On Thanksgiving 1960, Edward R. Murrow’s “Harvest of Shame” report on the state of America’s migrant workers shocked a nation. Murrow exposed the dangerous conditions and lack of dignity that characterized farm work. Describing a scene of workers being recruited to work the fields, Murrow narrates: “This is the way the humans who harvest the food for the best-fed people in the world get hired. One farmer looked at this and said, ‘We used to own our slaves; now we just rent them.’”
…
The very same workers who put food on our tables have paid for it with sweat, blood, and sometimes their lives. Farmworkers do some of the most dangerous work in the country, but they don’t have the same protections as workers in other industries. Their labor is the backbone of North Carolina’s largest industry, and every day we eat fruits and vegetables that have been handpicked. Yet most farmworkers don’t get overtime, workers’ compensation or other benefits, and nearly half cannot afford enough food for their own families. Many are not even entitled to the minimum wage….
http://www.nccouncilofchurches.org/2010/09/farmworker-advocacy-network-to-launch-new-campaign/
No comments:
Post a Comment