(speaking in foreign language)
- We've had to go above and beyond
to keep these people safe.
I mean, end of the day, these people are our family
and they work with us and for us
and we have to take care of them.
It's our responsibility.
- [Alejandro] While farms adapt
to coronavirus safety measures
in the field, foreign farm workers
are often returning to crowded housing
where outbreaks have already spread.
What is the agricultural industry doing
to protect its guest farm workers?
According to local news reports,
outbreaks have torn through guest worker housing
across the country,
infecting more than 500 farm workers
and killing at least six.
One outbreak was here at this converted motel,
owned by Alco Harvesting in Santa Maria, California
where roughly 250 farm workers live.
In July, 104 workers were infected here
and one later died according to country health officials.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Alejandro] Current Alco workers like Luis Sanchez
say they were scared
but they say Alco did everything it could
to control the outbreak.
Sanchez was infected though he says
he didn't have any symptoms.
But Jesus Guzman, a former worker with Alco
was more critical of the company's safety measures.
- [Alejandro] Guzman says he was living in a room like this
with five other workers when the outbreak began.
As the disease spread, Guzman says Alco withheld details
about who was sick and how they were being cared for.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Alejandro] He says he was fired
when he asked for time off to quarantine
after getting a test on his own
and later tested positive.
- The PPEs, the social distancing,
the amount of time and energy we had to spend
to make sure everyone was safe, it took a lot.
And we're still learning.
- [Alejandro] Alco's general manager, Jeremy MacKenzie,
said that the company's safety protocols,
like mandated masks, social distancing
and disinfecting worked to contain the outbreak.
- The people we spoke to said
that there wasn't available testing
and that some workers were even retaliated against
when they said that the outbreak was larger
than what you were saying publicly.
I'd really like you to respond to that.
- Yeah, I mean, testing was tough for everybody.
We were getting people in as soon as we could.
Retaliation is something we don't do.
So that is not a true statement.
We take care of our employees
and look out for their best interests at all times.
- [Alejandro] In a written statement,
MacKenzie added, "Despite much effort,
we have felt the deep sadness
of losing an employee, and our hearts go out
to all the families how have lost a loved one
during this pandemic.
Most of the farm workers living at the Alco motel
were from Mexico,
working through a growing program called H-2A.
H-2A employers like Alco tend
to fill local motels that they own or rent with workers.
H-2A rules require only 50 square feet of sleeping space
for each worker.
A requirement that hasn't been revised during the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend
keeping six feet apart from people
but because the workers all travel and work together,
social distancing can be more challenging.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Alejandro] Guzman says Alco let him go,
even though he was entitled to six leave
and wanted to return to work.
The recently filed a compliant against Alco
for labor code violations.
Alco told The Wall Street Journal that quote,
"The company has only ever terminated a worker's employment
for actionable reasons allowed by law."
Hazel Davalos, a local farm worker advocate,
says Guzman's story
was one she heard a lot about the outbreak
at Alco's motel.
- We've been shared countless stories from workers
around when they've asked
for temperature checks and screenings.
They've been told if you don't like it, you can leave.
That sort of attitude.
We learned after the Alco Harvesting outbreak
that resulted in over 90 workers infected with COVID.
That many of those workers were told go back to work
if you're not showing symptoms.
- [Alejandro] Research shows farm workers have been hit
especially hard by COVID-19.
Purdue University researchers estimate
that more than 185,000 farm workers
have contracted the virus.
The agricultural industry says it's been adapting
to the pandemic as quickly as it can.
The Grower-Shipper Association
of Central California started offering
quarantine housing for farm workers.
Several states have passed orders,
requiring farm workers to be tested.
And Santa Barbara County in California,
where Alco is based,
recently passed an ordinance requiring
that guest workers be tested daily for symptoms,
self-quarantine if exposed
and that employers report all positive cases
to the Health Department.
- During the pandemic,
just seeing a simple policy
that says workers need to be tested
upon arrival to the country
and tested regularly,
need to be transported in small levels,
those same sort of health orders
that we've seen locally,
seeing those nationally I think would be effective.
- [Alejandro] The Occupational Safety
and Health Administration
is currently investigating the Alco worker's death.
Alco says they had already implemented the safety measures
now required locally
and that they've updated their protocols since the outbreak.
- We temperature check everybody every morning.
Hand sanitizer before you get on the bus,
at breaks, at lunch.
It's readily available everywhere.
We hand out many hand sanitizers
for all their pockets, masks for everybody.
Our protocols have changed dramatically.
(speaking in foreign language)
(dramatic music)