PAGE 6 | April 17, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
DROWNING IN MANURE
Mourn Randy Vasquez, and fight for dairy workers’ safety
Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, is rais-
ing funds to help the wife and children of a dairy worker
who drowned in a cow manure lagoon. The effort
comes as its United Farm Workers (UFW) affiliate cam-
paigns to improve safety at suppliers of Darigold.
The death took place Feb. 24 at River Ranch Dairy,
in Mabton, Washington, between Yakima and Ken-
newick. Randy Vasquez, 27, was a milker on the night
shift. At around 9 p.m., he drove a front loader out to
feed the cattle. He was found at 4:30 a.m. the next
morning strapped into the front loader sunk six feet deep
in a manure lagoon.
According to the Yakima County coroner, Vasquez
died of “asphyxiation due to inhalation of dairy waste
water sludge.”
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries
is investigating the death.
On March 31, UFW held a demonstration and vigil
outside Darigold’s Seattle headquarters, demanding to
know why the manure lagoon wasn’t marked, lit, and
WSLC President Jeff Johnson (center) takes part in a March
31 demonstration by United Farm Workers outside
Darigold’s Seattle offices. UFW wants dairy worker safety
improved so accidents like this never happen again.
fenced, and why the search for Vasquez didn’t begin un-
til the next morning’s shift started at 4:30 a.m.
Dairy work is considered one of the most hazardous
occupations. Dairy workers breath foul air containing
bacteria and manure dust for 10 to 12 hours per shift.
They move quickly over slick cement floors. And they
are frequently kicked and stepped on by 1,500-pound
animals. WSLC says Vasquez is at least the 10th Wash-
ington dairy worker to die on the job since 2000.
He leaves behind a wife, 28-year-old Nubia Guajardo
Ayala, and two children, two-year-old Jazzlyn and
three-year-old Jayzaiah.
WSLC is asking union members to contribute to help
them. Checks can be made out to the WSLC, with
Randy Vasquez written in the memo line, and sent to
Washington State Labor Council, 321 16th Ave. South,
Seattle, WA, 98144. The donations and the names of the
contributors will be sent to Vasquez’ wife, Nubia.
In addition, UFW is asking supporters to sign an on-
line petition calling on Darigold to work with the UFW
to improve safety for dairy workers: http://action.
ufw.org/page/speakout/randy
Labor Council to host
recognition dinner June 6
...Wah Chang
From Page 1
on medical treatment, unaware
of the program,” Steffy said. “I
think it’s important they know
about it.”
The program’s benefits are
automatic for those who worked
at Wah Chang in 1971 and 1972
and are diagnosed with cancer.
For those who went to work
Oral history workshop
in Portland on May 9
The Oregon Labor Oral His-
tory Program of the Pacific
Northwest and the Labor Edu-
cation and Research Center
(LERC) at the University of
Oregon will host an oral history
workshop Saturday, May 9,
from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at
the Oregon Historical Society,
1200 SW Park Ave, Portland.
Registration is $20.
The workshop, to be pre-
sented by Jim Strassmaier and
Michael O’Rourke, will provide
instruction on how to conduct an
oral history interview, including
how to get started, effective pro-
cedures, interviewing tech-
niques, and standards for record-
ing and preservation.
“This is an opportunity to
contribute to preserving the his-
tory of labor and workplace in
the Northwest,” Strassmaier
said.
For more information con-
tact Strassmaier at 503-236-
1094, or by email strassj@spiri-
tone.com.
there after that, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor uses a dose re-
construction formula to estimate
whether a cancer is more than
50 percent likely to have been
caused by residual radiation.
In the four years Wah Chang
has been on the program’s list,
more than 200 former workers
or their survivors have been ap-
proved for benefits, and the gov-
ernment has paid out $29.8 mil-
lion in compensation and $1.8
million in medical bills.
Steffy learned that members
of Local 6163’s nearby sister lo-
cal—USW Local 7150 at Al-
bany Research Center—are also
eligible. There, the issue is not
radiation but beryllium contam-
ination. Inhalation of beryllium
dust or fumes can cause beryl-
liosis, an incurable chronic fatal
lung disease. So far, five work-
ers at the Albany Research Cen-
ter (formerly known as the U.S.
Bureau of Mines) have been ap-
proved for benefits.
Steffy expects to meet with
ATI president Tucker Redford
May 4 to ask for company sup-
port for a mailing to all former
workers, especially those who
were employed at Wah Chang
when it handled uranium.
The Linn-Benton-Lincoln
Central Labor Council planned
to honor Steffy for his work at
an April 15 meeting, after this
issue went to press.
Mark your calendars for Saturday,
June 6, for the Northwest Oregon
Labor Council’s annual Labor Ap-
preciation and Recognition Night.
The event is two-fold; it’s a spe-
cial evening honoring men and
women identified by their peers
for outstanding contributions to la-
bor and their community, and it’s
a fundraiser for Labor’s Commu-
nity Service Agency.
The banquet will be held at Mil-
waukie Elks Lodge, 13121 SE
McLoughlin Blvd. Dinner tickets
are $20 per person. Raffle tickets
also will be sold.
The labor council is currently
accepting cash and prize dona-
tions for the raffle, and nomina-
tions for persons to be recognized.
For more information or to or-
der tickets, call 503-235-9444.
Retired Steelworker Garry Steffy
Bill would allow Oregon State
Bar employees to unionize
SALEM — On April 8 the
House Business and Labor
Committee, chaired by Rep.
Paul Holvey (D-Eugene), held
its first hearing on HB 2565,
which would allow members of
the Oregon State Bar to organ-
ize a union.
The Oregon State Bar was es-
tablished by the 1935 Oregon
Legislature to license and disci-
pline lawyers, regulate the prac-
tice of law and provide a variety
of services to bar members and
the public. The bar is not a state
agency, but a public corpora-
tion, and state bar employees
are considered public employ-
ees. However, they are not in-
cluded under the state’s Public
Employee Collective Bargain-
ing Act, as workers eligible to
unionize.
HB 2565 would change that,
and allow state bar employees
— most of whom are not attor-
neys—the right to form a union.
Oregon AFSCME Council
75, whch lobbyied for the bill,
was optimistic the bill will
move forward. There was no
further action scheduled at press
time.
F ROM O REGON AFSCME E- LERT
Washington CLUB golf
tourney June 16-17
BREMERTON, Wash.—The
Washington CLUB Charity Golf
Classic will be held June 16-17 at
Gold Mountain Golf Complex in
Bremerton, Wash. This year’s tour-
nament has been moved up a day
to accommodate the U.S. Open,
which will be held at Chambers
Bay in Tacoma June 18-21.
The CLUB—Contractors,
Legislators, Unions and Busi-
ness— has raised over $1 million
for charity and is celebrating its
15th anniversary.
For more information on how
to become a CLUB tournament
sponsor, or to register a team, con-
tact Brian Remington at 206-432-
9014 or e-mail him at:
brian@golfcorpsolutions.com.