121. Posted by Heidi C on Thu, Sep 04, 2008, 10:20 am PDT

I have MANY commments on this subject. I will not even go into all of them because I have something personal to say. I have worked 2 jobs most of my life, am white,female ,not on drugs...I pay taxes as I also do my retirement account. I have raised a great child, helped finace her thru colleage. She lives a good productive life. Is buying her 1'st home and at the age of 27 paying her retirement acct.etc... I LIVE IN A TRAILER AND AM NOT TRALIER TRASH!!! I also shopped at TJ yesterday and enjoyed it. Let's all work together and make thing better for other people. I have struggled as a single mom, some of the hardest workers I have worked with are NOT WHITE!!

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122. Posted by kevb on Thu, Sep 04, 2008, 8:29 pm PDT

Yes cp she should of brought a few bottles of water with her and why she did not purchase a $20 bag to carry around is beyond me. Drink your cheap crap, eat your cheap crap, and keep your head in the sand. ps. I won't touch TJ's wine but love the frozen veggies. I sure hope nothing happens to... nevermind:(

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123. Posted by Chez US on Wed, Sep 10, 2008, 6:51 am PDT

Hi Bonnie, GREAT piece! I quit shopping at Trader Joes a couple years ago. Due to lack of quality in a lot of their products. Now I read this and it reconfirms my decision. On another note, you can get a lot of really great wines for under $10 at Whole Foods and even Bi-Rite out in San Francisco. We always try to find interesting wines under $10!

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124. Posted by Scarlet on Thu, Sep 11, 2008, 4:04 pm PDT

While I'm all for responsible work ethics, I don't see how Trader Joe's is really responsible for this. Trader Joes is in contract with these people--so the blame falls on the contractors. I think this is a case of "point the finger"--and it's pointed at the wrong party.

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125. Posted by Tam on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 11:28 am PDT

Lets solve the problem and close the border!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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126. Posted by NOCKER on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 7:14 pm PDT

Thanks for the information... I look forward to buying some good cheap wine... and if it helps reduce the mexican population in the us ... I'll buy a case.

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127. Posted by Brad B on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 7:49 pm PDT

So an undocumented sub contractor's death should lead to a boycott of TJs? Bull crap....I'll buy a case to support my favorite store. Mabe the korean BBQ I bought was made by the evil axis of evil North Korea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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128. Posted by cali_waverider on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 8:37 pm PDT

It's sad when a person loses their life on the job. If that young lady was pregnant, she should not have been out in that heat, picking grapes. Since Franzia owned the vineyard she died in, maybe their boxed wines should be boycotted too? After all, they're priced at lower than $ 10.00 for 5 litres. How much is Talley paying you to plug their winery? Are you saying that pricey wineries don't hire migrant workers to work in their vineyards? Don't count on it.

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129. Posted by julezluvzu04 on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 9:04 pm PDT

I doubt that this girl informed ANYONE that she was pregnant, otherwise she would have been given more breaks and special treatment. I agree that no one was probably standing over her telling her she couldn't go get some water. She is mostly responsible for her own death. That job is inappropriate for a pregnant woman anyway. To blame Trader Joe's or consumers is just ridiculous. Trader Joe's treats all their employees with the utmost respect and I doubt that they would contribute to the mistreatment of any workers(if you could call it mistreatment). I think no one is to blame other than this girl that should have taken better care of herself. If she is old enough to work, she's old enough to get herself a drink!

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130. Posted by jay a on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 9:41 pm PDT

Bonnie, I think the point is for Trader Joe's to support growers and vinyards that have working conditions and human resources that enable the laborors to have a safe and healthy workplace, while producing a marketable product.

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131. Posted by tomk_57 on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 10:00 pm PDT

So in the end Maria had to pay the ultimate price. What a fruit salad of an article. Don't you have anything else to write about? What about her husband or boyfriend that got her pregnant? Before he banged her, he should of made sure she wouldn't have to work. Or was he relying on the U.S social services advertised by Mexico? My parents went through hell when they first came to this country and once my mother became pregnant my father wouldn't let my mother work. He sacrificed his life so my mother, sister and I would survive and flourish. People like you encourage reliance on others and innocent people like Maria and her child suffer the consequences. Or is it that you want to ultimately create controversy by writing this article in order to sell ads? You sick human being.

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132. Posted by tomk_57 on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 10:38 pm PDT

I just saw your post. We aren't angry at the dead teenager ( her name is Maria by the way). We are angry at you! Don't you get it? You are exploiting her tragic fate. If you really, really cared, you would write about how Mexico has changed their constitution in order to clean up the corruption that drives illegal immigration to the U.S. If you really, really cared you would write about how that so called government Mexico, turns a blind eye to the drug cartels. If you really want to help people like Maria, get a grip, go spend a day or two out on the field picking grapes and may be you'll find your self and understand what is really going on. How dare you call the readers ignorant.

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133. Posted by Wineaux on Sat, Sep 13, 2008, 5:59 am PDT

WOW! I've always been suspicious of Franzia/Charles Shaw because, well, they just seem kind of strange, so industry insiders tell me. I try to support Fair Trade wines and the vineyards that produce vegan-friendly wines, such as Frey in California. The wines are good and this kind of problem doesn't exist that I know of. One good complaint comes in the form of boycott, doesn't it? After all, if they can't sell it, they'll stop what they're doing to turn people off!

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134. Posted by robertblum1@sbcglobal.net on Sun, Sep 14, 2008, 9:48 am PDT

The woman who wrote this knows nothing about wine. A laborer dying of heat stroke has nothing to do with TJs or the winery. 2 Buck Chuck can be very good at times. People that make a living on evaluating wines are about as skilled as the Mexicans picking the grapes.

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135. Posted by sandra90804 on Mon, Sep 15, 2008, 3:19 am PDT

Wow, there are so many hateful remarks here. Maybe if more people researched the hiring and treatment of illegal immigrants there would be a little more compassion. I agree it is depressing and it angers me. Why weren't the employers providing water for the workers. And, by the way, I have a 30 year old daughter who became pregnant at 16. She gave the world one of the best people ever. I also worked for some time in a personnel office and I witnessed many people who were unwilling to work for minimum wage. These jobs were in a much less demanding and dangerous site than those worked at by many illegal immigrants. i could go on and on about this because I have very strong feelings about it. Even if TJ's used contractors they still chose the contractors for the job. It is just one more way to evade responsibility.

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136. Posted by matt on Tue, Sep 16, 2008, 3:07 pm PDT

I'm no foodie but the taste has never bothered me. It is disturbing to learn of the plight of these grape pickers. Thank you for the post.

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137. Posted by shelleyflowergirl on Tue, Sep 16, 2008, 9:01 pm PDT

Its not like this gal was new to pruning in the heat. Common sense says pack a water bottle. A lot of people appreciate 2 buck chuck. Kind of dumb to take it to extreme....

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138. Posted by Tim W on Wed, Sep 17, 2008, 9:17 am PDT

I believe Bonnie is promoting the wine she praised so much and also looks down on anyone who drinks 2 buck Chuck. The connection she makes is quite a stretch. I won't stop drinking it. Nice try Bonnie.

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139. Posted by csmithd27 on Thu, Sep 18, 2008, 11:52 am PDT

Let us take a step back and recognize that, while this article is directed at TJ's and the wine, this is not something that is only specific to wine or that company. Instead, it represents what happens in the wine field or slaughterhouses in the States, or in the sweatshops in Asia. Companies wanting as much profit as they can find ways to reduce labor costs resulting in the degradation of people's living conditions (whether both in terms of income and working condition, or just working condition in the case of this woman if she were paid $8/hr). And no, American's do not want this jobs, and in reality the 3rd generation immigrants do not want to work these jobs after receiving formal education and being assimilated, and yet cannot be hired to do other types of work due to stereotyping. We as consumers can choose to buy products from places that do not operate in such a way, though that is mightily difficult in these economic times. People are too selfish/survivor orientated to spend $10.00 on a lb of chicken breast that has been farmed in a globally conscience farm compared to the $2.00 chicken breast from the farm treating migrant workers in a similar way to how this woman may have been treated. I appreciate and try to shop with views similar to the author, but the reality is, so long as we are not directly affected, we will not be prodded into action because we like the 2$ wines of the world as it provides us a bit of luxury. However, it will be interesting to see when immigrants with agriculture backgrounds become more involved in the fabric of the society whether the working conditions in the States of these people become a more important topic socially and politically.

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140. Posted by His& Hrs on Thu, Sep 18, 2008, 1:06 pm PDT

Franzia owns a number of wine labels so why specifically pick on two-buck chuck and Trader Joes (which happens to be a very forward thinking store) when you DON'T know that those grapes when toward making TBC? I take your article as a very one-sided opinion piece by a wine professional who's bitter because Shaw is throwing the market by selling $2 bottles of wine that taste as good as most $50 bottles of wine. Fell free to pass me off as "uneducated" as noted reguarding many of the above posters were. I did my rounds in grad school just like you...just because I don't think like you doesn't mean I'm uneducated.

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141. Posted by richardjant on Thu, Sep 18, 2008, 1:21 pm PDT

LETS LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE, THE 17 YEAR OLD LADY WAS WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE SHE CAN NOT GET WORK IN HER OWN MOTHER COUNTRY..OR IF SHE COULD THE PAY WOULD BE FIFTY CENTS AN HOUR IF SHE GETS PAID AT ALL. IF I WAS WORKING IN AN ISOLATED FIELD I WOULD GO PREPAIRED FOR A LONG DAY IN THE HEAT OF THE SUN,(SUNHAT,FOOD,AND CERTAINLY (WATER JUG)...IT DOES NOT TAKE ALOT OF INTELLIGENCE TO GET PREGNENT BUT IT DOES REQUIRE SOME KNOWLEDGE TO BE A FIT MOTHER...TO SAY ITS TRADER JOE'S FAULT BECAUSE THEY SELL WINE FROM CALIFORNIA IS NOT CORRECT...HUMANS HAVE HAD TO TAKE CARE TO LOOK AFTER THEMSELF AND NOT FIND FAULT IN OTHERS] OR THEIR EMPLOYER....TRADER JOE'S DOES A WONDERFUL JOB IN KEEPING MANY PEOPLE EMPLOYED, FROM THE FARM TO THE LOCAL WONDERFUL FOOD AND BEVERAGE STORES I PERSONNALLY THINK TWO BUCK CHUCK IS A GREAT WAY TO END A HARD DAY AT WORK. THANK YOU "TRADER JOE" AND GOD BLESS

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142. Posted by richardjant on Thu, Sep 18, 2008, 1:24 pm PDT

LETS LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE, THE 17 YEAR OLD LADY WAS WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE SHE CAN NOT GET WORK IN HER OWN MOTHER COUNTRY..OR IF SHE COULD THE PAY WOULD BE FIFTY CENTS AN HOUR IF SHE GETS PAID AT ALL. IF I WAS WORKING IN AN ISOLATED FIELD I WOULD GO PREPAIRED FOR A LONG DAY IN THE HEAT OF THE SUN,(SUNHAT,FOOD,AND CERTAINLY (WATER JUG)...IT DOES NOT TAKE ALOT OF INTELLIGENCE TO GET PREGNENT BUT IT DOES REQUIRE SOME KNOWLEDGE TO BE A FIT MOTHER...TO SAY ITS TRADER JOE'S FAULT BECAUSE THEY SELL WINE FROM CALIFORNIA IS NOT CORRECT...HUMANS HAVE HAD TO TAKE CARE TO LOOK AFTER THEMSELF AND NOT FIND FAULT IN OTHERS] OR THEIR EMPLOYER....TRADER JOE'S DOES A WONDERFUL JOB IN KEEPING MANY PEOPLE EMPLOYED, FROM THE FARM TO THE LOCAL WONDERFUL FOOD AND BEVERAGE STORES I PERSONNALLY THINK TWO BUCK CHUCK IS A GREAT WAY TO END A HARD DAY AT WORK. THANK YOU "TRADER JOE" AND GOD BLESS

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143. Posted by ck124203 on Thu, Sep 18, 2008, 1:41 pm PDT

Good grief. I don't know what to make of this. One girl dies, and we are supposed to boycott a product? There is something to be said for taking responsiblily to yourself. I am sorry for this girl and her family, but if you know that water is a hike, than why not bring a gallon container and fill it up before your shift begins? Sometimes we need to do things like that to take care of ourselves. It is called personal responsibility. I am tired of everyone pointing blame at someone else when something bad happens. Buck up and take responsibility for yourselves.

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144. Posted by Ada L on Fri, Sep 19, 2008, 8:37 am PDT

What a ridiculous article. Not to mention not that well-researched. This isn't a food issue, this is a labor/immigration issue. Hogwash.

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145. Posted by tota_heart_92 on Mon, Sep 22, 2008, 10:00 am PDT

whooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! great

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146. Posted by john on Thu, Dec 18, 2008, 10:26 am PST

You people are unbelievable. You seek and seek little technicalities to justify the death of this young lady, and are in love with your own ignorance. She died because they don't provide convenient water and shade to the grape pickers. The sun was hot, and she overheated, and expired. The contractor sold to Bronco. Bronco supplies for the Charles Shaw brand. Trader Joes is the only company that sells the Charles Shaw brand. The relationships are clear, despite the subcontracter-shuffle BS they're pulling. Yes, she could have carried a bottle, but the employer knows, and the state law says, that water must be provided. You can sweat away gallons in a day. I bet the workers have asked for water and shade. Why else would the UFW be pushing this? The contractor is not just resisting the union -- they're resisting the law of California. It's a necessary fight. Imagine if you lived in a small, poor town, and imagine if this girl was your sister or daughter. How would you feel?

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147. Posted by john on Thu, Dec 18, 2008, 10:37 am PST

By the way, they aren't asking for a rise in the prices of the $2 wine, though one may result. They are asking for indirect pressure on the contractor -- pressure to comply with the law. The UFW hopes to organize the workplace, and this victory would win over workers to their side. They use the consumer boycott because, as these comments show, many vocal people clearly hate poor workers, hate undocumented workers, and hate the idea that, maybe, everyone deserves a safe workplace. They are quick to blame *death* in the workplace on the lady, saying she forgot to take a bottle of water. (Have you worked four hours in the hot Central Valley Sun? Try reading The Grapes of Wrath.) I appreciate that unions organize some of the worst jobs out there, because it clears some of my conscience. I make enough that working half a day will pay for my food for a week. I can afford to work another fifteen minutes to afford safety for the people who pick my food. It isn't a big deal, especially for luxuries like wine.

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148. Posted by Winemaster on Tue, Dec 30, 2008, 1:37 pm PST

I cannot believe how ignorant and naive someof theposters on this site are. Blaming Trader Joes or Charles Shaw because a worker was not diligent enough to drink water? Are you serious? Do you think that if your bought the same wine under another lable and paid ten times the price that it would automatically mean better wages and work conditions for the laborers? If so I have this little ocean front property in Arizona I'd like to sell you....

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149. Posted by guyfriend986 on Wed, Aug 05, 2009, 11:00 am PDT

Interesting, I happen to be writing a piece for a class I am taking on Cal Water and the thrust of my arguments is that the ground water is unsuitable to drink for the residents of the Central Valley. At $8.00 per hour your struggling to pay for shelter and food, transportation, clothing, PG&E and everything else. Look closer $2 wine is just that $2 wine. The contractor was suppose to provide a safe work environment per the Cal Labor Laws, the Vineyard Owner could have had a back up plan, is required to by Cal Labor Law. Historically women have worked "on the farm" well into the 1st trimester of their pregnancy. The Vineyard owner is undoubtedly grief stricken over the incident. The case may be made that the contractor labor management team on site seemed to have failed to act in an appropriate manner in getting Maria the appropriate care under the Cal Labor Law. It's the water folks not the wine, follow the water. Just for the record $2 buck chuck is going to be $5 buck in 24 months, follow the water.

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