By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
August 19, 2018
Bellingham, WA - On Sunday, at least 74 H2A farmers workers from Guatemala and Mexico remained on strike after George Sandhu, the owner of Crystal View Farms failed to pay salaries for 15 days earned by nearly 100 visa authorized farm workers, according Ramon Torres, President of Familias Unidas por la Justicia in Washington. Torres in a posted Facebook video says, that Sanhu has failed to pay the authorized farm workers for work done in the last month and that the workers had on received $100, since they arrived at the farm.
The farmer workers accused Sanhu of unfair labor practices, being aggressive and threatening workers with termination and deportation. Recently, eight of the farm workers were laid-off for complaining about their unfair working conditions, unpaid work and not being allowed to get transportation to the nearest town. The farm workers under the H2A work visas are not allowed to leave the farms without permission from the owner or suspervisor. The farmer workers stopped working until the eight workers that were laid-off and taken by ICE are returned to work.
In other words, they are treated like indentured servants with no federal regulations to protect them from labor abuse including unsafe working conditions and exploition by not getting paid for work done.
Torres attempted to talk to Sanhu when he arrived in a farm bus about the claims made by the farm workers, but he shut the bus window and left.
Under the Trump administration, H2A authorized farm workers are targeted for abuse and non-payment of wages earned and then laid-off, which deportation follows under the visa program without any recourse.
Within the last two years multiple H2A farmers have died on the fields of farms participating in the visa program.
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