On a street corner in Altadena, surrounded by worksites in the Eaton Fire zone, a trio sang a catchy tune to the beat of a cumbia. The song carries an important message: “A la hora de chambear, pongase la mascara, no te vayas a enfermar.” (“When it’s time to work, put on your mask, so you don’t get sick.”)
“There’s a disaster after the disaster – and that’s the lack of [support for] the health and safety of the workers,” said Jose Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center (PCJC), after the performance. Madera, members of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and about two dozen laborers currently working in the aftermath of the wildfires as “fire recovery” addressed the serious gaps in worker safety protocols on surrounding job sites, including lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the lack of sufficient breaks.
Madera and fellow labor leaders read highlights from a new report released May 22 by NDLON – titled “Rebuilding Altadena: Critical Gaps in Worker Safety After the Eaton Fire” – which they said reveals troubling deficiencies in worker safety.
Over a three-day period earlier this month, a 10-member team – representing NDLON, PCJC and the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois Chicago – surveyed 240 active worksites across Altadena employing over 1,200 workers assisting with cleanup and rebuilding efforts.
Authored by Nik Theodore of the Center for Urban Economic Development, the report confirms that workers have been raising ash and dust using earth-moving equipment and other machinery, but very few wore adequate PPE to minimize their exposure to potentially toxic contaminants.
Although nearly three-quarters of workers wore protective headgear, such as hard hats, only one-quarter wore work gloves; only 20% wore N100 or N95 masks or half-face respirators; only 18% wore safety glasses; and less than 10% wore protective coveralls, such as Tyvek suits.
“For many, these are just workers, whose work is invisible, but not for us. … That’s why we did this study – to make visible what workers are going through,” said Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of NDLON. He emphasized that workers deserve free or government-subsidized PPE, training on its proper use and regular worksite inspections to ensure that workers are protected.
Worker Testimonies
Shortly after the LA fires, Vilma Santiago was looking for a job when a friend told her about cleaning work available in Pacific Palisades. She waited at a designated street corner early one February morning with fellow day laborers and soon after a white van arrived to pick them up.
“No one told us how much we would be paid or how long we would work, but other workers who had been picked up before said they hadn’t been paid for days,” said Santiago, one of several workers who shared personal testimonies. The house they were taken to didn’t have fire damage, but it was covered in red chemical dust and the air in and around it was full of ash.
“They gave us nothing to protect ourselves – no mask, no gloves,” she said. “The bosses yelled at us when we tried to rest or talk. They said, ‘Don’t speak or you’ll never work here again.’
“My eyes burned, my nose hurt and I could barely breathe,” continued Santiago. “They made us scrub everything – the floors, the walls, the furniture – and workers outside were using machines that blew the dust inside the house. It felt like breathing poison.”
By the end of the day, Santiago’s head and lungs hurt and she couldn’t stop coughing. Although she decided not to go back, she still experiences occasional symptoms from that one day of work.
“This isn’t just my story. Many workers are still getting sick and are still not getting paid,” said Santiago. “There are many people who are too scared to complain because they’re immigrants … [but] we all deserve masks, gloves, fair pay and the right to speak up without fear.”
Luckily for Sharon Barroso, one of many day laborers who work with PCJC, she and other fellow workers are provided PPE and have been trained on how to use the protective gear.
“They [PCJC] have seen how important it is for us to protect our health, because otherwise, how can we continue to help? And how can we continue our lives with our loved ones?” she said.
“Every day [while working] we see the real need to protect ourselves and the potential dangers of the substances we’re exposed to, especially for other workers in the same [work] zone who don’t use the protection needed from the moment we enter a worksite,” added Barroso. “Everyone deserves to be protected, workers and residents alike, and we should do what we can to ensure the entire community is safe. … As we say at the center, only the people can save the people.”
Report Recommendations
In the aftermath of the LA wildfires in January, Alvarado said it was amazing to witness immigrant day laborers, other workers and volunteers mobilize and step up to fulfill the “crucial role as second responders.” He estimates that 40% of all construction workers in California are immigrants, documented and undocumented, and “without them, Los Angeles will not recover.”
Alvarado said he hopes the report will spur greater education about post-fire hazards for workers, employers and residents, and compel employers and government agencies to work together to ensure all workers have and utilize the recommended safety equipment.
Other report recommendations include: improved access to HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response), a 40-hour training program for workers and supervisors; more frequent breaks in designated decontamination areas where workers can safely remove PPE to rest and cool off; distribution of free or subsidized PPE in partnership with workers’ rights organizations; more worksite inspections to monitor, educate and enforce the proper use of protective gear; and comprehensive research to measure toxic substances in the recovery zones.
Cal Soto, labor rights director for NDLON, emphasized the need for adequate rest breaks and cooldown periods, which he said can help encourage workers to regularly wear PPE equipment.
“We [also] need more data. Many workers cleaning sidewalks or streets outside the official fire zone are still exposed to toxic materials,” said Soto. “Until a thorough study is done, we need to act with caution and assume these areas are all hazardous. These are basic steps [to help] save lives and prevent illness. We owe that much to the workers helping to rebuild this community.”
“This recovery of Altadena is going to take years, and we don’t want years of abuse, we don’t want years of workers getting sick,” said Madera. “That’s why we’re here, making this call to work together with organizations, to work with companies, to work with elected officials so we can save lives, so we can protect … workers and every single person in Altadena and Pasadena.”