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HOME
Farmworkers
continue to face some of the harshest working and living conditions
in this country. During the last 20 years, agriculture has gone
from the third to the most hazardous occupation (U.S. Department
of Labor). This reality is not inherent to agriculture but instead
has been shaped by deliberate policy decisions that have repeatedly
held agriculture to a lower standard than other industries.
Farmworkers are second-class citizens living in third world conditions
in one of the richest countries in the world. They have fewer rights
and legal protections than workers in any other industry. Farmworkers
are a marginalized community, not only in the physical sense of
living on the outskirts of society in farm labor camps that are
tucked away and hidden, but also in terms of language, limited
educational opportunities, different customs, and an attitude of
fear towards them. This is clearly seen in the inadequate health
and safety protections afforded farmworkers as well as their disproportionate
exposure to occupational environmental hazards such as pesticides.
To address this reality, the Farmworker Health and Safety Institute
works with grassroots farmworker organizations to cultivate worker
leadership development around health and safety and environmental
justice issues. Farmworkers are an integral part of our food system.
As they plant, tend to, and harvest the fruit and vegetables that
we eat, not a day goes by that their labor does not affect our
lives. |
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