October was another busy month for El Futuro Es Nuestro/ It's Our Future (IOF). We've helped workers file for a new Deferred Action program for people whose employers are being investigated for labor abuses; we're using social media to help workers speak out; and a scathing new article came out detailing the reform efforts inside FLOC. Read on for more about these issues and a profile of IOF leader Emilio Mondragón.

On October 1, It’s Our Future / El Futuro Es Nuestro (IOF) coordinated a legal clinic in collaboration with the NC Justice Center, NC FIELD, Centro de Derechos para Migrantes, and law clinics at Duke and UNC. The goal of the clinic was to identify workers who qualify for a new Deferred Action program and help them file for this form of relief.

The Deferred Action program is part of a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiative of President Biden’s that is available for workers involved in certain labor disputes at their workplaces. For workers whose employer is being investigated by labor agencies like the Department of Labor (and if those agencies send a letter to DHS explaining the investigation), the program allows those employees to apply for Deferred Action status. 

Deferred Action provides temporary protection from deportation and a work permit. The purpose of this program is to ensure that abusive employers can’t threaten workers with deportation if they are being investigated. 

The work permit is particularly significant for H2A workers since they are tied to only one employer; with Deferred Action for 2 years, they will be able to work with any employer or in any industry. 

In one case, women working in labor camps operated by labor contractor Jose Gracia were working upwards of 100 hours per week and were subjected to verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment and were prevented from leaving the migrant camp. Since the women worked in the kitchen and not in the fields, they should have been earning overtime pay. Legal Aid of NC and the NC Justice Center helped the women sue the Jose Gracia operation. They won a financial settlement of just over $100,000 as well as an order to make significant changes in how Jose Gracias companies operate in future, which will hopefully ensure that others are not subject to this same abuse.

Because there are ongoing investigations into Jose Gracia and his affiliated companies as an abusive employer, many of those employees could be eligible to apply for the new Deferred Action program.

At the clinic on October 1, IOF and collaborators helped eleven workers file for Deferred Action. While we are all excited about this opportunity, filing fees for the deferred action program exceed $400 and will be a strain on any worker seeking to apply. IOF will continue to support any workers involved in the Jose Gracia case, or any other Department of Labor case, and we will start a special fundraising campaign soon to help workers who want to apply. 

The Assembly, a new state-level news publication, recently ran an excellent, in-depth article called Shepherds of the FLOC that details the reform efforts within FLOC and what has happened since the 2022 election. The article ends with this powerful summation: 

“[IOF Co-Coordinator Leticia] Zavala, who first began speaking to The Assembly for this story in February 2022, has generally been reluctant to discuss issues inside FLOC. She said she cared for [FLOC President Baldemar] Velásquez and believed in the mission of the union. But ultimately she realized she was making an error that is all too common in social justice movements. 

“‘We idolize people because of the strength and bravery a leader needs to have,’ Zavala explained. ‘But we have to help leaders remember that they have responsibilities to the people they serve, and their position isn’t a God-given gift.’”

IOF worker members and staff continue to be cited in other news articles about farmworkers in North Carolina, as well: 

• August 29, 2023, The Prism: “‘There is slavery in the fields of North Carolina’. The article’s title is taken from a quote from IOF Co-Coordinator Leticia Zavala, and it touches on issues of agricultural labor and struggles for racial justice. The Prism is a national independent news outlet led by journalists of color.

• October 16, 2023,  Raleigh News & Observer: “Some NC farmworkers allege mistreatment and human trafficking”  about labor trafficking in our fields.

It’s not everyday that IOF staff have the joyful task of distributing $600 checks to workers, but that’s what co-coordinators Leticia and Mari have gotten to do recently. The USDA awarded these checks to any agricultural worker who lost wages due to the Covid pandemic through the Farm and Food Worker Relief program, and IOF has been busy all summer signing up workers who qualify. This is a tremendous help to workers and their families, many of whom are still recovering from those lost wages.

In another post-Covid issue resolution, H2A worker Salvador G. recently settled his case.  Salvador G. was so ill from Covid, that he had to be intubated for more than two months at the height of the pandemic. Salvador has continued to struggle as a result of long Covid, and he has been unable to return to work because of these symptoms. The resolution and settlement in this case is a huge support for his family- he considers it a victory and the settlement will help him get back on his feet in his hometown.

One of the primary goals of It’s Our Future / El Futuro Es Nuestro (IOF)  is to ensure that workers know what to do and how to respond when their rights are violated. And indeed, from wage theft to extreme heat, workers are taking actions to stand up for themselves, individually and collectively. 

Protesting Wage Theft in the Sweet Potato Harvest

An all too common form of wage theft in the sweet potato harvest is the denial of credit for a few buckets a day per worker. For every 35 pounds of sweet potatoes, workers are given a token worth just 50 cents. To meet their quota, workers must pick at least 28 buckets per hour. However, supervisors will sometimes take a full bucket of sweet potatoes from a worker, dump it into the truck, and then say that the bucket was not filled correctly and refuse to pay for that bucket.

IOF member Eduardo calculated that he was losing out on at least $2.50 worth of tokens per day, and he decided he would not put up with any more. To protest this wage theft, he walked out of the fields twice before getting the attention of the grower. Additionally, he delivered a letter to his grower after tokens kept being denied to him. Finally, after taking these actions, the supervisors have stopped denying the tokens. 

Confronting Growers about AC & Wages

In another case, Daniel’s grower was charging $10 per week to be able to have air conditioning and gasoline for the work vehicle in his housing unit. Because the workers were working so few hours, this additional payment was too much for them. After multiple complaints, the grower responded by saying that if they did not like it, they could leave. Six out of eight workers decided to walk out, and the NC Growers Association was called. After realizing that he would lose the majority of his workforce, the grower gave in. The workers continue to advocate for their needs; they now have a plan to keep moving forward and ensure those needs are met.  

IOF works to make sure that workers, including those at Daniel’s camp, are educated on how to calculate the “Three-quarters Guarantee” provision of the H2A contract (guaranteeing payment for at least 75% of the time they are promised work), as well as how to calculate minimum wage when working at a piece rate. With their knowledge of how the system works, Daniel’s coworkers have been noticing discrepancies, and have started documenting the issues so they can confront the grower to correct the problem.

Using Social Media Videos to Educate & Inform

IOF members have started posting regular videos with messages for other workers sharing their own experiences, and discussing concerns like health, heat, and reminding each other to take breaks. 

"If, in the farm where you are working, they don't let you rest when you are feeling sick, SPEAK OUT!"