California vineyard workers are losing wages amid extreme heat. Now they’re fighting back

When temperatures hit 90 degrees in the Sonoma County vineyards where Isidro Rodriquez works, “everything stops,” he said. His employer’s policy is to send vineyard workers home for their safety, but they don’t get paid for lost hours: In the past six weeks, Rodriquez has missed an estimated 15-20 hours of work due to extreme heat, and it’s been difficult to pay his bills.

Rodriquez isn’t alone, said Davida Sotelo Escobedo, an organizer for the advocacy coalition North Bay Jobs with Justice. Escobedo said the organization has recently heard from many local farmworkers who report being sent home early due to high temperatures, causing them to lose wages. Others have risked their health by working in the extreme heat, sometimes without access to nearby shade or sufficient breaks. 

“The tiny impact of one day has huge financial repercussions for people’s families,” said Escobedo. 

These challenges have reinvigorated an ongoing fight over disaster pay in Sonoma County, which started with farmworkers advocating for better working conditions during wildfires. Rodriquez and roughly 500 farmworkers and community members will march in downtown Healdsburg on Sunday, July 28, to demonstrate for disaster pay — which would guarantee pay for missed work during extreme heat, fires and other unpredictable climate events — and extra pay when working in dangerous weather conditions. 

The demonstration, which will start at 4 p.m., is set to be the largest yet organized by North Bay Jobs with Justice, Escobedo said, with turnout expected to be double the size of past marches.

The stakes are high, as extreme weather events are happening more frequently. Nine of the 10 hottest California summers have occurred since 2006, and this week marked the fourth round of excessive heat warnings and advisories issued in July by the National Weather Service. Many parts of California are on track to break all-time temperature records.

“It’s going to keep getting worse,” said Escobedo. “Farmworkers are on the frontlines for every extreme event.” 

But workers often fear that if they voice their grievances, they’ll lose their jobs. Multiple California state agencies are investigating a claim that six Yolo County farmworkers were recently let go from their jobs in retaliation for leaving early during a heat wave. In 2023, Cal/OSHA issued 925 violations from heat-related inspections of agriculture and construction employers. 

“What they’re making isn’t keeping up with inflation,” said Escobedo. “When people are in a financially tight spot, they can be scared to speak up.”

Last year, Sonoma County vineyard workers won their fight for some wildfire protections. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors ruled to deny wineries and growers access to their properties in evacuation zones after it was discovered that hundreds of farmworkers were previously forced to work in toxic, smoke-filled areas to pick grapes.

However, there was a caveat: For workers, it could mean going several days or weeks without pay. 

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The Board of Supervisors set aside $3 million into a disaster fund, and this winter, it distributed $1 million in payouts to farmworkers who lost wages due to heavy rains. North Bay Jobs with Justice believes this is the first county program of its kind, and unlike most farmworker relief programs, the benefit is available to undocumented immigrants. But the coalition also says it’s not enough and believes employers should step up and offer disaster pay to their workers. 

Only a handful of companies have done so thus far, like Boeschen Vineyards, a small Napa Valley winery. Owner Doug Boeschen said he had an epiphany after the 2020 Glass Fire, which caused significant damage to his St. Helena property and destroyed one of his neighbors, Chateau Boswell. “We were caught up in our own problems and challenges that harvest,” said Boeschen.

“But I realized afterward that there were a lot of people who had it harder than us, and some of those were people who harvest our grapes. They weren’t able to work for long periods of time or worked in hazardous conditions.”

Boeschen now offers disaster insurance and hazard pay to workers. In the case of an evacuation or an unhealthy air quality index above 150, he said workers are given two choices. If they decide to stay home, he will pay them for their hours missed. If they come in, they get time and a half. His policy was designed for wildfires, but he said he views extreme heat as “the same scenario essentially.”

Boeschen said he understands that in this time of uncertainty in the wine industry, which is facing myriad challenges like declining sales and a grape glut, some owners might resist an additional expense. But without farmworkers, “We wouldn’t have Napa Valley as we know it in any way,”

Boeschen said. “I believe in 10 years, this will very much be an industry norm and the people that don’t do this will stand out as bad actors.”

Reach Jess Lander: jess.lander@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @jesslander