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Hi my name is Jose I am a dairy farmworker I want to talk about the risks that exists
in dairy farms. As a worker I have been able to see many of the problems in the places
at the farms where accidents can occur. For example in the dairy parlor many people fall
because of the slippery floor, some have had fractures others have strong pain. Unfortunately
the manager or boss does not take the worker to the doctor. They take him to the house
to recover, just like that without any medicine, without any medical assistance. In other areas
for example where cows are pushed to the parlor it is the same it is a very dangerous place
with possible accidents because of the cow behavior, because of the slippery floor, because
of the kind of work. The people who work there pushing the cows has to utilize a machine
called scraper that movement gives them pain in the body, muscular contractions headaches,
because of the 12 hours doing the same movements. It is a highly risky place in the same way
the people who work in the area where there has be done a foot bath for the cows it is
a very risky because of the use of chemicals and the calves that can run you over and the
other because of the sudden moves the calves make and they can splash manure, urine or
sand. In several ocassiones people that work in that area have been affected of their eyes
because a calf with it is legs or tail splashed sand in their eyes it is a problem and accident.
In the same way there are machinery in bad conditions, without brakes or without protection,
without doors or anything that protects you for the weather. In the cold weather workers suffer
a lot of cold. We have been seeing this as workers, observing the risk areas. ANother
place is the ditch or manure pit is a place of a lot of risk. Someone who works at night
because of being tired they could fall asleep and fall in a pit. It is very dangerous. There
are not protections or barriers where the person can hold on to. That is another place
of high risk. As a worker we have been able to identify the risks and we have done initiatives
with the support of the Workers Centers of NY. THey have been supporting us a lot and
we have accomplished to put complaints with OSHA. We have also have accomplished to get
inspections surprised to the different farms because these problems exists in all the farms.
Thanks to the Workers Centers we have made OSHA to take notice and find out about our work and learn
about our safety and health and it is because of this that OSHA has implemented a new system
where they are making surprised visits to different farms. That for us is of great help
and makes us stronger and also to dissipate a lot of concerns and we realize thru the
Workers Centers, Department of Labor and OSHA, we know that as workers and even knowing we
are undocumented we know that we have rights and we know there are institutions and organizations
that give us their support.