“COVID’S HIDDEN TOLL”

> WELCOME TO 'METRO FOCUS,' I'M JACK FORD, MANY OF US HAVE BEEN SHELTERING IN PLACE OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS BUT THE COVID CRISIS HAS WREAKED HAVOC ON CERTAIN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE NOT HAD THAT LUXURY OF STAYING HOME.

ONE OF THE HARDEST HIT, AGRICULTURAL WORKERS, THE PEOPLE WHO PUT FOOD ON OUR TABLES, MANY OF WHOM ARE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS.

THE IMPACT ON THAT COMMUNITY IS THE SUBJECT OF AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT AND FILM BY 'FRONTLINE' TITLED 'COVID'S HIDDEN TOLL,' WE'RE PLEASED TO HAVE JOINING US AS PART OF OUR CHASING DREAM INITIATIVE, THE DIRECTOR/PRODUCER, FRONTLINE INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST AND CORRESPONDENT DAFFODIL ALTAN.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

LET ME ASK YOU FIRST, THE SORT OF THE PERSONAL QUESTION ABOUT WHY AS A FILM MAKER, AND YOU'VE DONE EXCEPTIONAL WORK IN OTHER INVESTIGATIVE FILMS, WHAT WAS IT THEN THAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS PARTICULAR SUBJECT?

WHEN THE PANDEMIC CRISIS HIT WE STARTED TALKING AT FRONTLINE, WHAT SHOULD WE DO, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO, WHAT DO WE NEED TO COVER AND I'M HERE IN CALIFORNIA, I'M NOT IN BOSTON AND WE HAD -- WERE WEREN'T THE EARLIEST STATE TO GO INTO SHELTER IN PLACE LOCKDOWN.

AND SO IMMEDIATELY IT BECAME VERY CLEAR THAT MOST OF US WERE GOING TO BE STAYING HOME, BUT THEN THERE WAS THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES, ESSENTIAL WORKERS WERE GOING TO NEED TO KEEP OPERATING.

AND SO IN THAT MOMENT YOU, YOU KNOW, ALL OF US HAD A LOT OF FEAR AND WE WERE LIVING WITH A LOT OF FEAR, NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THIS VIRUS.

AND SO MY CO-PRODUCER AND I STARTED TALKING AND THINKING ABOUT HOW, OKAY, WHO'S BEEN DEEMED ESSENTIAL?

LET'S LOOK AT WHAT THAT MEANS.

AND OF COURSE BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN REPORTING ON THE JANITORIAL INDUSTRY -- WE STARTED THINKING, OKAY, THESE WORKERS, THESE BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN DEEMED ESSENTIAL.

BUT WE KNOW THAT THESE ARE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.

WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF EXPLOITATION AS IT IS WITHOUT A PANDEMIC.

AND SO WE STARTED SAYING, WHAT IS THIS GOING TO MEAN FOR THIS VULNERABLE WORK GROUP, THAT THEY'RE ESSENTIAL, BUT WILL THEY HAVE THE PROTECTIONS THAT THEY NEED?

BECAUSE OUR OWN HEALTH CARE WORKERS R WEREN'T EVEN GETTING THE PROTECTION THAT THEY NEEDED.

SO WHAT WAS THAT GOING TO MEAN FOR THE FARM WORKER WHO ALREADY DOESN'T GENERALLY GET THE PROTECTION THAT THEY NEED, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT A FARM WORKER HAS HAS BEEN HARD WON IN TERMS OF WORKER PROTECTIONS, IN TERMS OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, HEALTH INSURANCE.

AND SO WE JUST STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS AND THINKING, THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING BECAUSE FOOD WAS SUDDENLY BEING PULLED OFF THE SHELVES, TOILET PAPER, EVERYONE WAS GOING CRAZY.

AND WE WEREN'T SURE AT THAT MOMENT IN MARCH WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE FOOD SUPPLY, WHAT WAS THIS PANDEMIC GOING TO DO TO THE COUNTRY?

SO WE JUST STARTED PAYING ATTENTION.

AND STARTED TALKING TO SOURCES THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED OVER TIME ABOUT WHAT THEIR CONCERNS WERE.

AND PEOPLE WERE SAYING THE HARVEST IS COMING.

WORKERS ARE GOING TO BE MOVING AROUND THE STATE.

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND SO WE DECIDED WE NEED TO START PAYING ATTENTION AND SEE HOW THIS IS GOING TO UNFOLD.

I MENTIONED THE TITLE.

COVID'S HIDDEN TOLL.

WHY HIDDEN?

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S PLAYED OUT, I THINK, AND NOW WE ARE REALLY SEEING CRYSTALLIZE WITH THE LIMITED DATA THAT WE DO HAVE, IS WHO IS BEING HIT HARDEST BY THE CORONAVIRUS, AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THIS PICTURE EMERGE.

WE KNOW THAT IT'S THE BLACK COMMUNITY.

WE KNOW THAT IT'S LATINOS.

WE KNOW THEY ARE RIGHT NOW EXPERIENCING THE HIGHEST INFECTION RATES, HIGHEST DEATH NUMBERS, AND SO WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND MORE DEEPLY, WAIT, BEYOND THE RACE AND ETHNICITY DATA WHAT IS THE WORK THAT DIFFERENT PEOPLE ARE DOING AND HOW IS THAT AFFECTING THEM?

AND FRANKLY, THIS POPULATION OF WORKERS, THIS AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ALREADY IS OFTEN A HIDDEN WORKFORCE, LARGELY BECAUSE SO MANY -- I MEAN, IT'S ESTIMATED THAT HALF, BUT THEIR ESTIMATE IS THAT WELL OVER HALF IS UNDOCUMENTED WORKFORCE.

YOU ALREADY ARE IN THE SHADOWS BY THE VERY NATURE OF YOUR IMMIGRATION STATUS.

A LOT OF THE WORKERS DON'T REALIZE THAT THEY HAVE WORKPLACE PROTECTION RIGHTS BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY'RE ALREADY BEING CRIMINALIZED.

WE KNEW FROM OUR PRIOR WORK, WE LOOKED AT LABOR TRAFFICKING, WE HAVE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS BEING FORCED TO WORK AGAINST THEIR WILL WHO ARE NOT SPEAKING UP BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING THREATENED BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEIR STATUS IS -- THAT THEY'RE NOT LEGAL HERE AND SO THAT'S A WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE COERCED.

THAT'S WHAT WE LEARNED FROM REPORTING ON LABOR TRAFFICKING.

IN THIS SITUATION IT WAS LIKE A DOUBLE HIDDEN BECAUSE THEY ALREADY ARE SO HIDDEN.

NO ONE'S PAYING ATTENTION.

ONCE AGAIN WE'RE TALKING WITH DAFFODIL ALTAN, THE WRITER/ WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER OF THE FRONTLINE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT TITLED 'COVID'S HIDDEN TOLL.'

I WAS STRUCK BY COMMENT.

YOU MENTIONED THE NOTION OF THESE WORKERS BEING CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL.

I WAS STRUCK BY ONE OF THE PEOPLE YOU TALKED TO IN THE FILM.

YOU'RE USING THEIR OWN VOICES TO TELL THE STORY.

HE SAID WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE ESSENTIAL, WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE SLAVES.

WHAT DO YOU THINK HE MEANT BY THAT?

I THINK, TO BE DEEMED ESSENTIAL, I THINK THOSE WORKERS FOR A MOMENT WERE ELEVATED, SEEN, AND VALUED FOR THEIR WORK.

BUT THAT, IN ESSENCE, I THINK, WHAT WE FOUND WAS A LOT OF LIP SERVICE BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T GETTING ESSENTIAL PROTECTIONS.

AND SO I THINK WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT WAS WE'VE BEEN GIVEN THIS -- WE'VE SUDDENLY BEEN DEEMED AND GIVEN THIS TITLE.

WE'RE SO IMPORTANT BUT IF WE'RE SO IMPORTANT WHY ARE WE BEING MADE TO WORK IN THESE CONDITIONS?

WHY DON'T WE HAVE BASIC PROTECTIONS?

WHY ARE WE NOT GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT INFECTIONS AT OUR OWN WORK SITE?

IF WE'RE SO ESSENTIAL AND SO CRITICAL SHOULDN'T WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON?

TERMS OF THIS TERRIFYING VIRUS THAT NONE OF US WANT TO GET?

THEY'RE SEEING CO-WORKERS, FALLING OFF, NOT SHOWING UP TO WORK, PEOPLE SICK, THEY'RE ASKING FOR PROTECTION AND THEY'RE NOT GETTING IT.

SO, I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO BE HERALDED AS A KIND OF HERO BUT THEN TO NOT BE GIVEN THE ARMOR THAT YOU NEED TO ESSENTIALLY GO INTO BATTLE, I THINK IS, YOU KNOW, JUST A REALLY TERRIBLE, AND DIFFICULT SITUATION TO BE IN.

YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU WERE IN CALIFORNIA, AND OBVIOUSLY GIVEN TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS THAT'S THE AREA THAT YOU HAVE INVESTIGATED HERE.

BUT IS THIS, IN FACT, MORE THAN A LOCAL AND REGIONAL PROBLEM?

YES, IF WE COULD HAVE -- WE HAVE SOURCES, WE REPORTED ON THE AGRICULTURE IN THE MIDWEST, MEAT FARMS, MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS, WE REPORTED IN WASHINGTON, AND THERE WERE OUTBREAKS, EARLY OUTBREAKS AND THE GOVERNOR STEPPED IN TO TRY TO PUT SOME WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS IN PLACE BECAUSE WE WERE SEEING OUTBREAKS AND HEARING FROM SOURCES THERE.

IN FLORIDA, IF WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN ON AN AIRPLANE AND COVERED THIS STORY EVERYWHERE THAT THIS SORT OF SAME PATTERN WAS BEGINNING TO EMERGE WE WOULD HAVE.

I'M IN CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS ONE OF THE LARGEST -- IT IS THE LARGEST AGRICULTURAL PRODUCING STATE IN THE COUNTRY.

SO WE COULD TELL THE STORY THAT WAS REFLECTIVE OF OTHER POCKETS OF THE COUNTRY FROM HERE.

BUT YES, THIS IS GOING ON ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF THIS THAT QUITE CANDIDLY I FOUND VERY SURPRISING IS THE FACT THAT THESE INDUSTRIES ARE ESSENTIALLY SELF-REGULATING.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AND WHAT IS THEN THE IMPACT ON THESE WORKERS?

YEAH, WHEN WE FIRST BEGAN REPORTING WE THOUGHT, OKAY, SURELY THERE ARE SOME STANDARDS, SOME MANDATES THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED, SOMETHING THAT COMPANIES -- THE ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES MUST FOLLOW BECAUSE WE'RE IN A CRISIS.

AND WE STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REPORTING IN MONTEREY COUNTY, AND THEY TOLD US WE'VE ISSUED SOME GUIDELINES FOR GROWERS AND AGRICULTURES -- IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING YET.

AND AS WE STARTED TO DO MORE REPORTING WE STARTED TO SEE THE PICTURE THAT WAS FORMING WAS THAT ALL COMPANIES HAD TO GO ON, AND THIS IS AGRICULTURE, BUT ALL ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES IN THAT MOMENT HAD GUIDELINES, THAT OSHA, THE OCCUPATIONAL WORKPLACE SAFETY AGENCY IN CALIFORNIA, IT'S THE STATE VERSION OF THE FEDERAL VERSION.

THEY HAD BEGUN TO ROLL OUT VERY GRADUALLY GUIDELINES FOR COMPANIES, FEDERAL OSHA HAD DONE THE SAME THING BUT THESE THINGS WERE COMING KIND OF LATE.

I MEAN, THE GUIDELINES FOR THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, FOR MEAT PROCESSING IN CALIFORNIA DIDN'T COME OUT UNTIL MAY.

BEFORE THAT IF YOU'RE AN ESSENTIAL BUSINESS AND YOU'RE RUNNING AND YOU'VE GOT TO KEEP UP PRODUCTION, ALL YOU'RE GOING ON ARE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CDC AND FROM OSHA, BUT THERE'S NOTHING TELLING YOU WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO.

THERE'S NO ONE CHECKING COMPANIES TO MAKE SURE, HEY, DO YOU HAVE X, Y AND Z IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR WORKPLACE IS SAFE, TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR WORKERS ARE SAFE?

NO ONE WAS CHECKING.

NO ONE WAS ENFORCING THIS.

AND SO WHAT YOU HAVE ARE COMPANIES THAT ARE DOING THE BEST THEY CAN, SOME OF THEM, AND OTHERS WHO ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING AND NO ONE'S CHECKING, NO ONE KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING.

WHEN YOU SAY NO ONE KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING I WAS ALSO STRUCK BY THE CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU'RE HAVING, AND THE FACT THAT THEY SEEM TO HAVE NO IDEA, BE WORKING IN A HAZE, AN ABSENCE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELS BETWEEN EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE, WERE YOU STRUCK BY THAT ALSO?

I WAS, I ABSOLUTELY WAS.

I STARTED SAYING, WAIT -- YOU KNOW, YOU START ASKING, WAIT, DON'T -- WHAT'S THE BREAKDOWN HERE?

WHAT'S GOING ON?

AND THEN WE COME TO FIND OUT THAT EMPLOYERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO TELL THEIR OWN EMPLOYEES ABOUT POTENTIAL EXPOSURE, OR INFECTION AT THE WORK SITE.

THERE'S A RECOMMENDATION YOU SHOULD DO THIS.

BUT IF YOU'RE NOT REQUIRED TO DO IT, IF THERE'S NO LAW MANDATING, THERE'S NOTHING MANDATING YOU TO TELL YOUR EMPLOYEES, WELL YOU JUST DON'T KNOW HOW THAT'S GOING TO PLAY OUT AT DIFFERENT WORK SITES AND SO THERE'S ACTUALLY IN CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION IN MOTION RIGHT NOW, A LAWMAKER IS PROPOSING, HEY, IF THERE'S AN OUTBREAK, AN INFECTION AT THE WORK SITE YOU AS THE EMPLOYER NEED TO TELL YOUR EMPLOYEES, IT SEEMS VERY BASIC.

BUT IT'S ACTUALLY NOT A STANDARD THAT'S IN PLACE RIGHT NOW THAT COMPANIES HAVE TO DISCLOSE, WHICH IS SHOCKING.

I GOT LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT HERE FOR YOU.

ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC THAT SOME OF THESE CHANGES WILL TAKE PLACE?

I AM BECAUSE WE ARE STARTING NOW, TO GET A CLEARER PICTURE OF THE TOLL THAT THAT IS REALLY TAKING, ESPECIALLY IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, BUT IN OTHER SECTORS, WORKERS ARE OUT SICK, THEY ARE DYING, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK ONCE IT BECOMES AN ISSUE OF THE COUNTRY'S FOOD SUPPLY, UNFORTUNATELY MAYBE THAT'S WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO REALLY START PUTTING THESE STANDARDS IN PLACE BUT I THINK NOW THAT THE STORY IS REALLY BEGINNING TO ERUPT, SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN.

WELL, AS I SAID IN THE BEGINNING, IT'S A POWERFUL AND REVEALING FILM, FRONTLINE'S COVID'S HIDDEN TOLL, DAFFODIL ALTAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPENDING SOME TIME WITH US, WE APPRECIATE IT, EXCELLENT WORK BY YOU.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

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