Dignity in the fields

The U.S. food system is the largest industry employer in this country, with more than 28 million individuals laboring across production, processing, distribution, and more. Across these sectors, food workers experience some of the lowest wages and rates of unionization in the country, and some of the highest rates of injury and food insecurity.

Zooming in on agriculture in particular, we see a long history of exploitation that has gone hand-in-hand with federal legislation that has served to set the ag industry apart as “exceptional.” In particular, two New Deal-era laws excluded farmworkers from many of the workplace protections extended to other industries – like the right to organize and collectively bargain, the observation of the 40-hour work week, and the payment of overtime wages. 

Too often, agricultural labor is regarded as unskilled, dirty, and uneducated labor - which serves the double purpose of keeping the experiences of agricultural workers far from the public view.

These conditions and views, which are interwoven with long histories of creating workforces of immigrant labor through colonial economic and migration policies, have further primed agricultural workers for exploitation. And with more federal resources being poured into ICE raids, farmworkers with marginalized status and precarious protections face threats of deportation, family separation and direct physical violence. 

And yet, we also see communities taking action everywhere to support and protect each other, share resources, show solidarity and demand to be treated with dignity. Growing food for our communities is truly noble and crucial work despite voices who may say otherwise.

We also sometimes hear the message that immigrant labor is valuable because immigrants do work that U.S. citizens don’t want to do as a way to justify protecting immigrants from deportation.

We want to push back on this framing and instead recenter the larger vision: that all people deserve dignity and protection regardless of the work they engage in; that we can move toward the vision that every labor experience in farming can be dignified, honored, protected and recognized; and that what matters is building a world where people can grow food for themselves and their communities, connect to land, and sustain themselves. 

Additional resources:

• Video: Protect Workers From ICE

• ICE Toolkit for Employers

• Private / Not Open to the Public signs/stickers

• Printable “Know Your Rights” cards

  • Dual-language (English, Spanish) card template

  • Dual-language (English, Hmong) card template 

  • How to use your red card

• A Guide for Employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace

• Impacts of Deportations on Food Supply 

• Immigration Reform, H2A, and Justice for Farmworkers (2023)