Throughout history agricultural laborers have suffered injustice and exploitation. From slavery and the plantation system to modern day agriculture, abuse of power has always been characteristic of farm work. Due to a power imbalance between employers and workers, gross violations of human rights have always plagued the system. 

Despite the fact that farmworkers have traditionally suffered from the most abusive labor practices, they are excluded from many labor laws that protect other workers. Civil rights attorneys, labor unions, grassroots organizations, the religious community, and others have struggled to seek equal protection under the law for farmworkers.
In 1983, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act was finally signed into law, affording farmworkers some legal protections. However they continue to be excluded from several provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (including many child labor laws), the National Labor Relations Act, and from most state worker's compensation laws.

Because farmworkers are not afforded protection under these Acts and because violations of current protections are commonplace, poverty and unsafe work conditions continue to characterize the lives of millions of farmworkers. The lack of legal protection increases the vulnerability of an already marginalized population.

Due to agriculture's seasonal nature, work in agriculture is rarely a steady source of income. Like the farmers that employ them, farmworkers depend upon a bountiful harvest in order to make a living. However, unlike farmers and agribusiness, they do not receive government subsidies for a failed crop and are less likely to have a permanent home or savings to draw upon in times of low productivity.

Despite their hard work and long hours in the fields, most farmworkers live below the poverty line. One study found that half of all farmworkers earned less than $7,500 per year and three-quarters of all farmworkers earned less than $10,000 per year (2).

In addition to poverty, farmworkers face hazardous work conditions such as high rates of accidents and fatalities, exposure to pesticides, and a lack of drinking water and toilets in the fields. Farmworker housing is substandard and inadequate, among the worst in the nation. Agriculture remains extremely labor intensive and most farmworkers spend long hours in the fields. This leads to exposure to the elements for long periods at a time, resulting in high occurrences of heat stress, heat stroke, and respiratory illness. 

A lack of economic freedom also creates an environment of vulnerability for farmworkers. Because many farmworkers are entirely dependent upon their employers for their economic livelihood, housing, transportation and sometimes their work visa, they are often discouraged from claiming their rights for fear of retaliation.

Farmworker exclusion from the political process is due to a number of factors. They are culturally, physically and politically isolated from mainstream society. The majority are monolingual Spanish speakers and many live in isolated labor camps. Migrant farmworkers who travel with the seasons lack permanent ties to a community. All of these characteristics add up to enormous barriers to justice.

On the other hand, agribusiness enjoys a large lobby and its voice is heard in Washington through various interest groups who wield immense influence. Therefore, legislation that is beneficial to employers is often passed in Congress without regard to the rights of farmworkers who lack access to the political process.

Although the Constitution guarantees equal protection under the law for all persons residing in the U.S., migrant and seasonal farmworkers often fail to benefit from government regulations. For these reasons, the Farmworker Unit, and similar legal services programs all over the country, work hard to educate farmworkers about their labor rights and aggressively advocate for them in the legal system. Without free access to lawyers many farmworkers would never be able to defend their rights in a court of law. It is our hope that one day farmworkers will be truly valued and compensated for their labor and that legal services will have played a part in achieving this goal.

Resources

1. North Carolina Employment Security Commission, Job Servant (Winter 2000).
2. U.S. Department of Labor, National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 1997-1998, March 2000.