Farm Workers

“It tears you apart mentally and physically”: The Health Crisis Afflicting Black Farmers

Farm Workers, Health & Safety / By max cyril

At 43 and 45 years old, husband and wife farmers Angie and Wenceslaus Provost, Jr., hope they live to see age 70. They don’t fear terminal illness or a farm accident that could consign them to an early grave. Instead, they fear stress could do them in. Years of trying to protect family land from encroaching banks and government agencies have worn …

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Historic heat wave highlights the need for farmworker protections

Leave a Comment / Agriculture, Climate Change, Farm Workers, workplace safety / By max cyril

Summer heat is a danger for farmworkers every year, with heat deaths happening steadily. But with climate change and heat waves like the one that hit the Pacific Northwest in recent weeks becoming more frequent, the need for legal protections for farmworkers is becoming more urgent. At least one worker died during that heat wave. California farmworkers have a right to shade when …

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For Farmworkers, the Fight for the 8-Hour Day Isn’t Over

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, immigration, Uncategorized / By max cyril

Federal labor laws exclude farmworkers from overtime pay and other protections. After years of advocacy by farm labor groups, lawmakers in Oregon, Washington and Colorado are working to change that. Oregon state Rep. Ricki Ruiz grew up the son of two farmworkers, and he remembers his family’s struggles vividly. “We almost faced eviction five times because …

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How the Covid Land Rush Is Hurting New Farmers

Leave a Comment / Agriculture, economy, Farm Workers, Rural America, Uncategorized / By max cyril

The pandemic has inspired city dwellers and investors to buy land in rural areas. That’s driving up farmland prices and pushing some beginning farmers out of the market. Abel Dowden, age 20, grew up on his family’s beef farm in the Missouri Ozarks. He just got married and is ready to start his own farm. Dowden …

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Texas and Florida, Defying CDC Guidance, Aren’t Prioritizing Vaccination of Farmworkers

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, Pandemic / By max cyril

Despite Centers for Disease Control recommendations, a few states with large farmworker populations have not prioritized Covid-19 vaccinations for farmworkers. Because farmworkers risk Covid-19 exposure in the course of their jobs, the CDC proposed that they should be near the front of the vaccination line. But Texas and Florida, which have large farmworker populations, have not included farmworkers in their initial rollouts, …

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Toiling in the Marijuana Fields

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, Legal Cannabis / By max cyril

Working People is excited to announce that, along with our ongoing partnership with In These Times magazine, we are now partnered with The Real News Network in Baltimore! In this episode, we sit down with Justin Whittaker for the first part of an ongoing series of interviews where we’ll be talking to workers on all sides of the marijuana industry?—?in states …

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How the Deep Roots of Farm Labor Solidarity Helped Wisconsin Survive the Pandemic

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, unions / By max cyril

When Covid-19 forced Wisconsin to shut down in late March last year, supply shocks to the agricultural industry delivered a staggering blow to family farmers, many of whom have long teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Decades of consolidation and monopolization have made the industry inflexible to changes in demand brought about by school, restaurant and commercial closures. Processing …

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How Decades of Local Activism Led to the Biggest Dam Removal Deal In U.S. History

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, labor / By max cyril

“The Klamath River is the center of our traditions, culture and community, and has always been the centerpiece of our way of life,” says Frankie Myers, vice-chairperson for the Yurok Tribe. “We are connected to the salmon in a really deep way, and there is a belief that their existence is our existence.” The Yurok people …

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HOW FARMWORKERS IN MICHIGAN ARE FIGHTING FOR LABOR RIGHTS AND RESPECT

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, labor, Uncategorized / By max cyril

On December 6, 2020, a federal judge heard arguments on a motion to dismiss in Reyes-Trujillo v. Four Star Greenhouse, a case brought by a group of farmworkers alleging wage and hour violations against the greenhouse company where they worked. The case illustrates why a strong Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) joint employment standard is critical …

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Will the Supreme Court Overrule Farmworker Union Rights?