In a pivotal case in Washington State, a group of H-2A visa workers from Mexico successfully sued deceitful farm labor contractors and were awarded $84,000 in damages. As a result of the case, Washington State denied farm labor contractor licenses to the contractors and their companies last year, preventing them from using the H-2A visa program to traffic workers.
The labor contractors promised five months of employment picking cherries and apples, fully funded travel, and suitable living accommodations. However, the workers faced a starkly different reality when they arrived.
The visas were valid for less than a month, not nearly enough time to earn the money they needed to pay back to the money they borrowed to travel to Washington. After arrival, they were crammed into motel rooms without kitchen facilities or enough beds. The contractors refused to reimburse travel expenses or visa fees and instructed them to work under false identities once their visas expired—a proposal that the workers declined.
Concerned about their legal standing and future opportunities for work in the U.S., the workers refused to participate in activities that could prevent them from returning legally.
With the assistance of La Unidad Campesina, Northwest Justice Project’s (NJP) Farm Worker Unit, the workers filed suit in Yakima Superior Court to address the contract violations and poor living conditions they endured. It took nine months, but the workers prevailed!
As one of the workers said, “We only wanted what was just; that the contractor respect his promises. It wasn’t right for him to promise a five-month contract when all he really had was work for less than one full month.” The case echoed elements of the notorious Blooming Onion case in Georgia, highlighting the systemic problem of unscrupulous contractors “renting out” workers.
Most of the aggrieved workers have returned to Mexico, with ambitions to come back to the U.S. for future work. NJP celebrates their courage. Through their bravery, these workers have shown how to prevent similar mistreatment of others and help ensure they can do their work without coercion – which is vital to all agricultural workers and Washington’s agricultural industry.