Biden Administration Department of Labor Decision on COVID-19 Safety Fails the Nation’s Essential Agriculture Workers

June 11, 2021

On June 10, more than sixteen months after the federal government declared a public health emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finally published an emergency temporary standard for the workplace.  The mandatory rules only apply to the health care sector.  The agency continues to issue mere recommendations for safety precautions for other sectors, including agriculture.  Farmworker Justice calls on the Biden Administration to immediately issue an emergency temporary standard with mandatory rules for agricultural employers.  While many agricultural employers have adopted safety precautions against COVID-19, too many businesses have not responded adequately to protect farmworkers.  Several states have adopted mandatory requirements, and others should follow their lead, as should OSHA, because the COVID-19 pandemic remains a serious threat for farmworkers and their family members.

The exclusion of farmworkers from the federal mandatory standard is inexcusable.  This past year has laid bare what many of us already knew—farmworkers do essential work for our food security, while laboring in one of the most dangerous and lowest-paid jobs in the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic further devastated this already vulnerable population.  Nearly six hundred thousand agricultural workers have contracted COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and too many have died.  A recent UCSF study found that food and agriculture workers have experienced the highest “excess mortality” during the pandemic, with a 39% increase in mortality compared to past years.  Among Latino food and agriculture workers, that mortality reached 59%.

Many of these infections and subsequent deaths were avoidable.  Although some states with substantial agriculture industries implemented mandatory COVID-19 safety standards to protect farmworkers, too many states instead adopted optional and unenforceable guidance.  Without state or federal requirements, many employers callously put workers’ lives in danger.  Farmworkers continue to report that their employers do not provide them with adequate information, masks, hand-washing facilities, hygienic supplies, or the opportunity for social distancing during transportation or in the fields.  And while vaccinations have been a saving grace for many of the nation’s food consumers, the people who grow that food often face several challenges when trying to get vaccinated themselves.  Undocumented workers fear identification requirements and immigration enforcement at vaccination sites.  Workers who are already struggling to survive below the poverty line cannot afford to skip a day of work as they recover from the vaccine’s side effects.

Comprehensive and enforceable standards to protect the nation’s essential workers would have helped keep farmworkers safe in the face of these challenges.  Farmworker Justice and other labor advocates have repeatedly called on OSHA to issue mandatory rules that include sanitation and distancing protocols in workplaces, employer-provided housing, and employer-provided transportation; information dissemination and training about COVID prevention and workplace rights in languages and formats accessible to workers; provision of PPE, at no cost to workers; COVID testing, at no cost to workers; quarantine facilities and provision of supplies for workers in employer-provided housing; and protections against retaliation for workers who report violations.  Rather than taking these straightforward and common-sense steps, OSHA has yet again cowed down to the agribusiness lobbyists.  The Administration and agriculture employers must stop playing with people’s lives and start taking the necessary precautions to keep essential workers safe.

The unenforceable and non-mandatory agriculture guidance issued by OSHA is insufficient to protect the millions of people who kept our economy running, our grocery stores stocked, and our nation safe.  Several states have already tried to limit the virus’s spread through similar, non-mandatory measures.  The infection rate and death toll among the nation’s farmworkers in states across the country prove that these measures are inadequate.

OSHA has abdicated its responsibility.  The heroic workers who risked their lives for this country’s food security deserve so much more.

June 11, 2021

www.farmworkerjustice.org

Biden’s Labor Department withdraws Trump administration’s final rule on H-2A guest worker program

(Washington, D.C.) – Early Thursday morning, the Department of Labor announced the withdrawal of extensive regulations written by the Trump Administration that would have changed the H-2A guestworker program. The withdrawal occurred before their official publication in the Federal Register and therefore these regulations do not take effect. The Trump administration’s Department of Labor had announced and released the rule by posting on its website on Friday. Farmworker Justice, the United Farm Workers and others strongly opposed the proposed rule and successfully advocated for the withdrawal.

Had the rule gone into effect, U.S. and foreign farmworkers would have suffered in many ways. The Trump regulations would have reduced opportunities for U.S. farmworkers to obtain jobs, reduced the reimbursement of transportation costs for farmworkers by millions of dollars per year, weakened the prevailing wage protection, and weakened housing safety.

A companion rule would have frozen wage rates under the H-2A program for two years, costing farmworkers tens of millions of dollars per year, and an estimated $1.6 billion over ten years. That companion rule was prevented from taking effect by a court injunction that Farmworker Justice and co-counsel at WilmerHale won in the case UFW v. U.S. Department of Labor (E.D. Calif.) To learn more about the lawsuit, click here. However, Friday’s rule included the same wage freeze that we would have had to challenge again.

Moreover, the Trump regulations would not have required agricultural employers to take any steps to address the health and safety of farmworkers who are facing the risk of COVID-19.

“The Trump/Scalia changes in the H-2A agricultural guestworker program would have been devastating to tens of thousands of U.S. and foreign farmworkers,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. “We immediately submitted a request for withdrawal to the Biden administration. This action is the result of joint advocacy efforts. We are grateful for the immediate response from the new Administration.”

 

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Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. FJ founded in 1981 is based in Washington, D.C. and collaborates with organizations throughout the country to empower farmworkers to improve their wages, working conditions, occupational safety, health immigration status and access to justice. For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow on Twitter at @FarmwrkrJustice.

Media Contact:

BA Snyder
Veritas Group for Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

President Biden unveils comprehensive immigration reform on his first day in office

(Washington, D.C.) – Shortly after being sworn in, President Biden began working to fulfill one of his central campaign promises with his proposed immigration reform bill’s unveiling. If passed, this legislation would most notably grant an eight-year path to citizenship for most immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status as of January 1, 2021. The majority of immigrants could enter a five-year process to obtain permanent legal status, a green card, and could apply for citizenship three years later. Dreamers, TPS holders and farmworkers would be immediately eligible for green cards, provided certain conditions are met.  For farmworkers to obtain a green card, they would have to provide several years of recent agricultural work in the U.S. Three years later they would be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. Farmworkers’ immediate family members also would be eligible for immigration status.

In recognition that farmworkers continue to be denied the same employment-law rights as most other workers, certain changes to employment law would be made, including a phase-in of overtime pay.

The bill also provides for mechanisms to improve the employment verification process and protect workers from exploitation. If passed, this legislation would:

  • Require DHS and the Labor Department to create a commission with labor, employer and civil rights organizations to recommend improvements to the employer verification process.
  • Grant greater U visa relief to workers who suffer labor violations and cooperate with worker protection agencies.
  • Protect victims of workplace retaliation from deportation.
  • Increase penalties for employers who violate labor laws. 

Farmworker Justice supports the President’s efforts to improve the status and treatment of close to 11 million people who have sacrificed everything in their lives to make it to our borders and contribute to our economy and society. The majority of the nation’s 2.4 million farmworkers lack authorized immigration status and suffer greatly for it. The threat of arrest, deportation and family breakup deter most undocumented immigrant farmworkers from challenging illegal employment practices and often from seeking testing and medical assistance for COVID-19.  

“After the last four years of an Administration intent on terrorizing and scapegoating immigrants, it is encouraging to see an Administration prioritizing the wellbeing of the people who put food on our tables,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. ““We welcome the President’s recognition of farmworkers as the essential workers they are in our food and agriculture system and the need to provide undocumented immigrants with the opportunity for immigration status and citizenship,” he added.  “Farmworker Justice will continue its longstanding efforts to help farmworkers reform our broken immigration system and achieve a greater measure of justice in their workplaces.”  

Immigration reform will help farmworkers feel secure enough to request well-deserved wage increases, fringe benefits, and improved working conditions and to seek legal action for illegal employment practices.  This will lead to a much more stable agricultural workforce, which benefits agriculture businesses and ensures greater food security for this country. It is, frankly, the first step of many needed to rectify the treatment farmworkers have received during this pandemic. 

Farmworker Justice stands ready to work with the Biden / Harris administration to provide much-needed assistance to farmworkers, not only on immigration reform, but also on health care, labor conditions, housing and protections against COVID-19.

 

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Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. FJ founded in 1981 is based in Washington, D.C. and collaborates with organizations throughout the country to empower farmworkers to improve their wages, working conditions, occupational safety, health immigration status and access to justice.  For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow on Twitter at @FarmwrkrJustice.

Media Contact:

BA Snyder
Veritas Group for Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

Final rule change by Department of Labor diminishes livelihoods of U.S. and foreign farmworkers

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Department of Labor announced that it will shortly, presumably while President Trump is still in office, finalize extensive new regulations under the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. The program recently has allowed agricultural employers to employ over 200,000 guestworkers per year.

Farmworker Justice is reviewing the 722-page document to assess its impact. A brief, initial review reveals several obvious harms to the more than 200,000 farmworkers who are H-2A visa holders or U.S. workers employed at H-2A program employers. The DOL restates its intention to freeze the main wage rate under the H-2A guestworker program for two years and then utilize a formula to calculate subsequent wages that, according to DOL’s own understated estimate, will reduce farmworkers’ wages by at least $1.6 billion over ten years. The wage decision, originally issued in November, is under a preliminary injunction preventing DOL from implementing it. The case is UFW v. U.S. Department of Labor (E.D. Calif.); Farmworker Justice and  WilmerHale represent the plaintiffs.

Today’s document states that temporary foreign workers under the H-2A program will no longer be reimbursed fully for their transportation costs of coming into the United States and returning home; the resulting losses to farmworkers will be about $30 million per year or about $300 million over ten years. Farmworkers will lose another $64 million over ten year in subsistence costs—such as the cost of food—during their travel. These are DOL’s own figures. Most of the provisions would take effect by March but the wage rates were on a faster schedule and subject to a court injunction.

“On an initial review of the new regulations, we do not see a focused effort by the Department of Labor to eradicate the H-2A program ‘s rampant wage theft, retaliation, unsafe job sites and exploitative working conditions,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. “Instead, the  Department plans a massive “transfer” of funds out of the pockets of impoverished farmworkers into the businesses that employ them by cutting wages and reimbursements of workers’ transportation and subsistence costs, totaling at least $2 billion over ten years. Despite farmworkers’ essential worker status and the prevalence of COVID-19 among farmworkers, DOL takes no steps to require employers to protect farmworkers from the pandemic or help those who become ill; the pandemic only gains a mention in a footnote in this 722-page document,” he added (see p. 208, fn. 66). 

“In the last moments of the  Trump Administration, the Department of Labor has announced it will weaken labor protections for the most vulnerable workers in the nation while insisting that farmworkers are essential workers who must continue to work without legal protections against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.”

 

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Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. FJ founded in 1981 is based in Washington, D.C. and collaborates with organizations throughout the country to empower farmworkers to improve their wages, working conditions, occupational safety, health immigration status and access to justice.  For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow on Twitter at @FarmwrkrJustice.

 

Media Contact: 

BA Snyder
Veritas Group for Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

Farmworker Justice Supports the U.S. President-Elect’s Nomination of Marty Walsh as Department of Labor Secretary

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Farmworker Justice supports the President-elect’s nomination of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to serve as the next Department of Labor secretary. Involved with organized labor since the age of 21 and a former local union president, Mayor Walsh understands workers’ needs and how to address them. 

Farmworkers, most of whom are immigrants, have faced many difficult challenges over the past few years, often living in fear of arrest and deportation and forced to accept unfair and illegal working conditions.  As Mayor, Marty Walsh signed a sanctuary-city law to stop Boston’s police forces from cooperating or sharing information with ICE. Mayor Walsh is also committed to fighting climate change, which poses a threat to farmworkers’ health due to high temperatures and wildfires. 

In recent months, Farmworker Justice acted as co-counsel in the lawsuit that won an injunction against the Department of Labor for a new regulation freezing wages of more than 200,000 farmworkers at employers participating in the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. However, the White House is reviewing a multi-faceted regulation under the H-2A guestworker program that the DOL intends to finalize under Trump, harming tens of thousands of U.S. and temporary foreign farmworkers.   

“We are hopeful that as Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh will reverse the many harmful policies adopted by the Trump Administration and resolve the pending lawsuits against the Department of Labor.  We are also hopeful that the DOL under his leadership will improve enforcement of farmworkers’ rights and, adopt new policies and programs that help the nation’s farmworkers improve their wages, working conditions and occupational safety,” said Bruce Goldstein, president of Farmworker Justice. 

Click here for more information regarding the court’s December decision on H-2A Guestworker wage-rates. Information about the H-2A program is available on our website resource center at https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/resources/h-2a.

 

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Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. FJ founded in 1981 is based in Washington, D.C. and collaborates with organizations throughout the country to empower farmworkers to improve their wages, working conditions, occupational safety, health immigration status and access to justice.

For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow on Twitter at @FarmwrkrJustice.

 

Media Contact: 

BA Snyder
Veritas Group for Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

As the country survives an attempted overthrow of our democracy, Farmworker Justice supports the U.S. President- elect’s nominations of Civil Rights Experts to the Department of Justice

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Farmworker Justice supports President-elect Biden’s selections for leadership of the Department of Justice.  Biden has nominated a centrist with extensive experience in selecting Merrick Garland to be the next Attorney General. It is encouraging that Biden also plans to place Vanita Gupta, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Kristen Clarke head of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to high-level positions in the Justice Department. These individuals have demonstrated expertise and commitment to the rule of law, will restore integrity to the Justice Department and are strong advocates for civil rights.

The attack on our nation’s capital on January 6 was an attempt to destroy our democracy that was enabled and encouraged by President Trump who used the Justice Department to thwart civil and human rights.  Amid this crisis, President-elect Biden has chosen to nominate experienced people who will restore the Justice Department’s commitment to upholding the rule of law. 

“Over the past four years, farmworkers have endured attacks on numerous fronts, including the erosion of their civil rights. The Justice Department has defended numerous illegal federal agency actions that courts have overturned.  Farmworkers make up a large part of the agricultural workforce and have had to live in fear of persecution because of the Trump administration’s actions. We are hopeful that a Biden Justice Department led by Merrick Garland, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke will restore and improve protections for these workers and their families.” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice.

Farmworker Justice looks forward to working with the new Administration to advance the civil rights for the farmworkers who continue to work on the frontlines of this pandemic. We are hopeful that the treatment of these essential workers and their families will improve significantly under his leadership.

Farmworker Justice actively continues to follow President-elect Biden’s cabinet nomination process. Farmworker Justice supports the President-elect’s nomination of former governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack for the next Secretary of Agriculture. We’ve expressed our views on President-elect Biden’s Nomination of California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, as Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services and on the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas as Department of Homeland Security Secretary.

 

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Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. FJ founded in 1981 is based in Washington, D.C. and collaborates with organizations throughout the country to empower farmworkers to improve their wages, working conditions, occupational safety, health immigration status and access to justice.  For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow on Twitter at @FarmwrkrJustice.

 

Media Contact: 

BA Snyder
Veritas Group for Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

 

Federal Court Grants Farmworker Groups an Injunction Against U.S. Department of Labor’s Decision to Freeze Wages Under the H-2A Guestworker Program

(Washington, D.C.)  On Wednesday, a federal court in California enjoined the U.S. Department of Labor’s decision to freeze, and effectively lower, several hundred thousand farmworkers’ wages employed at farms that use the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. A preliminary injunction was issued by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd in Fresno in a lawsuit filed by the United Farm Workers (UFW) and the UFW Foundation, represented by Farmworker Justice and the law firm WilmerHale. The new regulation was set to take effect on December 21 and regulate wage rates beginning in January 2021.  

In announcing the new regulation, DOL estimated that nationwide H-2A guestworkers would suffer wage losses of $57 million in 2021, $139 million in 2022 and an average of $170 million annually over ten years. DOL also admitted that U.S. farmworkers (i.e., non-H-2A workers) would suffer wage losses, but made no estimates of how much those losses would be.  

The H-2A agricultural guestworker program, which allows employers to hire foreign workers on temporary visas for seasonal jobs, has been expanding rapidly in recent years.  In fiscal year 2020, the DOL approved over 275,000 H-2A positions and the State Department issued more than 204,000 H-2A visas in 2019.    

The H-2A law prohibits the DOL from approving employers’ applications for guestworkers if the wage rates offered would “adversely affect” the job opportunities or wage rates of U.S. farmworkers. The principal H-2A wage protection is the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), which DOL had been setting for each state based on regional average hourly wage rates for field and livestock workers combined, as determined by the USDA Farm Labor Survey (FLS).  This minimum wage applies to both foreign and domestic farmworkers working for H-2A employers. The DOL has been using the USDA FLS to set the H-2A AEWRs for decades because it is a measure of the current market rate wage for farmworkers.  

In a related case, the United Farm Workers and the UFW Foundation sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its September 30 decision cancelling the FLS and the corresponding annual Farm Labor Report on which the AEWR is based.  On October 28, Judge Drozd issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting the USDA from cancelling the FLS and the annual Farm Labor Report.  In the new case against the DOL, the court noted that the USDA data will now be available to continue the former regulation’s methodology.  

The 2020 AEWRS vary by state, averaging $13.99 per hour. The AEWRs have been increasing modestly in most states in recent years based on the USDA FLS results; data for the first half of FY2020 show the rates rising by 3% from the previous year. 

The new regulation would freeze wages for 2021 and 2022 at the 2020 AEWRs (which are based on 2019 FLS wage data).  In 2023 and later years, DOL would adjust the 2020 rates by using DOL’s more general Employment Cost Index (ECI) instead of the FLS.  DOL acknowledged that ECI, a broad measure of labor wages that excludes the agriculture industry, has been rising more slowly than farmworkers’ wages.  In justifying its decision, DOL said the wage freeze would create stability and predictability for agricultural employers regarding wages.

The court ruled that the DOL’s new regulation violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act in several ways, including, by failing to comply with the legal requirement to prohibit adverse effects to farmworkers’ wages, and by selecting wage-setting methodologies that bear no relation to the farm labor market.  The court also held that the DOL violated the APA by failing to give the public notice and an opportunity for comment on its new methodology for calculating wages, which was not previewed in the preliminary rule published in July 2019. 

Because USDA had sought to cancel the FLS, the data necessary to determine the 2021 AEWR will be delayed until February 11.  In its decision to enjoin the DOL regulation, the court asked the parties to address how to prevent wage losses for farmworkers during the delay. 

Farmworkers’ wages are among the lowest of any occupation in the nation.  About one-third of farmworker households’ incomes fall below the poverty line. In the last few years, farmworkers’ wages have been rising modestly.  Judge Drozd concluded that farmworkers would be seriously and irreparably harmed in the absence of an injunction.

“We are very pleased that the court entered a preliminary injunction against the unjustified decision by Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia to lower wage rates of several hundred thousand farmworkers.  Secretary Scalia’s decision to freeze farmworkers’ wage rates for two years is an utterly arbitrary and unlawful act that inflicts grave harm to some of the most vulnerable workers in the nation,” said Bruce Goldstein, president of Farmworker Justice, and one of the attorneys in both lawsuits. 

Click here for more information regarding the DOL’s November decision on H-2A Guestworker wage-rates. Information about the H-2A program is available on our website resource center at https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/resources/h-2a.

 

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Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. FJ founded in 1981 is based in Washington, D.C. and collaborates with organizations throughout the country to empower farmworkers to improve their wages, working conditions, occupational safety, health immigration status and access to justice.  For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow on Twitter at @FarmwrkrJustice.

 

Media Contact: 

BA Snyder
Veritas Group for Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

Eva Longoria se une a Farmworker Justice para las festividades

Washington, D.C.- En esta temporada navideña, Eva Longoria y Farmworker Justice se unen para destacar el gran impacto que tienen los trabajadores agrícolas en la vida de todos los estadounidenses. Árboles de Navidad, rellenos, carnes asadas y pasteles de frutas son solo algunas de nuestras delicias navideñas favoritas que no estarían disponibles sin los miles de trabajadores agrícolas de este país.

“Este año ha sido difĂ­cil para todos, pero incluso antes del COVID-19, los trabajadores agrĂ­colas trabajaban en condiciones difĂ­ciles por salarios inadecuados y estĂĄndares de seguridad en el lugar de trabajo insuficientes”, dijo Bruce Goldstein, presidente de Farmworker Justice. “La pandemia ha hecho que la vida de un trabajador agrĂ­cola sea mucho mĂĄs difĂ­cil en los Ășltimos 9 meses; se estima que 269,000 trabajadores agrĂ­colas han contraĂ­do COVID-19 desde marzo. TambiĂ©n continuaron trabajando durante los incendios forestales en California, exponiĂ©ndose a peligros aĂșn mayores sin el equipo de protecciĂłn personal adecuado”.

A pesar de estos obstĂĄculos, los trabajadores agrĂ­colas han persistido y, al hacerlo, han mantenido intacta nuestra cadena de suministro de alimentos. Farmworker Justice se ha mantenido firme junto a estos trabajadores, presentando demandas y presionando a los legisladores para que brinden a nuestros trabajadores agrĂ­colas el alivio que necesitan y merecen.

“Los trabajadores agrĂ­colas de Estados Unidos trabajan en algunas de las condiciones mĂĄs opresivas y debemos apoyarlos a ellos y a las personas que luchan todos los dĂ­as para mejorar sus vidas a travĂ©s de la defensa y el sistema legal” dice Eva Longoria, actriz, productora y activista desde hace mucho tiempo en temas de inmigraciĂłn.

Eva Longoria ha estado luchando apasionadamente por los derechos de los trabajadores agrĂ­colas migrantes durante años, utilizando su plataforma para educar al pĂșblico y recaudar fondos para las comunidades necesitadas. Produjo dos documentales, The Harvest (2010) y Food Chains (2014); The Harvest describe a tres niños trabajadores agrĂ­colas durante las temporadas de cosecha y Food Chains profundiza en la campaña por salarios justos, centrĂĄndose en los trabajadores agrĂ­colas en Immokalee, FL. Su trabajo de defensa la ha llevado a la Casa Blanca y al Congreso, donde ha abogado por cambios en el tratamiento de los inmigrantes en este paĂ­s.

Vea su entrevista con el presidente de Farmworker Justice, Bruce Goldstein, sobre el estado de los trabajadores agrĂ­colas durante el COVID-19 y el trabajo de Eva sobre el tema aquĂ­.

Únase a Eva en esta temporada navideña y done a Farmworker Justice para que podamos continuar luchando para mejorar las vidas de las comunidades de trabajadores agrĂ­colas de Estados Unidos.

Puede donar visitando https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/support-farmworker-justice/

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Farmworker Justice es una organizaciĂłn nacional de defensa para los trabajadores agrĂ­colas. Fundada en 1981, Farmworker Justice tiene su sede en Washington, D.C. y colabora con organizaciones en todo el paĂ­s para empoderar a los trabajadores agrĂ­colas para mejorar sus salarios, condiciones de trabajo, seguridad ocupacional, estado migratorio, salud y acceso a la justicia.

Para obtener mĂĄs informaciĂłn, visita nuestro sitio web www.farmworkerjustice.org y sĂ­guenos en Twitter @FarmwrkrJustice.

Contacto para medios

BA Snyder
Veritas Group para Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

Eva Longoria joins Farmworker Justice for the holidays

Washington, D.C.- This holiday season, Eva Longoria and Farmworker Justice are coming together to highlight the vast impact farmworkers have on the lives of all Americans. Christmas trees, stuffings, roasted meats and fruit pies are just a few of our favorite holiday treats that wouldn’t be available without the thousands of farmworkers in this country.

“This year has been difficult for everybody but even before COVID-19, farmworkers worked in harsh conditions for inadequate wages and insufficient workplace safety standards.” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. “The pandemic has made the life of a farmworker much more difficult in the past 9 months; an estimated 269,000 farmworkers have contracted COVID-19 since March. They also continued to work through the wildfires in California, exposing themselves to even greater dangers without adequate PPE.”

Despite these obstacles, farmworkers have persisted and in doing so, they have kept our food supply chain intact. Farmworker Justice has stood firmly alongside these workers, filing lawsuits and pressing lawmakers to give our farmworkers the relief they need and deserve.

“America’s farmworkers work under some of the most oppressive conditions and we need to support them, and the folks that fight each and every day to improve their lives through advocacy and the legal system,” says Eva Longoria, actress, producer and a long time activist for immigration issues. 

Eva Longoria has been passionately fighting for the rights of migrant farmworkers for years, using her platform to educate the public and fundraise for communities in need. She produced two documentaries, The Harvest (2010) and Food Chains (2014); The Harvest profiles three child farm workers during the harvest seasons and Food Chains delves into the campaign for fair wages, focusing on the farmworkers in Immokalee, FL. Her advocacy work has brought her to the White House and Congress where she has advocated for changes to the treatment of immigrants in this country.

Watch her interview with Farmworker Justice President, Bruce Goldstein, regarding the status of farmworkers during COVID-19 and Eva’s work on the issue here. 

Join Eva this holiday season and donate to Farmworker Justice so that we may continue to fight to improve the lives of America’s farmworker communities. 

You can donate by visiting https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/support-farmworker-justice/ 

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Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. Founded in 1981, Farmworker Justice is based in Washington, D.C. and collaborates with organizations throughout the country to empower farmworkers to improve their wages, working conditions, occupational safety, health immigration status and access to justice.

For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow on Twitter at @FarmwrkrJustice.

Media Contact: 

BA Snyder
Veritas Group for Farmworker Justice
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com

Eva Longoria joins Farmworker Justice for the Holidays

Join Eva Longoria Baston in supporting the mission of Farmworker Justice to advocate for our underserved essential workers.

This holiday season, we are incredibly grateful for farmworkers who feed America + provide the Christmas trees for our homes. Farmworkers face oppressive conditions in their living and working situations, limited health care access, and experience food insecurity.

https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/

#HandsThatFeedUs #SupportOurFarmworkers #DonateToGiveThanks