Growing pains for farmers and farm laborers
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July 16, 2014
Union reps, laborers, students and others marched in front of Sakuma Bros. farm stand on Cook Road in Burlington on Friday to demonstrate support for local farmworkers. – Photo by Don Coyote
Skagit is known for its sweet strawberries come June, but there has been nothing sweet about the season this year at the Sakuma Bros. Farm.
The largest producer of berries in the valley finds itself at the center of a bitter dispute involving labor unrest, a boycott, and continued legal battles that have kept the company in the headlines.
Journalist Anna Ferdinand explains the issues facing farms and their labor pools.
Farm labor has changed over the past several years, with the once migrant workers no longer so migrant, partly due to tighter borders. Undocumented workers who have been here for many years seek wages and working conditions at least on par with the federally approved, and mostly less experienced, guest workers the government allows into the country.
Union organizers and advocates on both sides have also stepped into the fray. Meanwhile, farmers say they need a stable, dependable workforce and the ability to stay in business while growing produce with prices that are dictated by consumers...
Anna brings clarity to the complicated issue facing farms and farm workers in the July 16 issue.
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