In the News

Seventeen Blueberry farmers have recently been charged to pay thousands in fine by the Department of Labor for "substandard migrant housing, and ordered to pay tens of thousands more in back pay to workers who were short changed. They were underpaid in just about every way they could be cheated."

To read the full article please click here.

Disconnected

I recently handed out small fliers that asked people if they know where they food comes from and listed several facts about migrant farmworkers in Michigan. I used facts that have already posted to the blog and can be found in the post about migrant workers in Michigan. I passed them out on campus in the areas where people eat their lunch or dinner. Most people just took the fliers (and probably threw them away later) and walked away. Others I heard made comments, revealing how they didn't know that Michigan was the 4th largest employer of migrant labor and that 38% of Michigan's agricultural  crops depend on hand-harvesting or processing. Although it didn't surprise me that these facts surprise other people, I was glad that people at least thought about the information, which I guess is something. There was one particular comment that was made that reminded me of how disconnected we are, as a society, from the earth. As Americans we are afraid to get our hands dirty and actually understand where our food comes from. Our Capitalist society keeps us complacent through consumerism and consumption, where questioning the process of manufacturing and production is not encouraged. We are too consumed by the next best electronic or fashion trend to understand where our food comes from.

"Harvest of Shame" Revisited

CBS aired a program about Migrant workers, 50 years later after first premiering "Harvest of Shame". Fifty years later, the conditions and experiences of migrant farmworkers have not changed dramatically. They continue to live in poverty and struggle to bring food to their own kitchen tables, while they work in horrible conditions to harvest the food that is brought to your kitchen table. 

Conference on the Americas

As part of the Latin American Studies program at Grand Valley, the Conference on the America "Creating Agents of Change: Facing Challenges in our Community " was an opportunity to engage with others about various issues related to the Americas. I was particularly interested in a presentation by an Argentinean woman about democracy and the women's movement in Argentina. However, afterwards, I went to the Labor and Immigration panel, which I thought would be interesting for the purpose of this project. A student at Grand Valley gave a presentation about his investigation of the treatment of Mexican Labor in the U.S. Most of the information he presented I had already known, but he raised several points that I would like to mention here. The treatment of migrant workers is connected to immigration and reflects the way the United States views others, specifically Mexicans and people from Latin America. The United States has the ability to hire workers from other countries, such as Mexico during a "time of need" and then make them leave when they no longer need them anymore (See post about the Bracero Program!). In other words, the government has the ability to control  when they want workers and when the don't.  Although they are not U.S. citizens, they essentially have no rights in this country, yet they can be punished and deported when the government chooses to do so. This raises questions about who is and who is not a part of a community, which sheds light on the Immigration debate and who the United States allows into this country. Even more, who they allow into the country and for what reasons.

Something the United States needs to realize is that they stole this land from the Native Americans and Mexican peoples who resided here before they immigrated. They were the aliens of this land. 

Slavery Still Exists!!

An organization that has made efforts for farm worker rights is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in Florida. Their efforts include building strength “as a community on a basis of reflection and analysis, constant attention to coalition-building across ethnic divisions, and an ongoing investment in leadership development to help our members continually develop their skills in community education and organization” (CIW). CIW have made a difference through various campaigns, including the Anti-Slavery Campaign, and their Campaigns for Fair Food, which has included boycotts of major fast-food corporations, such as Taco Bell and McDonalds. Their efforts of organizing and campaigning have raised public awareness of the exploitation and injustice of farm workers in the United States. 

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/help_end_modern_day_slavery/

The story of the Immokalee Workers in Immokalee, Florida only brushes the surface of the modern-day slavery that exists in the agricultural industry. In 2008, one of the largest slavery prosecutions was brought to the public's attention in Southwest Florida. Mexican and Guatemalan workers were found to have been held in involuntary servitude, where they did not receive money for their work and were beaten if they tried to leave. The Coalition of Immokalee workers has brought attention to modern-day slavery through their Anti-Slavery campaign. As an organization of Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants, the Coalition of Immokalee workers "helps to fight this crime by uncovering, investigating and assisting in the federal slavery rings preying on hundreds of farmworkers" (CIW). 


Why should you care about Immokalee Workers? If you care about the lives of people, you should care about people who are enslaved. Most people do not know about the lives of migrant workers and their experiences and even more, people are not aware that slavery still exists today. In order to address the various problems migrant farmworkers face, we need to end slavery in the United States. Problems of forced labor without pay and inhumane living and work conditions should be enough reasons to create the change that is desperately needed for farmworkers. Systems of oppression, including Patriarchy and Capitalism need to be dismantled in order to address these problems since they are the root of the inequality and injustice that exists today. They allow slavery to continue. 




To hear the story of the Immokalee Workers in their own words watch this video.

Let's get talking about migrant workers rights!

Many Americans think that farmworkers come to the United States to take the jobs of Americans. How many people would actually take the job of picking fruit for 10-12 hours a day in the stifling heat for a small piece-rate? In order to find out, the United Farm Workers labor union has initiated a campaign called "Take Our Jobs", where individuals can sign up to replace the hardworking people in the fields. For more information or to sign up, go here. Would you take the job of a farmworker for a day?

Back in September, Stephen Colbert from Comedy Central testified before the .U.S. Congress. Through humor, Colbert raised several issues regarding migrant farmworkers in America. After spending a day as a farmworker, he expressed the horrendous conditions farmworkers face and urged Congress to act now. Read more. 

Pesticides: A deadly weapon

Source: http://coloradofarmworkers.com/RTF1.cfm?pagename=Legal%20Rights%20of%20Farm%20Workers

I first started researching about harmful chemicals and toxins after learning about Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The U.S. military and government weaponized harmful chemicals, like Agent Orange, to use for mass destruction during the Vietnam War. The U.S. government continues to condone the usage of these harmful chemicals in food production, which puts the laborers (i.e. farmworkers) at risk. The health of farm workers is most affected by handling pesticides and herbicides directly or handling the fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed. Exposure to pesticides is particularly important for women  and women who may become pregnant. Chemicals in the bodies of women end up also in the bodies of fetuses and their newborn babies. Pesticide exposure has been linked to birth defects and is evident in the case of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. 

While working this summer, a co-worker of mine, whose family were migrant workers told me about a horrific experience she had dealing with pesticides. She recalls being in the fields with her family members as they worked. Although she was only a few years old, she remembers distinctly seeing the airplane fly over her, her family and the other workers, covering the fields with harmful chemicals. The next day she awoke crying with both eyes swollen shut. The pesticide exposure had affected her eyes and she was rushed to the hospital. As a grown woman today she told me how lucky she is to have her vision, but also how traumatizing the experience was for her mother and the rest of her family. Listening to her story made me realize how many farm workers out there are exposed to harmful chemicals in the pesticides and herbicides that are sprayed on crops and what health issues have affected them, including blindness, respiratory and skin problems, and even death.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, chemical exposures of agricultural workers is one of the most significant environmental hazards affecting human health in the U.S and “farmworkers suffer up to 300,000 acute illness and injuries from exposure to pesticides” (EPA, 3). Even more, federal laws and regulations do not ensure that farmworkers are protected. Although companies are required to label the pesticide’s contents, including the active ingredient and warnings about the product, farmworkers do not have access to the label and thus, are not informed about its hazards. They are not always provided the protective care and safety that are needed when handling different pesticides and given adequate field sanitation, such as toilets, clean drinking water and handwashing facilities. These basic sanitation facilities do not have to be provided on small farms where there are 10 or fewer workers with the current regulations. In other words, basic sanitation facilities do not have to be provided where 10 farmworkers are working. The importance of the health and well-being of farmworkers is extremely revealing. 

The following video explains more about pesticides and the experiences of  migrant farm workers in North Carolina, where 62 billion pounds of pesticides are applied each year. Watch here.

Child Labor in Our Backyards

Last year about this time, an ABC News Investigation exposed the lives of migrant workers on television. In their investigations they found children as young as 5 years old working in the fields of North Carolina, New Jersey and Michigan. Particularly, young children were discovered in the Adkin Blue Ribbon Company in South Haven, Michigan, one of the largest blueberry companies. The company supplies blueberries to Walmart and Kroger supermarket chains. 

Although agriculture is one of the most dangerous occupations, the current laws in the United States actually allow children as young as 12 years old to work in the fields.

“Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the legal age to perform most farm work is only 12 if a parent accompanies the working child. Children 12 years or older can work unlimited hours in the fields before or after school hours. U.S. law also allows children working in agriculture to perform hazardous work at 16 - workers in other industries must wait until they are 18” (Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs).

           

So, it is legal for children as young as 12 years to perform back-breaking, dangerous work in the fields 10 to 12 hours a day, but the law doesn’t allow children to work in an air-conditioned office for two hours a day. 

It is estimated that there are 400,000 U.S. children working in the fields. In 1998, the Government Accountability Office estimated that more than 100,000 children and adolescents are injured on farms annually (AFOP).

source: Heather Anderson

“The parents when they allow the children to work on the fields and the crew leaders encourage it, are not doing it to become rich. They are doing it so they can have food on the table.” – Theresa Hendricks, Michigan Migrant Legal Aid, in another video about the investigation.

Migrant farmworkers pick and harvest the fruits and vegetables that are made available to use as consumers, so we can eat and have food on our tables. At the same time, children must work in order to help their parents and family members to make enough money so they have food on their own kitchen table. Does anyone else see what is wrong with this?

For more information on child labor in the fields, please watch more documentary videos listed (see left side).

The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs. Children in the Fields Campaign. Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, 2009. Print.

Migrant and Seasonal Workers in Michigan

The following information is from the Report on the Conditions of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in Michigan by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. 

*Michigan is the nation’s 4^th largest employer of migrant farmworkers. Most of the migrant workers in Michigan are of Mexican descent but come from either Texas or Florida.

**In 2006, there was an estimated total of 90,716 seasonal farmworkers and nonworking family members.

35,148 were migrant farmworkers

10,652 were seasonal farmworkers

33,671 non-farmworkers (family members) in migrant homes

11,245 non-farmworkers (family members) in seasonal farmworker homes

41,038 individuals of both migrant and seasonal farmworker homes were under the age of 20.

38% of Michigan’s agricultural crops are dependent on hand-harvesting or processing.

West Michigan in particular is known as the “Fruit Belt” for its plethora of various different fruits. According to William Knudson from Michigan State University’s Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, in 2006 the total economic value generation by Michigan’s farm sectors as $6.69 billion and the crops that relied on migrant labor accounted for almost 58% of the total economic activity. It is evident that Michigan relies on migrant workers to harvest and pick the variety of fruits and vegetables that make this state a unique area for farming.  

*Knudson, William A. The Impact of Migrant Farmworkers on Michigan Agriculture. July 2006. Working Paper. MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, East Lansing.

**A Report on the Conditions of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in Michigan. Rep. Michigan Civil Rights Commission, Mar. 2010. Web. <http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdcr/MSFW-Conditions2010_318275_7.pdf>.

Who are the Farmworkers in the United States today?

These findings are from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), which is administered by the Department of Labor. The information was collected from October 1, 2000 and September 30, 2002 through face-to-face interviews. 6,472 interviews were conducted with farm crop workers in the United States. This report includes all types of farm crop workers, including migrants. Migrants are defined as having “to travel at least 75 miles during a 12-month period to a obtain farm job” (NWAS, 2001)

Due to the mobility of migrant workers, they are a difficult population to research. But it is estimated that there are over 3 million migrant and seasonal farm workers in the U.S.

•  23% of all hired crop farm workers were born in the U.S.

• 75% were born in Mexico & 2% in Central American countries.

• 25% were U.S. citizens, while 21% were legal permanent residents.

• 42% of all hired crop farm workers were migrants.

• The average age of crop workers in 2001-2002 was 33.

• 79% of those surveyed were male.

• 58% were married and 51% were parents who reported having an average of 2 children.

• The mean highest grade completed was the seventh grade.

• Spanish was the primary native language spoken (81%).

• The average number of hours per week was 42 hours and the average hourly earnings was $7.25. Those who were with their employers for one year or less averaged $6.75 per hour.

• 58% of farm workers lived in housing renter from someone other than their employer, while 21% living in housing that was supplied by their employer (17% = free of charge, 4%= pays rent)

• 30% of all farm workers had family incomes below poverty

It is important to understand that this survey was conducted by the Department of Labor and includes workers of “seasonal agricultural services”, which is a term used by the Department of Agriculture to describe workers who perform “field work”. The sample data does not include workers of poultry, livestock, fisheries, secretaries, mechanics or H-2A foreign temporary workers.

Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey 2001-2002: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United Farm Workers. Rep. Mar. 2005. Department of Labor. 4 Dec. 2009 <http://www.doleta.gov/agworker/report9/naws_rpt9.pdf>.

Not a New Phenomenon

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/photos/59660532.html?c=y&page=7

Most people are not aware of the presence of migrant workers in our communities and thus, they are unaware of their experiences and the work they contribute to the U.S. economy. The truth is migrant workers are not a new phenomenon in the United States. In fact, our country has been employing immigrants and has relied on their labor for years. The Bracero Program was created in 1942 that relied on Mexican workers. The program was created for the purpose of filling a domestic labor shortage during America’s involvement in World War II (Morgan, 127). It was a bilateral agreement between the United States and Mexico to bring Mexican men to the United States to work as temporary workers in the fields and railroads. They encouraged by both governments of the United States and Mexico to take the temporary jobs and thousands participated. In fact, during the 22 years that the program was in place, between 4 and 6 million Mexican workers came to the U.S. to work. Under the original agreement of the Bracero Program, the contract was between the worker and the United States government (Morgan, 129). Specifically, it was the Department of Labor that administered the program and required that the workers were paid at least minimum wage. The workers were also to be provided with other benefits under the contract, such as housing and transportation. Although many men came to escape poverty, it was evident that they were a source of cheap labor for the United States. It has been known that the government withheld 10% of the workers pay, which was deducted out of their paychecks as a way of enforced savings. It was believed that this money would be returned to the workers once they returned to Mexico. However, to this day the braceros are still waiting to see their earned money (FVIE).

Although the program was implemented to fill a labor shortage during World War II in the United States, it underwent many changes to keep a flow of Mexican workers coming. Under Public Law 78, the workers no longer contracted with U.S. government, but rather with the growers directly. According to Morgan, “the U.S. was not responsible for contract fulfillment, a minimum hourly wage was not set, and no unemployment payment was available” (Morgan, 130). Since the braceros were no longer contracted with the government, it was the responsibility of the farmers/growers to follow regulations. However, with this grower-worker contract, the working conditions of the braceros greatly deteriorated. In a documentary produced by CBS entitled, “Harvest of Shame”, the horrible working conditions of migrant workers were revealed to the American public. Reactions were strong and the concern for migrant workers in the United States led to the descent of the Bracero Program in the 1960’s. Though it is not to say that migrant workers stopped coming to the United States to work. Migrants continue to travel to and throughout the United states for work, and it is important to understand that not all migrant workers are “illegal” or citizens outside of the United States. Many are in fact U.S. citizens.

Morgan, Kristi L. "Evaluating Guest Worker Programs in the U.S.: A Comparison of the Bracero Program and President Bush's Proposed Immigration reform Plan." Berkeley La Raza Law Journal (2004): 125-44. Print.

Los Braceros: Strong Arms to Aide the U.S. Prod. Corita Gravitt. KVIE Public            Television.<http://www.kvie.org/programs/kvie/viewfinder/braceros/default.htm>.

About this blog

Do you know where your food comes from? Migrant workers and immigrants are the backbone of production in the food industry in the United States. They butcher your meat, pick your fruit and vegetables, and can or package your food. Most Americans do not consider how their food was produced or where it came from. Most do not know or think about the conditions endured by laborers to provide their food. The lives of migrant workers have been hidden from the public and for this reason, most people are unaware of their experiences as migrant workers in the United States.

As a project for my Women, Health and Environment course, this blog will serve as a way of educating its readers about the experiences of migrant workers. I envision this space to be a place to discuss the various issues of health and the environment in regards to the experiences of migrant workers particularly in Michigan but also throughout the United States. I hope through this blog people will begin to discuss issues surrounding the experiences of migrant workers and how we are all affected by their lives. As one of the most exploited and disadvantage groups in America, as citizens we need to shed light on their lives that have been hidden from the public for years. I hope readers will be affected in ways that will inspire them to take action wherever they are to better the lives of migrant workers and to move towards a more sustainable, equal and just society, where workers and the land are not exploited for the mere means of profit.