For May Day: let's remember who has been dying

This story by Nadia Lopez from the Fresno Bee brought me up short:

87% of additional California deaths in 2020 pandemic were workers

The state’s essential laborers continued showing up to work throughout the pandemic. But for many, those low-wage jobs on the frontlines came at a high cost.

Deaths among Californians between ages 18 and 65 increased by 25% during the first ten months of the pandemic, with the state’s workers making up 12,500 of 14,370 additional deaths compared to the previous year — or 87% of additional deaths in 2020, according to an analysis of state public health data by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center.

... “The Central Valley has always had high rates of worker injuries, illnesses and deaths because of the many high-risk industries like meat processing, agriculture, manufacturing and warehousing that have been core to our economy,” [Mai] Thao [of the Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Central Labor Council] said. “But within the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply and disproportionately impacted these high-risk industries, with many worksites initiating outbreaks and leading to deaths.

Living in a city and in the Mission neighborhood, it's not a stretch to catch the general idea that the pandemic is hitting communities of color hardest. That's evident all around.

But here's deadly evidence of our urban dependence on Central Valley workers -- from diverse communities, many undocumented migrants -- who keep the food coming for all of us.