Farm and food workers’ labor and human rights are poorly protected and even more poorly enforced. Violations are on the rise. How can that change?
There are no federal workplace heat safety rules.
Just four states have heat rules that protect farm workers. Though the Department of Labor is working towards creating some, an effort to create some regs for farm and construction workers in Miami-Dade county made some noise and fizzled out because commissioners worried the rules could “potentially kill industry.”
No matter that heat illness kills dozens of workers and sickens thousands more each year.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 815 workers died and 70,000 more were seriously injured by heat stress between 1992 and 2017, though it’s difficult to quantify the stress that heat takes on U.S. workers, as it’s likely safe to assume that these numbers are distressingly underreported.
And it’s only going to get worse as climate change escalates and heat literally rises.
32 million people work outdoors in the United States. Not one of them is protected by workplace heat safety regulations, though OSHA has published unenforceable heat safety guidelines.
The Miami-Dade rules would have been some of the strongest, requiring construction and agriculture employers to train their workers to be aware of and respond to signs of heat exposure and to give workers clean water, a 10-minute break every two hours, and a covered area to cool down on hot days. Breaking the rules would have cost delinquent companies up to $2,000 per violation. The rules were being touted as a model for local governments, before their 6-10 defeat.
The H-2A Program
Picking tomatoes is seasonal, but there are plenty of outputs that are not. Dairy, for example, is not seasonal. The demand for dairy farm labor is year-round, which often means workers coming and going under the radar with no recourse for how their human rights are upheld on a farm. ProPublica has published a tremendous series on how lack of access to the H-2A program in the dairy industry has led to widespread, grievous abuses at dairy farms, even small family farms, across the midwest and VT.
The H-2A program is a way for U.S. farmers to hire foreign workers for temporary or seasonal jobs. To use this program, employers must prove they couldn't find enough American workers and agree to follow certain rules, like paying at least the prevailing wage. After meeting the requirements, employers file a petition with the U.S. Department of Labor to get approval for the temporary positions.
On a recent visit to Flamm Orchards in Cobden, IL, I saw firsthand how the federal H-2A program benefits both workers and employers. The Flamm family has been hosting a crew of 82 H-2A workers from Oaxaca for nearly 30 years, with housing included and a starting wage of $18.18/hr. Many of the workers who have been coming to Flamm Orchards for years are now bringing the next generation.
On a site visit at Flamm Orchards in March 2024.
The smaller the farm, the more ethical the labor… right?
When I talk to companies, there’s often an unspoken assumption that if they’re sourcing from small, family farms, there can’t possibly be human rights abuses, or at least no further labor due diligence is needed. There’s a prevailing thought that the smaller the farm, the more ethical the employment practices must be, but that is not necessarily true.
The truth is, even in the U.S., there are issues around unequal power that lead to labor abuses.
Child labor and insufficient legal protections continue to plague America’s farms, even in regions with seemingly strong regulations. Stagnant or declining enforcement budgets, when adjusted for inflation, render existing laws toothless.
The private sector's answer to this, the Sedex SMETA audit, has shortcomings. While programs like H-2A and OSHA provide a regulatory framework, they fall short in enforcement. Worker-driven social responsibility programs, exemplified by the Fair Food Program and the Milk With Dignity Standards Council, seem to be the most effective solution. These programs empower workers to have a voice and hold corporations accountable, achieving what traditional enforcement mechanisms struggle to do.
The media has illuminated modern slavery in the fishing industry (not enough, in my opinion). And perhaps because it happens in international waters, we assume that Americans are not the perpetrators. We think of faceless abusers at the helm of large operations located far, far away, closer to other countries and out of our hands. (For more on this, listen to this podcast detailing how Russia is trafficking Indian and Nepalese men into serving as mercenaries in their war in Ukraine.)
We don’t think about how the results of the enslaved peoples’ forced work ends up on our menus, grocery shelves, and plates. (And for more on this, read the chilling exposé The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier by Ian Urbina.)
The Fair Food Program’s Approach
Recent coverage in the Washington Post and Civil Eats highlighted the impactful strides made by the Fair Food Program (FFP) in safeguarding working conditions for farm workers. This program, which now covers 10 states and 20,000 workers, stands out as an excellent model of leveraging consumer power and worker empowerment to make significant strides while temperatures rise.
Buyers, including American food giants like Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s Burger King, and Subway, pay a small premium in exchange for the marketing opportunity to advertise their ethical sourcing practices. The next time you’re at the grocery store, check to see if there’s a small white, green, and black “Fair Food” label depicting a worker hoisting a bucket onto their shoulder.
In the 13 years since the FFP grew out of the Coalition of Immokalee workers, a worker-led program,
$2 million subsidies from the USDA have attracted at least 30 more farms, demonstrating a growing interest in ethical practices.
A 24/7 helpline and dedicated team have been established to ensure prompt action against violations.
Over 30,000 worker interviews, the recovery of stolen wages (in the realm of half a million dollars) on behalf of workers, and the firing of 19 supervisors accused of sexual harassment highlight the program's efforts to combat exploitation.
Empowering workers through rights training allows them to actively advocate for themselves.
The model has expanded into other commodities and countries, including poultry processing in Arkansas, dairy production in Vermont, and producers in Chile and South Africa.
The organization continues to seek out other food retailers to join the ranks, including Wendy’s, Publix, and Kroger.
Huge steps forward have been made for the workers who have been lucky enough to be at a FFP farm. Still, farm work is hard work and the tensions between workers and employers are far from relaxed.
Pushing the FFP movement forward
Right now, there are only “dozens” of farms currently participating of the 1.9 million farms in the U.S. As OSHA only inspects 0.57% of employers annually, the vast majority of farms operate under minimal federal oversight or the FFP’s standards. The absence of overarching federal heat safety standards leaves countless farmworkers vulnerable in extreme temperatures.
The FFP is doing good work, but a nongovernmental organization isn’t meant to do it all on their own. Push progress forward? Yes. Act as an example of what the federal government could do if it wanted to? Absolutely.
America’s farm workers need legislative action that will mandate fair wages, safe work environments, require reporting, and real repercussions for violations. They need resources directed towards expanding the FFP’s reach and strengthening its
enforcement mechanisms. Educating consumers about the program and encouraging them to support brands committed to ethical sourcing practices can further incentivize broader adoption.
The FFP's success underscores the potential of collaborative efforts involving consumers, businesses, and worker advocacy groups. However, its limited reach necessitates a multi-pronged approach and there is still much work to be done. It’s important to understand that the FFP is a place to start – not a final fix.
Heat will not be limited to southern states or faraway countries. As consumers, as workers, as employers, as voters, we all should be concerned with how heat is affecting our lives, from the food we consume to the workplace protections that should be in place for the people who harvest it. These programs are providing revolutionary access to human rights – and their limitations should tell you just how far we still need to go.
