Port Of LA, Shipping Company Donate 75K Respiratory Masks To Farmworkers
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Port of Los Angeles, Logistics Victory Los Angeles and CMA CGM Group donated 75,000 respiratory face masks to the United Farm Workers of America Monday to help those working outdoors amid the pandemic, wildfire smoke and extreme heat.
"Farmworkers never take a day off, even in the face of threats to their health and safety –– and their determination means there's never a shortage of food on our shelves, in our pantries, and on our tables," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
"Delivering these masks to these courageous folks upholds our core commitment: to serve our essential, frontline workers as well as they serve us."
Donated by French shipping line CMA CGM, the FFP2 respirator masks—the European equivalent to N95— were first distributed last week through the Logistics Victory Los Angeles program and will continue to be given to farm workers this week.
The CMA CGM Group donated 200,000 masks to LoVLA earlier this year.
"Even as the UFW works hard to aid farmworkers with the pandemic and heat, the danger to farmworkers is now escalating because of a third plague: smoke from wildfires afflicting some of the state's prime agricultural regions," said Teresa Romero, President of United Farm Workers.
"That is why we are so grateful for this donation from the Port of Los Angeles of 75,000 respiratory face masks. The UFW is making arrangements to quickly transport the masks to major state farming areas being hard hit by the fires, and to distribute them in the fields, especially in Northern California."
The Port of Los Angeles is focused on bringing more agricultural exports to overseas markets and has remained open with all terminals operational during the COVID-19 pandemic.
