New Report Highlights Low Pay, Dangerous Working Conditions for Farmworkers
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A new report titled 'Beyond the Cycle of Survival' reveals that low wages and dangerous working conditions for California farmworkers constitute a public health crisis. Alana Moldevin of Health in Partnership, one of the report's authors, explains that despite California's $60 billion agricultural industry, farmworkers earn an average of $17.10 per hour—far below a livable wage—resulting in severe health and family impacts. Workers frequently face impossible choices between medical care and basic needs, and entire families suffer from financial strain and exhaustion. The report emphasizes that raising wages would not only improve individual well-being but also strengthen communities and the broader economy. Moldevin calls for an industry-wide livable wage standard and urges policymakers to back symbolic recognition of farmworkers with concrete actions like fair pay and safe working conditions.
Farmworker wages in California are not livable, with average hourly pay at $17.10 and annual earnings around $15,000.
Low wages directly harm the physical and mental health of farmworkers and their families.
Raising wages would improve public health, community well-being, and economic resilience.
Celebrating farmworkers must be paired with policy action, including livable wages and safe working conditions.
Income inequality in agriculture undermines social cohesion and economic growth across California.
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Report Exposes Farmworker Wage Crisis
“Low wages and the health inequities that we see as a result of low wages are not inevitable. They're the result of systems and policies that we create, and we have the power to create new systems and policies that promote health for farm workers and all Californians.”
Farmworkers' Voices: Trade-Offs and Struggles
“People talked about having to make impossible trade-offs like having to pick between going to the doctor and having something to eat.”
Call to Action: From Celebration to Policy
“None of us are well until all of us are well.”
“None of us are well until all of us are well.”
“Low wages and the health inequities that we see as a result of low wages are not inevitable. They're the result of systems and policies that we create, and we have the power to create new systems and policies that promote health for farm workers and all Californians.”
“People talked about having to make impossible trade-offs like having to pick between going to the doctor and having something to eat.”
Host
Guest
Alana Moldevin
person
California
place
Health in Partnership
organization
Medi-Cal
organization
Cesar Chavez
person
Department of Homeland Security
organization
Monterey Bay Aquarium
organization
Stanford Medicine
organization
Eric and Wendy Schmidt
person
FBI
organization
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