Remember Maria Isavel: 11th anniversary of tragic heat death of 17-year-old farm worker

Today marks 11 years to the day when 17-year-old Maria Isavel Vasquez Jimenez collapsed from the heat and tragically died two days later.

The family of Maria Isavel unveiled a memorial marking the 11^th anniversary at the wine grape vineyard east of Stockton where the pregnant immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico was stricken by heat stroke. The ceremony was attended by United Farm Workers members and union Secretary-Treasurer Armando Elenes.

Maria Isavel’s uncle, Doroteo Jimenez, organized the memorial. He shares, “I want to do everything I can to make sure this does not happen to other farm workers. I don’t want any other families to go through the sorrow and heartbreak ours has.“

Maria Isavel’s death was especially tragic since it was likely preventable: She was stricken after laboring more than nine hours without adequate access to shade or water. The farm labor contractor never called 911, there was a long delay in obtaining potentially lifesaving medical care and the contractor told workers to lie about events leading up to her death.

UFW Secretary Treasurer, Armando Elenes shares, “This is personal to me. I was the first contact for the UFW with this grieving family. I remember the marches where we all joined with them, how we walked the halls of California’s state Capitol with them, the meals and strategy meetings we’ve had together. The stories haunt me. Maria’s death and the deaths of the other farm workers from the heat leave a permanent place in my memory. The UFW and I will do all we can to prevent another family from having to experience this loss and pain. We are working to take national the state rules we won protecting farm and other outdoor workers from the heat.”

The memorial service comes at the beginning of the harvest season 

After Maria Isavel perished in 2008, her family, including uncle Doroteo Jimenez, tirelessly worked with the UFW to strengthen the heat rules, which happened under the Governor Jerry Brown administration in 2015. The UFW encouraged Governor Brown torename the state heat standards the Maria Isavel Vasquez Jimenez Heat Illness Prevention Regulation in 2018.