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482935 Jon Donaire Labor Strike 01-04-22 (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles County)

Santa Fe Springs, CA – LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn is congratulating the Jon Donaire Desserts workers who have approved an agreement and ended their strike after 113 days on the picket line.

“These women and men have spent 113 long days on strike,” said Supervisor Hahn. “They spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, birthdays, and every day in between on the picket line– often in the cold and in the rain. This victory belongs to them.”

The Jon Donaire Desserts production plant is located in Santa Fe Springs. The workers, most of them women, are part of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 37, and were on strike since early November. They primarily mass produce ice cream cakes that are sold at locations including Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, Red Robbin, Walmart, and Vons. This job is labor intensive, with as many as 38 cakes per minute moving down the production line, and these workers had been routinely forced to work mandatory overtime with little to no notice.

Torrance, CA — As the 7th anniversary of the 2015 Torrance Refinery explosion approaches on February 18th, Supervisor Janice Hahn is renewing her effort to require local refineries to convert from deadly Modified Hydrofluoric Acid (MHF) to safer alternatives.

“The 2015 explosion at the Torrance Refinery was bad, but it easily could have been catastrophic,” said Supervisor Hahn. “A heavy piece of debris came inches away from hitting a tank of MHF that day. We can’t assume we will be so lucky next time, whether that is another refinery accident, an earthquake, or God-forbid, an attack. MHF is too dangerous to have in our refineries and our communities will not be safe until it is gone.”

MHF is a highly toxic chemical that is used to make high-octane gasoline. At room temperature, it can form a dense ground-hugging cloud that could be deadly to anyone who comes in contact with it. Even a small accidental release of MHF during refinery operations could be catastrophic and result in mass casualties. Only two refineries in the State of California, the Torrance Refinery and the Valero Refinery in Wilmington, continue to use MHF.

Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn addressing head on the public safety concerns regarding the continued use of MHF at local refineries. The approved motion includes:

1. A five-signature letter from the Board of Supervisors to Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta calling on the State to take all possible actions to require refineries in California to convert from MHF to safer alternatives.

2. Instructs County Departments to review existing health and safety measures relating to MHF, review the risk management, emergency response and notification plans for an unplanned release of MHF, and request an update from SCAQMD Refinery Committee on the status of the 2019 proffer and the progress of commercially available alternative technologies.

3. Direct the Office of Emergency Management, in coordination with relevant departments to provide a written report to the Board in 180 days with recommendations on how to enhance risk management and emergency planning and any other steps the County should take to protect the health and safety of communities living near the two refineries until MHF can be phased out.

4. Directs the County of Los Angeles to support any new State or Federal legislation that requires refineries to convert from MHF to safer alternatives; and authorize the County’s Sacramento and Washington D.C. advocates to take all appropriate legislative advocacy actions to advance this effort.

Los Angeles, CA – Today the LA County Board of Supervisors passed a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn to ensure the County’s pandemic response and recovery strategy prioritizes the needs of its immunocompromised and disabled residents, including through expanding access to PCR testing, in-home vaccinations, PPE, and more.

“This virus doesn’t affect all people equally, which means the way we handle our response to and recovery from it shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach,” said Supervisor Hahn. “From providing vaccinations and rapid tests at home for residents with disabilities to making sure the PPE we’re giving out is appropriate for those with visual impairments, when it comes to ensuring all our residents have what they need to feel protected as we recover from this pandemic, LA County should lead the way and set the bar high.”

Hahn’s motion instructs the County Departments of Public Health and Health Services to expand access to a variety of services needed by immunocompromised and disabled residents, including in-home vaccinations, at-home rapid and PCR tests, appropriate personal protective equipment (such as face coverings with clear see-through windows), and COVID-19 educational materials that accommodate people who are hard of hearing or visually impaired.

It also directs the County’s Commission on Disabilities to work with the Executive Director of Aging and Community Services on exploring the feasibility of creating a task force to review the County’s COVID response and recovery plans and provide recommendations on how the County can better meet the needs of immunocompromised residents and residents with disabilities.

“As we move forward towards a diverse and inclusive environment, the disability community will have a voice,” said Carlos Benavides, President of the Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities and one of the Commission’s Representatives from the Fourth District. “This noble gesture elevates the concept and idea of total inclusivity regardless of one’s functional capabilities and limitations. Thank you, Supervisor Hahn, for this motion.”

People with disabilities and chronic illnesses have disproportionately higher rates of hospitalizations and death due to COVID-19, with the CDC reporting that 90% percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations are people with underlying conditions.