Crop laborers wake before dawn, board densely packed vans, venture down gravel roads and await the arrival of their supervisor all before 6 A.M. They commence their work in the fields, either manually planting, cultivating, or harvesting this season’s crop. Supervisors linger nearby monitoring the pace of work and watching over the precious cargo, barely taking note of the thermometer and their heat struck workers. After a 10 hour day and a number of 5-minute breaks, the workers return home to let their fatigued bodies rest in preparation for the next day. Why is this essential population subject to such difficult working conditions?
What is Agricultural Exceptionalism?
The failure to incorporate farmworkers in standard labor protections that apply to other industries forms the basis of agricultural exceptionalism. Farmworkers are the cornerstone of the United States agriculture industry, yet they are the very people that struggle to put food on their tables. They bear the brunt of extreme weather conditions, including high temperatures, frequent flooding, and increased wildfires, while navigating a low position in the hierarchical social order. Not to mention, laborers are exposed to noxious pesticides, have inadequate water and shade breaks, and encounter a gendered workplace characterized by a culture of machismo. Additionally, farm supervisors capitalize on workers’ volatile legal status by coercing them into upholding a strict code of silence, leading to increased psychological turmoil and physical illness. The vulnerability of laborers is exacerbated by little government oversight, stimulating the productivity of the agriculture sector while perpetuating harmful circumstances for field workers.
The exceptionalism doctrine is not only a result of social structures but also political and economic forces. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt bowed to the concerns of American growers by excluding agricultural workers from the National Labor Relations Act, setting the stage for systematic oppression and exploitation for years to come. As a result, farmworkers were not subject to a standard minimum wage, unemployment insurance, mandatory time-and-a-half overtime pay, child labor laws, retirement benefits, and the right to unionize without punishment. By 1966, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 extended minimum wage guarantees to agricultural workers, but has continued to exempt them from overtime provisions. Since then, only a fraction of states have passed provisions mandating overtime pay and workers compensation insurance for those in the farm business.
As the federal government has continuously turned a blind eye to agricultural workers, eleven states have taken the initiative to grant this population collective bargaining rights. However, the uneven inclusion of laborers and lack of protections from employer retaliation has led to a low union membership rate amongst farmworkers. Despite these challenges, the existing flagship unions have made some headway in regulating heat stress and increasing wages.
In regards to health care, field workers often face economic and legal barriers when seeking medical care. Undocumented immigrants are at a higher risk of being uninsured because they cannot receive federally subsidized health care and must rely on state and localities to offer programs. Migrant workers with H-2A agricultural visas also encounter significant barriers to health care due to paltry wages and language barriers.
COVID-19 and its Impact on Farmworkers
Agricultural exceptionalism makes farmworkers especially vulnerable to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A large share of crop farmworkers are foreign-born and hold no work authorization. Their precarious immigration status leaves them without economic security and renders them as second class citizens. Immigrants, both undocumented and documented, live in fear of falling ill, being deported, and becoming insolvent.
At the onset of COVID-19, field workers were recognized as essential to the nation’s food supply. For the first time, their efforts made the national spotlight as they continued to feed the country. The Department of Labor and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published voluntary agriculture specific guidelines for employers to adopt based on their feasibility. As of mid-July, only eight states mandated farm operations to provide personal protective equipment, COVID testing, implement workplace disinfection, and physical distancing. Sixteen states issued non-binding recommendations to growers, and twenty-six failed to provide any additional support. The failure of the federal government to enact mandatory legislation protecting those who reap our produce placed the responsibility on the states and left laborers to bear the onus of the pandemic.
Based on media reports, approximately 4,529 agricultural workers and family members have tested positive for COVID-19. This comes as no surprise considering the close living quarters workers share, the crowded buses they rely on for transportation, and the outdoor working conditions that make wearing masks uncomfortable. Many migrant workers have refused COVID testing out of fear of permanent job loss and deportation. Nearly 49% of horticulture workers are undocumented, making them ineligible for unemployment insurance and the federal stimulus check from the CARES Act. The economic threat of becoming ill outweighs personal health concerns. The assortment of immigration policies and lack of enforceable labor protections heightens health disparities and forces understaffed Community and Migrant Health Centers to provide treatment for the underserved.
Improving Farmworkers’ Safety
Federal policies pose something of a paradox; farmworkers are deemed as “critical infrastructure” workers, yet many of them are the target of anti-immigration campaigns.
If truth be told, the current structure of U.S farming would not survive without the labor of undocumented immigrants, for over half of the hired labor on farms lack immigration papers. The United States immigration framework allows agribusiness employers to keep wages low through the exploitation of migrant workers’ structural vulnerability. Essentially, the system forces farmworkers to be “exceptional” as they work long hours under dreadful conditions in exchange for limited services and protections.
Consumers have a fundamental misunderstanding that perpetuates the injustices in the agro-food system. They typically assume that food safety extends to those producing and harvesting crops. This notion is pushed by agribusiness lobbyists that play on the myth of small family farms to ensure that policymakers write favorable business regulations to the detriment of field workers. As consumers become increasingly aware of chemical inputs and genetically modified organisms in their food, concerns over food safety have been prioritized on the national agenda. Food safety and worker safety can be bridged through improved food certifications, such as the FairTrade International stamp and the Equitable Food Initiative model. These niche labels consider farmworkers as stakeholders in the food system, incorporating workers’ rights and fair labor practices into food safety.
If we hope to improve farm-labor conditions, the invisible nature of the U.S food system must be made visible– hence the importance of collective bargaining protections for all members of the agriculture sector. Farmworker unions have the infrastructure and potential to call attention to the current order of agricultural labor and reveal the unjust nature of the food system. They can also propose legislation to state officials and prepare class action lawsuits. As individuals, we can advocate on their behalf by supporting policy proposals that chip away at oppressive agriculture statutes. As citizens, we have the right to vote out representatives that fail to fight for farmworkers. And lastly, as consumers, we can shape the supply chain and drive positive change with our purchasing power.
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