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>.