Conditions for Migrant Workers

After watching two video reports on the plight of migrant farmworkers in the US, students were shocked and dismayed to find that conditions have hardly improved for these people in over 50 years! But the most disheartening facts concerned child workers--ages 10 to 18 years old. Did you know that US labor laws protect all working children except in agriculture?

Here are some other shameful facts:
• Children as young as 10 years old working illegally in agriculture
• Children missing out on education due to inadequate transfer of grades and school records
• Children working when they should be in school
• Preschool children in the fields exposed to pesticides because their parents have no child care
• Little or no education for farmworkers concerning hazardous chemicals and machinery
• Lack of protective clothing for workers in the field
• Lack of water and lavatory facilities to ensure cleanliness in the fields

The people who do the hardest labor and put food on America's tables are treated worse than animals! Writing letters to the US Congress and the Washington State legislature, students made the following comments and recommendations.