Family, friends grieve man who died at Sanger poultry plant. ‘A place for you in heaven’

Over 100 loved ones gathered to celebrate the life of a 19-year-old man who died in a workplace incident at a poultry plant last month in the central San Joaquin Valley of California.

Jose Antonio Abrego Meraz — a young father, fiancé, son, brother, cousin, colleague and friend — was remembered as a hard worker who was responsible and cheerful at his funeral mass Monday at Fresno’s St. Anthony Mary Claret Catholic Church.

Abrego Meraz died on Feb. 21 in at the Pitman Family Farms poultry processing plant in Sanger in what was the second death at the plant in less than a year.

In an email statement to The Fresno Bee, Tony Botti, spokesperson Fresno County Coroner’s office, said Abrego Meraz was crushed by a trailer hooked up to a truck being moved at the facility. A spokesperson for Cal/OSHA confirmed the agency is investigating the workplace fatality.

“It’s a very tragic thing when we have to bury someone, especially when they’re so young. Especially when their life is just beginning,” the Rev. Jose Sanchez said during his sermon.

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The family of Abrego Meraz is raising money on GoFundMe to support his fiancee and sons, as well as funeral expenses. Attempts to contact his family for comment were unsuccessful.

Abrego Meraz’s death occurred less than two weeks after The Bee published an investigation into workplace conditions at Pitman Family Farms, known for its line of humanely-raised poultry sold under the name Mary’s Chicken.

A dozen current and former workers said they didn’t feel they received proper training for the dangerous work at Pitman, where records show there have been electrocutions, amputations and other life-altering injuries. The Bee found that there had been at least three deaths at Pitman’s California-based operations over the past decade. Pitman Farms also had a fairly high rate of self-reported injuries compared to other poultry processing plants across the country, according to The Bee’s analysis of federal data.

Company executives and members of the Pitman ownership family attended the funeral mass.

‘Everyone calls me Peso Pluma’

Colleagues of Abrego Meraz at the funeral said he had worked at the plant for close to a year.

Maria Macias, who worked the night shift with Abrego Meraz at Pitman Farms, told The Bee in Spanish that he was a good coworker who was always cheerful and full of life.

“I never saw him angry,“ Macias said. “He would look for me and say, ‘Let’s take our break. Let’s take our lonche,’” Macias recalled with a smile.

For Jose Sandoval, another night shift worker in the “área de matanzas,” or killing area, Abrego Meraz was almost like a son.

“He called me papá,” Sandoval said. The familial moniker came from a conversation in which Sandoval asked about Abrego Meraz’s father. Sandoval recalled that his young colleague told him his father lived in Mexico, and then quickly followed up with, “what if I call you papá?”

Sandoval also recalled that when he first met Abrego Meraz and asked for his name, the latter said his name was Jose, “but everyone calls me Peso Pluma,” referring to the Mexican musician and global superstar who recently won a Grammy for Best Música Mexicana Album.

“We all called him Peso Pluma,” Macias added, saying that Abrego Meraz used to have a haircut like Peso Pluma’s and would dance like him on work breaks.

“He was fun,” she said.

‘A place for you in heaven’

At the end of the mass, pallbearers processed with Abrego Meraz’s casket toward the back of the church to proceed to the burial in Sanger. His fiancée followed close behind, sobbing.

Dozens of funeral attendees donned white tee shirts with a photo of Abrego Meraz floating in the clouds against an orange sky. In the photo, he has white wings, like an angel, and a huge grin on his face.

“Rest in peace,” Sanchez, the priest, said during his sermon. “God has a place for you in heaven.”