In the past year, have you eaten anything with tomatoes (salsa, ketchup, pasta sauce, etc.)? If so, thank the efforts of a migrant farmworker in Immokalee, FL, as this town of 20,000 produces 90% of the nation’s tomatoes during the winter months. With such an important role in the agricultural industry, you would think migrant farmworkers should be treated with dignity, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. These individuals are often forced to work over 12 hours a day without a break, not for lunch, not from the sun, not even to go to the bathroom, all for significantly less than minimum wage.
The trip I am leading to Immokalee, FL, focused in Migrant Farmworkers & Agricultural Communities, aims to explore three questions:
1.) How has the history of farmworker labor in the United States shaped the current system?
2.) How do factors such as immigration status, healthcare, environmental issues, and wage theft perpetuate the struggles of migrant farmworkers?
3.) What can we do as students to better support efforts to combat these hardships?
If you are interested, applications are currently available at communityoutreach.uconn.edu/alt-break-trips and close Wednesday, October 24th at Noon
For more information, contact: Jonathon Hastings at uconn.co.florida@gmail.com