Over 260 IOF workers received grocery and meal assistance from food pantries this month, a welcome reprieve given ongoing work shortages due to poor weather conditions. The workers received this help thanks to the alliances that IOF has built with food pantries in Eastern North Carolina.

In particular, we developed a special relationship with a Nash County group called A Touch of the Father’s Love Food Pantry and Ministry. A meaningful dynamic emerged when IOF workers not only received food assistance, but also were able to give back by volunteering for a day and a half at the food pantry- helping others just as they had been helped.

Waiting for weeks without work is disheartening and demoralizing- stressful in its own way, but getting involved in the community supports the workers physically, as well as mentally and emotionally.

In this newsletter, we are sharing another example of how wage theft impacts farmworkers- this time in the form of lost wages due to the pandemic.  

IOF member E. has now worked two harvest seasons in North Carolina without seeing any compensation from a lost season of work three years ago. How did this happen?   

Farmworkers disproportionately suffered illness and job loss due to COVID-19, and E. was just one example. He became sick in 2020 and was unable to finish his H2A contract due to his illness. He ended up losing most of the season's work.

Since FLOC was not providing adequate support and advocacy for COVID-impacted workers, E. and others sought legal representation outside the union. This month, E.'s case finally settled, and he was able to receive some compensation for lost wages. Other workers’ cases continue in negotiations, but we are encouraged by the resolution of E's case and will keep working until all are won.

H2A workers who are Mexican nationals but work several months per year in the US, have long wanted to be included in Mexico’s Social Security plan (“IMSS”).

IOF members have heard reports of FLOC organizers making promises about the IMSS that they can’t keep. So, IOF members decided to find out for themselves what the Mexican Social Security plans can offer, and what the requirements are to enter the Mexican social security system. A delegation of IOF leaders attended a training with the Mexican Consulate, which represents the Mexican government in the US, to better understand the system and its requirements. Members also received useful information on other services that are available to them from the Mexican Consulate. 

In addition, the IOF members took the opportunity to present a letter to the Consulate requesting support for issues that affect them within the H2A program, including corruption, lack of protections, and the lack of pension for elderly workers. The Mexican Consul has informed IOF that they will be forwarding the letter to different governmental agencies in Mexico including the Labor Department, the Exterior Relations Department, and the Mexican Social Security Commission. Members are already organizing to follow up with the different departments, to ensure no letters get lost in the mail!