The U.S. Department of Labor is asking the Washington Western District of Washington Court to dismiss a lawsuit. According to the suit, the department is failing to protect Washington farmworkers’ wages and labor conditions.Read More
CAFÉ volunteers prepare boxes of supplies for agricultural workers, ensuring community support during extreme weather conditions. Pictured left to right, Yesenia Perez Ana Sanchez, Angelica Garcia-Macias, Joanna Sanchez, and Stephanie […]Read More
The U.S. Department of Labor updated the prevailing wage rates for temporary agricultural workers in Washington state. The move came after Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a farmworker’s union in Skagit County, sued the department last May for failing to protect local workers’ wages and labor conditions.Read More
The United States Department of Agriculture is soliciting applications for funding to build farmworker housing nationwide.
In the Pacific Northwest, leaders hope the money can address gaps in farmworker housing. The Pacific Northwest is in a housing crisis and that impacts rural small businesses and agricultural producers, as well as farmworkers, said Helen Price Johnson, Read More
Farmworkers, farmers and advocates gathered at two events – all working to get lawmakers’ attention about the agriculture overtime law. An annual tribunal defended farmworkers’ rights and the overtime law. A separate rally focused on the negative impacts of it. Read More
Farmworkers have met in central Washington to talk about a new overtime law and how it’s impacting their incomes. Farmers say… it’s not sustainable for them. Nonprofits organized rallies in Quincy and Sunnyside.Read More
Recently, a Yakima orchard family settled with the state for $500,000 in back wages owed to some 400 farm workers. [Photo courtesy of Washington State Fruit Commission] Read A family-owned […]Read More
Ostrom Mushroom Farm must pay 3.4 million dollars for discriminating against workers. The Washington state attorney general said Ostrom’s settlement with Washington state resolved the civil rights lawsuit against the company for unfair, deceptive and discriminatory actions against female farmworkers and Washington-based workers. Read More
Dolores Huerta spoke about her years of activism at the WSU Pullman campus April 3. (Credit: College Assistance Migrant Program) Listen (Runtime 1:07) Read Civil rights activist Dolores Huerta spoke […]Read More
Farmworkers’ families in Central Washington need more smoke safety information, accessible childcare, and other resources to be prepared for future smoke events. Those are the results of a recent study where researchers asked parents how they cope with wildfire seasons. Read More
Proposal bill 5476, designed to authorize an agricultural flexibility overtime period in Washington, has not advance in Legislature. Read More
Farmworkers are among the groups disproportionately affected by stress and anxiety. Researchers and healthcare providers say the pandemic increased economic struggles and job pressures. Still, agricultural workers are not always aware that it could impact their mental health. Read More
Farmers, workers and advocates testified on the proposed bill 5476 in Olympia. Credit: Scheen capture from TVW.org. Listen (Runtime 1:12) Read Thousands of farmworkers, advocates and farmers testified at the […]Read More
Only a year after a Washington law gave farmworkers the right to earn overtime, state lawmakers are discussing the issue again. If Washington lawmakers pass Senate Bill 5476 and House Bill 1523, agricultural employers could choose 12 weeks each year when farmworkers could work up to 50 hours without getting paid overtime wages.Read More
El líder de los trabajadores agrícolas Edgar Franks durante la COP27. Crédito: Familias Unidas por la Justicia. Lea Los trabajadores agrícolas están presionando por la justicia climática en Washington y […]Read More
Farmworker leader Edgar Franks during at COP27. Credit: Familias Unidas por la Justicia Listen (Runtime 1:09) Read Agricultural workers are pushing for climate justice in Washington and are now taking […]Read More
Maria Luz Oppen, right, and Harriet Weber at their StoryCorps Northwest recording. Listen (Runtime 4:27) Read Moving 400 miles isn’t easy. Now, imagine it was on horseback and by foot. […]Read More
Images recorded by Skagit County farmworkers who worked amidst the smoke in recent weeks. From Community to Community. Listen (Runtime 2:09) Read The emergency rules protecting outdoor workers from wildfire […]Read More
Trabajadores agrícolas y defensores del medioambiente pidieron al gobernador de Washington, Jay Inslee, que declare una emergencia climática en el estado.Read More
Farmworkers and environmental justice advocates want Washington Governor Jay Inslee to declare a climate emergency in the state.Read More
El calor puede afectar gravemente a quienes trabajan al aire libre. Por el peligro que supone trabajar con calor extremo, el Departamento de Trabajo e Industrias de Washington, (L&I, por sus siglas en inglés), está elaborando normas permanentes para proteger a estos trabajadores. Por el momento, hay normas de emergencia en vigor hasta septiembre. Sin embargo, los Read More
Grape crop. Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash. Listen (Runtime 3:49) Read Heat can severely affect outdoor workers. Because of the danger of working in extreme heat, the Washington Department […]Read More
Poster about heat related illness. Credit: www.weather.gov. Listen NWPB’s Johanna Bejarano reports on heat prevention (Runtime 0:52) Read High temperatures are expected across the country but not as severe in […]Read More
Women from Washington and across the country join the Bandana Project during Farmworker's Awareness Week and keep raising consciousness on Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The art-activism initiative celebrates its 15th year of calling attention to the sexual violence against farmworkers.Read More
Mujeres de Washington y de todo el país se unen al Proyecto Bandana durante la Semana Nacional de Concientización de los Trabajadores Agrícolas y al Mes de Concientización sobre la Agresión Sexual (SAAM, por sus siglas en inglés). La iniciativa de arte-activismo celebra sus 15 años llamando la atención sobre la violencia sexual contra los trabajadores del campo.Read More
Tras varios días de huelga y negociaciones, los trabajadores del tulipán del condado de Skagit llegaron a un acuerdo con Washington Bulb. Cortesía Edgar Franks/Familias Unidas por la Justicia Read […]Read More
A group of labor organizations, farmworker advocates and health experts are sending a letter to the Governors of Washington, Oregon and California with their recommendations on permanent rulemaking for heat and smoke protections for farmworkers.Read More
There’s a new tool to prevent pesticide exposure and illness among Latinx farmworkers. The University of Washington created the app, “Pesticide Labels, Now!’ to address language barriers on technical labels written in English.Read More
Over the past year, wildfire smoke has made the air quality in the Yakima Valley, Eastern Washington and parts of Oregon some of the worst in the country, and even in the world. When the air quality is bad, experts recommend people stay indoors, but that isn’t an option for outdoor laborers, like farmworkers.Read More
Washington on Friday became the second state in the Pacific Northwest in as many days to announce emergency rules that provide farmworkers and others who work outdoors more protection from hot weather in the wake of an extreme heat wave that is believed to have killed hundreds of people.Read More
As forecasters warned of a record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada last weekend, officials set up cooling centers, distributed water to the homeless and took other steps. Still, hundreds of people are believed to have died from Friday to Tuesday.Read More
Some top agriculture groups are upset with Washington Gov. Inslee because farm workers were not covered in last week’s announcement that fully vaccinated employees do not have to wear a mask or socially distance at work.Read More
Across the Northwest, many Latinx families are facing similar barriers to getting vaccinated and other issues. Adding to the complexity is powerful misinformation on social media and by word-of-mouth, the recent health concerns over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and religious reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Read More
The agriculture industry is asking Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee to move migrant farmworkers and food factory workers closer to the front of the line for the coronavirus vaccine because they perform work that cannot be delayed or performed remotely.Read More
Three Mid-Columbia farms are among those receiving the biggest fines in the state from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries for serious violations of agriculture regulations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. More than 20 farms have been cited for inadequate COVID precautions, The Tri-City Herald reported.Read More
A divided Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday the state’s dairy workers are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week, a decision expected to apply to the rest of the agriculture industry.Read More
According to community members in Bridgeport and Brewster, and farmworkers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, orchard supervisors told workers they needed to evacuate with little to no warning. Workers said they were told to grab their documents and quickly board company buses. Then, they were taken to a city park in Brewster, across the Columbia River. Read More
Farmworkers continue to pick Washington apples in the height of the state's harvest – even as the sustained smoke makes it hazardous to be outside, especially while doing strenuous work or exercise.Read More
A study out Monday found that Hispanic and nonwhite workers made up 73% of cases associated with workplace outbreaks in certain industries, despite representing 24% of the workforce in those sectors.Read More
Many of the county’s cases have spread in the small town of Brewster, where there is a large tree-fruit growing, packing and shipping industry. According to public health officials, there have been 885 positive cases in Okanogan County –– 518 in Brewster.Read More
Undocumented workers who lost income because of the coronavirus pandemic, but were passed over for federal assistance, will finally be getting some help in Washington state, thanks to a new $40 million relief fund.Read More
In the Columbia Basin, the Democratic challenger for Washington state’s 13th Legislative District house seat has focused his message on farmworker safety and called for the boycott of fruit. It’s quite a move for a candidate in a district where the economy is dominated by agriculture.Read More
Coronavirus cases in farm country have focused new attention on essential workers there, as well as the food supply chain. One issue is overtime. In most states, farm owners don't have to pay overtime to their employees. Now, a case before the Washington State Supreme Court could change that.Read More
In a lawsuit against fruit-growing giant Stemilt, workers say allegations stemmed from a change in production standards set forth in the company's guest worker contract. A separate case involved a challenge to Washington's rules on farmworker housing and sleeping quarters during the pandemic.Read More
Yakima County has the most COVID-19 cases per capita among West Coast states. The largely Latinx agricultural workforce helped secure the backbone of the local economy.Read More
So far this month, more than 400 Yakima Valley fruit packing workers have gone on strike, according to Familias Unidas Por La Justicia. The farmworker advocacy group, based in Skagit County, is helping these workers organize committees, negotiate with employers and seek legal advice. Read More
One of the most vulnerable groups currently working through the coronavirus pandemic is made up of immigrant farmworkers. As this population works through some of the unique challenges they face due to the coronavirus, one Tri-Cities radio station is trying to help.Read More
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is working with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to see how wage rates for immigrant farmworkers can be reduced. Critics say it will hurt all workers.Read More
Spring work starts up, ready or not. And Northwest growers are scrambling to figure out how to work around the global coronavirus pandemic and still bring in the coming harvest. Read More
