Roaming about eastern North Carolina, I met more than eighty farmworkers, roughly half of them here by way of the H-2A program. Not every interaction was extensive. They ranged from a few words during a single outreach visit to more than a year of dialogue. Some exchanges were in person, usually with the help of an interpreter. The rest took place on WhatsApp. That Spanish I could manage on my own, once I got used to texted Spanish.1
I have changed all farmworker names and other identifying information such as names and descriptions of their camps. Each of these individuals does exist. None are composites. The words quoted here came directly from distinct individuals, though some of those words are edited for readability. I have also altered the sequencing of some events, either to further protect identities or to aid readability.
The very fact that anyone writing about America’s farmworkers routinely uses pseudonyms, or otherwise hide their identities, says something all by itself about the fear of retaliation so prevalent within this community. Sigh.
In addition to farmworker names, I have also changed the names of a few other sources. All pseudonyms are indicated in the list below.
Interviews and correspondence
Each of the individuals below provided me with (or guided me to) information via in-person or online interview, email exchange, or messaging (mostly WhatsApp). The organizations listed here are those of relevance to this book and do not necessarily indicate current affiliations. Pseudonyms are marked with asterisks.
-Uvaldo Acosta, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Elena Aguilar*, farmworker
-Juan Allen, Access East
-Domingo Álvarez*, H-2A farmworker
-Dave Austin, Triangle Friends of Farmworkers
-Roberta Bellamy, NC Agromedicine Institute
-Neil Boisen, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Carol Brooke, North Carolina Justice Center
-Michelle Bullock, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Montserrat Caballero, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Juan Carabaña, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Silvia Cendejas, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Mauricio Chenlo, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Fred Clarkson, La Sagrada Familia, EFM
-Jill Cramer, NC Department of Labor
-Earl Dawson, Dawson Farms
-Pamela Dawson, Dawson Farms
-Robert Dawson, Dawson Farms
-Raquel Diaz*, farmworker
-Nathan Dollar, University of North Carolina
-Greta Durbin, author’s daughter
-Lorraine Durbin, author’s mother
-Marlow Durbin, author’s son
-Justin Flores, Farm Labor Organizing Committee
-Mary Lee Hall, Legal Aid of North Carolina
-Victor Hernández*, H-2A farmworker
-Jay Hill, North Carolina Growers Association
-Aaron Jacobson, Legal Aid of North Carolina
-Lori Fernald Khamala, NFM, Code The Dream
-Arturo López*, H-2A farmworker
-Nestor Martinez*, farmworker
-Robert Martinez, Access East
-Julio Molina*, H-2A farmworker
-Ariel Montanez, Pender Nursery
-Patricia Navarro, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Anna Novak, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
-Enrique Ortega*, H-2A farmworker
-Sebastian Pérez*, H-2A farmworker
-Anna Reyes*, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Linda Reyes*, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Clermont Ripley, North Carolina Justice Center
-Beth Rodman, NC DOL, Agricultural Safety and Health
-Alejandra Bravo Barrera*, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Ignacio Ruíz*, H-2A farmworker
-Caitlin Ryland, Legal Aid of North Carolina
-Wayne Sanderman*, Sanderman Farms*
-Jonathan Schultheis, NC State University
-Rob Segovia-Welsh, NC DOL, Agricultural Safety and Health
-Benito Serrano*, H-2A farmworker
-Marty Smith*, Calypso Creek Farms*
-Javier Suárez*, H-2A farmworker
-Fernando Torres*, H-2A farmworker
-Margarita Vasquez, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Baldemar Velasquez, Farm Labor Organizing Committee
-Katerina Whitley, Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
-Lee Wicker, North Carolina Growers Association
-Melinda Wiggins, Student Action with Farmworkers
-Leticia Zavala, Farm Labor Organizing Committee, IOF
Source citations
Introduction
Domingo Álvarez boards a bus: Domingo Álvarez to author.
Arturo López has been riding the H-2A bus for eight years: Arturo López to author.
Julio Molina is twenty-three: Julio Molina to author.
Chapter 1. The Guests in Our Fields
Mexico is not the only country providing H-2A workers: Philip Martin, “A Look at H-2A Growth and Reform in 2021 and 2022,” Wilson Center, January 3, 2022, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/look-h-2a-growth-and-reform-2021-and-2022.
the United States certified forty-four positions: “Primer: Evolution of the H-2A Visa Program,” Bipartisan Policy Center, September 15, 2021, https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/primer-h2a-visa/.
By 2014, that number had grown steadily: Marcelo Castillo, “H-2A Temporary Agricultural Job Certifications Continued To Soar in 2022,” March 13, 2023, US Department of Agriculture, https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/march/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-job-certifications-continued-to-soar-in-2022/.
That’s roughly the size of Mexico’s army: “Mexico,” The World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/.
Figure 1. H-2A Visas 1992-2022: Congressional Research Service, “CRS: H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visas: Policy and Related Issues (cited)” May 11, 2023
no other state received more H-2A farmworkers than North Carolina: US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Performance Data, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/performance. There is a trove of H-2A data here, for 2008 thru 2024 as of this writing, for anyone with the patience for sorting through it. I analyzed data only for employers based in one of the 50 US states (a few are based elsewhere). Note also that while an employer might be based in one state, the worksite might be in another. My counts are summations of numbers of workers certified, which can differ from the number of workers in the fields, as some individual workers might fill more than one job.
no other state received more H-2A farmworkers than North Carolina: “H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program—Selected Statistics, FY 2021,” Office of Foreign Labor Certification, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/H-2A_Selected_Statistics_FY2021.pdf.
no other state received more H-2A farmworkers than North Carolina: “H-2A Temporary Agricultural Job Certifications Continued To Soar in 2022,” US Department of Agriculture, https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/106010/H2A-Fig02.png?v=6232.5.
no other state received more H-2A farmworkers than North Carolina: “The H-2A Program in 2022 – Rural Migration News Blog | Migration Dialogue,” May 16, 2022
Figure 2. H-2A Visa Certifications: Top States 2008-2015: US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Performance Data, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/performance.
Figure 3. H-2A Visa Certifications: Top States 2015-2024: US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Performance Data, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/performance.
Today, it’s our leading crop: “Leading US States in Tobacco Production 2022,” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/192022/top-10-tobacco-producing-us-states/.
We are also the top producer of sweet potatoes: 2022 North Carolina Agricultural Statistics, US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service and North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/North_Carolina/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/AgStat/NCAgStatBook.pdf.
the second-largest producer of Christmas trees: “Christmas Tree Production by State 2024,” World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/christmas-tree-production-by-state.
The nation’s largest single employer of H-2A farmworkers: “NC Growers Association,” North Carolina Growers Association, https://www.ncgrowers.org.
hires roughly nine thousand H-2A farmworkers: See Chapter 10.
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, or FLOC, made history: Steven Greenhouse, “Growers’ Group Signs the First Union Contract for Guest Workers,” The New York Times, September 17, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/us/growers-group-signs-the-first-union-contract-for-guest-workers.html.
Anyone curious about farmworker unionization: “Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO: Called Upon to Challenge the Deplorable Conditions of the Broader Workforce That Remains Voiceless, Powerless, and Invisible to Mainstream America,” July 12, 2023, https://floc.com/.
twenty-five thousand H-2A jobs for North Carolina growers: H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program—Selected Statistics, FY 2021, US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/H-2A_Selected_Statistics_FY2021.pdf.
Figure 4. H-2A Certifications in North Carolina by Week 2022 and Figure 5. Certified H-2A Jobs in North Carolina by County 2022: Author analysis of US DOL H-2A job orders from NC employers for 2022. For this analysis I downloaded 611 job orders from https://seasonaljobs.dol.gov submitted by 916 different employers based in North Carolina. Most contract periods started and ended in 2022, but some started in the previous year and spilled into this one or started in this year and spilled into the next. My data set is not perfect, as some NC employers had worksites in Tennessee and Virginia.
H-2A farmworkers are not the only ones doing crop work here: “2019 Estimate of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers During Peak Harvest by County,” North Carolina Department of Commerce, Workforce Solutions, Agricultural Services.
Many seasonal and traveling migrant farmworkers lack work authorization: Researching this book, I met numerous men and women doing the hard work of planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops, or working in various phases of meat production, all lacking work authorization.
the consensus seems to be around 75 thousand: “2019 Estimate of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers During Peak Harvest by County,” North Carolina Department of Commerce, Workforce Solutions, Agricultural Services. This report, the most detailed farmworker census I could find, pegs the total at 74,096. Andrew Beal of the Department of Commerce urges caution in relying on these population counts by county and type (migrant, seasonal, full-time, and H-2A) as they are educated guesses of the Agricultural Services team based on historical estimates and their knowledge as professionals. Nathan Dollar, director of Carolina demography at UNC Chapel Hill, shared with me that he though seventy thousand or so was a reasonable estimate. An accurate count, according to Nathan, would take a carefully designed (and costly) effort with census takers visiting every labor camp in the state.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) is the chief federal agency behind the program: “Chicago National Processing Center, Ask the CO’s: H2 Visa Programs. Employment and Training Administration, USDOL,” Office of Foreign Labor Certification, May 2019.
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division: “H-2A: Temporary Agricultural Employment of Foreign Workers,” US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, http://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/agriculture/h2a.
And the US Department of Homeland Security: “The H-2A Program in 2022,” Rural Migration News (blog), May 16, 2022, https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/blog/post/?id=2720.
the Department of Labor’s Seasonal Jobs website: https://seasonaljobs.dol.gov.
the NCGA received applications from just three US workers: Jay Hill to author.
the full description of all H-2A program rules: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/agriculture/h2a and https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets?topic=h-2a and https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-workers.
known wonkily as the Adverse Effect Wage Rate: “Current Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs),” US Department of Labor, https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/adverse-effect-wage-rates#current-aewrs.
Employers must agree to not charge workers a recruiting fee: Although none of the farmworkers I met reported having to pay a recruitment fee, by some accounts this rule is routinely violated by recruiters in Mexico. According to a report by the Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, “it remains standard practice in Mexico for recruiters to charge workers for their services. 58 percent of workers surveyed reported paying a recruitment fee to their recruiter. The average recruitment fee charged was $590.” Recruitment Revealed: Fundamental Flaws in the H-2 Temporary Worker Program and Recommendations for Change, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc., https://cdmigrante.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Recruitment_Revealed.pdf. See also Mexican H2A Farmworkers in the U.S.: The Invisible Workforce. Jornaleros SAFE Report. 2010-2013 https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/d6_legacy_files/downloads/resource/executive_summary_jornaleros_safe.pdf
There are roughly 1,600 labor camps: Author analysis of US DOL H-2A job orders. My 1,600 figure is less than the roughly 2,000 migrant housing sites one can see on data available from the NC Department of Labor, for at least two reasons. One, the NC DOL list includes camps for non–H-2A migrant workers. Also, the state treats each structure that houses workers as a separate camp whereas my counting consolidates these when they are, for all intents and purposes, part of the same housing site.
Figure 6. North Carolina H-2A Farm Labor Camps and Figure 7. Sampson County Camps: Author analysis of US DOL H-2A job orders. Theme map by Eli Broun.
The state has clear health and safety requirements for migrant labor camps: See Chapter 8.
the required H-2A minimum wage, or AEWR: “Current Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR), US Department of Labor,” https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/adverse-effect-wage-rates.
the required H-2A minimum wage, or AEWR: “2025 AEWR – Labor Costs Continue to Climb,” Samantha Ayoub, MarketIntel, American Farm Bureau Federation, https://www.fb.org/market-intel/2025-aewr-labor-costs-continue-to-climb. This post has the best explanation I have found about how the AEWR is calculated, starting with this summary: “Each year, the Department of Labor (DOL) uses the “field and livestock workers’ combined” wage rate reported in the November Farm Labor report (based on the Farm Labor Survey or FLS) to establish most H-2A workers’ minimum wage, known as the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR)… The new wages become official when DOL publishes them in the Federal Register in December.”
the required H-2A minimum wage, or AEWR: “Farm Labor,” National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), November 20, 2024, https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/x920fw89s/pn89g082z/05743k75q/fmla1124.pdf.
the required H-2A minimum wage, or AEWR: “Adverse Effect Wage Rages (AEWRs) Effective July 1 to December 31, 2023,” US Department of Labor https://flag.dol.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/Historical%20AEWR%20Effective%20July%201%20to%20December%2031%202023.pdf.
Figure 8. North Carolina Certified H-2A Jobs by Employer Type: Author analysis of US DOL H-2A job orders from NC employers for 2022
mistreated H-2A farmworkers… are most likely to be among those brought here by an FLC: Costa, Daniel, Philip Martin, and Zachariah Rutledge. “Federal labor standards enforcement in agriculture: Data reveal the biggest violators and raise new questions about how to improve and target efforts to protect farmworkers,” Economic Policy Institute, December 15, 2020, https://www.epi.org/publication/federal-labor-standards-enforcement-in-agriculture-data-reveal-the-biggest-violators-and-raise-new-questions-about-how-to-improve-and-target-efforts-to-protect-farmworkers/.
decrease in investigations by the Department of Labor: Written testimony of Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research, Economic Policy Institute, US Senate Judiciary Committee, May 31, 2023, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/from-farm-to-table-immigrant-workers-get-the-job-done.
Nathan Dollar conducted research at UNC Chapel Hill: Nathan Tilghman Dollar, “Migration, Worker Empowerment, and the Development of State Agricultural Labor Regimes: A Historical Comparative Case Study of California and North Carolina (1880-2022),” PhD diss., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2022).
Says Diana Tellefson Torres: Testimony to US Senate Judiciary Committee of Diana Tellefson Torres, May 31, 2023, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/from-farm-to-table-immigrant-workers-get-the-job-done.
According to Leon R. Sequeira: Testimony to US Senate Judiciary Committee of Leon R. Sequeira, May 31, 2023, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/from-farm-to-table-immigrant-workers-get-the-job-done.
Daniel Costa, an attorney and researcher: Written testimony of Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research, Economic Policy Institute, US Senate Judiciary Committee, May 31, 2023, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/from-farm-to-table-immigrant-workers-get-the-job-done.
Chapter 2. Going North
Arturo López was born in 1979: Arturo López to author.
CSI Visa Processing is Mexico’s largest: “CSI Visa Processing (EN),” https://csivp.com/En/about.html.
an unusually functional Facebook page: “Facebook: CSI Visa Processing,” https://www.facebook.com/csivisa.
most of North Carolina’s guestworkers returning each year: Lee Wicker, North Carolina Grower’s Association, to author.
there are clear laws against gender discrimination: “MIGRANT WORKER WOMEN FILE FIRST COMPLAINT AGAINST THE U.S. GOVERNMENT UNDER THE UNITED STATES-MEXICO-CANADA AGREEMENT,” Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc., March 23, 2021, https://cdmigrante.org/migrant-worker-women-file-first-complaint-against-the-us-government-under-the-united-states-mexico-canada-agreement/.
the largest US Consulate in Mexico: “US Consulate General Monterrey,” US Embassy and Consulates in Mexico, https://mx.usembassy.gov/visas/u-s-embassy-mexico-city/u-s-consulate-general-monterrey/.
pay a six-dollar fee for their I-94 US visitor permit: US Department of Homeland Security Form I-94, https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home.
Video content includes: Lee Wicker and Jay Hill, NCGA, to author.
to take them to one of six transfer points around the state: Lee Wicker and Jay Hill, NCGA, to author.
Arturo’s camp is known . . . as Campamento Pepino: As with most camps, I’ve made up this nickname and some of its features, but all features are ones I’ve seen at one camp or another.
Payments from workers in one country to family members in another: “Remittances from Abroad: 17 Months of Steady Growth,” Mexico News Daily (blog), November 2, 2021, https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/remittances-from-abroad/.
In 2021, remittances to Mexico reached nearly $52 billion: Jazmin Aguilar Rangel, “Infographic: Remittances in Mexico Reach a Historic High,” Wilson Center, March 15, 2022, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/infographic-remittances-mexico-reach-historic-high.
H-2A farmworkers have almost no say in the hours they work: According to every H-2A farmworker I have asked.
The Tropicana supermarket: Arturo López to author.
Chapter 3. Carolina Crops
a list of registered processors with the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Program: “North Carolina Industrial Hemp Program—Registered Processors,” North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, February 1, 2023.
both are strains of the cannabis sativa plant: Trey Malone, “CBD, Marijuana, and Hemp: What Is the Difference Among These Cannabis Products, and Which Are Legal?” The Conversation, Michigan State University, April 6, 2021, https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/cbd-marijuana-and-hemp.
It’s another name for sorghum: “Sorghum,” Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, April 2022, https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/grains-oilseeds/sorghum.
Its fibers are used to make environmentally friendly products: “Kenaf,” Center for Crop Diversification, https://www.uky.edu/ccd/production/crop-resources/gffof/kenaf.
Figure 9. North Carolina Crops 2022: Author analysis of US DOL H-2A job orders from NC employers for 2022
North Carolina produces more of it: 2022 North Carolina Agricultural Statistics, US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service and North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/North_Carolina/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/AgStat/NCAgStatBook.pdf.
In 1997, smokers in North Carolina bought nearly 920 million packs: “The Shrinking Role of Tobacco Farming and Tobacco Product Manufacturing in North Carolina’s Economy,” Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, February 6, 2023, https://assets.tobaccofreekids.org/factsheets/0345.pdf.
gave plenty of tobacco growers a reason: Martha Quillin, “The point where there’s no money there: Some have moved on to soybeans, corn and wheat” The News & Observer, February 27, 2022. This is one of several stories Martha Quillin wrote on the massive changes facing the industry that once North Carolina. I highly recommend them.
more sweet potatoes come out of the ground here than in any other state: 2022 North Carolina Agricultural Statistics.
Indeed, it belongs to the morning glory family: “Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and Yams: What’s the Difference?,” Carnegie Museum of Natural History, https://carnegiemnh.org/potatoes-sweet-potatoes-yams-whats-difference/.
With the North Carolina Sweetpotato Act of 2020: Hannah Lewis, “Sweetpotato Is One Word,” North Carolina Field and Family (blog), August 15, 2022, https://ncfieldfamily.org/farm/sweetpotato-is-one-word/.
Chapter 4. The Ministry
In 1978, volunteers from a handful of Episcopal churches in North Carolina: “Timeline of the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry 1965 – 1999,” Episcopal Farmworker Ministry.
In 1981, someone donated a station wagon: Neil Boisen, the ministry’s first outreach worker, kindly provided a trove of media clips and personal recollections to this author.
Katerina Whitley, a parishioner and one of the driving forces: Katerina Whitley to author.
the legendary Rev. Lex Mathews: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2014/04/08/lex-mathews-pioneer-of-north-carolina-social-ministries-remembered/.
between fifty and one hundred thousand refugees fled the island nation of Haiti: Ashley Miznazi, “Celebrating 50 Years of ‘Boat People’ in South Florida,” The Haitian Times, December 14, 2022, https://haitiantimes.com/2022/12/14/celebrating-50-years-of-boat-people-in-south-florida/.
Amy Trestor would lead the ministry’s effort from 1983 to 1994: “Timeline of the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry 1965 – 1999,” Episcopal Farmworker Ministry.
In December 1998, the ministry too found a new home, on sixteen sprawling acres: Episcopal Farmworker Ministry historical chronology shared with the author.
“When I look into the face of a farmworker”: Several volunteers I met at ministry food distributions had known Father Tony and had only glowing things to say about him. This came from one of them.
“small pocket of love,”: Juan Carabaña, interim executive director and program manager at the ministry, used these words to describe the ministry under Father Tony’s leadership.
slogan on their website’s home page: I confirmed my memory of this slogan with the help of the Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org/.
One such family was that of Arcenio Navarro Reyes: Patti Navarro to author.
A 2014 article by the Episcopal News Service: “Ministry serves farmworkers through sacraments, outreach” by Lynette Wilson of Episcopal News Service. https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2014/10/10/ministry-serves-farmworkers-through-sacraments-outreach/.
the first Black person ever to fill that role: “Episcopal Church Elects Its First Black Presiding Bishop,” The New York Times, June 27, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/us/episcopal-church-elects-its-first-black-presiding-bishop.html.
Also that year, the ministry hired Juan Carabaña: Juan Carabaña to author.
The Rev. Frederick Clarkson, Spanish-language ministry coordinator: Fred Clarkson to author.
Silvia Cendejas would leave in 2017: Silvia Cendejas to author.
the hiring in 2018 of executive director Alejandra Bravo Barrera: Alejandra Bravo Barrera to author.
Alejandra did not have much time to settle into her new job: Alejandra Bravo Barrera to author.
which would infect and kill nearly seven million people worldwide: “WHO COVID-19 Dashboard,” WHO Health Emergencies Programme, https://COVID19.who.int.
thousands would get shots in their arms: Julia Wall, “Rural Vaccine Clinic Helps Protect Immigrant Communities from COVID-19,” The News & Observer, August 9, 2021, https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article253339853.html.
thousands would get shots in their arms: “Ministerio episcopal de obreros agrícolas responde a necesidades durante la pandemia del COVID-19” by Shireen Korkzan of Episcopal News Service. https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/06/23/ministerio-episcopal-de-obreros-agricolas-responde-a-necesidades-durante-la-pandemia-del-covid-19/.
Chapter 5. The Grower
for most of their history, the Dawsons’ main crop was tobacco: Robert Dawson, Earl Dawson, and Pam Dawson to author.
Ariel Montanez, a former Marine, manages the Pender Nursery: Ariel Montanez to author.
According to a 2016 Congressional Research Service report: The US Trade Situation for Fruit and Vegetable Products, Congressional Research Service, December 1, 2016, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL34468.
Marty Smith helps his dad run Calypso Creek Farms: Marty Smith to author.
Jay Hill at the NCGA fears: Jay Hill to author.
The AEWR doesn’t always go up: “Adverse Effect Wage Rate Chart 2009-2014,” US Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/historical_aewr_2007-2013.pdf.
Chapter 6. La Rompecabeza (The Puzzle)
Domingo Álvarez turned sixty in 2022: Domingo Álvarez to author.
Chapter 7. Spain vs. England
some four billion years ago: “Summer Is About Here. For That You Can Thank a 4-Billion-Year-Old Rock,” The Washington Post, August 15, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/06/20/summer-is-about-here-that-you-can-thank-billion-year-old-rock/.
some four billion years ago: Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything (Broadway Books, 2003)
some four billion years ago: “What Causes the Seasons?” NASA Science Space Place, https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en/.
It’s no surprise people have been growing crops: “A History of Native Americans in North Carolina,” Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, November 25, 2019, https://www.cmlibrary.org/blog/history-native-americans-north-carolina.
some twelve thousand years ago: Stephen R. Claggett, “North Carolina’s First Colonists: 12,000 Years Before Roanoke,” North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, Revised March 15, 1996. https://archaeology.ncdcr.gov/articles/north-carolinas-first-colonists.
His name was John Cabot: “John Cabot,” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Cabot.
Historian Juan Gonzalez explains: González, Juan. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America, 2nd ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 2022). This book has been revised and updated twice since it was first published in 2000. With a topic as dynamic as this one, I expect (and hope) it will be updated again.
established a colony of five hundred settlers: “Sixteenth-Century North Carolina Timeline,” North Carolina Museum of History, https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/learn/classroom/nc-fast-facts-and-timelines/sixteenth-century-north-carolina-timeline.
One reason was Spain’s own problems at home: González, Harvest of Empire.
most notably, the United States’ forceful takeover in 1846: Johnny Harris, “How the U.S. Stole Mexico,” July 27, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OmmxKiG4LE.
one must also consider the many geographic advantages of the area now home to the United States: RealLifeLore, “How Geography Made The US Ridiculously OP,” video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BubAF7KSs64
Eduardo Galeano, writing from the Latin American perspective: Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, 25th anniversary ed. (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1997).
our mainstay crop for nearly four hundred years: Joseph C. Robert, The Story of Tobacco in America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949), https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/chla3136323.
there were already people living here when the Europeans arrived: “A History of Native Americans in North Carolina.”
Others included rice and indigo: Jeffrey J. Crow, “Slavery,” Ncpedia, https://www.ncpedia.org/slavery.
Another went by the awkward name: David Walbert, “Naval Stores and the Longleaf Pine,” Ncpedia, https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/naval-stores-and-longleaf.
The origin of this one is also something of a mystery: Steve Case, “State Names and Nicknames,” Ncpedia, https://www.ncpedia.org/name-carolina-and-nicknames-old.
Starting in 1619 with the arrival of the White Lion: Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (New York: One World, 2021).
By 1729, there were six thousand men, women, and children: Crow, “Slavery.”
Most of them worked in agriculture: “The Growth of Slavery in North Carolina,” Ncpedia, https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/growth-slavery-north.
Special Field Order No. 15: Henry Louis Gates Jr., “The Truth Behind ’40 Acres and a Mule,’” The Root, January 7, 2013, https://www.theroot.com/the-truth-behind-40-acres-and-a-mule-1790894780.
With sharecropping, black and poor White farm families: Karin Lorene Zipf, “Sharecropping,” Ncpedia, https://www.ncpedia.org/sharecropping.
Sharecropping was only marginally better: “Sharecropping, Black Land Acquisition, and White Supremacy (1868-1900),” World Food Policy Center (blog), Duke Sanford, https://wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/north-carolina/durham-food-history/sharecropping-black-land-acquisition-and-white-supremacy-1868-1900/.
tenant farmers had it slightly better: “The Origins of Sharecropping and Tenant Farming in Eastern NC,” Tobacco Farm Life Museum, https://www.tobaccofarmlifemuseum.org/post/the-origins-of-sharecropping-and-tenant-farming-in-eastern-nc.
Shortly after the United States entered World War I: Philip Martin, “Mexican Braceros and US Farm Workers,” Wilson Center, July 10, 2020, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/mexican-braceros-and-us-farm-workers.
Hence, our government began deporting them: “Citizens Facing Deportation Isn’t New. Here’s What Happened When the U.S. Removed Mexican-Americans in the 1930s,” Time, August 2, 2019, https://time.com/5638586/us-citizens-deportation-raids/.
Employers in western states successfully argued: “Bracero Program: United States History,” Britannica Money, https://www.britannica.com/money/topic/Bracero-Program.
lawmakers believed there were enough US workers: Gladwin Hill, “Day of Alien Labor Over, Wirtz Tells Coast Farmers; Growers Must Compete for Domestic Workers, He Says After Tour; Wirtz Calls Era of Bracero Over,” The New York Times, March 29, 1965, https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/29/archives/day-of-alien-labor-over-wirtz-tells-coast-farmers-growers-must.html.
the transformative CBS News television documentary: Harvest of Shame, CBS Reports, November 26, 1960.
Like Upton Sinclair’s landmark book: Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2001).
In 1986, under President Ronald Reagan: Sadikshya Nepal, “Primer: Evolution of the H-2A Visa Program,” Bipartisan Policy Center, September 15, 2021, https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/primer-h2a-visa/.
as historian Cindy Hahamovitch writes: Cindy Hahamovitch, No Man’s Land: Jamaican Guestworkers in America and the Global History of Deportable Labor, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013)
It is, indeed, our Bracero III: “Bracero Program No. 3,” The New York Times, October 5, 1981, https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/05/opinion/bracero-program-no-3.html.
Chapter 8. The Labor Camps
In 1989, when the federal H-2A program was just getting underway: “Migrant Housing Act of North Carolina,” https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByArticle/Chapter_95/Article_19.pdf.
It draws heavily from federal standards: “29 CFR 1910.142—Temporary Labor Camps,” Code of Federal Regulations, National Archives, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/part-1910/section-1910.142.
Responsibility for enforcing the mandates of the MHA: “Agricultural Safety and Health,” North Carolina Department of Labor, https://www.labor.nc.gov/safety-and-health/agricultural-safety-and-health.
This gives the team of ASH inspectors just a couple of months each year: Beth Rodman, director, North Carolina Department of Labor Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau, to author.
A more accessible expression of the law: Field Operations Manual, Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau, North Carolina Department of Labor, November 27, 2018.
The “blue book”: a former employee of the Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau to author.
Nowadays you’ll find forty-five-year-old Rob Segovia-Welsh: “Carrboro Farmers’ Market,” http://www.carrborofarmersmarket.com/.
He and his wife, Monica, make up to five hundred loaves: “Rob Segovia-Welsh: Chicken Bridge Bakery,” Southern Foodways Alliance, October 4, 2018, https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/rob-segovia-welsh/.
“It made me want to yank my hair out,”: Marty Smith to author.
After a 2007 amendment of state law: Migrant Housing Act of North Carolina, https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/byarticle/chapter_95/article_19.html. “(h) Each migrant shall be provided with a bed that shall include a mattress in good repair with a clean cover. The Department of Labor of North Carolina inspector shall determine the condition of the mattress and cover during the preoccupancy inspection.”
Chapter 9. Three Dads
little say in what donations come in the door: Author observation on many visits to the ministry warehouse known as la bodega.
wants desperately to learn English: Ignacio Ruíz to author.
I knew Julio had a one-year-old baby at home: Julio Molina to author.
Chapter 10. The North Carolina Growers Association
Preparation for a growing season begins: Jay Hill and Lee Wicker to author.
twelve NCGA workers died: Lee Wicker to author.
Partnering with the NC Farmworker Health Program: “NC Farmworker Health Program: Working to Improve the Health of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers and Their Families,” NC Farmworker Health Program, accessed July 23, 2023, https://ncfhp.ncdhhs.gov/.
Jay Hill grew up on a North Carolina farm: Jay Hill to author.
Lee Wicker was born in 1971: Lee Wicker to author.
According to a 2015 article on BuzzFeed News, Craig Stanford Eury: Ken Bensinger, Jessica Garrison, and Jeremy Singer-Vine, “The Pied Piper Of North Carolina,” BuzzFeed News, December 29, 2015, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/the-coyote.
According to court documents: “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CRAIG STANFORD EURY, JR. KENNETH W. WHITE” US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, SUPERSEDING l:14CR39-l, l:14CR39-5.
According to court documents: “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CRAIG STANFORD EURY” US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, FACTUAL BASIS, 1:14CR39-1.
For this and other offenses: Ken Bensinger, Jessica Garrison, and Jeremy Singer-Vine, “The Pied Piper Of North Carolina,” BuzzFeed News, December 29, 2015, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/the-coyote.
He is no longer an employee of the NCGA: Jay Hill to author.
Lee Wicker was indicted for his alleged role: Lee Wicker to author.
Chapter 11. The Union
Fernando Torres is a veteran H-2A worker: Fernando Torres to author.
This entitles him… to grievance procedures: “Agreement: The North Carolina Growers Association, Inc. and Its Member Growers and Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO,” November 14, 2016.
To understand FLOC, one must know something about: “Baldemar Velasquez on Fighting for Farmworkers,” Moyers & Company, July 7, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m_yOzG1uEw.
At the age of twenty, he founded FLOC in Ohio: “History of FLOC,” January 1, 2000, Indiana University, https://anthkb.sitehost.iu.edu/a104/mexico/flochist.htm.
Bolstered by his successes in Ohio: Somini Sengupta, “Farm Union Takes Aim At a Big Pickle Maker,” The New York Times, October 26, 2000, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/26/us/farm-union-takes-aim-at-a-big-pickle-maker.html.
One of those advocates was Lori Fernald Khamala: Lori Khamala to author.
The North American Free Trade Agreement… devastated the town’s corn-based economy: Shasta Darlington and Patrick Gillespie, “Mexican farmer’s daughter: NAFTA destroyed us,” CNN, February 9, 2017, https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/09/news/economy/nafta-farming-mexico-us-corn-jobs/index.html.
It was the first time that farmers in this historically antiunion state: Steven Greenhouse, “Growers’ Group Signs the First Union Contract for Guest Workers,” The New York Times, September 17, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/us/growers-group-signs-the-first-union-contract-for-guest-workers.html.
In fifty-nine pages, with minimal legalese, the CBA spells out: “Agreement: North Carolina Growers Association, Inc. and Member Growers and Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO,” November 14, 2016.
Nobody at FLOC will ever forget what happened to Santiago: Milli Legrain, “‘Be Very Careful’: The Dangers for Mexicans Working Legally on US Farms,” The Guardian, May 16, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/16/us-mexico-immigration-seasonal-work-visas-h-2a.
Justin Flores was born in 1984: Justin Flores to author.
North Carolina is a right-to-work state: “Right-to-Work Law,” Ncpedia, https://www.ncpedia.org/right-work-law.
In 1947, the state made it illegal: “Right to Work States: North Carolina,” National Right to Work Foundation, https://www.nrtw.org/right-to-work-states-north-carolina/.
FLOC has 396 dues-paying members: “Form LM-2 Labor Organization Annual Report” (amended) submitted for Farm Labor Organizing Committee, May 9, 2024, signed by Baldemar Velasquez (President) and Christiana Wagner (Treasurer)
six thousand… signing of the CBA twenty years ago: Cindy Hahamovitch, No Man’s Land: Jamaican Guestworkers in America and the Global History of Deportable Labor (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013).
the Campaign for Migrant Worker Justice: Campaign for Migrant Worker Justice, https://cmwj.org/.
and contributions from the NCGA: “Agreement: North Carolina Growers Association, Inc. and Member Growers and Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO,” November 14, 2016.
In early 2016, having filed a lawsuit: Various media reports as confirmed by individuals personally familiar with the matter.
In May of 2017, to help laud his achievements: Sarah Elms, “FLOC Chief Looking for Leader of Future,” The Blade, June 1, 2017, https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2017/06/01/FLOC-chief-Baldemar-Velasquez-looking-for-leader-of-future.html.
he told a reporter for the Toledo newspaper The Blade: Sarah Elms, “FLOC Chief Looking for Leader of Future,” The Blade, June 1, 2017, https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2017/06/01/FLOC-chief-Baldemar-Velasquez-looking-for-leader-of-future.html.
and considered him a family friend: Vasquez, Tina. “Shepherds of the FLOC,” The Assembly, October 13, 2023, https://www.theassemblync.com/environment/agriculture/farmworkers-union-floc-leadership/.
a federal judge struck down one of the two measures: “Federal Court Ruling a Major Victory for Farmworker Rights,” ACLU North Carolina, September 16, 2021, https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/en/news/federal-court-ruling-major-victory-farmworkers-rights.
They also organized a committee: “El Futuro Es Nuestro: It’s Our Future,” https://elfuturoesnuestro.org/.
On their website: El Futuro Es Nuestro – It’s Our Future, https://elfuturoesnuestro.org/.
Baldemar collected 135 votes: Moran, Grey. “A Contested Election Is Fracturing a Farmworkers’ Union,” Civil Eats, January 30, 2023, https://civileats.com/2023/01/30/a-contested-election-is-fracturing-a-farmworkers-union/.
According to Baldemar: Email to supporters, March 19, 2023
According to Leticia: “FLOC Convention Election Votes – as estimated by El Futuro Es Nuestro / It’s Our Future” Email to supporters, April 29, 2023.
Baldemar fired her. He also fired Maria Mejia: Moran, Grey. “A Contested Election Is Fracturing a Farmworkers’ Union,” Civil Eats, January 30, 2023, https://civileats.com/2023/01/30/a-contested-election-is-fracturing-a-farmworkers-union/.
According to an article: O’Neill, Patrick. “Prolonged Leadership Dispute Rankles Major Farm Labor Union,” National Catholic Reporter, October 20, 2022, https://www.ncronline.org/news/prolonged-leadership-dispute-rankles-major-farm-labor-union.
Before the wrenching year of 2022 came to a close: Gary D. Robertson, “Appeals Court Restores N. Carolina Law Addressing Farm Labor,” Associated Press, December 28, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/politics-north-carolina-state-government-business-32d203374ead3f6f8af9cb38be5c5c80.
the US Department of Labor in June 2023: Letter to Baldemar Velasquez from Lyle A. Hollowell, supervisory investigator, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Cincinnati-Cleveland District Office, US Department of Labor, July 11, 2023.
FLOC held a new election on September 26, 2024: Determination, US Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, November 14, 2014, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OLMS/regs/compliance/foia/2024/det/11nov/UNAFF_11-14-24_Redacted.pdf.
IOF leadership had decided not to support a slate of candidates: FLOC Election Tainted Again with Dozens of Violations, It’s Our Future, Newsletter to supporters, October 29, 24
with 300 North Carolina farmworker members: Vasquez, Tina. “Shepherds of the FLOC,” The Assembly, October 13, 2023, https://www.theassemblync.com/environment/agriculture/farmworkers-union-floc-leadership/.
Baldemar received 210 votes: FLOC Rerun Election – Publication of Results, https://floc.com.
the US Department of Labor investigated allegations of misconduct: Determination, US Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, November 14, 2014, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OLMS/regs/compliance/foia/2024/det/11nov/UNAFF_11-14-24_Redacted.pdf.
We’re firm believers in unions and unionism: Leticia Zavala to author.
Chapter 12. Health & Safety
The thirty-eight-year-old dad had been coming north: Benito Serrano to author.
Blood clots afflict up to nine hundred thousand people: “Blood Clots in Veins, Heart, and Lungs,” Yale Medicine, https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/blood-clots-in-veins-heart-and-lungs.
Officially, Juan and Robert are ACA navigators: Robert Martinez and Juan Allen to author.
For workers arriving . . . acclimation is the key: “Beth Rodman, Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau,” Inside NC Labor podcast, March 27, 2019, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beth-rodman-agricultural-safety-and-health-bureau/id1453852593?i=1000433593351.
A report by Farmworker Justice: “Exposed and Ignored: How pesticides are endangering our nation’s farmworkers,” A Report by Farmworker Justice, https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Exposed-and-Ignored-by-Farmworker-Justice-email-version.pdf.
Workers know it as the Green Monster: Da Yeon Eom, “Guest Workers on North Carolina’s Tobacco Farms Are Fighting a ‘Green Monster,’” Civil Eats, August 13, 2021, https://civileats.com/2021/08/13/guest-workers-on-north-carolinas-tobacco-farms-are-fighting-a-green-monster/.
how medical researchers John May and Thomas Arcury summarize it: Thomas A. Arcury and Sara A. Quandt, eds., Latinx Farmworkers in the Eastern United States: Health, Safety, and Justice (Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2020), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36643-8.
He was back in Mexico, recuperating from surgery: Javier Suárez to author.
Chapter 13. Human Trafficking
In a case filed in 2020 in US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina: Jose Rolando Moshan-Martinez et al. v. Francisco Valadez Jr. LLC et al., US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division, September 28, 2020.
Eventually, all the plaintiffs would escape, and their story would get the attention of attorneys: North Carolina Justice Center, https://www.ncjustice.org/; Farmworker Unit, Legal Aid of North Carolina, http://www.farmworkerlanc.org.
Eury had been a foe of the organization for some time: Ken Bensinger, Jessica Garrison, and Jeremy Singer-Vine, “The Pied Piper Of North Carolina,” BuzzFeed News, December 29, 2015, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/the-coyote.
federal enforcement is waning: Written testimony of Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research, Economic Policy Institute, US Senate Judiciary Committee, May 31, 2023, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/from-farm-to-table-immigrant-workers-get-the-job-done.
In March 2021, the Wage and Hour Division: “US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INVESTIGATION RESULTS IN JUDGE DEBARRING NORTH CAROLINA FARM LABOR CONTRACTOR FOR NUMEROUS GUEST WORKER VISA PROGRAM VIOLATIONS,” United States Department of Labor, March 16, 2021, https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20210316.
Two years later, they fined him again: “US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FINES NORTH CAROLINA EMPLOYERS $139K AFTER THEY SHORTCHANGED FARMWORKERS; SEIZED PASSPORTS, VISAS TO INTIMIDATE THEM,” United States Department of Labor, November 16, 2023, https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20231116.
In April 2022, the NCJC and LANC announced a settlement: “Legal Aid of North Carolina Farmworker Unit and North Carolina Justice Center reach settlement with agricultural employers in human trafficking case,” North Carolina Justice Center, April 20, 2022, https://www.ncjustice.org/media-release-farmworker-settlement/.
Chapter 14. Those Without Papers
farmworker Sebastian Pérez is on that crew: Sebastian Pérez to author.
That’s when Roberto Quintero, a city worker in San Antonio: “Statement of Man Who Called 911,” Hoy Día, Telemundo, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1073722779888944
For most of the sixty-seven men, women, and children: Eric Gay and Elliot Spagat, “‘Horrific Human Tragedy’: 50 Migrants Die in Hot Semi-Truck Abandoned in Texas,” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (blog), June 27, 2022, https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/dozens-found-dead-san-antonio-texas-truck-tractor-trailer/3001777/
Twenty-seven of those who died: Delmer Martinez, Sonia Perez D., and Christopher Sherman, “Migrants in Sweltering Trailer in San Antonio Died Seeking Better Lives,” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (blog), June 30, 2022, https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/migrants-in-sweltering-trailer-in-san-antonio-died-seeking-better-lives/3004005/.
the overall number of unauthorized border crossings from Mexico has decreased: David J. Bier, “How Guest Workers Affect Illegal Immigration: Mexican Visas and Mexican Border Apprehensions, 1943–2022,” CATO Institute : Policy Analysis, December 1, 2022, https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/how-guest-workers-affect-illegal-immigration.
Spanish-language news outlets would report: “El Tráiler Del Muerte,” https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=621696532227394.
In September, on the very day I thanked Sebastian: David Montgomery and Miriam Jordan, “Nine Migrants Drown as Dozens Are Swept Down Rio Grande,” The New York Times, September 3, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/us/migrants-rio-grande-texas.html.
The year 2022 would turn out to be the worst year yet: Adam Isacson, “Weekly US–Mexico Border Update: Migrant Deaths, Buses from Texas, Smugglers and Social Media,” WOLA (Advocacy for Human Rights in the Americas) (blog), July 29, 2022, https://www.wola.org/2022/07/weekly-u-s-mexico-border-update-migrant-deaths-buses-from-texas-smugglers-and-social-media/.
Elena Aguilar is forty-seven: Elena Aguilar to author and research assistant.
Nestor Martinez is forty-five: Nestor Martinez to author.
Raquel Diaz is forty-seven: Raquel Diaz to author.
Chapter 15. The Ministry, Part II
More staff had left during that time, some voluntarily and some not: Former staff to author.
Juan Carabaña Escudero was born in 1966: Juan Carabaña to author.
Fortunately, the dental clinic: “CommWell Health—Affordable, Quality, Health Care Services,” https://commwellhealth.org.
The largest of these is the Food Bank: Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, https://foodbankcenc.org/.
Chapter 16. Finding Farmworkers
He was a member of the Senior Executive Service: “Senior Executive Service,” US Office of Personnel Management, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/.
Cesar Chavez had called for a new boycott: “Grape and Lettuce Boycott to Widen,” The New York Times, November 10, 1973, https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/10/archives/grape-and-lettuce-boycott-to-widen.html.
establishing . . . the rights of US farmworkers to unionize: Wallace Turner, “California Farm Workers Law Passed,” The New York Times, May 30, 1975, https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/30/archives/california-farm-workers-law-passed.html.
IBM was one of its first tenants: “Where People + Ideas Converge,” Research Triangle Park, July 21, 2023, https://www.rtp.org/.
In 2014 I wrote an article: Michael Durbin, “The Secret Lives of America’s Migrant Farmers,” Narratively, September 3, 2014, https://www.narratively.com/p/the-secret-lives-of-americas-migrant-farmers.
SAF sends interns to work with various agencies: “Student Action with Farmworkers,” https://saf-unite.org/.
Then I turned it over to Code the Dream: “Code the Dream: Real Talent. Real Experience. Real Impact.,” Code the Dream, https://codethedream.org/.
Enrique Ortega has been coming north for eleven years: Enrique Ortega to author.
She is a child of farmworkers: Juan Carabaña and Margarita Vasquez Martinez to author.
State law prohibits kids under the age of fourteen from working: “Work Hour Limitations for Youth,” North Carolina Department of Labor, https://www.labor.nc.gov/workplace-rights/youth-employment-rules/work-hour-limitations-youths.
Chapter 17. Going Home
Arturo’s camp had been inspected earlier in the year: “Registered-Certified Camp Report,” NC Department of Labor, Agricultural Safety & Health Bureau.
to go seat by seat and collect la mordida, or bribe: Claudia Rivera Cotto and Grace Vitaglione, “Migrant Farmworkers in NC Face a Challenging System,” Carolina Public Press, December 13, 2023, https://carolinapublicpress.org/62478/migrant-farmworkers-nc-power-dynamics/.
According to Mexico News Daily: “Migrant ‘Heroes’ from US Greeted with Demands for Bribes, Extortion,” Mexico News Daily (blog), December 20, 2021, https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/migrant-heroes-bribes-extortion/.
Chapter 18. How Things Could Be Better
where most farmworker abuse occurs: Costa, Daniel, Philip Martin, and Zachariah Rutledge. “Federal labor standards enforcement in agriculture: Data reveal the biggest violators and raise new questions about how to improve and target efforts to protect farmworkers,” Economic Policy Institute, December 15, 2020, https://www.epi.org/publication/federal-labor-standards-enforcement-in-agriculture-data-reveal-the-biggest-violators-and-raise-new-questions-about-how-to-improve-and-target-efforts-to-protect-farmworkers/.
Nationally, the FLC share of H-2A certifications grows each year: “H-2A Temporary Agricultural Job Certifications Continued To Soar in 2022,” March 13, 2023, US Department of Agriculture, https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/march/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-job-certifications-continued-to-soar-in-2022/.
- Other Spanish-language learners will do well to learn to recognize key abbreviations used on WhatsApp and other such messaging platforms. As in English, in Spanish all sorts of expedience conventions have evolved. Silent letters like h are dropped, as are accents. To avoid having to thumb one of those, the Spanish for yes is texted as sii, preserving si for the Spanish word for if. The common letter combo qu is represented by a simple k (as in aki for here, which in spelled-out Spanish is aquí) and b often represents a v, which in Spanish is pronounced like our b. The most curious bit of the Spanish texting lexicon, or texticon, if you will, might be the use of the letter x for the Spanish word por, which in English means for. It’s from multiplication. The English two times two translates in Spanish to dos por dos, or, numerically, 2×2, as in English. Hence, xmiconveys for me in texted Spanish and xk is short for porque, which means because. ↩︎
Michael Durbin 
