Supreme Court decision could mean increase in labor trafficking of farmworkers
Experts say the Supreme Court decision to restrict union organizers from farms could have an unintended consequence: an increase in labor trafficking of farmworkers. Author: Kate Cimini, The California Divide Published: 2:53 PM PDT July 12, 2021 Updated: 2:53 PM PDT July 12, 2021
CALIFORNIA, USA
This story was originally published by CalMatters.
In June of 2018, two Monterey County site inspectors visited a Salinas cannabis farm, where they encountered a small group of farmworkers who they suspected had been trafficked.
The farmworkers, who spoke no English, took off running when Monterey County Resource Management Agency officials approached them. They couldn’t go far, though the cultivation site was fenced in. The farmworkers seemed terrified, the county’s prosecuting attorney later said.
Fieldworkers are photographed picking strawberries on Saturday, April 25, 2020.
Experts say the Supreme Court decision to restrict union organizers from farms could have an unintended consequence: an increase in labor trafficking of farmworkers.
In June of 2018, two Monterey County site inspectors visited a Salinas cannabis farm, where they encountered a small group of farmworkers who they suspected had been trafficked.
The farmworkers, who spoke no English, took off running when Monterey County Resource Management Agency officials approached them. They couldn’t go far, though the cultivation site was fenced in. The farmworkers seemed terrified, the county’s prosecuting attorney later said.
I m not interested.
Labor trafficking is a form of human trafficking. It involves forcing or coercing someone to provide labor or services, such as picking produce in the fields or washing dishes in a restaurant.
California’s Department of Justice estimates that up to 17,500 trafficking victims are brought into the country annually. Men, women, entire families, and children as young as 5 years old have been found to be victims of labor trafficking in agriculture, working as migrant or seasonal farmworkers harvesting and packing crops or raising animals, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Given its enormous agricultural sector, Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Greg Peterson said the county is likely a leading county for labor trafficking. However, experts say it is significantly underreported and under-enforced in comparison to sex trafficking.
Salinas Californian
In June of 2018, two Monterey County site inspectors visited a Salinas cannabis farm, where they encountered a small group of farmworkers who they suspected had been trafficked.
The farmworkers, who spoke no English, took off running when Monterey County Resource Management Agency officials approached them. They couldn t go far, though –– the cultivation site was fenced in. The farmworkers seemed terrified, the county s prosecuting attorney later said.
Their behavior was unusual enough that inspectors asked Monterey County Sheriff s deputies to investigate.
It soon became clear the dozen or so Hmong farmworkers, employed by labor contractor Levi Trimmigration, were living in substandard housing: metal shipping containers furnished only with camping equipment. They had no running water, no ventilation, and slept on camping cots.