Association Opposes Cal/OSHA Indoor Heat Stress Regulation

The Association joined several other agricultural organizations in submitting written comments opposing CalOSHA’s proposed “Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment” standard.  Last year, the legislature in its infinite wisdom decided it was necessary for California to not only be the only state with an outdoor heat illness regulation, they passed legislation to mandate the Cal/OSHA adopt an “indoor heat illness” regulation.  Accordingly, Cal/OSHA has now drafted and released a proposed standard entitled Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment.  If enacted, the proposed standard would require employers to conduct the following:

 

  • Establish, implement and maintain an effective heat illness prevention plan for “indoor heat illness”
  • Measure the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT)
  • Identify each individual employee’s work activity levels and clothing adjustment factors
  • Conduct heat stress hazard assessment of all facilities
  • Provide access to potable drinking water
  • Provide for preventative cool-down rest periods of no less than 5 minutes
  • Establish effective first-aid and emergency response procedures for responding to possible heat illness
  • Provide engineering controls to reduce employee exposures to reduce heat stress including but not limited to: isolation of hot processes or work areas, shielding of radiant heat sources, insulating hot objects, and local exhaust ventilation
  • Provide administrative controls including but not limit to: reduced activity levels, work-rest schedules and cooled rest areas
  • Remind employees throughout the work shift to drink plenty of water
  • Conduct pre-shift meetings to review high heat procedures
  • Make personal protective equipment, such as water-cooled garments, air-cooled garments, ice-packet vests, wetted over-garments and heat-reflective clothing available to employees exposed to high heat sources
  • Keep records of heat stress hazard assessments and trainings

 

The Association has reviewed the proposed standard and attended the recent workshop held in Oakland on the proposed standard.  Based upon that review we have serious concerns with the proposed regulations and the impact they could have on agricultural operations, including tree nut farms, hullers and processors.  We feel strongly that the proposed standard is not warranted or justified in the agricultural industry, is overly cumbersome and too complicated and costly to implement.

 

 

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Governor Signs Ag Overtime Bill

Ignoring the pleas of real farmworkers and the agricultural industry, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed AB 1066, the ag overtime legislation. This means that California will have the most stringent trigger of any state in the country for overtime for farmworkers, with 45 states having no overtime protection at all. The Governor signed this bill, supposedly to bring “equality to all workers”, yet taxi cab drivers, commercial fishermen, car salesmen, student nurses, computer programmers, and carnival workers all work without any overtime provisions whatsoever. The Governor signed this ag overtime bill in the same year that minimum wage legislation was also passed that will take California to the highest minimum wage as well as legislation forcing California to adopt additional greenhouse gas regulations for businesses in California. California is the only state in the country subject to such regulations. Today’s signing occurred despite numerous requests by the agricultural industry to meet with the Governor to discuss our concerns. The message is clear. California simply doesn’t care. These provisions will be phased in over the next few years ending with the overtime provisions to be triggered at 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

In the Beginning As folks transitioned out of cotton and into tree nuts, the industry recognized the need to have active and effective representation at the local, state and national levels. Having enjoyed such effective representation over the years from the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, these folks yearned for the same representation in the tree nut processing industry. Issues such as air quality, food safety, labor, taxes, employee safety, and environmental concerns are at the forefront, and there is a significant need for an aggressive and dynamic Association to lead the industry into the next decade and beyond. In recognition of this, the Western Agricultural Processors Association was created in 2009. The Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) shares staff and office space with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations taking advantage of a unique and opportunistic situation. WAPA is a voluntary dues organization with four shared staff and one dedicated staff person. Regulatory, legislative and legal issues fall under the purview of this new organization for the tree nut processing industry, which includes almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. From air quality permits to conditional use permits, from regulatory hearings on greenhouse gases to federal legislation on food safety, and from OSHA violations to assisting members on hazardous materials business plans, no issue is too small or too large for WAPA. WAPA has assembled one of the best and most capable staffs in the industry, and the results are already starting to show Membership The Western Agricultural Processors Association represents facilities involved in the processing of almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts.Membership in the Association is classified as Regular memberships are limited to almond hullers or processors, pecan and pistachio processors, and walnut dehydrators and processors. Associate memberships are limited to any individual or business entity which is not engaged in agricultural processing, but which provides products or services directly related to the agricultural processing industry. WAPA Associate members include, but are not limited to, commodity brokers, accounting firms, and insurance brokers. Organization The Western Agricultural Processors Association is governed by a Board of Directors, elected by its membership.The Board consists of up to 15 members from throughout the state, and throughout the industry.The Board meets on a quarterly basis and conducts an Annual Meeting in the spring of each year.WAPA, in conjunction with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, conducts a special training school for its members focused on safety.In combination with the school, the Association holds a Labor Management Seminar for all of the managers. Consulting Services In researching and considering the concept of forming a new organization, the Boards of Directors for the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations instructed staff to perform some of the work on a consulting basis first. The point was to determine the workload from consulting and to determine if there was sufficient interest. In November of 2007, the Association began conducting services under consulting contracts for such services as air quality permits and safety plans.The effort has been so successful that demand has progressed outside the tree nut industry into other agricultural processing facilities, including vegetable dehydration facilities, tomato processing facilities, and wheat mills, as well as cotton gins in Arizona.It was determined by the new Board of Directors of WAPA, that WAPA would maintain the consulting services to provide offsetting income to help with the expenses of getting the new organization up and running.Today, WAPA provides for a long list of satisfied clients in the agricultural processing industry, by providing critical services such as air quality, safety, food safety, and environmental issues (Hazardous Materials Business Plan, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans, etc.).