História
USA: Study finds migrant farmworkers in Michigan experience precarious work, poverty, food insecurity & hazardous living conditions
I would like for workers to have a more humane and equal treatment. Agriculture is a very important and dignified job but they do not value our work.Interviewed migrant farmworker
A study published in Journal of Agromedicine, titled ‘Precarious Work and Housing for Michigan Farmworkers During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond’, analyses farmworkers’ access to quality housing, health, and good working conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Michigan Farmworker Project and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
The results were based on in-depth interviews with seasonal, migrant and H-2A workers in Michigan between 2020 – 2021. The majority of interviewed workers were women.
The article found:
- Over 38% of participants lived in poverty
- 27% had very low food security
- Almost half of participants rated their health as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’, and over a third reported three or more chronic conditions and a lack of health insurance.
- 25% of participants tested had Covid-19.
- Three quarters of participants reported being treated as ‘less than human’ by supervisors, and one-third reported verbal abuse.
- Around 80% of workers reported at least one environmental hazard in their accommodation.
- 33% of participants did not have air conditioning and around a third of respondents similarly did not have a functioning washing machine.
Shortcomings in the regulatory and policy environment result in precarious housing and work conditions, including exploitative labor practices. These conditions negate equality, fairness, and health equity, important tenants for public health."Precarious Work and Housing for Michigan Farmworkers During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond", Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios,Alexa Kort &Alexis J. Handa