The Fields:

We begin our journey in the agricultural fields of Oregon. Perishable hand-harvested crops such as berries, cabbage, and pumpkins, require human labor to most effectively pick these fruit and vegetables.

It is important to point out that many of the fruits and vegetables we eat are actually harvested elsewhere and shipped to the US for consumption. For example, very little broccoli is now grown in Oregon. Instead it is grown in Mexico and mixed into frozen vegetable mixes here. Many Oregon farmers fear that this international competition will put US farmers out of business because they cannot compete with the cheap labor of other countries like Mexico and China. Therefore, most growers have come to prefer a cheap immigrant workforce in order to be able to keep up with the international price competition of agricultural products.

Many times, farm workers are paid by the piece, which can fall beneath minimum wage. The seasonal work in the fields often obliges many farm workers to have a migrant labor lifestyle, taking them from State to State throughout the year. The work in the fields is very tiring. Workers often spend eight to ten hours picking fruit without breaks. Sometimes they are not even allowed to use the bathroom or no bathroom facility is provided. Most farm workers have little or no benefits. Workers who are exposed to pesticides often suffer from rashes and other medical problems.

Growers hire supervisors who are in charge of supervising and hiring the workforce. Oftentimes, supervisors also sell the workers housing and food. Migrant workers often have no alternative to living in labor camps, so they end up paying up to 4$ per day to share a room with eight other workers and sleep in bunk beds.

Farm workers unions organize workers to obtain the right to bargain collectively as a group with their employers, to ensure basic rights including reasonable working conditions, just compensation for their work, benefits, freedom from sexual harassment, and provision of child care. The only farm worker union in Oregon is PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste) located in Woodburn. We will now hear three testimonies from the fields, a farm worker Sofía, a PCUN organizer Lorenzo and from Pete, who is a grower.

or Continue On to the Cannery