Twenty Taylor Farms Workers Hospitalized After Company Tells Employees to Keep Working Amid Chemical Spill

Published

10 years ago

October 29, 2015

Oakland Post

Workers at Taylor Farms in Tracy, California were hospitalized after being told to return to work

as a chemical spill took place inside the salad processing facility.

When they complained about

the overpowering fumes, a supervisor in charge instructed them to go back to work.

“As soon as I walked into work, there was a strong smell of chlorine,” said Guadalupe Leon, a

worker at the facility.

“I spoke to my crew lead but was told to keep working and put on the

mask. Suddenly I felt overcome by the fumes from the chemicals and me and some of my

coworkers had to go to the hospital. I don’t think the company really cares about us or our

safety.”

The workers, who have long complained about improper safety training and chemicals used by

the company, were exposed to fumes last Thursday that led to nose-bleeding, vomiting and

fainting. As workers started having serious symptoms, it was a worker – not a manager – who

called for emergency services.

“The manager at the plant told us to keep the chemical spill a secret. They just didn’t seem to

care at all about me or my coworkers when this happened,” said Premativo Torres, who also

works at the plant.

Taylor Farms is the world’s largest salad processor, supplying to major fast food, restaurant and

grocery chains nationwide. Its 900 workers in Tracy have been attempting to organize a union

with Teamsters Local 601 for the last two years, aspiring to the better working conditions and

pay enjoyed by some 2,000 Taylor Farms workers in Salinas, Calif. who are represented by the

Teamsters.

“Taylor Farms’ routine mistreatment of its workers in Tracy knows no bounds, and it nearly

amounted to a death sentence for its employees,” said Ashley Alvarado, Secretary-Treasurer of

Teamsters Local 601 in Stockton.

“What kind of company tells its employees to keep working

amid a dangerous and potentially deadly hazard in the workplace?”

“We are outraged not just because this was absolutely preventable – we have repeatedly raised

concerns and filed complaints regarding worker safety issues involving chemicals and other

problems – but because this event was also absolutely predictable given Taylor Farms’ years-

long, million-dollar effort to deny its Tracy workers a voice on the job regarding their own safety

and health.

Accidents happen, but in Salinas, where Taylor Farms’ employees have a union,

there are hazmat plans, there are drills, and if there were an accident, workers would never have

been treated this way,” added Rome Aloise, President of Teamsters Joint Council 7 in San

Francisco.

Workers and the Teamsters are calling for an immediate and full investigation of yesterday’s

chemical spill incident; the termination of the responsible managers and supervisors; and several

workers are considering legal action.

The Tracy Fire Department said yesterday’s incident was caused by the mixture of acetic acid

and chlorine, two chemicals used by the sanitation crew inside the plant. Co-workers helped the

injured out of the facility and called for paramedics after the supervisor present failed to do so.

Among the 20 workers sent to the hospital, two were pregnant women, at least one of which

experienced abdominal pains after breathing in the fumes.

Workers also report that several injured employees were instructed by the hospital upon

discharge to stay home an additional day, but that those instructions were countermanded by the

company’s doctor, who ordered a return to work the next day.

The incident that occurred last Thursday mirrors a similar emergency filed with CalOSHA in

2012 in which 20 workers at the same Taylor Farms facility were taken to the hospital for eye

and breathing irritation after being exposed to the industrial cleaning chemicals.

“The company has failed these workers in Tracy. This accident could have been avoided. The

gross neglect for these workers’ safety – even after numerous complaints – and the total lack of

accountability is disturbing and shameful,” said Alvarado of Teamsters local 601.

The National Labor Relations Board has made merit determinations that Taylor Farms is guilty

of 57 unfair labor practice violations since workers began organizing with the union in Tracy.

Oakland Post

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.