Reading of the deductions in pay for supplying housing to workers, I’m reminded of the “company towns” established in mining communities. What a regression.
I’m thinking of the depression era, 1930’s dust bowl years and migrant work camps in CA., horrible, depressing and meant to keep the migrants poor and unable to better themselves.,unable to access healthcare and/or pay for it. Substandard housing also taken from your pay, no schools for the children. Just like company mining towns, workers were restricted to purchasing what they needed from the company store, paid by low wages that never even covered the store bill. Workers always left owing the owner and Company no matter how hard and how long they worked . Adults and children picking cotton, fruits and vegetables with horrible conditions. Miners digging coal and receiving black lung disease for their trouble.
Is this really what US citizens want?
It feels like slavery to me and it is not what I want.
In some communities ICE was positioned where the workers picked up their paychecks so they do all the work and then they are hauled off by ICE without ever getting paid. How can humans treat other humans so poorly? I hope this administration pays the price for what they have done to immigrants who were here trying to make a better life for their families.
So much taxpayer money wasted on DOGE and on undermining things that worked, all driven by spite and hatred. And of course the goal is to reduce protections for the most vulnerable, including in the workforce. Exploitation is the speciality and desensitizing people to the reality of what other humans endure in our country, in 2025, under our “laws” is a primary goal. So sad and disheartening.
I suspect even with an expansion of the H-2A program the Trump/Miller deportation program will deter many foreign people from even seeking work in the US.
I am a produce farmer and I use H2a workers. I understand that a lot of the bigger farms may see them as ‘just workers’, but as with just about everything, not every farmer is the same. My guys are my farms foundation. Without them, there is no farm. Has the h2a program been so expensive it’s almost put us out of business the last 5 years? YES. Are my guys treated fairly and respected? Also YES! The new changes as far as I have seen will make it so that I can keep farming for a little longer. As far as I understand, I still have to provide housing and transportation for them. But now IF a US worker applies and lives in the area, they would get a higher wage. Only to offset the HUGE cost of maintaining multiple households that the h2a workers use free from their expense. Before, the h2a and US worker had to be paid the same, even though the US worker theoretically had substantially higher financial responsibilities just for housing, utilities, etc. The program seems to be tailored more mindfully now to take into account more real world situations.
So many people always want to yell at me because I’m a farmer and they assume I’m treating my guys like crap, ask any of them and they will let you know how things are. I don’t make things political, but making it known I’m unaffiliated seems to be a necessity on the internet while talking about being a farmer.
Lastly, don’t get me wrong, I’m a small farm and I only hire 17 h2a workers in a season, but my guys are my work family and they come back to work for me every year.
I read articles like this that leave me feeling concerned and helpless and then I hear from my MAGA family that prices are down and things are great again and I want to pull my hair out and run screaming into the forest. How can our realities be so different?
Their “reality” is likely based on what they are told v what they live. Otherwise, I have to wonder where they are buying groceries, gas, utilities, that their prices are down compared to the rest of the country. And that’s not even touching on all of the rest of the things that are far from great. I’m sorry, I share your feelings of concern and helplessness, but I also know that I won’t give up or give in and I will remain on the right side of history.
Driving through farming areas in CA there were all signs supporting trump. Now they can’t get workers. We knew this was going to be a problem. Why didn’t they?
Reading of the deductions in pay for supplying housing to workers, I’m reminded of the “company towns” established in mining communities. What a regression.
Thanks for your post. Regression for certain.
I’m thinking of the depression era, 1930’s dust bowl years and migrant work camps in CA., horrible, depressing and meant to keep the migrants poor and unable to better themselves.,unable to access healthcare and/or pay for it. Substandard housing also taken from your pay, no schools for the children. Just like company mining towns, workers were restricted to purchasing what they needed from the company store, paid by low wages that never even covered the store bill. Workers always left owing the owner and Company no matter how hard and how long they worked . Adults and children picking cotton, fruits and vegetables with horrible conditions. Miners digging coal and receiving black lung disease for their trouble.
Is this really what US citizens want?
It feels like slavery to me and it is not what I want.
In some communities ICE was positioned where the workers picked up their paychecks so they do all the work and then they are hauled off by ICE without ever getting paid. How can humans treat other humans so poorly? I hope this administration pays the price for what they have done to immigrants who were here trying to make a better life for their families.
So much taxpayer money wasted on DOGE and on undermining things that worked, all driven by spite and hatred. And of course the goal is to reduce protections for the most vulnerable, including in the workforce. Exploitation is the speciality and desensitizing people to the reality of what other humans endure in our country, in 2025, under our “laws” is a primary goal. So sad and disheartening.
I suspect even with an expansion of the H-2A program the Trump/Miller deportation program will deter many foreign people from even seeking work in the US.
I am a produce farmer and I use H2a workers. I understand that a lot of the bigger farms may see them as ‘just workers’, but as with just about everything, not every farmer is the same. My guys are my farms foundation. Without them, there is no farm. Has the h2a program been so expensive it’s almost put us out of business the last 5 years? YES. Are my guys treated fairly and respected? Also YES! The new changes as far as I have seen will make it so that I can keep farming for a little longer. As far as I understand, I still have to provide housing and transportation for them. But now IF a US worker applies and lives in the area, they would get a higher wage. Only to offset the HUGE cost of maintaining multiple households that the h2a workers use free from their expense. Before, the h2a and US worker had to be paid the same, even though the US worker theoretically had substantially higher financial responsibilities just for housing, utilities, etc. The program seems to be tailored more mindfully now to take into account more real world situations.
So many people always want to yell at me because I’m a farmer and they assume I’m treating my guys like crap, ask any of them and they will let you know how things are. I don’t make things political, but making it known I’m unaffiliated seems to be a necessity on the internet while talking about being a farmer.
Lastly, don’t get me wrong, I’m a small farm and I only hire 17 h2a workers in a season, but my guys are my work family and they come back to work for me every year.
I read articles like this that leave me feeling concerned and helpless and then I hear from my MAGA family that prices are down and things are great again and I want to pull my hair out and run screaming into the forest. How can our realities be so different?
Their “reality” is likely based on what they are told v what they live. Otherwise, I have to wonder where they are buying groceries, gas, utilities, that their prices are down compared to the rest of the country. And that’s not even touching on all of the rest of the things that are far from great. I’m sorry, I share your feelings of concern and helplessness, but I also know that I won’t give up or give in and I will remain on the right side of history.
Driving through farming areas in CA there were all signs supporting trump. Now they can’t get workers. We knew this was going to be a problem. Why didn’t they?
It's so sad how we treat these workers.. "Guest workers" in Trump world basically brings back Jim Crow like perspectives...