From the Economic Policy Institute (http://www.epi.org/):
America’s farmers feed the country and have been designated as “essential” workers who are critical to our country’s infrastructure. But right now half of farmworkers are unauthorized immigrants—with few labor rights or workplace protections, and no access to unemployment insurance, or to the one-time federal payment of $1200.
In addition, according to EPI’s research, nearly two-thirds of farmworkers work on farms with fewer than 50 or more than 500 employees, meaning they might be excluded from new paid leave benefits because of the way the law was written, including legal loopholes for small employers.
EPI research has shown that 10% of farmworkers are migrants employed with H-2A visas; the administration has asserted they are a “national security priority,” but H-2A workers often arrive heavily in debt and are tied to a single employer, which leads to high rates of exploitation and wage theft. They also reside and travel in cramped conditions, which makes physical distancing difficult. NPR reported the administration wants to cut the pay of H-2A farmworkers during the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact that, as EPI research has shown, they are some of the lowest-paid workers in the U.S. labor market.
Join the EPI Policy Center and our allies at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-congress-protect-the-food-chain-during-the-pandemic-our-farmworkers-are-in-danger in telling Congress to protect all farmworkers with new health and safety protections, bonus pay, unemployment insurance, and paid sick and family leave during this public health emergency and ensure they are not required to take a pay cut.
Farmworkers who grow, pick, and pack the food that ends up on our grocery store shelves have been deemed essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic. But EPI research has found that farmworkers are vulnerable and need additional health and safety measures in place to protect them from being infected by, and spreading, the coronavirus.
We’re already seeing too many workers across the country getting infected with coronavirus on the job. What would happen if millions of Americans went to the supermarket only to discover there was a shortage of fruits and vegetables? Farmworkers are always essential workers, and the crucial role they play keeping our country fed and functioning during a national health emergency cannot be overstated.
We need to keep our farmworkers safe.
Because it’s impossible for farmworkers to work remotely and employers may not require “social distancing” guidelines voluntarily because they could impact productivity, Congress must mandate farm employers to implement safety plans and procedures to keep farmworkers healthy and safe. Specifically, farmworkers need access to masks, gloves, and other safety equipment, as well as ways to disinfect their hands, tools, clothing, and machinery. Current regulations are insufficient for keeping farmworkers healthy.
The 200,000 farmworkers who are migrant guestworkers employed with H-2A temporary work visas face particular challenges because their visa is tied to their employer and numerous reports and media exposés have revealed that they are frequently the victims of wage theft, financial bondage, and other workplace violations.
Don’t let the administration follow through with its plan to lower the wage rates paid to H-2A workers, many of whom earn poverty-level wages.
EPI research published last week revealed that U.S. farmworkers in general are paid very low wages, earning less than workers without a high school degree and only earning three-fifths of what comparable workers outside of agriculture earned in 2019. The national average required wage for H-2A workers was even lower.
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