farmworkers

Filipino and Mexican American farmworkers united in 1965 to strike against California grape growers, under the stewardship of Filipino labor leader Larry Itliong and one of the founders of the National Farm Workers Association, César Chavez.

The shattered legacy of Latino labor rights icon César Chavez has been particularly devastating among advocates who have long fought to raise awareness about sexual harassment and abuse against women farmworkers, which remains both widespread and underreported.

Lion Farms LLC has been ordered to pay over $100,000 following a fatal accident involving farmworkers in 2024.

Fearful of sharing sensitive information, California farmworkers began staying away from mobile medical clinics after President Trump took office. “There’s a lot of distrust,” said a doctor who works with them.

Coupled with exertion, extreme heat exposes agricultural workers to more health risks, including miscarriages, stillbirths, preterm births and low birth weight in infants.

A study by a Bay Area think tank suggests California’s key industries would suffer without undocumented immigrant workers.

Over half of California farmworkers are undocumented. Recent raids have put the industry on edge.

Federal agents have rounded up dozens of California farmworkers in large-scale raids at packinghouses and fields that farm bureaus say threaten businesses that supply much of the country’s food. Community advocates said several dozen immigrants were arrested after agents raided packing sheds and fields. Many of the arrests took place on farms northwest of Los Angeles.

Dairy and poultry workers have accounted for most cases of the bird flu in the U.S. — and preventing and detecting cases among them is key to averting a pandemic. But public health specialists say they’re struggling to reach farmworkers because many are terrified to talk with strangers or to leave home.

Farmworkers in particular commonly lack access to unions and bargaining rights that could help prevent wage theft, discrimination and dangerous working conditions.