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Jamaica Gainey

13 October 2017 Dr. Perkins Food and Agriculture Organic Food Labor Draft

Pesticides

Organic farmers typically pride themselves in exposing their workers with less toxicity due to Pesticide Exposure. To compensate for the absence of pesticides in their cultivation methods, organic laborers are arguably required to engage in more attentive and intensive work than conventional farmers. Organic labor requires more attention in the field since organic farmers must adhere to organic regulations. They also use cropping styles to compensate for the absence of chemicals such as multi-cropping and sequential cropping. Some organic laborers have an ideological commitment to improving the labor conditions because of the larger social movement, that is organic.

Wages

Full-time, year-round employment is something that is not available for majority of organic farm laborers. Organic laborers’ wages remain stagnant, low, and without health care benefits. US Farm laborers are the lowest paid income of any occupation surveyed by the US Bureau of the census, with an average annual household income of $7,500 to $10,000. This puts farm laborers below the poverty line. Some farmers claim that they are doing their best when it comes to paying for labor given the low prices that they sell their food. However, the figures are still striking because 1.5% of the farms with the highest sales, employ over half of the farm labor.

Labor Unions

In 2001, the United Farmer Workers, UFW had its first major success in their campaign to organize the strawberry industry. Coastal Berry, an organic strawberry farm in Santa Cruz county was a pioneer in alternative labor relations being the first organic farm and the first strawberry farm to sign a contract granting their employees higher wages, benefits, and a commitment to clean air.

Stoop Labor

In 1975, the state of California banned the use of short-handled hoes and labeled it an occupational hazard. Short-handled hoes were commonly known as “el cortito” and was associated with the practice of Stoop Labor, which is a physically demanding form of labor that requires farm laborers to spend extended periods of time in a stooped position hand-weeding. However, there was a loophole in the 1975 legislation, that allows organic farm workers to still endure Stoop Labor with the “el cortito.” This type of strenuous work can lead to spinal degeneration and other health issues. In 2003, a legislation by the name of Senate Bill (SB) 534 was proposed to ban hand-weeding, thinning, and hot-capping indefinitely; however, it was unsuccessful due to the intervention of the organic industry. The law recommended that farms require the workers to use long-handled hoes instead of short-handled hoes to prevent potential spinal issues. However, the organic industry argued that “Because they don’t use pesticides, organic growers have more of a weed problem than non-organic growers,” and “Without an exemption, it would have jeopardized the organic industry.”

Contract Workers

The use of labor contractors is quite common in organic farming. This has the potential to be problematic because contractors from conventional farms are often not knowledgeable of the rules and techniques to appropriately manage an organic farm.