As we fight coronavirus, let’s not forget the farmworkers keeping food on our tables
By Herrana Addisu, Freedom United
Checking supplies. Pantry stocking. Have groceries been on your mind a lot during the coronavirus pandemic?
You’re not alone!
But what about the farmworkers who grow our produce?
Many of us may be working from home but the work on farms continues, ensuring that we all have enough to eat.
Let’s express out gratitude to workers bring us our food.
Freedom United has been using the popular hashtag #thankafarmer on social media to recognize their work.
But we also need to highlight the increased risk to modern slavery and coronavirus facing farmworkers during this crisis.
Reports show farmworkers are being transferred in packed buses and sharing overcrowded hotel rooms, meaning social distancing is impossible for many migrant workers. Many say that they have little to no access to handwashing facilities.[1]
Farms in California, which feed families in the U.S. and around the world, have become increasingly reliant on temporary migrant workers—mainly from Mexico. But because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, immigration has all but stopped and farms are facing labor shortages just before a critical planting season.[2]
The risk of exploitation is higher than ever for these migrant farmworkers.
Regulations around recruiting, which are already too lax, have been eased further as a result of the labor shortage. Laborers that have already worked in the U.S., no longer require a visa appointment to obtain another visa. This makes migrant laborers more vulnerable to misinformation and coercion.[3]
With U.S. embassies closed indefinitely there is a high risk of misinformation and limited transparency regarding the rapid policy changes that have taken place.[4]
These circumstances make the risk of exploitation and forced labor impossible to ignore.
These factors exist in addition to the knock-on economic effects of the pandemic, are increasing modern slavery risks across industries around the world—particularly for low-income migrant laborers. Read our executive director’s thoughts on the implications of coronavirus for the anti-slavery movement.
Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we call on the Californian government to increase labor protections for temporary workers and ensure they are not at risk of forced labor.
Keep supporting Freedom United and CAST LA in standing with our farmworkers.
Share our campaign with your network today!
In solidarity,
Herrana and the rest of the Freedom United team
| Herrana Addisu Advocacy, Freedom United |
