First, I would like to thank Abby for outlining so much
of the farmworker context in her blog post.
As someone who is committed to working in solidarity with farmworker
communities to bring awareness and action on issues faced by farmworkers, I’m
always glad to see other folks starting conversations about farmworker justice.
Farmworkers are among the most invisible communities
within the US, despite the fact that they provide each of us with an essential
service – providing the food we consume every day. As Abby illustrated, and many of you
mentioned in your responses, the capitalist system is built upon the
exploitation of certain groups of people.
This is certainly true in our current agricultural system, where farmworkers
bear the brunt of numerous intersecting social systems – especially race and
class – that cause harm to farmworkers mentally, physically, and
emotionally.
As an outcome of these intersecting systems, farmworkers
face many barriers to accessing services and realizing their rights. Potential barriers include: immigration
status, not speaking English or speaking English as a second (or third)
language, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, low-economic capital,
low formal education levels, and transitory status. Due to these barriers, farmworkers often find
themselves in exploitative or harmful situations with little institutional
support.
These barriers are the reason Farmworker Legal Services (FLS)
exists. FLS is a legal aid office based
in Kalamazoo that provides free and confidential legal services to migrant and
seasonal farmworkers across the state of Michigan. In addition to the legal work that the FLS attorneys
conduct, FLS also has an active outreach program through which we try to locate
and connect with as many farmworkers and their families as possible. Due to the nature of farmwork, in addition to
the intent of many growers to “hide” their employees, farmworker housing is often
very isolated and difficult to locate.
Throughout the growing season, FLS staff and interns visit camps four
nights a week – speaking with workers about any concerns or issues they might
be experiencing, as well as sharing our informational resources.
One resource that I invite you all to look through before
class on Thursday is the FLS
Calendar. This calendar is the base
of all our outreach because it provides detailed information about farmworker
rights in both Spanish and English. As
you look through the calendar, are there any pages that stick out to you? Why?
Do you see anything that surprises you?
Once FLS has made contact with a worker who has a
question or concern, we begin to investigate their situation and develop a
strategy about how to address their issue.
The strategy depends on each client’s specific situation and might
include a legal process like making a housing complaint to the MI Department of
Agricultural and Rural Development or bring a case to trial, or it might simply
mean referring them to another agency, such as Intercare (a community health
care organization) or the Department of Health and Human Services (for help
receiving food stamps, child care and other public benefits), and then
following-up to make sure they have received the necessary help. As I will discuss more in-depth with you
during Thursday’s session, FLS handles a wide-range of cases. For some context on types of issues FLS deals
with, please take a look at this Michigan
Radio report about migrant housing conditions and this just released WMUK
Radio report on a current FLS case regarding whether the minimum wage will
continue to cover farmworkers. I’d love
to hear your thoughts on these two reports.
While farmworkers are often invisible to much of the
greater US, they are actively organizing and fighting for their rights. This article, “Farm
Workers Are Taking On Poor Pay And Conditions — And Winning,” highlights
some of the successful work of farmworker organizers around the country. Have you heard about any these examples
before? Why might be some reasons they
have been successful and what could we learn from their efforts?
Additionally, here are some other of innovative ways that
try to address abuses against farmworkers. Fair Food Standards Council
and Food Justice
Certification are two organizations/coalitions that encourage farmers to become
certified as ”just” employers, meaning that their products were raised/harvested
in ways that protect the dignity and rights of farmworkers. What do you think of these programs? To what extent do you think they are effective
in changing the culture of exploitation around farmworkers?
Finally, I just want to include these two articles for
you to read because I think they give some interesting perspectives on farmwork
– “How
the produce aisle looks to a migrant farmworker” and “What's
it like to be a migrant farmworker?”
Please bring any and all questions, thoughts, and reactions you have
to our meeting Thursday - I’m looking forward to talking with you all
then!
In the last few weeks in this class, I’ve been fascinated to learn more about farmworkers in the United States. Before, it’s been easy for me to forget all of the people that contribute to my food other than the white men who drive tractors (who, as we know, have problems of their own). Humans are separated from their food not only by machines, but also by other people. However, as the piece from “The World” discusses, the people who pick the food are alienated from it by inaccessible prices.
ReplyDeleteThe organizations working to create standards for farmworker treatment are interesting, and I hope they can be applied productively! Ideally, these certifications should be affordable and reasonable for farmers to obtain. They make me think of certain organic certifications that are inaccessible to small farms, due to a high cost of entry or other barriers. This might not be an issue at a small scale, however. Smaller farms are less likely to hire non-local workers, so these abuses are probably less common. I think the farm worker driven initiatives are encouraging; I’d love to learn more about how I can be in solidarity with them!
I’m very excited to hear more about what you do with Farmworker Legal Services, Mariah! (Side note: I really enjoyed your talk at the Community Reflection last week.) As I alluded to earlier, it’s not something with which I have a lot of familiarity. I’m curious about not only what FLS does, but also how it funds that work. The work and advocacy provided is undoubtedly important, but I’m sure it’s very expensive. What can be changed, within FLS and our culture as a whole, to better serve the farmworkers? How do we protect the rights of all residents of the United States? Most of all, though, I’m excited to hear your views on the work you do. Going back to the Reflection on civic engagement—how do you ensure you’re truly working with people?
ReplyDeleteLooking over these articles made me think of last week’s conversation when thought about the role of “skilled” and “unskilled” labor. In this conversation Amy explained to us the difficulty of picking without bruising the fruit. This task, that is in fact, very skilled, is viewed as unskilled because of the pay, and the statue of the workers. What we didn’t go into as much, or what I wasn’t aware of was the speed of this work, which the one article made clear. I also thought it was important that he made clear that that speed determined livelihood. This description of the work, the pain of it, and the pay made me think back to the Reconstruction Era. The history of harvest is so tied to a history of violence. In order for it to change I think that the history needs to be acknowledged and actively challenged instead of solved by finding ways to keep the system going as is. I thought it was very interesting when the article said that machines are being developed as a solution instead of actually, finally, looking at this work as important and treating it as such.
Thanks for pointing us to these articles, Mariah! I'm excited to discuss the work you do with FLS in class tomorrow. As I was reading the articles I was, like Marie, wondering about some of the intricacies of the work, and I found I had quite a few questions: What have been some of the biggest legal wins for FLS, and what impacts (short-term and long-term) have these wins had for farmworkers in Southwest Michigan? How has the organization seen the landscape of the region change over the years, either because of FLS' work or for other reasons? Are more farmworkers reaching out to FLS now than, say, ten years ago? Are the issues that are brought to FLS (ex: unfair pay, poor working/living conditions, discrimination, harassment) consistent across the region, and across time, or do they change drastically over the years and from county to county, or farm to farm? I am also curious to hear about your experience working towards justice/reforms from within the legal system, which is of course (like anything) limited in its reach/scope, both in terms of how issues and identities can be conceptualized/addressed... and maybe also in terms of (en)visioning a more just world. I wonder how the larger/pervasive issues you mentioned-- racism and classism (among others)-- are discussed alongside the more tangible/day-to-day work at FLS, and how FLS does internal processing (structured reflections? ;)) Last, I wonder how the changes in your position (from K student with MiRA working with FLS as a community partner, to working directly for FLS) have shifted your understanding of some of the issues you brought up. Phew! Lots of questions.
ReplyDeleteThe FLS calendar was very interesting to read. Looking over the information, I was thinking about how important it is for all laborers, no matter their field or industry, to have information about their rights and what they can do to advocate for themselves if their employers are not meeting their basic needs on the job. I found the wage differential between the H-2A contractual workers and the Michigan minimum wage particularly interesting as well as the information about child labor and the ACA. The part of the calendar that I found most surprising was the information about deportation raids the suggestion that farmworkers make an emergency plan for their families. I think living under the constant threat of deportation would have an incredible emotional toll on these workers and how complicated decisions are when the livelihoods of their children are involved. It makes me wonder how much of this fear and stress employers are able to capitalize on when engaging in exploitative practices.
ReplyDeleteThe article about "How the produce aisle looks to a migrant farmworker" had me thinking about the push for increased labeling of food, particularly the push for GMO labeling that has been in the news quite a bit recently. I was wondering what kind of an impact labeling of farmworker labor conditions would have on consumers purchasing habits. For example, what if each container of strawberries at Meijer was labeled with the hourly or "per piece" wages of the workers who picked them? What if signage posted at trays of avocados had the words of the workers like Francisco nearby?The logistics of making this happen would be complicated on many levels, but I know as a consumer, having this information at my fingertips would enable me to make more informed choices about what practices my dollars were supporting.
Among the articles that were posted, the one about Seth Holmes was particularly striking to me. Especially I fully agree with his quote, “Our society appears to value certain types of people and certain types of labor more, and it does not appear to value the labor that goes into our food.” I think there are a several reasons for this phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteI think the first and the biggest reason is lack of English speaking ability, or having an accent when they speak English. People value opinions of native English speakers’ more than non-native English speakers’. As a non-native English speaker, I sometimes have the feeling of being looked down on by native English speakers when I speak with my Japanese accent or when I get stuck in the middle of a conversation (luckily, I have never met a person like that at K !). Even though I fully understand what people are saying, sometimes people talk to me as if I am ignorant. I believe other non-native English speakers, including the farm workers, feel the same way. Probably one of the reasons their claims are “unheard” is because people do not listen to the immigrant workers seriously, even if they speak English, believing people with accent are ignorant.
Another reason is that this society values “profession” a LOT! As a person studying biology, I feel that I will not have a job in the future unless I have some sort of professional degree in a certain field of biology. Even things like “plant biology” and “entomology” requires people to have a certain type of education in college, and get trained to become professionals in graduate schools. Peculiarly, however, I often feel that my grandmother, who goes outside and actually touch the plants as her daily routine, knows more than I do about plants, even though I took a lot of related courses in college. Book study requires a certain skill and is definitely important in certain situations, but we should also acknowledge that we should never look down on people who are actually learning from doing things (like my grandma and farm workers). Sometimes, they are more skilled and smarter than people who had “proper” education.
It is so interesting to me to see how the discussions in this class have overlapped! I think Abby's post really set us up well for this discussion. Hearing the stories of the horrible living conditions and wages of these migrant workers is incredibly upsetting, but as one of the articles mentions, maybe the most upsetting thing is how little attention this issue is given. We have hear a lot about buying local and organic (which of course is important) but at least from my own experience there has been very little public attention given to the people who bring this food to our supermarkets. Organizations like this are vital to improving the working conditions for these workers and I am so happy we will get the chance to hear from you so we can better understand these conditions and help spread the word! My question is, what can we do to bring more light to this issue
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all of these links Mariah!
ReplyDeleteWith summer approaching I know that hundreds of farmworkers are making their way to Michigan in the coming weeks and as a consumer I hope to have the opportunity to make conscious food choices while purchasing produce.
Aya’s comment about accents and language as a barrier is one I agree with, especially watching my parents struggle to cover up their accents and the embarrassment that they have learned to brush away even in positions much more privileged than farmworkers/migrant workers. Various school districts in Michigan are making Spanish a requirement in elementary and middle school and I find that this is a small step to removing this barrier. With that said, not all farmworkers speak Spanish and language is a barrier that exists beyond Spanish and English.
I found the two websites that are working for just farmworker intervention and resources interesting. I was able to dig around the Fair Foods Standard Council website and found that I could not access the code of conduct. I was hoping to click on this link to learn more about what organizations are doing for sexual safety support. The articles shared last week talked about sexual assault among farmworkers, and exposed how difficult it is to find support and for women to feel like they could share their experiences. I hope we can get into this issue tomorrow and looking forward to class discussion!
Thanks for all this great information, Mariah! This issue is really close to my heart. What strikes me in reading the calendar is the need to spell out things like it's your right to get paid for the hours you work, to have access to drinking water and toilets, and to not be abused--things that you'd think would be just part of human decency. But since our economic system thrives on exploitation, it's really important to have advocates like FLS working to make sure that workers know their rights and are able to access them. The other thing that strikes me is how difficult it must be for a migrant worker to navigate some of these legal systems. The section on unemployment rights especially brought that to light for me, since I've been on temporary unemployment and navigating the unemployment benefit system was a nightmare. How much more difficult it must be for someone whose first language may not be English and who may not have someone to help them through this process as I did.
ReplyDeleteI especially enjoyed Seth Holmes' article. I'd love to see more stories like this hit the mainstream press and in more depth, since I think if we could make the stories of farmworkers more visible, perhaps more people would start to question as Seth does whether their food purchases are enabling the exploitation of farmworkers.
Which brings me to the part of this issue that makes me squirm a bit. Because I could then go on to say that the answer is to buy from small local farmers like me rather than larger operations who use migrant labor. Except that I'm also engaging (albeit voluntarily) in forms of exploitation. Things get muddy here, but I want to try to be clear. I set my own hours, I have access to clean water and a toilet, and I try not to sexually harass myself at work. I'm choosing to engage in agriculture and I'm choosing the way I'm doing it. I'm not equating my situation with that of the majority of farmworkers in the U.S. And yet--I don't get paid for the hours I spend growing produce. In the past 5 years of this business, my costs of operation (sans labor costs) have pretty much equaled the money coming in. So I haven't lost money, but I haven't collected any wages either. And running this business requires lots of personal sacrifices--in my health, my relationships, my enjoyment of other interests besides agriculture. You might say this is because I'm a bad businessperson (that might be true) or because I haven't adopted larger mechanized systems that would allow my to scale up my production (also true, but that would land me in debit as well and then I'd be paying off loans rather than paying myself).
It seems to me that our current agricultural system would collapse without a certain number of exploited bodies functioning to hold it up. Whether those bodies are migrant workers from other countries seeking jobs and opportunities in the U.S. or impassioned U.S. farmers trying to make a difference in their local foodshed, we need to change this system somehow. We need an agriculture that doesn't break bodies, that makes them stronger and healthier and richer. Part of this change, I think, will require more individual energy put toward food, whether it's people putting more of their salaries towards buying food or more people putting more of their physical energy toward growing food. That's one reason that I'm going to try to encourage some of my CSA members to grow a few more of their own plants this year and also to come and help me out on the farm every now and then.
I was also most stuck by the interview with Seth Holmes, and agree with Amy that a more in depth and frequent exploration of these issues in the press is necessary to shed light on consumer's choices. His conclusion is a bit sad, because in some ways it's true that to mechanize the labor system would take away some of the difficulty and the brokenness of bodies, yet we know that these people would never stay in the circumstances they are in if they weren't in dire straights. In this case, replacing them with machines makes them even worse off.
ReplyDeleteI'm inspired by the various organizations and cases that are winning ground, but like others I continue to be indignant about the magnitude of a $.01/lb increase in wages. I understand of course that corporate contracts are hard to bargain against and that it is their prerogative to reduce costs wherever possible to make money. Still, this level of exploitation just seems to so reinforce the flawed ideals of our agricultural and dietary values. It seems to me that so many labels use their "organic" status as a brand equity ploy that allows them to charge artificially high prices, often existing with many of the same injustices but seeming like a more moral choice to the consumer seeking to "buy out" of the mass-agriculture system. In this sense, higher prices are realized as profits to the producer and are not typically passed along to the farm hands doing the actual work, so the choices may instead be when to refrain from consumption and when to take action aimed at changing the system. While small and local growers do seem to be popping up, I don't think we can reasonably rely on good people like Amy to supply all of our food and help us sleep peacefully at night. The hours are ridiculously long and the worrying that comes with small-scale farming is unparalleled, and reoccurring each year at times like this when the rains just keep coming, or later when they stop altogether. Many farmers are not in a position to choose not to take wages, and our choices and prices paid reflect our value of that work. In kind, so does our willingness to become physically involved, rather than leaving food production (both produce and meat production) to some foreign ,out-of-sight and out-of mind-entity, never bothering to realize that a carrot is a root or that potatoes have plant parts.
With regard to the Huffington Post article, I was pleased to learn of the success of worker-centric organizations like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. I feel that many of the issues facing farm workers require work from everyone involved in the agricultural industry, individual consumers, producers and food retailers alike. The inclusion of “corporate giants” working together with conscientious consumers with the “workers at the center of it” is key to the success of programs like the Fair Food Program. As I have said before, I feel that there needs to be a cultural shift in what is valued for any real change to occur to our agricultural system. Valuing the rights of farm workers, the people who work directly with our food, is a key part of that necessary cultural shift. However, I do not know that these programs in themselves are effective in changing the culture of exploitation around farmworkers, rather they are a reflection of the changing culture itself. In order to change the beliefs of others, one cannot hope to succeed by merely attempting to change attitudes through information. Education is key, however behavior is what controls attitudes, not the other way around. If we desire change in the agricultural system, we must work to get individuals to change their behavior surrounding matters of food and farm worker rights.
ReplyDeleteFor most of my life I have quite ignorant of farmers rights and working conditions in America. This has changed in recent years as my peers have brought it to my attention. My qualms with the agriculture industry have been less fixated on the rights of the workers but more of the responsibility for our environment. Though my perspectives in this matter have not changed much, I now believe that our responsibility extends to the workers who are actually working in our fields and growing our food. My time in Thailand gave me a closer look at how farmers can be taken advantage of by the very practices that I feel already need to change. Giving the farm workers a voice really could be a great step in the right direction for reform. I don't think that many people would be able to inelegantly argue against fair wages and protection for our growers who we rely on. Their voice needs to be heard so that people can access their stories and hear them. These organizations seem to be union-like. This can give the workers a lot of power especially if they are unable to communicate or if a single voice is hard to make a difference. It creates a more public conversation space and gives power to underprivileged people. The progress of these organizations is promising but not enough yet. I am excited to see what comes of them and to hear more about their successes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing us with these important resources, Mariah. I’m glad we’re dedicating more time to this complex topic. When reading the shared articles, the issue of perspective (and whether that perspective was privileged or not) was continually apparent. Each of the people/populations that were interviewed or discussed understood farmworker rights, well-beings, and justice through the lens of their position in this system. This positional understanding seems tempered by both access to accurate and complete information as well as ability to distance oneself from the exploitation and marginalization incurred by farmworkers (read privilege). Indeed, the farmworkers assisted by Farmworker Legal Services, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and other coalitions/organizations might understand farmworker justice (both problems and solutions) differently than those farmworkers who do not have access to informational documents/resources like the FLS calendar. Likewise, consumers may have incomplete or inaccurate information about from where their food products are sourced; those who have access to food that is labelled “just” (or know what that label means) may approach farmworker justice (again, problems and solutions) differently. This unevenness of information might be something that can be remedied.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the ways we understand/interact with farmworker justice as determined by our positionality/privilege isn’t something that can be erased with pamphlets, flyers, and news articles; the writers at The World are able to recount a man’s painful and dangerous efforts picking produce and then frame his job as romanticized artistry (that isn’t to say that Francisco’s work isn’t skilled); some of us can “walk away” from this issue. Yet, I think our different positions can be of service to justice work. As we’ve discussed in previous classes, our diverse interests, talents, and positions of power might give us all a place to act. Motivation to pursue that justice (which often necessitates sacrifice, uncomfortability, or change), however, poses an obstacle to acting on these opportunities.
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ReplyDeleteHi Mariah! Thank you so much bringing this issue to our attention and the important work of the Farmworker Legal Services. When thinking of the conditions of the migrant farmworkers in our country I often think about another class I am taking currently which is Slavery and Resistance. The class covers Slavery and Resistance to it before the start of the Civil War. What concerns me so greatly is that the conditions of the farmworkers reminds me in part of the conditions of slaves in this country. Migrant farmworkers too face violence, separation from their families, wages that are difficult to survive on, poor living conditions. Though, there are obvious differences between the lives of the slaves and the Migrant farmworkers I believe the similarities are really important to pay attention to. In the United States, we are taught to buy into the rhetoric of progressive occurring as time passes. The conditions of farmworkers in addition to the prison industrial complex pokes major holes in this conception of progress as it illuminates how the control of bodies to perform labor continues today and in violent and deadly manners. It makes me feel even more (as we have discussed in the class) that both legal and societal change has to happen. I think the work of the Farmworkers Legal Services is wonderful and necessary but I am curious to what ideas outside of law you have for helping farmworkers? I think addressing the issue using both the legal and nonlegal routes would be most powerful. I am curious to what ties if any the Farmworker Legal services has with other nonlegal organizations and what type of collaborations they do?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am truly left with mixed feelings; I am not sure whether I should cry or be hopeful. It was particularly hard to read the Michigan Radio Report and see the pictures of the inhumane living conditions many migrant farmworkers have lived in or are currently living in. Four walls don’t make a home, especially when the walls are falling apart on you. The last thing one needs after a long day of breaking one’s back is a house reminding you how literally dirt poor you are. It also makes truly winding down almost impossible, because what should be thoughtless chores become extra work. I think that’s what why the section called “When you job ends” caught my eye first in the FLS calendar. When you live in a house that run-down, even showering is a laborious task. When your work becomes your life, what kind of hope do you have left? Thankfully there is hope in the organizations, coalitions and legal aid offices like FLS that are turning the tide of injustice. I just hope change will come sooner than later and that by being advocates, watching what we eat and by lending a hand to these organizations, we can resurrect the ghost of Cesar Chavez.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all of the research you have provided the thirsting minds of the class that strives to make our food system a better place. Thank you, too, for coming in to discuss these issues more in-depth and with anecdotal evidence that will stick with us for long enough to hopefully do something about it! What an informative day in class – keep doing what you’re doing!
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your first question, this calendar is a bomb idea. Whomever came up with it deserves a hearty thank you and a pat on the back. The format is legible, practical, inviting, and useful. I hope these have reached the people for whom they would be the most beneficial. The titles that stick out to me as I’m scrolling through are the “Your health in the field” and “when your job ends”. I’m fascinated by the legislation that has been put in place to protect workers in these areas (and deeply saddened by the need that arose to get such legislation passed – even more so by the idea that these need to be broken down and provided to workers because the legislation is not working as it should).
Alas, I have not heard much about the farmworkers who are risking it all (almost literally) to take on poor pay and conditions, but I also don’t feel like this is the first time I have heard about the movement, either. Articles and news like this really challenges the ignorant idea that migratory workers are non-autonomous and a victim of their circumstances. There is power in numbers and organization, as these men and women demonstrate, and we can absolutely serve to be reminded of that.