The death of a 22-year-old Guatemala immigrant in a car accident last month has sparked questions about whether temporary workers are being exploited in Rhode Island's fish processing industry.

Rosa Ruiz, a mother of three, was killed November 19 when the van that was carrying her and five other passengers from Narragansett to Providence swerved a few times before rolling over on Route 1 in South Kingstown, according to police and other sources. Allegations that the driver of the vehicle was intoxicated, and that temp workers at a Narragansett fish processing plant are being paid less than minimum wage and otherwise exploited, were subsequently passed to the Rhode Island Workers' Rights Board, an independent review board composed of clergy and advocates for immigrants and human rights.

The board was scheduled to conduct a fact-finding inquiry on Wednesday, December 19, at St. Teresa of Avila's Church in Providence. Mario Bueno of Progreso Latino, a member of the rights board, says the case calls out for scrutiny because of Ruiz's death and the seriousness of the related allegations. It also remains unclear, he says, whether the driver of the van was working independently or for a temporary agency that supplies workers to a Narragansett fish processing plant.

The driver, Juan Larios of Providence, was charged with driving to endanger, death resulting, says Captain Joe Geaber of the South Kingstown police. Although the case remains under investigation, "there are indications that alcohol was involved," Geaber says, and information that could result in a different charge is slated to go to the attorney general's office within two weeks. Larios does not have a listed telephone number and he couldn't be reached for comment.

Bueno says Ruiz's family and other workers have identified the location where she was working as The Town Dock in Narragansett. Noah Clark, an official with The Town Dock, which bills itself on its Web site as one of the largest fish processing facilities on the East Coast, says Ruiz "was not working at our company. She was working at another company down the street." Saying he was unsure which plant Ruiz worked at, Clark hung up the phone.

Jim Celenza, director of the Rhode Island Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, a watchdog group, characterizes fish processing, even under the best of circumstances, as dangerous work. "Commercial fishing is probably the most dangerous occupation in the United States and this is the tail end of that," he says. "It's not on the water, but there a lot of hazards," says Celenza, because of rapid handwork and the use of sharp objects for cutting. "You see the same problems in a lot of the chicken plants in this country."

Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis[a]phx.com.

Issue Date: December 21 - 27, 2001