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Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

latimes.com

31–40 of 137 posts

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#31
post #22

I'm not sure about strawberries but aren't farmworkers in general essential workers? Our food supply and delivery chain is what allows others to stay at home.

> I'm not sure about strawberries but aren't farmworkers in general essential workers?

Yes, but that doesn't mean they're immune from the coronavirus risk. The whole point is that they face the coronavirus risk because they're continuing to work.

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#34
post #28

Planet Money did a good podcast on this topic recently. I learned that it's hard to follow CDC guidelines when you're sleeping 20 in a garage and there's only enough water to shower every few days. https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/821593542/episode-984-food-an...

It's kinda crazy that we can produce all these water-intensive crops in the central valley, and producers are draining aquifers for basically the cost of drilling and pumping ... but workers can't afford to shower regularly or wash their hands often. Somehow I don't think the farms that own the wells and the workers are paying at comparable rates.

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#35

Off-topic, but how did zoom become the Kleenex of video-conferencing apps? I’ve been doing a lot of video-conferencing, but haven’t used zoom. Is it the best one, or is there some other explanation?

Better performance and UI than the others. I work in an environment where I use just about every major video conferencing tool available when working with customers.

We use Zoom internally, some customers are on Webex, still others use Hangouts.

Webex has been having difficulties ever since the mass exodus to work-from-home. Audio quality especially has been inconsistent over the last few weeks. Hangouts is pretty good from a quality standpoint, but I (and others, apparently) find their UI confusing.

I've never been asked yet to use Jitsi or any of the other also-rans.

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#36

Off-topic, but how did zoom become the Kleenex of video-conferencing apps? I’ve been doing a lot of video-conferencing, but haven’t used zoom. Is it the best one, or is there some other explanation?

It has good usability, and not much trouble in video conferencing. No nonsense. Plus it has a catchy name: Compare "Google Meet" or "Microsoft teams" vs "Zoom".

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#37

Off-topic, but how did zoom become the Kleenex of video-conferencing apps? I’ve been doing a lot of video-conferencing, but haven’t used zoom. Is it the best one, or is there some other explanation?

The setup is easy and the video works very well, including with many participants.

That's it.

There is nothing else. They managed to do one thing well.

This thing that skype used to do correctly but now don't.

This thing that no other free softwares seems to be able to manage correctly either. Not teams. Not hangout. Not Jitsi or BBB.

It makes you think.

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#38

Off-topic, but how did zoom become the Kleenex of video-conferencing apps? I’ve been doing a lot of video-conferencing, but haven’t used zoom. Is it the best one, or is there some other explanation?

Has it? I've literally only heard about it today because of an article posted here. Is it just a bubble effect going on?

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#39
Sorry, I am going to be the insensitive sleazeball here.

The point of staying at home is not that if you get this disease you are going to die. The issue is that if we ALL get it then a larger proportion of people are going to die because we don't have enough hospitals.

We had to choose some people as being important enough that they are allowed to be out and about and use some of that valuable limited healthcare resources while the rest of us try really hard not to get sick and risk going to the hospital. If this goes south, you may wish that you were one of the people who got the disease early.

Farm labor has always gotten the short end of the stick and this is an added burden. I would vote to give them extra income during this period if that was being considered. But the fact is that they are part of the food chain in this country and so are considered "essential" people to continue doing their jobs.

Re: Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’

#40

You don't catch anything from a strawberry. This job is fundamentally no different from others, and way safer than for instance fast-food-window worker.

Agree. Fast food workers are more likely to come in contact with super spreaders in the network than farm workers.

Would be interesting to see Italian, Spanish, French data on infections by profession.

I'd guess its going to be biased to travelers(travel related professions), travel sector(airports, hotels, stations etc), health workers, seniors/patients already in hospital for something else, and families of all of the above.

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