Migrant Farmworkers: Pursuing Security in an Unstable Labor Market
Author: Gabbard, Susan
Date Published: 1994
Report that describes the lives of migrant farmworkers as they labor to produce crops in the United States. The report contains demographic findings on farmworkers with statistics are based on data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). U.S. agricultural producers depend on migrant farmworkers to meet the industry's highly seasonal labor demand. Migrants, most of whom migrate from other countries, comprise 42 percent of the farm labor force and are critical for harvesting and other short-term tasks. Without migrant farmworkers, many agricultural employers, particiularly those in the fresh fruit, nut, and vegetable industries, would not find enough workers to produce their crops. Faced with agriculture's dependence on short-term jobs and the marginal compensation and few benefits such jobs offer, workers imply several strategies to make ends meet. For most workers in short-timer farm jobs, migration is a key component of this strategy. Follow-the-Crop migration allows workers to string together short-term jobs in different locations to extend their period of employment.
Date Published: 1994
Report that describes the lives of migrant farmworkers as they labor to produce crops in the United States. The report contains demographic findings on farmworkers with statistics are based on data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). U.S. agricultural producers depend on migrant farmworkers to meet the industry's highly seasonal labor demand. Migrants, most of whom migrate from other countries, comprise 42 percent of the farm labor force and are critical for harvesting and other short-term tasks. Without migrant farmworkers, many agricultural employers, particiularly those in the fresh fruit, nut, and vegetable industries, would not find enough workers to produce their crops. Faced with agriculture's dependence on short-term jobs and the marginal compensation and few benefits such jobs offer, workers imply several strategies to make ends meet. For most workers in short-timer farm jobs, migration is a key component of this strategy. Follow-the-Crop migration allows workers to string together short-term jobs in different locations to extend their period of employment.
