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July-August 2016
IMCDOL
N.C. Department of Labor
Cherie Berry, Commissioner
www.nclabor.com
1-800-625-2267
.ПМШ
On-Farm Training
A Day in the Life of a Summer Intern
By Lea Efird, Slimmer Intern
Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau
The Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau conducted an on-farm
training event at Leggett Farms in Nash County on Thursday, June 9.
The all-day safety and health training was organized and sponsored
by Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Connections, which conducts a
U. S. Tobacco Program for growers and workers. It strives for industry¬
wide cooperation between state, private and nonprofit entities to train
growers and workers and encourage sustainable growing practices for
tobacco.
The eight stations at the event were stalled by the N.C. Department of
Labor, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Greene County Heath
Care, Telamon, and the N.C. Farmworker’s Project. GAP hopes to be
able to replicate this training in other tobacco-growing states, inspired
by the on-farm trainings originally designed by the ASH Bureau.
Topics at the event included fair wages and hiring practices
(USDOL), housing and field sanitation, farm machinery safety, CPR
and first aid, and how to prevent heat stress and green tobacco sickness.
NCDOL employees staffed three stations: CPR, farm machinery
safety, and housing and field sanitation. The training, which took place Mine and Quarry Bureau Chief instincts farmworkers in hands-only CPR at the
in both morning and afiemoon sessions, trained 360 workers and 40 on-farm training in Nash County on June 9.
growers in 20-minute segments for each station.
As the summer intern for ASH, I had never conducted one of these trainings before and was unsure of what to expect. I was nervous, since I had been
assigned to translate for Mine and Quarry Bureau Chief William Gerringer at the CPR station and know only a little about CPR myself. I was terrified
of not doing a good enough job and not being able to communicate the vital information he was talking about. However, this training turned out to be an
extremely enjoyable experience.
Yes, we had to meet at a very early hour (5:30 a.m.) to arrive at the training site on time. Yes, it was a very long day, ending at 5 p.m. that afternoon. But
yes, I was able to help train workers and growers. And more importantly, I got to see them enjoy themselves, particularly the workers. I got to see people
who work long, hard, hot days laughing and filming their friends and co-workers as they practiced CPR on our plastic dummies. I got to clap out the proper
100 beats-per-minute CPR rhythm to songs by the Beegees, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias and J. Balvin.
Most importantly, I got to see why ASH does what it does, why its staff members go through the trouble of doing their jobs despite all the logistical,
legal and cultural barriers. I was able to see dedicated people from NCDOL and other agencies come together because they truly care about the safety and
health of workers. I got to see the growers who cared enough about their workers to bring them to this training and to pay them for the day’s training. I got
to know a few of the many of farmworkers who call North Carolina home, at least for part of the year.
And despite being tired and sore at the end of a long day, I am thankful for having the opportunity to have been at least a small part of it.
