LOS ANGELES — A town hall meeting organized by city officials here July 9 turned into an angry protest against their indifference to the horrific conditions that continue to confront workers who live near the Lineage plant in Boyle Heights after a massive fire there June 17.
The blaze at the company’s food storage warehouse occurred in a mostly Latino working-class area of eastern Los Angeles. Some 85 million pounds of once frozen food inside is rotting, with nauseating odors, as well as flies, rats and other vermin.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials were met with loud boos and chants from workers who came from the area. They demanded the warehouse be cleaned up after weeks of toxic smoke, putrid odors and health problems. Anger at those responsible grew even louder as Lineage Chief Operating Officer Jeff Rivera took the stage.
Gloria Palacios, a Boyles Heights resident and garment worker at a shop near the warehouse, told the Militant she lost wages as it shut for a day. When the boss said it was up to workers if they wanted to go back to work despite the air pollution, Palacios, like many, returned to her job “because no one else is going to pay my rent.”
Laura Garza, Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, attended the meeting and spoke with residents. “We demand an immediate response from the government to clean this up now. They have the resources,” she said. “Instead, they are leaving it to the company responsible which is taking its time. Workers in the area are being subjected to conditions no one should be forced to live or work in. In the meantime, workers should be moved to suitable housing with all expenses paid so they aren’t forced to live in a biohazard zone.”
As of July 25 the company says it has cleared out 40 million pounds of the rotting food from the site.
Some work was also delayed because a separate company responsible for the solar panels on the plant’s roof halted the demolition to preserve evidence to defend itself. Lineage claims this company was responsible for sparking the fire.
“This bickering over who will end up being legally responsible for the bills to clean this up shouldn’t be used to delay the clean up needed now.” Garza said. “Workers know all companies cut corners, and the Lineage warehouse had the solar panels catch fire a few years ago. Only when safety is in the hands of the workers in the industries where we work will the necessary measures to protect working people and the community be taken. That’s why my party calls for workers control of production.”
A Community Health and Resource Fair for people in the neighborhood was held near the Lineage facility July 18. Yvette Dominguez, who lives three blocks from the warehouse, said she left the fair with a few items. “They give out a little food one time for each family.”
“There is aid but not enough,” Maria Gonzalez, a preschool teacher, told the Militant. “The smell turns your stomach. No one knows what will happen in the future from the effects of the smoke. There were many chemicals in the solar panels from the roof that burned.”
Patrick Valentine, a former welder now disabled, came to the resource fair with the aid of a walker. “I live half a block away from the warehouse. If they would go door to door it would help. We can’t evacuate. The smell gets into the furniture and doesn’t go away.”
Maria Felix is a laid off mental health care worker who lives 1.3 miles from Lineage. She showed this Militant correspondent pictures of plumes of smoke from the fire over her home. “The city of Commerce says we are in East Los Angeles,” she said. “East LA says we’re in Commerce. So neither one will give us aid.” She explained that she tried to get help paying utilities and was told only a one-time payout was available.
At the meeting several participants were interested in discussing why what workers face is a product of today’s capitalist crisis. Socialist Workers Party members set up a table at the entrance and sold two subscriptions to the Militant; three books, Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs and two copies of Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? Class, Privilege, and Learning under Capitalism by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes; along with nine single copies of the Militant.
Mayor Bass says her deadline is Aug. 13 to clean up the entire site. But the smells, rats, and flies persist while the time ticks by.
Air regulators have issued several violation notices to the company after receiving more than 900 complaints about the stink from residents in less than a week. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said it will fine Lineage $500 a day until the violations are corrected.
Despite the heat, many residents have resorted to shutting their doors and windows to keep the stench out. Air conditioning units that pull air from the outside have been useless because they pull the stench indoors.
Sabino Soto, 70, lives on the block next to the Lineage warehouse. He grew so nauseated that he had to call off sick from his job as a school crossing guard. He was able to get an air purifier from the city but is now worried his electric bill will shoot up because he has to keep it on all day. “Someone is going to have to pay, and it’s going to be me,” he said.