The Good Camp

Photo credit and guest post by Michael Durbin

Last summer I accompanied Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF) interns doing educational and health care outreach at migrant farmworker camps.  The camps were generally dismal places, run down and ill-maintained and no place I’d ever want to spend the night. Except for one.

It was mid July. Hot. I had been in the car with Julie King and Danny Guzman-Ramos for the better part of a day, our shirt-backs sticking to the seats, following leads to camps where they hoped to register OSYs (Out of School Youth) for classes.

It had not been a fruitful day. After several hours of hop scotching the South Carolina blacktop, Danny and Julie had managed to register a grand total of one worker living in a trailer with failing siding, surrounded by a yard littered with garbage.

It was a common site. The front porch of another camp was strewn with beer cans, dirty laundry, and filth. At another place, a courteous but uninterested farmworking mom spoke to Danny through a screen door with holes big enough for birds to get through. On other days I had seen much worse.

Danny and Julie decided to ditch the rest of their leads. They would go instead to a peach grower’s camp they had already picked clean of OSYs, this time to interview a farmworker for their documentary project.

The decision changed everything. For the first time they were genuinely excited and I wondered why.

I could tell this camp was different as we rolled to a stop at the end of a long gravel road, the last few pebbles crunching under our wheels. The expanse of grass surrounding the squat white building was the first I’d seen at a camp that qualified as an actual lawn. It wasn’t fancy but had clearly been mowed. And there wasn’t a spec of litter in sight.

Danny and Julie were met by a pair of men with smiles that wrapped their weather-worn faces. I couldn’t follow the rapid Spanish but the body language was clear: These people were happy to see one another.

While Danny went inside to recruit someone to interview, Julie headed to the volleyball net. Volleyball? Within moments she was punching the ball to a guy on the other side, who lost sight of it in the glare of a warm sun now falling toward the peach trees surrounding the camp. He laughed.

 I saw things I hadn’t seen at other camps: A pair of washing machines on a covered porch—they looked new. Parallel rows of clothes lines, draped with shirts and pants, rocked in unison by a warm, lazy breeze coming off the orchard. Two workers sat on their tractor, watching the orange sun now kissing the tops of the trees, enjoying the simple passage of time in a gorgeous setting.

The interview went off without a hitch and was followed by nearly an hour of friendly banter inside a screened in porch. I followed what I could of the conversations and took in what I could see: Clean tables. A swept floor. A bright clean kitchen with a professional stove—a Viking, the kind you see in restaurants.

I wonder what moved this grower to provide such decent housing, to spend what was clearly more than necessary to give these men a decent place to return to after a day of hard labor.

One factor was their immigration status. They were on H2A guest worker visas and the government requires housing to meet minimal standards from growers—standards too often ignored and unenforced.

I expect this peach grower went above and beyond H2A housing standards. Not every camp requires a Viking stove or even a volleyball net. But every farmworker is a human being with no less dignity than you or me. They all deserve a clean and well-maintained place to eat, to bath, to sleep.

“Harvest of Dignity” won a Regional Emmy!

It has been about a month since the Harvest of Dignity won “Best Documentary/Topical” in the Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards, but we’re still celebrating. This is a huge step forward in the farmworker justice movement, one that will help bring more awareness and involvement in improving the living and working conditions of North Carolina field and poultry workers.

Harvest of Dignity was produced in 2010 with Donna Campbell of Minnow Media, Student Action with Farmworkers and the Farmworker Advocacy Network, to commemorate the 50th anniversary broadcast of Edward R. Murrow’s groundbreaking 1960 documentary, Harvest of Shame.  Murrow’s documentary revealed conditions of housing, education and pay for workers and raised awareness of farmworker injustices, and prompted the passage of new legislation to protect farmworkers. The Harvest of Dignity, through interviews with farmworkers, religious leaders, and advocates examines if and how the lives of farmworkers have changed in North Carolina in the last 50 years. The documentary uncovers housing conditions in migrant labor camps in Snow Hill and Benson, NC and details issues of pay, education, pesticide exposure and injuries. Fifty years ago most farmworkers were African American; today they are more likely to be Latino/Hispanic. Most have come to North Carolina looking for opportunity for a better life.

The Harvest of Dignity is also the same name of FAN’s advocacy and awareness raising campaign that calls for positive education, legislation, and organizing initiatives to improve living and working conditions of North Carolina field and poultry workers.  This documentary has been used as a teaching tool to involve community members in the farmworker justice movement. Harvest of Dignity is available in English and dubbed in Spanish. You can purchase a DVD here or stream the documentary online from here.

FAN is thankful for the funders, partners and individuals who made this documentary possible: The North Carolina Arts Council, The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, OXFAM America, Donna Campbell and Minnow Media, Student Action with Farmworkers, Toxic Free NC, NC Justice Center, and Legal Aid of North Carolina.

While we are grateful for this award, we truly feel the recognition should go to the thousands of farmworkers who harvest our food each and every day.

Regional EMMY Award for Harvest of Dignity from Minnow Media on Vimeo.

No Access to Justice When Employers Use Police Force to Control Farmworkers

Written by Lori Johnson, an attorney with the Farmworker Unit of Legal Aid of North Carolina

Reposted from Law at the Margins

Can there be justice for farmworkers when employers use police force to prevent employees from meeting with counsel?

As a farmworker attorney in North Carolina, simply meeting with my clients poses an ongoing challenge. This reality became clear to me several years ago while meeting with a client outside his home. A squad car pulled into the yard, and fear washed over my client’s face. My client’s employer sought trespass charges against me, even though my client, the actual resident, had invited me. My client had no telephone or means of transportation, so meeting him after work hours where he lived was necessary.

The deputies let me argue my case to a magistrate over the squad car telephone, and she deferred my arrest pending an opinion from the North Carolina Attorney General on whether trespass charges would stand against an attorney present at a labor camp at the invitation of the occupant farmworker. While the resulting opinion was favorable, threatened and actual police force continue to be used against migrant service providers in North Carolina and throughout the nation.

Can there be justice for farmworkers when employers use police force to prevent employees from meeting with counsel? What happens to client confidentiality when the adverse party threatens criminal sanctions against counsel unless given prior notice of attorney-client meetings?

Spearheaded by Maryland Legal Aid and the Transnational Legal Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, a nationwide coalition of farmworker advocates now seek a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to address these concerns of access to counsel and other rights. The IACHR promotes and defends human rights for member nations of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The request asks the IACHR to hold a hearing on whether the United States has violated the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man and other human rights instruments by failing to ensure that human rights defenders have access to migrant farmworker labor camps. The coalition’s request for a hearing follows prior actions, including a 2012 human rights complaint filed before the United Nations.

Farmworkers typically reside in employer-owned labor camps in remote locations. Since farmworkers, with no personal means of transport, are unable to travel to the non-profit legal service providers, these service providers must instead go to the labor camps during the workers’ free time. Growers, seeking to control their workers, routinely assert that they, and not the actual residents, determine who may enter worker housing. Criminal trespass charges and occasional physical force are used against service providers as a means to isolate farmworkers.

The lack of an effective legal framework securing service provider access to labor camps violates freedom of assembly and association, freedom from arbitrary arrest, and the right to personal security. For farmworkers, being unable to effectively meet with counsel renders due process meaningless. Yet even where state attorney general opinions or case law support a farmworker’s right to have visitors –  generally based on tenancy rights or freedom of association-  law enforcement officials are often unaware of such protections or refuse to acknowledge said rights.

In Fall of 2013, my co-workers made a two hour drive to visit an injured farmworker. The meeting was disrupted when his employers burst into the client’s home and threatened my co-workers with arrest for criminal trespass. The deputy who arrived later declined to make arrests, but the situation made it impossible to continue our client’s interview. In his 911 call, the employer claimed that the injured worker should not have called Legal Aid because, in the employer’s opinion, the worker was already receiving his workers’ compensation benefits.

Employers have used criminal sanctions in attempts to coerce confidential information. A New Jersey legal aid lawyer was recently charged with criminal trespass despite favorable state case law. The municipal prosecutor offered to drop the charges if the attorney agreed to give the employer prior notice before meeting with workers, which the attorney, given confidentiality duties, rightfully refused.  Charges were only dismissed when the employer did not show at trial.  Employers have also demanded disclosure of the worker’s identity in order “to verify” the invitation with the worker. One can imagine how that conversation would play out.

Access to counsel is especially important because farmworkers face greater rates of unlawful and dangerous working conditions. A 2011 North Carolina study found that farmworkers commonly suffer wage theft and pesticide safety violations.  Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations, with some of the highest rates of fatal and non-fatal injuries.  Farmworkers are also subject to “agricultural exceptionalism”, i.e., the exempting of farmworkers from rights enjoyed by others, such as basic workplace safety requirements, collective bargaining protections or workers’ compensation.

Employers with the most to hide use force to isolate and control workers. The farm that sought to have me arrested, for example, had a deeply disturbing history. A worker’s brutal death had led to involuntary servitude convictions against its crew managers. Human traffickers tightly control who may enter labor camps as a means to further their trafficking scheme by preventing escape.

While law enforcement should be seen as an ally of farmworkers against human traffickers, the sight of police preventing workers from meeting with counsel sends instead the chilling message that there is no justice in our courts. The coalition demands that the United States be held accountable in ensuring justice for all. The United States has yet to respond to the United Nations Special Rapporteur’s request for a response on this issue. The coalition now moves for a hearing before the IACHR.

Honoring and Celebrating the Lives of NC Farmworkers

This Saturday, we will remember farmworkers who have died while working in NC the past few years. Workers and advocates are urged to join us to celebrate the Day of the Dead, at Centro restaurant in Raleigh on Saturday, November 2 at 11:00 am as we gather around a traditional Day of the Dead altar to honor those who have died or become fatally ill on the job.

The Day of the Dead is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated throughout Latin America to honor and celebrate loved ones who have passed on.  This holiday is particularly celebrated in Mexico on the first two days of November. However many countries and cultures recognize similar holidays on these same days-All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day.  Traditions associated with the Day of the Dead include creating an altar and decorating it with flowers, sugar skulls, pictures, gifts, personal possessions of the deceased, as well as favorite foods and drinks of the deceased.

 

This year the Farmworker Advocacy Network celebrates the lives of 3 individuals, farmworkers from Mexico and Guatemala, who have died while working or who have died from the harsh conditions of their work environment. The lives and work of these three men represent the thousands of men, women, and children workers who are exposed daily to the austere living and working conditions, including inadequate housing and exposure to toxic pesticides. Because the labor laws in our country are dangerously antiquated, workers are not adequately protected; therefore their lives are at risk each and every time they step into the fields or into the processing plant.

We ask that you take a few moments today, and join us tomorrow at Centro, to honor and celebrate the lives of North Carolina farmworkers.

RSVP to the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) event on Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/654136584617468/ and spread the word!

ALVARO

On Nov. 12, 2012, a 41-year-old migrant farmworker named Alvaro Tomas died after being struck by a truck while harvesting sweet potatoes in Ayden, NC. On the day of the accident, 132 migrant farmworkers were harvesting sweet potatoes in a 30-acre field. The farmworkers were divided into six groups, with one truck per group, and were harvesting sweet potatoes on both sides of the truck. Two workers were in front of each truck setting the pace of the work. Alvaro was one of the farmworkers harvesting sweet potatoes alongside the truck. When his group’s truck was full, the driver backed out of the field so that he would not drive over unharvested sweet potatoes. It is not clear if the driver honked the horn, or verbally told the workers he was going to back up. However, two workers were still behind the truck harvesting when he did. Alvaro Tomas was struck by the truck and died as a result of his injuries. He was from Guatemala but living in a labor camp in Snow Hill at the time of his death. It is believed his brother was working with him when this accident happened. No charges were expected to be filed. We ask that you please take a moment on this Dia de los Muertos to honor Alvaro's life.

ANDRES

 Andres Sandoval from Durango, Mexico, died in March 2013 at 43 years old, single and leaving behind one child and his parents that they lived with. Four years ago while working in crops near Benson, North Carolina, he asked for a doctor’s appointment because he felt like “there was a ball in his stomach” and it bothered him to sleep on that side. After being seen at a rural clinic, he was referred to the hospital and was soon diagnosed with Leukemia. The doctor said clearly that he could live for many years if he followed all of the instructions.

Andres came to the United States year after year for nine years. He was a pesticide applicator in the fields. He believed that his illness was due to his prolonged contact with pesticides. At the end of the agricultural season in 2012 during one of his exams, news for Andres from the doctor was not good; the cancer had changed and they had to make more frequent appointments and changes to his medicines. But his visa was about to expire and he had to return to Mexico. The doctor expressed concern about Andres’ trip and tried to get him to stay with a humanitarian visa, even working on this effort after Andres had left the U.S.. Sadly, Andres died in Mexico after weeks of suffering.

The health outreach team that coordinated care for Andres, at North Carolina Farmworkers Project, say, “He left us with a legacy – his perseverance, his courage, and above all, his great love for agriculture!!! May he rest in peace, our friend Andres!!!”

MANUEL

Manuel Hernandez Florencia was a 45- year old migrant farmworker from Comonfort, Guanajuato, Mexico.  In a tragic accident, Manuel passed away on August 19th, 2013 when he was struck by a car while trying to cross a very dark stretch of highway in Franklin, NC.  He had been living in the United States and working in agriculture for approximately 16 years.  During his time in the United States Manuel worked harvesting a variety of crops including oranges, strawberries, blueberries, tobacco and tomatoes.  He had arrived in Franklin, NC two weeks prior to the accident with a migrant crew to pick tomatoes.  Manuel was living with four other men in an old hotel room, none of whom were related nor knew each other very well.  The hotel was located on a very busy stretch of Highway 441 South which runs between Atlanta, GA and Western North Carolina.  Manuel passed away while trying to walk to the closest store that evening.  He is survived by a son in Florida, a sister in Georgia, and a wife in Comonfort.  Two weeks after his death, Manuel was returned to his family in Comonfort, Guanajuato where he was given a proper burial. We ask that you please take a moment on this Día de los Muertos to honor Manuel’s life.

FAN Stands in Solidarity Against the Agricultural Guestworker Act

The Farmworker Advocacy Network is one of over 200 coalitions, groups, and organizations that have recently signed a letter* opposing Representative Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guestworker Act, H.R. 1773, or the “Ag Act”. We believe this legislation could devastate our nation’s agricultural system and undermine core American values.

 As written in a recent FAN blog post, the Ag Act seeks to lower protections for farmworkers by stripping away decades of worker protections to leave guestworkers virtually no protection from abusive conditions. Employers will not need to verify adequate working conditions, wages or insurance coverage for injuries, thus eliminating oversight of worker’s rights. Additionally, guestworkers are offered no pathway to becoming permanent legal U.S. citizens. Instead they will be required to self-deport with the only the possibility of returning as a temporary guestworker. This would leave temporary workers in a highly vulnerable position to be exploited solely for their labor.

 As a coalition, we strongly oppose the Ag Act and believe it is an unworkable, anti-immigrant and anti- worker approach to our nation’s immigration problems. Hard-working farmworkers do not deserve to be relegated to a permanent 2nd class status apart from their families. As such, the Ag Act stands contrary to our nation’s core values of freedom, equality and family unity. Farmworkers have made invaluable contributions to our country, and they deserve protections that not only keep them safe but uphold their dignity as individuals and workers.

  View the letter opposing the Agricultural Guestworker Act

*This letter has already been sent to members of the House of Representatives, however individuals can still join FAN in saying "NO" to unfair and un-workable farmworker legislation by weighing-in with their members of Congress or by accessing the United Farm Workers action alert calling for immigration reform. 

Harvest of Dignity Dinner, Screening and CIW Truth Tour

By Margaret Wurth at Human Rights Watch

By Margaret Wurth at Human Rights Watc

By Nadeen Bir at Student Action with Farmworkers

Two weeks ago, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers kicked off their Publix Truth tour in NC to share with their allies how Publix has refused to participate in the Fair Food Program. On Monday, September 23^rd, the Farmworker Advocacy Network, Student Action with Farmworkers, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Minnow Media, the NC Council of Churches, Witness for Peace, and the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship came together to welcome our friends from Immokalee to share their fight for a fair food system. 
 

From L to R: Oscar Otzoy, Elena Stein, and Emilio Faustino Galindo, Coalition of Immokalee Workers; Emily Zucchino, Witness for Peace; Chris Liu-Beers, NC Council of Churches; Dave Austin, Farm Labor Organizing Committee; Donna Campbell, Minnow Media Eno River UU Fellowship. Photo by Michael Durbin.We started the night with a presentation from the CIW's Don Emilio and Oscar sharing the amazing work that they are doing teaching other farmworkers about their rights on the job.  When companies join the Fair Food campaign, workers get paid a penny more per pound for the tomatoes they pick, they get to report labor abuses without fear of losing their job, and women have more protections against sexual harassment in the workplace, among other benefits. There are still companies who have not come to the negotiations table and right now the CIW is targeting Wendy’s and Publix, who have plans to expand in North Carolina. 

After the talk and dinner, we screened Harvest of Dignity, a film documenting the need in NC for safe places to live, safe places to work, and stronger enforcement of the law for farmworkers. The audience got a peek into the lives of North Carolina men, women, and children who work in the fields and also heard from advocates about how conditions haven’t really changed in the last 60 years. The film was followed with a panel discussion that highlighted the work of several event sponsors and the audience was encouraged to sign up on listserves, sign petitions, and to support our various campaigns. 

Find out more about how to get involved with the Harvest of Dignity campaign and the CIW Publix Truth Tour.