Why do you think this article appears in a medicine journal? What are the impacts of agricultural labor on worker well-being?When you visit farms in California, consider the personal stories of the workers in the fields. J.V. Palerm gives us some insight with his following of Pedro, but many variations to the migrant farm worker experience exist. For a song that reflects the kind of travel path a typical Mexican immigrant farm worker may take, refer to Tom Russell's "El Gallo del Cielo," available on YouTube here. Also, here is the link to California's Harvest of Shame, on Vimeo.
--Brent W.
"Migrants often compete with settled workers for far jobs. They unintentionally help to keep wages depressed..."
ReplyDeleteAgriculture is an enormous financial sector of the state of California. The state earns lots of revenue from this sector which is possibly a good thing. However, while the private farming companies and large scale farming corporations are making their money, they have been exploiting many of the workers that they employ. It is true that most of the workers do not have proper work documents are they migrate during the harvest season, and it is true that by law the employers are not forced to pay them a minimum wage and so forth. However, there are also many workers who have proper documentation, who have settled down in USA and have the right to earn fair wages. The corporations have benefited by playing off this huge pool of labor and have found their way to keep wages down. I think that the government can take a stronger stance by enforcing the employers to pay fair wages if the laborers have proper documents. I think that it is not ethical to play this game of 'take this pay or leave' just because at the moment, they have the advantage to do so. The government should take corrective measures against these major employers, or atleast make sure that there are fair standards of pay. If an employer wishes to pay lower that minimum wages, then their goods should be priced lower than market rates by the government or something along that line.
-Taijash
After reading this article it is very clear to me that working in the fields is not only a very difficult job, but a very dangerous one as well. "This was the fifth time in three days the young worker had fallen from a tree. Seeing that he was shaken, the foreman suggested that he take a half-hour rest before returning to his job"(Juan Vicente Palern, 170). Not only did the boss realize this job was dangerous to his workers, but when his worker was hurt and shaken up, he didn't even give him the rest of the day off, only a short break. I realize it's hard to let some one take the day off, but when someone falls off a 14 foot ladder, one needs to make an exception. This is just one of the things that happens to field workers on a daily basis. Not only are these jobs dangerous but they are hard and very low paying. It is uncommon that workers like Pedro have good enough luck and hard work ethic to reach the level of pay he received. "He was able to accumulate $400 per week"(Juan Vicente Palerm, 171). This article was placed in a medical journal with good reason, it shows his health difficulties through his life due to his hard work in the fields over the years. It is good to show the higher class, such as doctors, how hard some people work, and how physically and mentally demanding their lives can be, just to make our lives and our needs possible. After reading this article I have a greater understanding and respect for the field workers that provide me with my basic food needs that are so easy for me to acquire, but so hard for them to farm.
ReplyDelete“They often crowd into substandard houses located in bankrupt communities that are unable to provide basic public services, they are subjected to widespread neglect on the part of most public and private social service organizations (Juan Vicente Palerm 173).
ReplyDeleteAgriculture is a vital part of the financial sector in California. This is due mainly as a result of cheap international labor. The inhumane conditions that these migrant workers are put through are, to say the least, shocking. Employers take advantage of their workers by paying them well under the minimum wage, and providing an unsafe working environment. There is nothing the workers can do to protect their rights. They are afraid to lose everything they have worked so hard for, or being separated from their families. Working in the fields is not only a very difficult job, but also an extremely dangerous one. Not all migrant workers are undocumented, some have been in the country for generations, and all they are looking for is to be given an opportunity to support their families. Not only are these workers risking their lives daily, but at the end of a hot day they go home to their “substandard” homes and get ready for the next day.
The government needs to regulate the working conditions of migrant workers, regardless of their legal status. This way they would be paid a fair wage, that would allow them to support their families, and provide a better future for them.
-Claudia H.
"The vast majority of these settled farm working families earn so little that their annual income only rarely reaches the government's definition of poverty" (Page 173, Migrant farm workers in California)
ReplyDeleteThis article was printed in a medical journal to show the harsh conditions these immigrants are faced with. I'm sure that the amount of work, and type of work has caused many issues with these workers medically. As shown in the "Harvest of shame" these workers lack the proper shade, water and conditions to work safely. Personally I find the way the workers are treated to be wrong. As if a piece of machinery, the workers are not given the same treatment as employees who are regulated more directly. This is a major problem and needs to be taken care of immediately. Just because someone is pulling your onion out of the ground or packaging cucumbers they should receive the same treatment and respect as the person doing your taxes or cutting your hair.
-Kyle B.
“on undoing the bundle, Pedro discovered that a single $20 bill covered in 62 one-dollar bills- his total earnings for a 60 hour work week amounted to $82 ( $1.36 per hour)”
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of unjust acts that occur all of the time when it comes down to migrant workers all of the time. If these workers weren’t from another country would these kind of practices be allowed? I’m guessing not. In the article it goes on to talk about how Pedro could no longer find work after getting his construction job. This was after the strawberry field sprayed with pesticides that caused him to get ill. I think that this is why it was published in a medical journal to show the medical unjust that are occurring to the workers.
Maria M.
"Seeing that he was shaken, the foreman suggested he take a half-hour rest before returning to his job" (Palerm 171).
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through Pedro's story and hearing of his, and others, numerous jobs it really set into perspective how bad these workers have it. Even after risking everything to come to the states with very little money, people still take full advantage of them. Pedro for example traded in what should have been $125 worth for only an $80 return. then, referring to the quote above, Pedro almost seriously injured or even killed himself when he fell. And his foreman's response was to take a break? He was in no way checked out in the slightest or even asked if he was okay. He was merely told to take a half-hour break. It then talks of the living conditions he went through. These workers are living next to fields filled with chemical runoff, or in sheds where they sleep in tight quarters on top of manure sacks. not even a pillow or blanket given to them. The living as well as working conditions are relentless and these men who hire them dont even have the common decency to give them clean water. For the wages they are being paid, or not being paid in some cases, these owners could at least try to keep the labor thats costing them nothing healthy and safe.
James E.
"All this is occurring in the midst of the most modern, successful, and profitable agricultural business in the world"(174)
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me in the article because it describes the true greed, and selfishness that fuels the agricultural business. Not just greed by the companies, and the mass producers,"bosses",but greed by all of us, the everyday consumer as well. The whole article is ment to address the current set backs, hard times, and painful existences of migrant farm workers. Living their lives day after day serching for work, taking the most horrid of jobs that no one would want. Working in heat for hours on end to make no money. The fact that this article is screamming at the reader to just try and understand the troubles immigrant farm workers face shows how limited knowledge of this social problem truly is. Its the fault of the consumer just as much because of convienience and the final product, theberies in the supermarket that we want to see all year round. That we cannot live withought. And in this day of get what you want when you want it the thing that attracts all of the migration in the first place is what fules the uncaring for all of the work and glass half empty that goes on where we cannot see it. And like the quote says all this in an ever growing industry that cannot even want to spare a few bucks for better shelter, water, and rest stations for its employees.
The post inbetween Taijesh and claudia is from josh R
ReplyDelete