Central Coast Organizations Speak Out on Two Farmworker Deaths in Santa Barbara County
Rosa Sanchez, 58, and Jose Velásquez, 22, Were Both Killed While Working on North County Farms in September
On September 7, 22-year-old Jose Samuel Velásquez was working in the fields at Rancho Guadalupe outside Santa Maria when he was run over by a tractor and killed. Less than two weeks later, 58-year-old Rosa Sanchez was returning to the fields to pick carrots at Grimmway Farms in New Cuyama when she was run over by a carrot truck, twice, and witnesses said workers were forced to continue working around her body, which lay covered by a sheet just a few feet away.
The deaths rocked the communities of Santa Maria and New Cuyama and sparked a push from community organizations like Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) and Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) to address the systemic issues in the agricultural industry that led to lax policies, unsafe working conditions, long-term health problems, and traumatic incidents like the ones that led to the deaths of Velásquez and Sanchez.
CAUSE and MICOP released a joint statement Thursday to express concerns over the lack of safety and enforcement and to “condemn the dehumanized way in which the companies approached these two tragic cases,” saying that “farmworker lives are not disposable, but are treated as such.”
“Enough is enough,” the joint statement read. “How many lives will we have to lose to get the attention of our politicians and local authorities? How many families will have to lose their loved ones due to lack of regulation and support for our farmworkers?”
In the statement, CAUSE and MICOP pointed out that not only were workers forced to continue working while Sanchez lay dead in the dirt nearby, but “witnesses also reported the truck did not have an alarm that would alert workers when it was reversing and that this is not the first time a worker was hit by one of these trucks.”
Grimmway Farms released a statement one month after the incident, in which the company clarified that Sanchez was working in their fields but was “an employee of Esparza Enterprises” who died after being “hit by a truck owned and operated by Garcia Trucking.”
The company also denied the witness reports that workers were forced to continue working.
“Based on early findings from our ongoing internal investigations we do not believe a directive was made by Grimmway to continue work on the day of the accident. However, it is evident work should have ceased immediately.”
Grimmway Farms, Esparza Enterprises, and Garcia Trucking are conducting their own investigations, and Grimmway promised to “take appropriate corrective actions.” The incident that led to the death of Velásquez is also still under investigation, and neither has resulted in any changes to workplace policy.
For farmworker advocates from CAUSE and MICOP, the “lack of commitment, diligence, and assertive reaction” to the two incidents are indicative of the second-class treatment given to agricultural workers.
“Farmworkers are an essential part of our food system, yet one that remains unseen,” said Andrea Echeverri Betancur, a senior policy advocate with CAUSE. “Missing a day of work or an entire paycheck could mean the difference between being able to feed their families or go hungry, even though their work brings food to the tables of families across our nation. They work long, hard days, handling dangerous equipment and chemicals, all for low wages.”
The CAUSE and MICOP joint statement also highlighted the fact that some U.S. labor laws carve out exemptions to exclude farmworkers, enforcing what the organizations called “decades-old policies rooted in racism and systemic discrimination.”
“This should be very alarming not only for the local authorities but at the state and national levels,” the joint statement read. “We need to be more vigilant, provide more resources, and demand that growers provide adequate training to supervisors and workers about safety practices at the workplace.”
The two organizations promised to continue working to encourage local officials to strengthen workplace enforcement of farmworker protections and ensure that current safety standards and regulations are being followed by all Santa Barbara County agricultural employers.
“Rosa and Jose, you are not alone,” the statement read. “We are here to preserve your memory, defend, and advocate for the life and well-being of our community.”
