talk about their experience at SPD for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t have any other resources. I didn’t expect them to do that. It did what they wanted it to do. I felt like disappearing was my only option,” Marisela said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SPD Board President Bernheimer said the nonprofit has “rarely but occasionally offered severance to departing employees and, like the vast majority of organizations, used agreements that provided for confidentiality and mutual non-disparagement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, less than a month after Marisela quit, the pandemic hit. Marisela was not only unemployed but even more isolated. By December 2020, they decided to come forward publicly. [pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation='Marisela, a former worker at SPD']‘I felt like I physically needed to speak the truth, or my body was going to cave in … This whole thing has been an act of survival. I didn’t feel like I had any other choice.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt like I physically needed to speak the truth, or my body was going to cave in,” Marisela said. “This whole thing has been an act of survival. I didn’t feel like I had any other choice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That post launched a reckoning at SPD that previous, internal demands for change had not. Bernheimer said after the post was published, SPD added a board member with HR experience, and brought in a law firm to conduct an assessment of employee concerns and the nonprofit’s culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law firm found Cunningham was insensitive around issues related to gender identity and ethnicity, according to a portion of the assessment shared with KQED and publicly. The SPD board said he stepped down as executive director in March after the report was complete, though he continued to work for SPD in other roles for months afterward. The SPD board has not released that assessment, citing privacy concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A Boycott and Social Media Campaign\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>But seeking accountability through social media has also been complicated and, at times, hostile. Since December, Marisela has been running Twitter and Instagram accounts aimed at keeping the pressure on SPD and and bringing attention to working conditions in the book industry. Then, in March, someone set up a Twitter account to mock them. Marisela said soon after that account was suspended, someone claiming to be a friend of Cunningham sent them an abusive and threatening email, which they shared with KQED, telling Marisela to “move on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CMxzrjhB6AR/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the people who have advocated for change at SPD say they’re doing so in spite of backlash from the literary community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a lot of people, it’s not just a fear of losing their job. It’s a fear of losing social access,” said Conner, who left SPD last year. “And I will say I’ve lost a lot of friends. A lot of friends. There’s a lot bound up in why it was so hard for anybody to say anything publicly for so long. It’s work, it’s art, it’s this whole community and really important things for people, their livelihood, and what they’re trying to create.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the issues at SPD have been shared online, a few presses have been trying to find other ways to distribute their books. But that hasn’t been an easy process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think there’s an awareness about how much the publishers have to lose, and the books they represent,” said KMA Sullivan, founder and publisher at Portland, Oregon-based \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesyesbooks.com\">YesYes Books\u003c/a>, which describes itself online as a publisher of provocative collections of poetry, fiction and experimental art. “Presses are just trying to survive. Does that mean we shouldn’t speak out for justice? Of course not, we should.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/YesYesBooks/status/1393252835421085697\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Game Over Books, a Boston-based publishing company of emerging and marginalized writers, announced it was ending its ties with SPD last year. Founder Josh Savory said they are still searching for a distributor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What SPD does is [get] your books into bookstores, libraries, university bookstores. You can’t just go to most stores and say, ‘Please carry our books,'” he said. “And without distribution, I think that you’re doing a disservice to your writers and your authors and their work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also not clear what impact the social media callouts have had on the willingness of the SPD board to adopt changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This tension all came to a head in June when members of a recently formed group of anti-capitalist writers and publishers called Poets Union weighed in. The group, which is not an actual union or tied to SPD, decided to boycott SPD. One SPD employee released a \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IzIF2s2IZ5EXzkqfYNdLkQKvNbjiexW2rUpWcxmJu98/edit\">statement \u003c/a>anonymously supporting the boycott and saying that she had no faith in the SPD board and felt isolated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email sent to staff, and later \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I57aq8arehBdBjh4AVn2kYw28WKSytmw/view\">shared online\u003c/a>, the interim executive director of SPD Cindy Myers wrote in response: “Torpedoing your employer on social media is truly not acceptable, in any organization. What is really needed is a statement from staff that conveys confidence that SPD is solving its problems collaboratively and is not a hostile workplace. I can’t make that statement for you – and you don’t have to make that statement at all, it’s really up to you. But I am telling you, that is what is called for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Myers declined interview requests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the email was sent, SPD employees released a \u003ca href=\"https://myemail.constantcontact.com/SPD-Staff-Response-to-Poetry-Workers-Union-Boycott.html?soid=1103707940910&aid=P6F7nYlvh4o\">statement\u003c/a> that said all but one worker opposed the boycott.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are SPD workers writing to express our dismay at the recent calls to action made in our name. At this time, the Poets Union boycott does not align with our wishes or needs as workers. We are a fragile, overworked crew and fear coming forward publicly would expose us to online harassment, which is why we are writing to you anonymously,” the statement reads. It was signed “7 of 8 Current SPD Workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883940\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 717px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11883940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/J-Worthen.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"588\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/J-Worthen.jpg 717w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/J-Worthen-160x131.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">J. Worthen during a reading. Worthen and other former workers at Small Press Distribution want to see working conditions improve. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of J. Worthen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Still Hoping for a Transformation\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>SPD staff members recently completed mediation, a process where employees agree to changes in the workplace with the help of a third party. In an email sent to the small press community, Myers said details of that mediation are confidential. Board President Bernheimer did not comment when asked what the next steps are for improving practices at SPD now that mediation has ended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means many in the literary world and former employees will have to continue to wait and see what SPD will look like over the next few months from the outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a month into the pandemic lockdowns, Worthen shared a fundraiser for SPD online. In that post, they asked people wanting to help with expenses related to their cancer treatment to instead donate to SPD. They said they could not imagine a literary world without it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a year since then, Worthen said it’s hurtful that people now claim they’re a threat to the nonprofit’s future. They said former employees have the right to speak about harm experienced in the literary community, and about improving the situation at SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Worthen and Malone say they still care about the future of SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would love the closure of, like, ‘Cool, close this book. And SPD is going to be OK,” Malone said. “Instead of being like, ‘Cool, close this book, and everything’s on fire.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Disclaimer: Holly J. McDede volunteered at Small Press Distribution in 2013.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When J. Worthen was hired as a warehouse assistant at Small Press Distribution in Berkeley in 2014, they hoped to work there for the rest of their career. The mission of Small Press Distribution, or SPD, is to make writing by underrepresented communities more accessible. Worthen loved having a role in helping to make that happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by 2018, Worthen said it became impossible to ignore the divide between the nonprofit’s mission and how they were being treated because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a trip to Tampa, Florida, for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference that year, Worthen was eating dinner with their boss, Brent Cunningham, and Abigail Beckel, the founder of \u003ca href=\"https://rosemetalpress.com/\">Rose Metal Press\u003c/a>, one of SPD’s publishers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of nowhere, according to Worthen and Beckel, Cunningham said Worthen was asexual, and went on to ask a series of intrusive questions. Worthen said at one point he asked whether they would still be asexual if they weren’t so close to their sister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really was in escape mode. I didn’t know how to address it at the moment without jeopardizing my job,” Worthen said. “[Rose Metal Press] is one of SPD’s top publishers. He had no problem creating an uncomfortable situation for both of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beckel said she thought Cunningham’s behavior was “wildly inappropriate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few months later, Worthen published an \u003ca href=\"https://www.vidaweb.org/body-of-a-poem-neither-here-nor-there-asexual-and-agender-in-the-literary-world/\">essay\u003c/a> that described the experience. While Worthen did not name anyone in their piece, they still expected to lose their job, or for there to be some sort of reaction from the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Cunningham “liked” the essay on Facebook and after that, Worthen said, they never heard from members of the SPD board or leadership about the incident until Cunningham apologized over two years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt like I didn’t exist. It just felt like the experience meant nothing to the people who played a part in it,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883911\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883911\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/08/gQ-pw7hXa.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">J. Worthen, who started as a warehouse assistant at Small Press Distribution in 2014, says they loved playing a role in helping to make literature accessible. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of J. Worthen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cunningham, who left SPD in June, said in a statement that he “profoundly misread” the dinner and a number of situations with Worthen. Worthen said Cunningham referred to them as “my J.” and commented on their cheap lunches and “Midwestern work ethic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I deeply apologize for any and all comments I made that were insensitive, and regret them. I never intended to hurt but now understand the unintended impact of my words. I have worked on and will continue to work on rooting out as much unconscious bias as I can in the hopes of being a better ally to marginalized people going forward,” Cunningham said in the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worthen said the issue was not just Cunningham’s behavior but the way the SPD board responded when employees came forward and denounced his behavior in posts \u003ca href=\"https://wearespd.medium.com/?p=21ce94bf25e0\">online\u003c/a>. In February 2021, Worthen says, they filed a harassment complaint when a different employee persistently misgendered them and sent them condescending messages. Cunningham was one of two people who determined whether that behavior violated SPD policies, emails shared with KQED show, even though a majority of SPD employees had previously penned an open letter that called for his termination or resignation. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alan Bernheimer, the president of the SPD board of directors, did not comment on the work dinner or respond to questions related to the complaint about Cunningham’s behavior or how the board responded. He also declined interview requests and declined to answer almost all questions sent to him with criticism or allegations about Cunningham or SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SPD did, however, hire a law firm, Oppenheimer Investigations Group, to conduct an independent assessment of the nonprofit earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The OIG assessment concluded that SPD needed a reboot of its management, workplace policies, and relationship between staff and leaders,” Bernheimer wrote in a statement to KQED. “The OIG report was completed the first week in March, and we announced [Cunningham’s] departure as [executive director] on March 8.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to a series of questions sent to him last month, Bernheimer wrote in an email sent to KQED seemingly by mistake, “For any response we provide, we should strongly consider aligning with what Brent [Cunningham] is telling her [KQED reporter Holly McDede].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11884265\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-800x314.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-800x314.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-1020x401.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response-160x63.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/KQED-Response.png 1360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He did not answer any specific questions after that, writing instead, “No further comment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worthen, who learned they had cancer in 2019, worried the stress of staying at SPD could affect their health. Soon after they filed the complaint, they decided to leave the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really felt like this could kill me, staying in a situation with no end in sight, having to deal with the person who harmed me, while the people who should have been holding him accountable were protecting him,” they said. “I needed to get away from that so that I can heal from cancer and have a fighting chance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11884059\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11884059\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-800x456.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-800x456.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-1020x582.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-160x91.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better-1536x876.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Warehouse-Overview-Better.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Small Press Distribution currently warehouses some 350,000 books. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Sam Lefebvre)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>A Reckoning for Literary Spaces\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Since its founding in 1969, Berkeley-based Small Press Distribution has distinguished itself as the place for indie publishers to get experimental, avant-garde works in the hands of booksellers and customers nationwide. The nonprofit has a staff of fewer than a dozen people and works with some 400 presses, and has distributed titles that have won prestigious awards, like Pulitzer in poetry winner “Olio” by Tyehimba Jess. On its website, SPD emphasizes this commitment: “Everything we do is aimed at helping essential but underrepresented literary communities participate fully in the marketplace and in the culture at large.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some former employees said that incidents like what Worthen experienced, and an overall lack of personal or professional boundaries, were part of a broader problem at SPD. They said management seemed to push the idea that employees were more like friends than co-workers. Workers said that contributed to a toxic environment where staff concerns were not taken seriously or addressed through formal mechanisms, and it felt impossible to hold people accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bernheimer said in a public statement that human resources departments were not commonplace when SPD was founded in 1969, particularly in small nonprofits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it’s inexcusable that we failed to grow with the times and that SPD employees suffered as a result,” Bernheimer wrote. “We believe a holistic HR approach, run by specialized experts, will preclude recurrences, as well as foster a healthy workplace with interactional and procedural justice for all.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘For many years, long before me, SPD was a small group of poets trying to get books out … We were not HR professionals. We were artists running an arts organization. We were doing our best to learn and to institute HR processes. We, in many ways, did a good job, and failed a lot in our best efforts. I think that’s fair to say.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofits have a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/the-plight-of-the-overworked-nonprofit-employee/497081/\">reputation\u003c/a> for low pay, burnout and high turnover. Some former employees said they expected disorganization or poor treatment at SPD because those issues are common in arts nonprofits, bookstores and other creative industries. Former employees said the SPD board, which included poets and publishers, was absent or out of touch when it came to working conditions at SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cunningham said in a written statement that the working conditions and the culture at SPD were not meaningfully different from or worse than those at any under-resourced nonprofit. He said the primary obstacle to any change was always a lack of resources rather than a lack of will, and that there was also a lack of agreement or articulation among the staff about the real, practical changes they wanted to see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For many years, long before me, SPD was a small group of poets trying to get books out,” said Jeffrey Lependorf, who was the executive director at SPD until 2020. “We were not HR professionals. We were artists running an arts organization. We were doing our best to learn and to institute HR processes. We, in many ways, did a good job, and failed a lot in our best efforts. I think that’s fair to say.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bernheimer said since allegations were first made online in December, the SPD board has invited staff to attend board meetings and created a staff-board liaison process to improve communication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11884055\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11884055 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-800x596.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-800x596.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-1020x760.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/Clay-Banes.jpg 1180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clay Banes, a former Small Press Distribution employee, also worked at Pegasus Books in Berkeley, where he organized a reading series. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Clay Banes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But while some of the longstanding problems at SPD may be common to many organizations, SPD holds a unique position as the only nonprofit literary distributor in the country. Small literary presses rooted in social justice and committed to bringing underrepresented voices to readers have few other distribution options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s pretty much no other. Whoever has existed, SPD is the one left standing. Even as we speak, everything is getting consolidated in the commercial distributing world,” Clay Banes, a former employee at SPD, said. “So many writers, so many publishers, so many poets, for the most part, none of these people want to get into the fray of this. No one wants to harm SPD, including me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the pandemic caused workers all over the country to question not only their safety but also how they’re valued on the job — including at nonprofits and bookstores. Current and former Black and trans booksellers at Pegasus Books in Berkeley and Oakland created an \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEK89VTpFOC/\">anti-racist bookstore initiative\u003c/a> to demand better treatment. Booksellers at \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/moesbooksunion?lang=en\">Moe’s Books in Berkeley\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/bscworkers?lang=en\">Bookshop Santa Cruz\u003c/a> voted to form unions this year, a rare move for any independent bookstore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883930\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883930\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/RS50297_014_Berkeley_SmallPressStory_07192021-qut-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rows of books line the second floor at Moe’s Books in Berkeley on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think there still is a perception that somehow these professions are special or have cultural capital,” said Amy Wilson, a poet, an organizer and a master’s student at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. “But what workers are saying is you can’t eat [or] can’t pay your rent with cultural capital.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Toxicity in the Workplace\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Many of the former workers who spoke to KQED said they had tried to fix the culture and structure at SPD internally, but not enough seemed to change. The environment became increasingly hostile in 2019, they said, when employees were told SPD was in the midst of a financial crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SPD is making available books that don’t make a lot of money,” said Jeffrey Lependorf, then-executive director of SPD. “And the book industry at that time was facing tough times. And we were a part of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees said it seemed like workers who were vocal about changes they wanted to see at SPD were also under the most scrutiny during SPD’s financial challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like SPD could fall apart at any moment, [so] we have to be hypervigilant and never change how we do anything,” said E Conner, who worked at SPD during that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883932\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883932\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-800x672.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-800x672.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-1020x857.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-160x134.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-1536x1291.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-2048x1721.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-1920x1614.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E Conner worked at Small Press Distribution until late last year. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of E Conner)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former employees said managers began an “efficiency audit” to identify redundancies. As part of that effort, staff said they were asked to describe in detail what they did during the day. But Conner said it felt like even when she explained how she spent her workday, the manager didn’t believe her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As I was explaining what I did, I was told, ‘But you don’t really do that, right?'” Conner said. “And I explained that ‘I’m just trying to tell you what I do.’ Everybody was terrified we were going to lose our jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another former employee at SPD, Nich Malone, said he was outspoken about some of the issues at SPD, like the lack of clear job descriptions or the need for professional boundaries. But he said his suggestions only seemed to make some of his bosses uncomfortable, and the efficiency audit felt like an attempt to wear him down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was literally, like, sitting in a room for an hour, not doing work, so you could justify your job,” Malone said. “It would sort of break you down so that you work harder so that you’d keep your job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While these audits were happening, Lependorf lived on the other side of the country — another issue that employees said they found frustrating as they, and their lower-paid co-workers, faced the threat of layoffs. “He lived and worked in Hudson, New York, while Small Press Distribution is in Berkeley, California,” Conner said. “The knowledge and the skill to navigate through this very chaotic organization was all on the lower-paid workers to do, and do well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lependorf said the remote position made sense for years, considering that many valuable ties in the publishing industry are in New York. But he said his distance from the nonprofit seemed less practical as the climate at the workplace became more toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were issues of misgendering, there were issues of gender bias, there were issues of crossing boundaries, and [it] became more difficult … it was certainly difficult for me not being present,” he said. “I was in a position of being a little helpless to deal with some of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said management was working hard to make sure employees could keep their jobs, but he could also understand how the financial issues made staff feel threatened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were really, really trying to listen. We were out there trying to pull in pennies to keep everyone employed,” he said. “You don’t want to scare your staff, but you also don’t want to hide things from them. It’s a tricky balance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11884456\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11884456\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-800x472.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-800x472.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-1020x601.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-160x94.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall-1536x906.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/SPD-Kitchen-wall.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Poetry covers the walls of the break room at Small Press Distribution in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Sam Lefebvre)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lependorf left SPD last year, and Cunningham said Lependorf’s departure was the solution to the financial challenges. (Lependorf said he was planning to leave within a year or two anyway.) Cunningham, who became executive director after Lependorf left, said he could not comment on personnel matters out of concern for privacy. Cunningham said of himself that he treated all employees fairly and equally, and that while in leadership at SPD, he did not witness any other SPD director treating any employee in a way he would call unfair, unequal or retaliatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then around the time of the nonprofit’s financial issues, staff learned from management about errors related to payroll. SPD leadership said in a statement last year that a total of five employees had been underpaid, and that staff had also been given pay stubs that were not in compliance with the law; they did not show hourly wages or hours worked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One person was underpaid a total of more than $4,000 throughout most of 2019, documents shared with KQED show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SPD board of directors, Cunningham and SPD Finance Director Andrew Pai released a statement saying that as soon as the payroll errors came to their attention, leaders apologized to staff, informed all staff of the error and remedied the mistakes — including paying missing wages with interest to those affected. They said they also switched to a different payroll processing company that complies with current regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883934\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11883934 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-800x760.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-800x760.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-1020x969.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-160x152.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-1536x1460.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-2048x1946.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/E-Conner-Desk-1920x1824.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E Conner’s desk at Small Press Distribution, where she worked until late 2020. She advocated for better working conditions while an employee there. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of E Conner)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former employee Malone said that these financial issues and mismanagement contributed to the hostile environment at SPD, where employees felt they had to justify their positions, and eventually it became too much. Malone decided to leave last March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just figured, if I could leave the organization, that means my friend who is also on the chopping block, at least … they probably won’t lose their job,” he said. “I couldn’t still be part of something that I loved so much, watching it slowly die.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 60% of employees who worked at SPD in September 2019 have since left the nonprofit. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The Conversation Moves Online\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It took a Medium \u003ca href=\"https://damagedbookworker.medium.com/terrorized-by-spd-612014765e7c\">post\u003c/a> published last December by a former employee to force the conversation open about working conditions at SPD. Hundreds of writers, publishers and community members signed an \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJKgNqaN_FZ7GWKiciKDFQQZgLZ1JI895b_Z3Apx5Ic/edit\">open letter calling for Cunningham to resign from his leadership position at SPD. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re using a pseudonym — Marisela — to protect the identity of the former employee who wrote the post because of concern that being identified would put their safety or employment opportunities at risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the post, Marisela described how management continued to ask them to perform intensive physical labor in the warehouse in spite of a reported physical disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They wrote that Cunningham would regularly “unload” to them about his personal life. They said he would approach their desk in the morning and begin complaining about personal issues with his family — emotional labor that Marisela, as well as several other former employees, said made them uncomfortable, particularly from a boss. Marisela described feeling like a “captive audience” as he overshared details about his life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marisela was also the employee who was underpaid more than $4,000 in 2019, documents shared with KQED show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883938\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11883938\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-800x600.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/img_d1d3773d8182-1_edit-2-1.jpeg 1331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A former employee at Small Press Distribution, who asked to be called Marisela, published a piece about working conditions at Small Press Distribution last December. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Marisela and Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Marisela said over a month before first learning they were underpaid, they had to borrow money from a church to pay rent. They said their mental and physical health continued to decline, and the stress was making it impossible to work there. They felt like they had no choice but to leave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Cunningham said he apologizes for and regrets “any instance of sharing too much personal information with staff members.” He also said he responded to all safety and employee health concerns as soon as they came to his attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few days after Marisela handed in their resignation, SPD offered them a $2,500 severance agreement. In order to receive the money, Marisela would also have to sign nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses, requiring them to pay $500 for every instance they disparaged SPD or broke the agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Marisela did not sign it, and thus did not receive any severance pay, they said it made them afraid to talk about their experience at SPD for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t have any other resources. I didn’t expect them to do that. It did what they wanted it to do. I felt like disappearing was my only option,” Marisela said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SPD Board President Bernheimer said the nonprofit has “rarely but occasionally offered severance to departing employees and, like the vast majority of organizations, used agreements that provided for confidentiality and mutual non-disparagement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, less than a month after Marisela quit, the pandemic hit. Marisela was not only unemployed but even more isolated. By December 2020, they decided to come forward publicly. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt like I physically needed to speak the truth, or my body was going to cave in,” Marisela said. “This whole thing has been an act of survival. I didn’t feel like I had any other choice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That post launched a reckoning at SPD that previous, internal demands for change had not. Bernheimer said after the post was published, SPD added a board member with HR experience, and brought in a law firm to conduct an assessment of employee concerns and the nonprofit’s culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law firm found Cunningham was insensitive around issues related to gender identity and ethnicity, according to a portion of the assessment shared with KQED and publicly. The SPD board said he stepped down as executive director in March after the report was complete, though he continued to work for SPD in other roles for months afterward. The SPD board has not released that assessment, citing privacy concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A Boycott and Social Media Campaign\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>But seeking accountability through social media has also been complicated and, at times, hostile. Since December, Marisela has been running Twitter and Instagram accounts aimed at keeping the pressure on SPD and and bringing attention to working conditions in the book industry. Then, in March, someone set up a Twitter account to mock them. Marisela said soon after that account was suspended, someone claiming to be a friend of Cunningham sent them an abusive and threatening email, which they shared with KQED, telling Marisela to “move on.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Many of the people who have advocated for change at SPD say they’re doing so in spite of backlash from the literary community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a lot of people, it’s not just a fear of losing their job. It’s a fear of losing social access,” said Conner, who left SPD last year. “And I will say I’ve lost a lot of friends. A lot of friends. There’s a lot bound up in why it was so hard for anybody to say anything publicly for so long. It’s work, it’s art, it’s this whole community and really important things for people, their livelihood, and what they’re trying to create.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the issues at SPD have been shared online, a few presses have been trying to find other ways to distribute their books. But that hasn’t been an easy process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think there’s an awareness about how much the publishers have to lose, and the books they represent,” said KMA Sullivan, founder and publisher at Portland, Oregon-based \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesyesbooks.com\">YesYes Books\u003c/a>, which describes itself online as a publisher of provocative collections of poetry, fiction and experimental art. “Presses are just trying to survive. Does that mean we shouldn’t speak out for justice? Of course not, we should.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Game Over Books, a Boston-based publishing company of emerging and marginalized writers, announced it was ending its ties with SPD last year. Founder Josh Savory said they are still searching for a distributor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What SPD does is [get] your books into bookstores, libraries, university bookstores. You can’t just go to most stores and say, ‘Please carry our books,'” he said. “And without distribution, I think that you’re doing a disservice to your writers and your authors and their work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also not clear what impact the social media callouts have had on the willingness of the SPD board to adopt changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This tension all came to a head in June when members of a recently formed group of anti-capitalist writers and publishers called Poets Union weighed in. The group, which is not an actual union or tied to SPD, decided to boycott SPD. One SPD employee released a \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IzIF2s2IZ5EXzkqfYNdLkQKvNbjiexW2rUpWcxmJu98/edit\">statement \u003c/a>anonymously supporting the boycott and saying that she had no faith in the SPD board and felt isolated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email sent to staff, and later \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I57aq8arehBdBjh4AVn2kYw28WKSytmw/view\">shared online\u003c/a>, the interim executive director of SPD Cindy Myers wrote in response: “Torpedoing your employer on social media is truly not acceptable, in any organization. What is really needed is a statement from staff that conveys confidence that SPD is solving its problems collaboratively and is not a hostile workplace. I can’t make that statement for you – and you don’t have to make that statement at all, it’s really up to you. But I am telling you, that is what is called for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Myers declined interview requests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the email was sent, SPD employees released a \u003ca href=\"https://myemail.constantcontact.com/SPD-Staff-Response-to-Poetry-Workers-Union-Boycott.html?soid=1103707940910&aid=P6F7nYlvh4o\">statement\u003c/a> that said all but one worker opposed the boycott.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are SPD workers writing to express our dismay at the recent calls to action made in our name. At this time, the Poets Union boycott does not align with our wishes or needs as workers. We are a fragile, overworked crew and fear coming forward publicly would expose us to online harassment, which is why we are writing to you anonymously,” the statement reads. It was signed “7 of 8 Current SPD Workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11883940\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 717px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11883940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/J-Worthen.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"588\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/J-Worthen.jpg 717w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2031/08/J-Worthen-160x131.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">J. Worthen during a reading. Worthen and other former workers at Small Press Distribution want to see working conditions improve. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of J. Worthen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Still Hoping for a Transformation\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>SPD staff members recently completed mediation, a process where employees agree to changes in the workplace with the help of a third party. In an email sent to the small press community, Myers said details of that mediation are confidential. Board President Bernheimer did not comment when asked what the next steps are for improving practices at SPD now that mediation has ended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means many in the literary world and former employees will have to continue to wait and see what SPD will look like over the next few months from the outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a month into the pandemic lockdowns, Worthen shared a fundraiser for SPD online. In that post, they asked people wanting to help with expenses related to their cancer treatment to instead donate to SPD. They said they could not imagine a literary world without it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a year since then, Worthen said it’s hurtful that people now claim they’re a threat to the nonprofit’s future. They said former employees have the right to speak about harm experienced in the literary community, and about improving the situation at SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Worthen and Malone say they still care about the future of SPD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would love the closure of, like, ‘Cool, close this book. And SPD is going to be OK,” Malone said. “Instead of being like, ‘Cool, close this book, and everything’s on fire.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Disclaimer: Holly J. McDede volunteered at Small Press Distribution in 2013.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>The Bay’s How-To newsletter series (\u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sign up here\u003c/a>) is an extension of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bythepeople\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">By The People,\u003c/a> a series of episodes looking into how democracy functions in the spaces around us — and where, exactly, each of us can plug in. These features include change-makers who have learned how to get involved locally and who are now sharing their step-by-step guide with you.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11881670\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-800x200.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-800x200.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-1020x255.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-160x40.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-1536x384.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers.png 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2016 presidential election motivated many to get involved in politics, as seen through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/10/26/927803214/62-million-and-counting-americans-are-breaking-early-voting-records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">higher voter turnout\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/more-women-than-ever-are-running-for-office-but-are-they-winning-their-primaries/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more women than ever running for office\u003c/a>. Social inequalities were made visible during the pandemic, and specifically, the ongoing deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police propelled people to the streets. It marked the summer of 2020 as the biggest protest for racial justice in a generation, and the Bay Area was no exception. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11821834/bay-area-protests-over-death-of-george-floyd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Throughout the region\u003c/a>, specifically in downtown Oakland and San Jose, a number of young queer people of color decided to run for office in the cities they called home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of them was Alex Lee. Right before the pandemic, Lee, Bay Area born and raised, moved back home with his parents in San Jose. He had been in Sacramento working for \u003ca href=\"https://sd27.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">state Sen. Henry Stern\u003c/a> crafting public safety, education, housing and senior-related legislation. Still, Lee felt disconnected from his neighbors. Then, Assemblymember Kansen Chu \u003ca href=\"https://sanjosespotlight.com/assemblymember-kansen-chu-to-leave-legislature-run-for-county-supervisor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced\u003c/a> in 2019 that he would not be seek reelection for the 25th Assembly District that’s made up of parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties. Lee decided to run for office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thinking ahead, he decided to take on the role of field representative for Silicon Valley Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://a28.asmdc.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Low\u003c/a>, so that he would be ready to run for office. Lee believes the pandemic showed how government can be effective, a direct tool in improving people’s lives, but it needed to be improved and modernized. When Lee told his parents of his future plans, they said he was young enough to go for it. “I could literally restart my life four times and still be the age of my current surviving grandma,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November 2020, Lee won his race for state Assembly and became the youngest state legislator in almost a century, representing the 25th Assembly District. He’s also the first openly bisexual state legislator in California history. While there are many ways to run for office, Lee’s journey and tips highlight his unique experience of running for office during a pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC7907343389&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee is now serving in Sacramento. We caught up with him last month to put together tips from his experience running for office. Here are his tips:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11881673\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>1. Ask Yourself Some Tough Questions\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A crucial first step in running for office is getting real with yourself. Lee says the question he asks everyone who is considering running for any level of office is, “Do you feel passionate enough to do the job? And, do you feel educated enough to know the job you want to do?” [pullquote size=\"mediume\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Alex Lee, 25th District assemblymember\"]‘Do you feel passionate enough to do the job? And, do you feel educated enough to know the job you want to do?’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee explored this question through his involvement in student government and taking various internships to find out what it was really like to be in office. Although his journey took him to the state Capitol to do important policy work, he wasn’t on the ground connecting with residents every day. Part of the reflection is really think about what job best fits you and your desired impact, he said. Ultimately, if you care about your school community perhaps running for a school board would be the best fit or working on school policy at the state Legislature level, but those two roles are different, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t believe in running just to run for something and be an elected official. I know a lot of people insultingly told me, ‘Oh, Alex you should run for school board or city council instead, and then you can run for state Assembly.’ And I was like, it’s offensive to those jobs, because those are real jobs where real decisions are made. And I’m not going to use it as a stepping stone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to run for some fake idea of clout, Lee said, “there is no clout, there is no glory. Plus, people know when you’re faking it.” For example, during the election even when people didn’t agree with Lee on all issues or differed ideologically, they supported him because he was genuine and authentic. In his work now, he’s able to get bipartisan support on issues he cares about.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>2. Learn How to Swim by Jumping In\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Lee got his start by participating in student government as student body president while he was at UC Davis. He represented 30,000 students, which he compares to being a mayor of a small town. As study body president he advocated for lowering tuition, increasing student services and tackling the local housing scarcity and affordability — all while closing the $13 million budget deficit of the student association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through this experience he learned the fundamentals of campaigning, which he says are similar across all types of races, and only vary in scale. Before running for state Assembly he was also a legislative staffer at the state Capitol, where he helped write the bills and prepare all the needed documents for the Assembly member he worked with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of campaigning, Lee just jumped in. “My timeline is [legislative] staff and student government,” Lee said. “Then someone asked me to be their campaign manager after never literally running a real campaign before.” He applied the same principles of his run for UC Davis student body president and it turned out to be such a successful campaign that he was asked to be a campaign manager once again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits his friends and mentors that helped him demystify the process. “Elections are made intentionally to be exclusive, intimidating. But once you kind of strip down a lot of the B.S. and ask, ‘Why do people do these things?’ And their answer was, ‘Well because they just do it.’ ” Lee decided to take a different path. That meant Lee’s campaign would be free from some of the traditional obligations of campaigning, most of which would have required him to spend time fundraising instead of actually going out to get votes.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>3. Don’t Be Afraid to Do Things Your Way\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some of the things Lee decided not to do are actually pretty common in the election process. For example, hiring consultants. In California, you can hire a political consultant to help with strategy, communications, fundraising, polling or research. For many first-time candidates, having a political consultant with experience and expertise can be an invaluable resource in navigating elections, although pricey. Lee passed on getting a consultant because it was a cost-saver and he says he already knew his strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the high cost of running for office there is a lot of money that needs to be raised to break even. But, that also changes the mindset and focus of the campaign in Lee’s opinion. “Consultants would have told me to do otherwise,” he said. “To this day, I still don’t have any consultants.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest surprise for Lee was that his strategy and methods worked. He was competing against nine total people who had been in politics longer than he was alive, Lee had no elected title, was not well known, and he was not rich. “I don’t have any of these advantages. I just went out there every day with my team and we talked to people and we shared progressive values and we weren’t shy about saying the things that we wanted to do,” he said. “It’s translated to the things we are doing in office now. We’re doing exactly what I said I would do. And I think there’s a lot of people in my community who are really heartened by that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>4. Don’t Let Money Run Your Campaign\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As you can imagine, Lee was serious about not centering money in his campaign or his mindset. He refers to what he calls “industrial-electoral-complex” where most candidates spend most of their time raising money instead of actually going out to get votes. “I kind of flipped it,” Lee said. “I mean, the people I know have net worth that is close to zero or are young people with student debt so I knew we were always going to be at a disadvantage. And I think our approach is hopefully going to be a model for the future.” [aside tag=\"bythepeople, democracy\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now in office, he doesn’t regret his decisions and is actually relieved. In Lee’s campaign the average donation was less than $100 per individual. To this day, the $20 someone donated because he begged them to still hold weight. “It’s not objectively like the most money in the world, but it’s still meaningful. You feel at least a human courtesy to that person,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine that donations are at the $1,000+ levels from plastic companies, petrol companies and all sorts of industries. “No one drops political money out of nowhere. It’s not like I just thought of donating philanthropy. There is a relationship, there is real and perceived influence of money,” Lee said. His decision to not accept corporate or special interest money now allows Lee to have time to talk to his constituents instead of lobbyists. He doesn’t build relationships with the intention of it translating into money. “There are some people who say, ‘I’ll take the money and I’ll vote against them, it doesn’t matter. But the perceived damage is just as bad as the real damage sometimes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>5. Lee’s Mantra: If You’re Not at the Table, You’re on the Menu\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>When I asked Lee why he thinks it’s important for young people of color to run for office, he said, “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” especially, “if you’re young, queer and a person of color.” [pullquote]‘We should all strive to be empathetic and understand people’s lives but it’s another thing to live in those shoes every single day.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee asks people, “Do you want your future decided by someone who is probably very well off, has housing security, has economic security, could be old, could be white, could be very straight, making decisions for your very not rich, very not straight, not white life?” Lee says empathy can only go so far, even for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t identify as a woman or non-binary, I don’t know what that experience is like. We should all strive to be empathetic and understand people’s lives but it’s another thing to live in those shoes every single day,” he said. Lee said it is much much easier to advocate for the working class and poor when you’ve experienced it first hand rather than it being abstract. “We should be the ones making decisions because I think that’s the majority of us,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11881672\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Isabeth Mendoza is the engagement producer for The Bay, a podcast that explores local news every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We launched a newsletter and episode series called \u003ca href=\"https://click.email.kqed.org/?qs=de9b073e9d21239f50f202cec0ebe6e98c8b13843e30e1061d8fee1c4457340bcf34b3833b85a9c8a14704995b30714fb0be02251915e015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">By The People\u003c/a> shortly after the U.S. Election Day in 2020. The purpose of the series was to look into how democracy functions in the spaces around us and by extension, the \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/u/1/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform?usp=send_form\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">newsletter\u003c/a> continued the conversation focusing on how to plug in. We looked at how to run for office, how to use digital spaces for advocacy and how to get a measure on a ballot. If any of these spark your curiosity, keep reading because we break it down for you in simple how-to guides.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>The Bay’s How-To newsletter series (\u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sign up here\u003c/a>) is an extension of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bythepeople\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">By The People,\u003c/a> a series of episodes looking into how democracy functions in the spaces around us — and where, exactly, each of us can plug in. These features include change-makers who have learned how to get involved locally and who are now sharing their step-by-step guide with you.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11881670\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-800x200.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-800x200.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-1020x255.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-160x40.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers-1536x384.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/How-To-Headers.png 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2016 presidential election motivated many to get involved in politics, as seen through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/10/26/927803214/62-million-and-counting-americans-are-breaking-early-voting-records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">higher voter turnout\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/more-women-than-ever-are-running-for-office-but-are-they-winning-their-primaries/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more women than ever running for office\u003c/a>. Social inequalities were made visible during the pandemic, and specifically, the ongoing deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police propelled people to the streets. It marked the summer of 2020 as the biggest protest for racial justice in a generation, and the Bay Area was no exception. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11821834/bay-area-protests-over-death-of-george-floyd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Throughout the region\u003c/a>, specifically in downtown Oakland and San Jose, a number of young queer people of color decided to run for office in the cities they called home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of them was Alex Lee. Right before the pandemic, Lee, Bay Area born and raised, moved back home with his parents in San Jose. He had been in Sacramento working for \u003ca href=\"https://sd27.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">state Sen. Henry Stern\u003c/a> crafting public safety, education, housing and senior-related legislation. Still, Lee felt disconnected from his neighbors. Then, Assemblymember Kansen Chu \u003ca href=\"https://sanjosespotlight.com/assemblymember-kansen-chu-to-leave-legislature-run-for-county-supervisor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced\u003c/a> in 2019 that he would not be seek reelection for the 25th Assembly District that’s made up of parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties. Lee decided to run for office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thinking ahead, he decided to take on the role of field representative for Silicon Valley Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://a28.asmdc.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Low\u003c/a>, so that he would be ready to run for office. Lee believes the pandemic showed how government can be effective, a direct tool in improving people’s lives, but it needed to be improved and modernized. When Lee told his parents of his future plans, they said he was young enough to go for it. “I could literally restart my life four times and still be the age of my current surviving grandma,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November 2020, Lee won his race for state Assembly and became the youngest state legislator in almost a century, representing the 25th Assembly District. He’s also the first openly bisexual state legislator in California history. While there are many ways to run for office, Lee’s journey and tips highlight his unique experience of running for office during a pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC7907343389&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee is now serving in Sacramento. We caught up with him last month to put together tips from his experience running for office. Here are his tips:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11881673\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-34.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>1. Ask Yourself Some Tough Questions\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A crucial first step in running for office is getting real with yourself. Lee says the question he asks everyone who is considering running for any level of office is, “Do you feel passionate enough to do the job? And, do you feel educated enough to know the job you want to do?” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee explored this question through his involvement in student government and taking various internships to find out what it was really like to be in office. Although his journey took him to the state Capitol to do important policy work, he wasn’t on the ground connecting with residents every day. Part of the reflection is really think about what job best fits you and your desired impact, he said. Ultimately, if you care about your school community perhaps running for a school board would be the best fit or working on school policy at the state Legislature level, but those two roles are different, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t believe in running just to run for something and be an elected official. I know a lot of people insultingly told me, ‘Oh, Alex you should run for school board or city council instead, and then you can run for state Assembly.’ And I was like, it’s offensive to those jobs, because those are real jobs where real decisions are made. And I’m not going to use it as a stepping stone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to run for some fake idea of clout, Lee said, “there is no clout, there is no glory. Plus, people know when you’re faking it.” For example, during the election even when people didn’t agree with Lee on all issues or differed ideologically, they supported him because he was genuine and authentic. In his work now, he’s able to get bipartisan support on issues he cares about.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>2. Learn How to Swim by Jumping In\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Lee got his start by participating in student government as student body president while he was at UC Davis. He represented 30,000 students, which he compares to being a mayor of a small town. As study body president he advocated for lowering tuition, increasing student services and tackling the local housing scarcity and affordability — all while closing the $13 million budget deficit of the student association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through this experience he learned the fundamentals of campaigning, which he says are similar across all types of races, and only vary in scale. Before running for state Assembly he was also a legislative staffer at the state Capitol, where he helped write the bills and prepare all the needed documents for the Assembly member he worked with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of campaigning, Lee just jumped in. “My timeline is [legislative] staff and student government,” Lee said. “Then someone asked me to be their campaign manager after never literally running a real campaign before.” He applied the same principles of his run for UC Davis student body president and it turned out to be such a successful campaign that he was asked to be a campaign manager once again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits his friends and mentors that helped him demystify the process. “Elections are made intentionally to be exclusive, intimidating. But once you kind of strip down a lot of the B.S. and ask, ‘Why do people do these things?’ And their answer was, ‘Well because they just do it.’ ” Lee decided to take a different path. That meant Lee’s campaign would be free from some of the traditional obligations of campaigning, most of which would have required him to spend time fundraising instead of actually going out to get votes.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>3. Don’t Be Afraid to Do Things Your Way\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some of the things Lee decided not to do are actually pretty common in the election process. For example, hiring consultants. In California, you can hire a political consultant to help with strategy, communications, fundraising, polling or research. For many first-time candidates, having a political consultant with experience and expertise can be an invaluable resource in navigating elections, although pricey. Lee passed on getting a consultant because it was a cost-saver and he says he already knew his strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the high cost of running for office there is a lot of money that needs to be raised to break even. But, that also changes the mindset and focus of the campaign in Lee’s opinion. “Consultants would have told me to do otherwise,” he said. “To this day, I still don’t have any consultants.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest surprise for Lee was that his strategy and methods worked. He was competing against nine total people who had been in politics longer than he was alive, Lee had no elected title, was not well known, and he was not rich. “I don’t have any of these advantages. I just went out there every day with my team and we talked to people and we shared progressive values and we weren’t shy about saying the things that we wanted to do,” he said. “It’s translated to the things we are doing in office now. We’re doing exactly what I said I would do. And I think there’s a lot of people in my community who are really heartened by that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>4. Don’t Let Money Run Your Campaign\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As you can imagine, Lee was serious about not centering money in his campaign or his mindset. He refers to what he calls “industrial-electoral-complex” where most candidates spend most of their time raising money instead of actually going out to get votes. “I kind of flipped it,” Lee said. “I mean, the people I know have net worth that is close to zero or are young people with student debt so I knew we were always going to be at a disadvantage. And I think our approach is hopefully going to be a model for the future.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now in office, he doesn’t regret his decisions and is actually relieved. In Lee’s campaign the average donation was less than $100 per individual. To this day, the $20 someone donated because he begged them to still hold weight. “It’s not objectively like the most money in the world, but it’s still meaningful. You feel at least a human courtesy to that person,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine that donations are at the $1,000+ levels from plastic companies, petrol companies and all sorts of industries. “No one drops political money out of nowhere. It’s not like I just thought of donating philanthropy. There is a relationship, there is real and perceived influence of money,” Lee said. His decision to not accept corporate or special interest money now allows Lee to have time to talk to his constituents instead of lobbyists. He doesn’t build relationships with the intention of it translating into money. “There are some people who say, ‘I’ll take the money and I’ll vote against them, it doesn’t matter. But the perceived damage is just as bad as the real damage sometimes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>5. Lee’s Mantra: If You’re Not at the Table, You’re on the Menu\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>When I asked Lee why he thinks it’s important for young people of color to run for office, he said, “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” especially, “if you’re young, queer and a person of color.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We should all strive to be empathetic and understand people’s lives but it’s another thing to live in those shoes every single day.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee asks people, “Do you want your future decided by someone who is probably very well off, has housing security, has economic security, could be old, could be white, could be very straight, making decisions for your very not rich, very not straight, not white life?” Lee says empathy can only go so far, even for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t identify as a woman or non-binary, I don’t know what that experience is like. We should all strive to be empathetic and understand people’s lives but it’s another thing to live in those shoes every single day,” he said. Lee said it is much much easier to advocate for the working class and poor when you’ve experienced it first hand rather than it being abstract. “We should be the ones making decisions because I think that’s the majority of us,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11881672\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/HOW-TO-Newsletter-Graphic-35.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Isabeth Mendoza is the engagement producer for The Bay, a podcast that explores local news every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We launched a newsletter and episode series called \u003ca href=\"https://click.email.kqed.org/?qs=de9b073e9d21239f50f202cec0ebe6e98c8b13843e30e1061d8fee1c4457340bcf34b3833b85a9c8a14704995b30714fb0be02251915e015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">By The People\u003c/a> shortly after the U.S. Election Day in 2020. The purpose of the series was to look into how democracy functions in the spaces around us and by extension, the \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/u/1/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeiQTfCnzwvOkxyTf8kUNPHsaoishgMkbMpQ25W5UpHOn9bw/viewform?usp=send_form\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">newsletter\u003c/a> continued the conversation focusing on how to plug in. We looked at how to run for office, how to use digital spaces for advocacy and how to get a measure on a ballot. If any of these spark your curiosity, keep reading because we break it down for you in simple how-to guides.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California lawmakers on Thursday approved the first state-funded guaranteed income plan in the U.S., allocating $35 million for monthly cash payments to qualifying pregnant people and young adults who have recently left foster care, with no restrictions on how they spend it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The votes — 36-0 in the Senate and 64-0 in the Assembly — showed bipartisan support for an idea that is gaining momentum across the country. Dozens of local programs have sprung up in recent years, including some that have been privately funded, making it easier for elected officials to sell the public on the idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s plan is taxpayer-funded, and could spur other states to follow its lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you look at the stats for our foster youth, they are devastating,” Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita said. “We should be doing all we can to lift these young people up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the provisions of the bill, local governments and organizations would apply for the money and run their own programs, with the state Department of Social Services deciding on who gets the funding. California lawmakers left it up to local officials to determine the size of the monthly individual payments, which generally range from $500 to $1,000 in existing programs around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote came on the same day millions of parents began receiving their \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-joe-biden-business-health-government-and-politics-24023ed3ffba98e4a65dd6006518da7a\">first monthly payments\u003c/a> under a temporary expansion of the federal child tax credit, which many view as a form of guaranteed income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now there is momentum, things are moving quickly,” said Michael Tubbs, an adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was a trailblazer when he instituted a guaranteed income program in 2019 as mayor of Stockton. “The next stop is the federal government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, most government assistance programs have had strict rules about how the money could be spent, usually limiting benefits to things like food or housing. But a guaranteed income program gives money to people with no rules on how to spend it. The idea is to reduce the stresses of poverty that cause health problems and make it harder for people to find and keep work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"guaranteed-income\"]“It changes the philosophy from ‘big brother government knows what’s best for you,’ ” said state Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from San Jose. “We’ve been very prescriptive with that [foster care] population, as a state and as counties go. Look at the failure. Half of them don’t get their high school diplomas, let alone advance like other people their age.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some critics, like Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong of Bakersfield, say guaranteed income programs “undermine incentives to work and increase dependence on government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be pushing policies that encourage the value of work,” said Fong, who abstained from Thursday’s vote. “Guaranteed income doesn’t provide the job training and skills needed for upward mobility.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guaranteed income programs date back to the 18th century. The U.S. government even experimented with them in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the Nixon administration before they fell out of favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But recently, guaranteed income programs have been making a comeback. Programs have been announced in New Orleans; Oakland; Tacoma, Washington; Gainesville, Florida; and \u003ca href=\"https://abc7.com/guaranteed-income-los-angeles-county-pilot-program/10659842/#:~:text=The%20L.A.%20County%20Board%20of,for%20at%20least%20three%20years.\">Los Angeles\u003c/a> — the nation’s second largest city, which has a plan to give $1,000 a month to 2,000 needy families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state wants to target programs that benefit pregnant people and young adults who are aged out of the foster care system, to help them transition to life on their own. The latter includes people like Naihla De Jesus, who was removed from her mother’s custody at 17 and bounced between living with an aunt, a godmother and a boyfriend until landing in a transitional housing program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She became ineligible for that program when she turned 24 last year, which normally would have ended her government assistance. Instead, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sccgov.org/sites/opa/newsroom/Pages/universalbasicincomeprogram.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Santa Clara County\u003c/a> taxpayers have been paying her $1,000 a month — up to a year — with no restrictions on how she can spend it, part of a local guaranteed income program targeting former foster care children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De Jesus is also caring for her 9-year-old brother as his temporary guardian, while also battling anxiety and depression. She said her condition made it hard for her to keep a job because some days she didn’t have enough energy to get out of bed and go to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, she has a full-time job as a client support specialist with the Bill Wilson Center, where she works with young people who are in situations like hers. She said she doesn’t worry about money like she used to, choosing to save most of what she gets from the guaranteed income program. She used some of it to buy things for her brother, whose interest in expensive electronics grows as he gets older.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she also used some the money to save for a down payment for her “dream car,” a blue Subaru WRX.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m proud of myself, of where I am,” De Jesus said. “I don’t have to stress and then isolate myself and overthink, ‘Oh, I’m not going to have enough money to pay my rent or pay my phone bill.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County’s program has cost the county $1.4 million so far. Participants get the money on a debit card, which they can use for purchases or can withdraw from an ATM. County officials ask them to fill out surveys to monitor how they are doing, but administrators haven’t yet completed a thorough analysis, said Melanie Jimenez Perez, who oversees the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of a guaranteed program in Stockton found \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/stockton-health-coronavirus-pandemic-michael-tubbs-philanthropy-1227f2ab4a1bb7677a01b887ba91554f\">full-time employment increased\u003c/a> among participants after the first year of receiving the money.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California lawmakers on Thursday approved the first state-funded guaranteed income plan in the U.S., allocating $35 million for monthly cash payments to qualifying pregnant people and young adults who have recently left foster care, with no restrictions on how they spend it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The votes — 36-0 in the Senate and 64-0 in the Assembly — showed bipartisan support for an idea that is gaining momentum across the country. Dozens of local programs have sprung up in recent years, including some that have been privately funded, making it easier for elected officials to sell the public on the idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s plan is taxpayer-funded, and could spur other states to follow its lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you look at the stats for our foster youth, they are devastating,” Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita said. “We should be doing all we can to lift these young people up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the provisions of the bill, local governments and organizations would apply for the money and run their own programs, with the state Department of Social Services deciding on who gets the funding. California lawmakers left it up to local officials to determine the size of the monthly individual payments, which generally range from $500 to $1,000 in existing programs around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote came on the same day millions of parents began receiving their \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-joe-biden-business-health-government-and-politics-24023ed3ffba98e4a65dd6006518da7a\">first monthly payments\u003c/a> under a temporary expansion of the federal child tax credit, which many view as a form of guaranteed income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now there is momentum, things are moving quickly,” said Michael Tubbs, an adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was a trailblazer when he instituted a guaranteed income program in 2019 as mayor of Stockton. “The next stop is the federal government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, most government assistance programs have had strict rules about how the money could be spent, usually limiting benefits to things like food or housing. But a guaranteed income program gives money to people with no rules on how to spend it. The idea is to reduce the stresses of poverty that cause health problems and make it harder for people to find and keep work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It changes the philosophy from ‘big brother government knows what’s best for you,’ ” said state Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from San Jose. “We’ve been very prescriptive with that [foster care] population, as a state and as counties go. Look at the failure. Half of them don’t get their high school diplomas, let alone advance like other people their age.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some critics, like Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong of Bakersfield, say guaranteed income programs “undermine incentives to work and increase dependence on government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be pushing policies that encourage the value of work,” said Fong, who abstained from Thursday’s vote. “Guaranteed income doesn’t provide the job training and skills needed for upward mobility.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guaranteed income programs date back to the 18th century. The U.S. government even experimented with them in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the Nixon administration before they fell out of favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But recently, guaranteed income programs have been making a comeback. Programs have been announced in New Orleans; Oakland; Tacoma, Washington; Gainesville, Florida; and \u003ca href=\"https://abc7.com/guaranteed-income-los-angeles-county-pilot-program/10659842/#:~:text=The%20L.A.%20County%20Board%20of,for%20at%20least%20three%20years.\">Los Angeles\u003c/a> — the nation’s second largest city, which has a plan to give $1,000 a month to 2,000 needy families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state wants to target programs that benefit pregnant people and young adults who are aged out of the foster care system, to help them transition to life on their own. The latter includes people like Naihla De Jesus, who was removed from her mother’s custody at 17 and bounced between living with an aunt, a godmother and a boyfriend until landing in a transitional housing program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She became ineligible for that program when she turned 24 last year, which normally would have ended her government assistance. Instead, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sccgov.org/sites/opa/newsroom/Pages/universalbasicincomeprogram.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Santa Clara County\u003c/a> taxpayers have been paying her $1,000 a month — up to a year — with no restrictions on how she can spend it, part of a local guaranteed income program targeting former foster care children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De Jesus is also caring for her 9-year-old brother as his temporary guardian, while also battling anxiety and depression. She said her condition made it hard for her to keep a job because some days she didn’t have enough energy to get out of bed and go to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, she has a full-time job as a client support specialist with the Bill Wilson Center, where she works with young people who are in situations like hers. She said she doesn’t worry about money like she used to, choosing to save most of what she gets from the guaranteed income program. She used some of it to buy things for her brother, whose interest in expensive electronics grows as he gets older.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she also used some the money to save for a down payment for her “dream car,” a blue Subaru WRX.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m proud of myself, of where I am,” De Jesus said. “I don’t have to stress and then isolate myself and overthink, ‘Oh, I’m not going to have enough money to pay my rent or pay my phone bill.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County’s program has cost the county $1.4 million so far. Participants get the money on a debit card, which they can use for purchases or can withdraw from an ATM. County officials ask them to fill out surveys to monitor how they are doing, but administrators haven’t yet completed a thorough analysis, said Melanie Jimenez Perez, who oversees the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of a guaranteed program in Stockton found \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/stockton-health-coronavirus-pandemic-michael-tubbs-philanthropy-1227f2ab4a1bb7677a01b887ba91554f\">full-time employment increased\u003c/a> among participants after the first year of receiving the money.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Why a Supreme Court Decision Could Mean an Increase in Human Trafficking of Farmworkers",
"headTitle": "Why a Supreme Court Decision Could Mean an Increase in Human Trafficking of Farmworkers | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>In June 2018, two Monterey County site inspectors visited a Salinas cannabis farm, where they encountered a small group of farmworkers who they suspected had been trafficked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmworkers, who spoke no English, took off running when Monterey County Resource Management Agency officials approached them. They couldn’t go far, though — the cultivation site was fenced in. The farmworkers seemed terrified, the county’s prosecuting attorney later said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their behavior was unusual enough that inspectors called the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, who sent deputies to investigate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It soon became clear the dozen or so Hmong farmworkers, employed by labor contractor Levi Trimmigration, were living in substandard housing: metal shipping containers furnished only with camping equipment. They had no running water, no ventilation and slept on camping cots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking/what-is\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Human Trafficking Hotline\u003c/a>, California is one of the most prominent sites of human trafficking in the U.S. In 2018, of the nearly 11,000 cases reported nationally, more than 1,600 came from California. About 150 of those cases were reports of labor trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on private property rights has human trafficking experts, including former law enforcement officers, advocates and attorneys, worried that trafficked laborers will now be left without anyone looking out for them. These advocates say union organizers are among the first to recognize signs of labor trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2021/06/23/supreme-court-invalidates-cali-rule-allowing-unions-grower-property/5321224001/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid\u003c/a> decision, announced in late June, the Supreme Court decided to uphold private property rights over organizing rights, prohibiting California union organizers from fields and bunkhouses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conservative majority held that the access regulations allowed “physical invasion” of the land without compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increasingly, many farmworkers are indigenous Mexicans. In many cases, they do not speak, read or write English or Spanish, and may be unaware of their rights while working in the U.S. That makes them vulnerable to labor abuses or trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of these workers are living in labor camps owned by the employer, are transported to and from their worksites, and these folks are isolated,” said Elizabeth Strater, United Farm Workers director of strategic campaigns. “They never leave their employers’ property. In some instances, they are isolated by design.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What Is Labor Trafficking?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Labor trafficking is a form of human trafficking. It involves forcing or coercing someone to provide labor or services, such as picking produce in the fields or washing dishes in a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Department of Justice estimates that up to 17,500 trafficking victims are brought into the country annually. Men, women, entire families and children as young as 5 years old have been found to be victims of labor trafficking in agriculture, working as migrant or seasonal farmworkers harvesting and packing crops or raising animals, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given its enormous agricultural sector, Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Greg Peterson said the county is likely a leading county for labor trafficking. However, experts say it is significantly underreported and under-enforced in comparison to sex trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe that labor trafficking is hiding in plain sight,” said Stephany Powell, director of law enforcement training and survivor services for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “How many times do we drive past agricultural places and see people picking cherries or vegetables? Your assumption is if they’re out there doing that in plain sight that it must be OK. You aren’t even thinking that these people are underpaid, not being paid at all or are being kept in living conditions that no one would live in.”\u003cbr>\n[pullquote size=\"right\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Stephany Powell, director of law enforcement training and survivor services for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation\"]‘I believe that labor trafficking is hiding in plain sight. How many times do we drive past agricultural places and see people picking cherries or vegetables? Your assumption is if they’re out there doing that in plain sight that it must be OK. You aren’t even thinking that these people are underpaid, not being paid at all or are being kept in living conditions that no one would live in.’\u003cbr>\n[/pullquote]\u003cbr>\n“We’re seeing it, but we don’t know what we’re seeing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Derek Marsh, assistant director of Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice, has done anti-trafficking work since the early 2000s, when he worked as a deputy chief in Orange County’s Westminster Police Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, labor trafficking on the whole is not well recognized or prosecuted,” Marsh said. “Because sex trafficking is so egregious, both federal and local officials focus on that, to the exclusion of labor trafficking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Sowing Seeds of Fear\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Labor trafficking is notoriously difficult to spot and can take many forms. Migrant farmworkers — like the Hmong workers found living in shipping containers alongside the Salinas cannabis field — are vulnerable to labor abuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some cases, captors confiscate workers’ passports, visas or drivers’ licenses, and tell victims they have to work to earn them back. In others, they might force victims to live or work in unsafe or unsanitary conditions or promise a rate of pay they never deliver on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Captors sow fear in the minds of workers to control them, Marsh said. They may tell farmworkers that if they speak with the authorities about their circumstances, they will be deported, or they’ll never see their families again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a human trafficker is doing their job, they’ve convinced these people they can’t go to the authorities, they’ll lose their status, they’ll go to jail,” said Peterson, who prosecuted the Levi Trimmigration case. “They’ve worked to convince them they’re not safe and they need the traffickers to help them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 80% of labor trafficking victims have come to the U.S. legally, and it’s only through victimization that they lose their status as workers, Marsh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People who have experienced labor trafficking can suffer complex post-traumatic stress disorder after a series of traumatic experiences like the day-in and day-out of being trafficked. Meanwhile, companies that traffic people often enjoy significant profits off their labor. Marsh added that forced labor, which often comes with long hours and unsanitary conditions, could translate into food safety issues for consumers.[aside tag=\"migration, labor, farmworker\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have a slave force, you don’t have to pay what the market demands,” Marsh said. “As a business person, you are not going to be competitive with competitors doing that, because their costs are lower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Language barriers, employer-provided housing, employment-dependent visas and work located in remote fields create significant barriers for farmworkers who feel they are being exploited, said Powell, with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only information they get is from the people that have them in captivity … so having the labor unions giving them information, there’s another watchful eye,” she said. “Now, they’re not invisible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Marsh said he had not heard of many incidences of union organizers identifying labor trafficking, it is important that farmworkers have regular contact with people — such as organizers — who could identify signs of trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my mind, the more eyes, the merrier,” he said. “It makes sure operations are transparent and they have informed employees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11880911\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11880911\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-800x460.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-800x460.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-1020x587.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-160x92.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-1536x884.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1.jpeg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworkers pick strawberries in Watsonville, Calif., on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. \u003ccite>(David Rodriguez/The Salinas Californian)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Beyond a Reasonable Doubt\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Experts agree that labor trafficking is notoriously difficult to prosecute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, traumatized victims are reluctant to speak with police, and when they do, their stories don’t always match up. Additionally, people from outside the U.S. who have been trafficked often want to go home rather than participate in a years-long lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many counties have followed Santa Clara and Alameda counties’ leads by focusing on charging for workers’ compensation violations and fraud, Peterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is the easiest way to go after people we suspect of human trafficking but don’t have the evidence to go after them,” he said. “If they’re keeping them captive, they’re probably not compensating them properly and are doing anything (they can) under the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although officials suspected Levi Trimmigration owners Eesai and Chang Lee Levi of trafficking the Hmong workers, they were charged only with withholding pay from workers, Peterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t think we could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “It really showed me just how challenging these cases can be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article is part of the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/projects/california-divide/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Divide\u003c/a>, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In June 2018, two Monterey County site inspectors visited a Salinas cannabis farm, where they encountered a small group of farmworkers who they suspected had been trafficked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmworkers, who spoke no English, took off running when Monterey County Resource Management Agency officials approached them. They couldn’t go far, though — the cultivation site was fenced in. The farmworkers seemed terrified, the county’s prosecuting attorney later said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their behavior was unusual enough that inspectors called the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, who sent deputies to investigate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It soon became clear the dozen or so Hmong farmworkers, employed by labor contractor Levi Trimmigration, were living in substandard housing: metal shipping containers furnished only with camping equipment. They had no running water, no ventilation and slept on camping cots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking/what-is\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Human Trafficking Hotline\u003c/a>, California is one of the most prominent sites of human trafficking in the U.S. In 2018, of the nearly 11,000 cases reported nationally, more than 1,600 came from California. About 150 of those cases were reports of labor trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on private property rights has human trafficking experts, including former law enforcement officers, advocates and attorneys, worried that trafficked laborers will now be left without anyone looking out for them. These advocates say union organizers are among the first to recognize signs of labor trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2021/06/23/supreme-court-invalidates-cali-rule-allowing-unions-grower-property/5321224001/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid\u003c/a> decision, announced in late June, the Supreme Court decided to uphold private property rights over organizing rights, prohibiting California union organizers from fields and bunkhouses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conservative majority held that the access regulations allowed “physical invasion” of the land without compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increasingly, many farmworkers are indigenous Mexicans. In many cases, they do not speak, read or write English or Spanish, and may be unaware of their rights while working in the U.S. That makes them vulnerable to labor abuses or trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of these workers are living in labor camps owned by the employer, are transported to and from their worksites, and these folks are isolated,” said Elizabeth Strater, United Farm Workers director of strategic campaigns. “They never leave their employers’ property. In some instances, they are isolated by design.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What Is Labor Trafficking?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Labor trafficking is a form of human trafficking. It involves forcing or coercing someone to provide labor or services, such as picking produce in the fields or washing dishes in a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Department of Justice estimates that up to 17,500 trafficking victims are brought into the country annually. Men, women, entire families and children as young as 5 years old have been found to be victims of labor trafficking in agriculture, working as migrant or seasonal farmworkers harvesting and packing crops or raising animals, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given its enormous agricultural sector, Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Greg Peterson said the county is likely a leading county for labor trafficking. However, experts say it is significantly underreported and under-enforced in comparison to sex trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe that labor trafficking is hiding in plain sight,” said Stephany Powell, director of law enforcement training and survivor services for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “How many times do we drive past agricultural places and see people picking cherries or vegetables? Your assumption is if they’re out there doing that in plain sight that it must be OK. You aren’t even thinking that these people are underpaid, not being paid at all or are being kept in living conditions that no one would live in.”\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\n“We’re seeing it, but we don’t know what we’re seeing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Derek Marsh, assistant director of Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice, has done anti-trafficking work since the early 2000s, when he worked as a deputy chief in Orange County’s Westminster Police Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, labor trafficking on the whole is not well recognized or prosecuted,” Marsh said. “Because sex trafficking is so egregious, both federal and local officials focus on that, to the exclusion of labor trafficking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Sowing Seeds of Fear\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Labor trafficking is notoriously difficult to spot and can take many forms. Migrant farmworkers — like the Hmong workers found living in shipping containers alongside the Salinas cannabis field — are vulnerable to labor abuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some cases, captors confiscate workers’ passports, visas or drivers’ licenses, and tell victims they have to work to earn them back. In others, they might force victims to live or work in unsafe or unsanitary conditions or promise a rate of pay they never deliver on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Captors sow fear in the minds of workers to control them, Marsh said. They may tell farmworkers that if they speak with the authorities about their circumstances, they will be deported, or they’ll never see their families again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a human trafficker is doing their job, they’ve convinced these people they can’t go to the authorities, they’ll lose their status, they’ll go to jail,” said Peterson, who prosecuted the Levi Trimmigration case. “They’ve worked to convince them they’re not safe and they need the traffickers to help them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 80% of labor trafficking victims have come to the U.S. legally, and it’s only through victimization that they lose their status as workers, Marsh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People who have experienced labor trafficking can suffer complex post-traumatic stress disorder after a series of traumatic experiences like the day-in and day-out of being trafficked. Meanwhile, companies that traffic people often enjoy significant profits off their labor. Marsh added that forced labor, which often comes with long hours and unsanitary conditions, could translate into food safety issues for consumers.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have a slave force, you don’t have to pay what the market demands,” Marsh said. “As a business person, you are not going to be competitive with competitors doing that, because their costs are lower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Language barriers, employer-provided housing, employment-dependent visas and work located in remote fields create significant barriers for farmworkers who feel they are being exploited, said Powell, with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only information they get is from the people that have them in captivity … so having the labor unions giving them information, there’s another watchful eye,” she said. “Now, they’re not invisible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Marsh said he had not heard of many incidences of union organizers identifying labor trafficking, it is important that farmworkers have regular contact with people — such as organizers — who could identify signs of trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my mind, the more eyes, the merrier,” he said. “It makes sure operations are transparent and they have informed employees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11880911\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11880911\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-800x460.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-800x460.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-1020x587.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-160x92.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1-1536x884.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/GUESTWORKER-COVID-OUTBREAK-FIELD-scaled-1.jpeg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmworkers pick strawberries in Watsonville, Calif., on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. \u003ccite>(David Rodriguez/The Salinas Californian)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Beyond a Reasonable Doubt\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Experts agree that labor trafficking is notoriously difficult to prosecute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, traumatized victims are reluctant to speak with police, and when they do, their stories don’t always match up. Additionally, people from outside the U.S. who have been trafficked often want to go home rather than participate in a years-long lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many counties have followed Santa Clara and Alameda counties’ leads by focusing on charging for workers’ compensation violations and fraud, Peterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is the easiest way to go after people we suspect of human trafficking but don’t have the evidence to go after them,” he said. “If they’re keeping them captive, they’re probably not compensating them properly and are doing anything (they can) under the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although officials suspected Levi Trimmigration owners Eesai and Chang Lee Levi of trafficking the Hmong workers, they were charged only with withholding pay from workers, Peterson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t think we could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “It really showed me just how challenging these cases can be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article is part of the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/projects/california-divide/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Divide\u003c/a>, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Laura, 76, has not seen a doctor for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former farmworker, who did not want her last name used because of her immigration status, said she is losing her eyesight and her feet are often swollen and in pain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A grandmother, Laura also suffers from headaches and shortness of breath, months after she became seriously ill with COVID-19 during the winter surge. Through it all, she has relied on home remedies and not sought medical care because she lacks health insurance, she said, in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t have any money. And at my age, there’s no work,” said Laura, who picked watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin and other crops for more than 20 years in fields in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Laura may soon get access to the medical services she desperately needs, at little or no cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is on the verge of a historic step to offer public health insurance to low-income undocumented older adults — a population that has been particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic but left out of federal assistance programs and other safety nets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders are expected to announce an expansion to the Medi-Cal program in the coming days as part of a final deal on the state budget, according to advocates and legislative aides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most recent negotiations in Sacramento have centered on the lower age limit for those who will be newly eligible: 50 and older, as lawmakers have previously proposed; 60 and older, as Newsom offered; or somewhere in between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are as certain as we can be that there will be something that comes into the final budget,” said Sarah Dar, who directs health and public benefits policy at the California Immigrant Policy Center. “And it’s really just a matter of ‘What’s the age they land on?‘”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Luz Gallegos, director of TODEC, a legal center and immigrant justice organization\"]‘California continues to step up and defend all Californians, especially those who are most vulnerable, who don’t have any access to safety nets, but who contribute to our state economy, have been paying taxes… and have seen nothing in return.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, then-state Sen. Ricardo Lara introduced the first (unsuccessful) \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billAnalysisClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1005\">bill\u003c/a> to make undocumented immigrants eligible for public health coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, California has enrolled undocumented children in full-scope Medi-Cal, offering free or low-cost preventative care, doctor visits, prescriptions, dental care, vision care and other services. Last year, the state became the first in the nation to offer health coverage to undocumented young adults through age 25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more than 1.3 million undocumented Californians are projected to lack health insurance next year, remaining the largest uninsured group in the state, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/undocumented-californians-projected-to-remain-the-largest-group-of-uninsured-in-the-state-in-2022/\">report\u003c/a> by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Estimates vary, but depending on the final age cutoff that Newsom and legislative leaders decide for this year’s budget, roughly 80,000 to more than 200,000 undocumented Californians could gain access to Medi-Cal, including many who have worked essential jobs that are key to the state’s economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigrant and health advocates who have pushed California for years to extend health coverage to undocumented immigrants savored the realization that finally, older adults will most likely be eligible for coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At last, justice does prevail. We are in a historic moment as Californians,” said Luz Gallegos, the executive director of TODEC, a legal center and immigrant justice organization in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California continues to step up and defend all Californians, especially those who are most vulnerable, who don’t have any access to safety nets, but who contribute to our state economy, have been paying taxes … and have seen nothing in return,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11879325\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1242px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11879325\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1242\" height=\"806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos.jpg 1242w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos-800x519.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos-1020x662.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1242px) 100vw, 1242px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luz Gallegos works on COVID-19 vaccine outreach for farmworkers in Thermal, Calif. this spring. \u003ccite>(Courtesy TODEC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The governor’s budget \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2021-22/pdf/Revised/BudgetSummary/HealthandHumanServices.pdf\">revision\u003c/a> from May includes nearly $860 million in annual state funds to expand Medi-Cal to low-income undocumented adults age 60 and older, with some of that funding available next year. The Legislature’s \u003ca href=\"https://abgt.assembly.ca.gov/sites/abgt.assembly.ca.gov/files/Floor%20Report%20of%20the%202021-22%20Budget%20-%20%28June%2011%2C%202021%20Version%29.pdf\">proposal\u003c/a> dedicates $1.3 billion in annual funds to cover undocumented adults age 50 and older once the program is fully established.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='undocumented-immigrants']Gallegos, who was born in the U.S. to farmworker immigrant parents, said this likely win is personal for her. In recent years, her undocumented uncle died from cancer, she said, after he delayed seeking medical care because he was uninsured. During the pandemic, farmworkers she knows died from COVID-19 while several others became ill with the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We honor their lives by continuing the struggle so we don’t see no more lives taken away from our communities,” said Gallegos, her voice breaking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, low-income undocumented immigrants who are 26 and older are eligible for limited Medi-Cal, which only covers health care emergencies or prenatal care if they are pregnant. Undocumented immigrants are excluded from the Affordable Care Act, and cannot purchase coverage through Covered California, the state’s ACA health exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If they are not insured by an employer or able to purchase a private plan, they must generally rely on county health programs, which vary greatly throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, Gov. Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814885/as-pandemic-batters-californias-economy-plan-to-insure-undocumented-seniors-in-doubt\">proposed\u003c/a> offering full-scope Medi-Cal to undocumented seniors age 65 and older. But the plan didn’t go through, as the state projected a severe economic downturn and tax losses in the billions of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the financial picture for California is starkly different this year, with the state logging an eye-popping budget surplus of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11874125/californias-historic-budget-surplus-is-it-76-billion-or-38-billion\">$76 billion\u003c/a>. In addition, the pandemic highlighted how “interconnected” public health really is, with all of us having to think about whether people around us wore masks, stood far enough apart, or were vaccinated, said Dar, with the California Immigrant Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so to give health care access to this community would mean a healthier and stronger state for all Californians,” said Dar. “Increased productivity, better health outcomes, better public health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some opponents have argued that funds to provide health coverage to undocumented people would be better spent on other needs, such as helping struggling U.S. citizens afford their own health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About two in three Californians support the idea of providing health coverage to undocumented immigrants, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-march-2021.pdf\">recent survey\u003c/a> by the Public Policy Institute of California. But many Republicans oppose it, with nearly eight in 10 saying that they are not in favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Illinois became the \u003ca href=\"https://www.povertylaw.org/article/health-coverage-available-to-undocumented-seniors-in-illinois/#:~:text=Fortunately%2C%20Illinois%20has%20become%20the,citizens%20age%2065%20or%20older.\">first state\u003c/a> to extend health insurance to undocumented seniors age 65 and older.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former farmworker Laura hopes she will gain access to health coverage — and low-cost medical care — in California, where she has lived since the late 1980s, most recently in Riverside county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would help me a lot to go to the doctor and get my eyes checked out,” Laura said. “It would be the best.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Laura, 76, has not seen a doctor for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former farmworker, who did not want her last name used because of her immigration status, said she is losing her eyesight and her feet are often swollen and in pain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A grandmother, Laura also suffers from headaches and shortness of breath, months after she became seriously ill with COVID-19 during the winter surge. Through it all, she has relied on home remedies and not sought medical care because she lacks health insurance, she said, in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t have any money. And at my age, there’s no work,” said Laura, who picked watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin and other crops for more than 20 years in fields in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Laura may soon get access to the medical services she desperately needs, at little or no cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is on the verge of a historic step to offer public health insurance to low-income undocumented older adults — a population that has been particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic but left out of federal assistance programs and other safety nets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders are expected to announce an expansion to the Medi-Cal program in the coming days as part of a final deal on the state budget, according to advocates and legislative aides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most recent negotiations in Sacramento have centered on the lower age limit for those who will be newly eligible: 50 and older, as lawmakers have previously proposed; 60 and older, as Newsom offered; or somewhere in between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are as certain as we can be that there will be something that comes into the final budget,” said Sarah Dar, who directs health and public benefits policy at the California Immigrant Policy Center. “And it’s really just a matter of ‘What’s the age they land on?‘”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, then-state Sen. Ricardo Lara introduced the first (unsuccessful) \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billAnalysisClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1005\">bill\u003c/a> to make undocumented immigrants eligible for public health coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, California has enrolled undocumented children in full-scope Medi-Cal, offering free or low-cost preventative care, doctor visits, prescriptions, dental care, vision care and other services. Last year, the state became the first in the nation to offer health coverage to undocumented young adults through age 25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more than 1.3 million undocumented Californians are projected to lack health insurance next year, remaining the largest uninsured group in the state, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/undocumented-californians-projected-to-remain-the-largest-group-of-uninsured-in-the-state-in-2022/\">report\u003c/a> by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Estimates vary, but depending on the final age cutoff that Newsom and legislative leaders decide for this year’s budget, roughly 80,000 to more than 200,000 undocumented Californians could gain access to Medi-Cal, including many who have worked essential jobs that are key to the state’s economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigrant and health advocates who have pushed California for years to extend health coverage to undocumented immigrants savored the realization that finally, older adults will most likely be eligible for coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At last, justice does prevail. We are in a historic moment as Californians,” said Luz Gallegos, the executive director of TODEC, a legal center and immigrant justice organization in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California continues to step up and defend all Californians, especially those who are most vulnerable, who don’t have any access to safety nets, but who contribute to our state economy, have been paying taxes … and have seen nothing in return,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11879325\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1242px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11879325\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1242\" height=\"806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos.jpg 1242w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos-800x519.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos-1020x662.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/Gallegos-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1242px) 100vw, 1242px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luz Gallegos works on COVID-19 vaccine outreach for farmworkers in Thermal, Calif. this spring. \u003ccite>(Courtesy TODEC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The governor’s budget \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2021-22/pdf/Revised/BudgetSummary/HealthandHumanServices.pdf\">revision\u003c/a> from May includes nearly $860 million in annual state funds to expand Medi-Cal to low-income undocumented adults age 60 and older, with some of that funding available next year. The Legislature’s \u003ca href=\"https://abgt.assembly.ca.gov/sites/abgt.assembly.ca.gov/files/Floor%20Report%20of%20the%202021-22%20Budget%20-%20%28June%2011%2C%202021%20Version%29.pdf\">proposal\u003c/a> dedicates $1.3 billion in annual funds to cover undocumented adults age 50 and older once the program is fully established.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Gallegos, who was born in the U.S. to farmworker immigrant parents, said this likely win is personal for her. In recent years, her undocumented uncle died from cancer, she said, after he delayed seeking medical care because he was uninsured. During the pandemic, farmworkers she knows died from COVID-19 while several others became ill with the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We honor their lives by continuing the struggle so we don’t see no more lives taken away from our communities,” said Gallegos, her voice breaking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, low-income undocumented immigrants who are 26 and older are eligible for limited Medi-Cal, which only covers health care emergencies or prenatal care if they are pregnant. Undocumented immigrants are excluded from the Affordable Care Act, and cannot purchase coverage through Covered California, the state’s ACA health exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If they are not insured by an employer or able to purchase a private plan, they must generally rely on county health programs, which vary greatly throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, Gov. Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814885/as-pandemic-batters-californias-economy-plan-to-insure-undocumented-seniors-in-doubt\">proposed\u003c/a> offering full-scope Medi-Cal to undocumented seniors age 65 and older. But the plan didn’t go through, as the state projected a severe economic downturn and tax losses in the billions of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the financial picture for California is starkly different this year, with the state logging an eye-popping budget surplus of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11874125/californias-historic-budget-surplus-is-it-76-billion-or-38-billion\">$76 billion\u003c/a>. In addition, the pandemic highlighted how “interconnected” public health really is, with all of us having to think about whether people around us wore masks, stood far enough apart, or were vaccinated, said Dar, with the California Immigrant Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so to give health care access to this community would mean a healthier and stronger state for all Californians,” said Dar. “Increased productivity, better health outcomes, better public health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some opponents have argued that funds to provide health coverage to undocumented people would be better spent on other needs, such as helping struggling U.S. citizens afford their own health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About two in three Californians support the idea of providing health coverage to undocumented immigrants, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-march-2021.pdf\">recent survey\u003c/a> by the Public Policy Institute of California. But many Republicans oppose it, with nearly eight in 10 saying that they are not in favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Illinois became the \u003ca href=\"https://www.povertylaw.org/article/health-coverage-available-to-undocumented-seniors-in-illinois/#:~:text=Fortunately%2C%20Illinois%20has%20become%20the,citizens%20age%2065%20or%20older.\">first state\u003c/a> to extend health insurance to undocumented seniors age 65 and older.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former farmworker Laura hopes she will gain access to health coverage — and low-cost medical care — in California, where she has lived since the late 1980s, most recently in Riverside county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would help me a lot to go to the doctor and get my eyes checked out,” Laura said. “It would be the best.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"soldout": {
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"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
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