Farmworker Justice and the United Farm Workers Foundation comments to USDA on how to advance racial justice

How can the U.S. Department of Agriculture advance racial justice, equity, and support for underserved communities?

The agency is collecting comments on that question, and a recent comment was submitted to the agency from Farmworker Justice and the United Farm Workers Foundation.

Here is an excerpt from their comments:

"We applaud the Administration’s commitment, set forth in Executive Order 13985, to addressing the entrenched disparities in our laws and public policies, as well as our public and private institutions, that have denied equal opportunity to underserved individuals and communities. We write to emphasize that, for USDA, such a commitment requires a focus on the challenges and concerns of the roughly 2.4 million farmworkers who labor on our nation’s farms and ranches.

The Department’s Request recognizes that too many American communities have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of the nation’s economic, social, and civic life. It lists several groups that have faced such adversity: “Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.” 

Almost every farmworker in the country falls into at least one—if not more—of these underserved categories, and in many cases, their status as agricultural workers exacerbate other existing patterns of discrimination.

The history of agricultural labor in the United States is a history of racism, beginning with the era of slavery and persisting to this day. For example, the racism that pervaded the agricultural sector during the Jim Crow era remains enshrined in our modern labor laws. During the “New Deal” period of labor reforms in the 1930s, President Roosevelt and his allies obtained the support of southern congressmen by excluding farmworkers and domestic workers from key labor protections. Members of Congress at the time were explicit that they did not believe Black people deserved the same wage protections as white people. 

The exclusion of farmworkers from key labor protections was wrong then, when most farmworkers were Black, and it is wrong now, when an estimated four out of every five farmworkers are Hispanic/Latino.

Many farmworkers also experience serious harms because of our country’s broken immigration system. More than three-quarters of farmworkers are immigrants, mostly people of color from Mexico as well as other nations. More than half are undocumented or here on precarious temporary work visas. Without permanent legal status, these workers are vulnerable to employer exploitation and abuse. Every time an undocumented worker bravely chooses to speak up about dangerous conditions or unfair treatment, she risks retaliation in the form of deportation. 
And when workers do challenge unfair practices, they generally find that they have little recourse. For the most part, the federally funded legal aid programs which have been designated to provide legal services to indigent farmworkers are prohibited from representing undocumented immigrants.

It is no coincidence that the denial of equal labor protections in agriculture and the infliction of harm on agricultural workers through our nation’s broken immigration system affect a population that is predominantly people of color. 

Approximately one-third of farmworkers report family incomes below the poverty line. As a result of their poverty, many farmworkers live in substandard homes in crowded conditions.

Further, many farmworkers experience food insecurity, unable to access or afford the fruits and vegetables they harvest. And despite living in poverty, many farmworkers’ immigration status denies them access to benefits that can support their health and well-being, such as SNAP or Medicaid.

Mortality among agricultural workers due to climate change is yet another indicator of socioeconomic and health disparities in agriculture. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that compared to all other civilian occupations, crop workers are 20 times more likely to die of heat-related causes, and the majority of these deaths occur among immigrant workers.

Given the nature of agricultural work, farm workers are on the frontlines of exposure to extreme temperatures and wildfires, and they lack refuge from the elements. This year, as temperatures rose to well over 100 degrees in the West and the Plains, the recommendations of state and local officials to stay indoors and seek climate-controlled spaces stood in sharp contrast with the reality of farmworkers, who were performing strenuous work under scorching temperatures.

Moreover, some farmworkers are paid for what they produce, not by hour. These piece rate wages create a perverse incentive for workers to push the body beyond what it is meant to endure, as taking necessary breaks for water or rest means lost income.

Informed by this outreach, other concrete actions that USDA could take to respond to the needs of farmworker communities include:

• Prioritize programs, policies, funding and research that address the needs, conditions, and aspirations of farmworkers.
• Ensure that farmworkers and their organizations receive funding to help address the COVID pandemic and the devastating impact it has had on farmworkers and their communities.
• Coordinate with other relevant agencies such as EPA, OSHA, and HHS to address the health risks that environmental factors like pesticides, heat stress, and wildfires pose to farmworkers and their families.
• Adopt procurement policies and practices that incentivize better working and living conditions for farmworkers.
• Support legislation that seeks to reform our broken immigration system by providing farmworkers a path to citizenship.
• Support legislation that ends discrimination against farmworkers by ensuring they have equal access to labor protections, and support regulatory policies and actions that implement wage, occupational safety and other protections.
• Support legislation which guarantees farmworkers’ right to engage in collective bargaining.
• Support worker-centered corporate social responsibility projects and promote employers that adopt strong workplace protections and provide farmworkers with a voice at work.

As USDA seeks to transform its approach to vulnerable communities in the agricultural sector, it cannot leave behind the farmworkers who labor on our farms and ranches. It is past time for USDA to recognize farmworkers as the essential stakeholders that they are, responding to their concerns and ensuring that agency programs do not benefit employers at workers’ expense.”

TK: All in all, there are points given that reasonable people should endorse. I especially like the point in the comment about promoting employers who adopt strong workplace protections and provide farm workers with a voice at work. Credit should be given where credit is due.