Testimony to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Author: Kissam, Ed
This document briefly outlines the demographic, sociocultural, and economic factors which enter into the understanding and addressing the situation of migrant farmworkers in the United States. A critical recognition, of course, is that U.S. labor-intensive agriculture is not monolithic--it is tremendously diverse, a mosaic of tremendously different modes of production, employment practices, and different worker populations. These variations give rise to a corresponding diversity in the "human dimensions" of the social, economic, and legal environment in which migrant workers live and work.
This document briefly outlines the demographic, sociocultural, and economic factors which enter into the understanding and addressing the situation of migrant farmworkers in the United States. A critical recognition, of course, is that U.S. labor-intensive agriculture is not monolithic--it is tremendously diverse, a mosaic of tremendously different modes of production, employment practices, and different worker populations. These variations give rise to a corresponding diversity in the "human dimensions" of the social, economic, and legal environment in which migrant workers live and work.
