It’s ironic that some farm workers live in the “salad bowl of the world,” powered by a 3 billion dollar agricultural industry yet they suffer from all types of socioeconomic ills from high poverty, to high unemployment, to poor housing. Farm workers face exploitative conditions everywhere they look.

Farm workers struggle earning poor wages with little or no benefits while working long hours. In the Salinas Valley area where housing is much more expensive, farm workers face the reality of having to pay in some cases upwards of $600 a month to rent a garage space to live in. In some cases some pay as much as 40 percent of their monthly earnings for housing. Aside from exploitative rent prices many have to worry about paying off debt accured by coming to the United States.

Here I am today, paying little by little, the debt with the coyote and trying to send something to my family that was left behind. But it is not easy, because the pay barely makes ends meet…In a good week, we earn about $200.

Via / La Opinión