U.S. Congress under pressure over farm worker deaths

Black farmworkers in the US have no protection. They feed Americans, and they are even begrudged water during hot weather.

According to a report published by the organization FDW.us, 73 percent of farmworkers in the U.S. are immigrants. Only half of them are working legally while the rest are doing black jobs. The primary reason why immigrants agree to work illegally is because their status in the U.S. is irregular – they are mostly illegal immigrants. They continue to come to the US in hopes of a better life.

But instead of a better life, they sometimes find death. Like Sebastian Francisco Perez, a 38-year-old from Guatemala who died on a farm in Oregon on June 26 during a record heatwave. In late June, temperatures in that area reached record highs of about 46 degrees Celsius. During hot weather, farmworkers are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of the weather, and black workers have a harder time of it than legal workers.

A black farm worker in Washington state told reporters at a conference organized by the farmworkers union (PCUN) that she was not only denied access to shade but even fresh water to drink during the heat. According to experts, black workers suppress concerns about unsafe working conditions due to fears of deportation, loss of jobs, or wages.

Some action was taken by Oregon Governor Kate Brown, who ordered the creation of emergency regulations to force employers to provide shade, breaks, and water for workers during hot weather. But legislation to protect farmworkers from excessive heat is still lacking at the federal level.

(rp.pl)