Sure, we all have careers that we are proud of and love going to work every morning. On the other hand, there are others that hate to wake up every morning to go to work but hey they need the money so they do it. Field workers for example, have to wake up around four in the morning to go to work either in the freezing cold during the winter or the blazing heat during the summer. They are bent over most of the day, pushing their bodies to limits they shouldn’t go to just to make sure foods get picked at the right time. Ever go to the grocery store specifically the produce department and say “I wonder which hard working farm worker picked these and packaged them to be shipped out to this store?” Didn’t think so. Mostly everyone bypasses this, goes to the store, get what is needed and leave. This whole time, there are human beings in the fields, getting paid very minimal just to make sure you have fresh produce for your home. In the book In Dubious Battle, author John Steinbeck doesn’t get into much detail of how farm work was back then compared to now and this is what needs to be brought up to attention.
During the 1930’s the United States was going through some of its worst time in history; The Great Depression. Wages for the farm workers was extremely low which meant that they couldn’t afford the necessities to live for example, food, shelter and clothing. The facts that America sold their produce very cheap didnt help the workers gain any profit. The harsh working conditions caused many farm workers to become ill, very ill to the point where they couldn’t
work and provide for the family. The growers weren’t providing housing for its workers and if they did, the housing would not meet standards and would be isolated from everything. Workers used dangerous equipment and machinery and being exposed to pesticides all day were the main factors why farmers got severely injured and became ill. Pesticides were the worst enemy for farmers. Thousands of farmers would get pesticide poisoning. Poor sanitation, hazardous working conditions, pesticide exposure and poisoning and a lack of health care resulted in the farm workers expected to live up to the age of 49.
These harsh conditions were the cause for all the strikes in the United States. The most famous one was the one lead by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Steinbeck on the other hand, describes the fruit-workers' strike in a California valley and the attempts of communists to organize, lead, and provide for the striking pickers. The main point of this strike was to attract followers who believed in what was being fought for. With the support of over 1000 fruit farmers, and the strikes going on, there was a bit of violence that occurred. Jim and a few others were shot, newspaper attacks, espionage, and the destruction by the vigilantes. Though wounded and forced to leave the farm, Jim and his supporters manage to keep fighting back. These actions are similar to what César Chávez, except Chávez managed to use no violence. History tends to repeat itself and its only a matter of time where another revolt happens and laws change because of it.
Today, in the 21st Century, there are policies and laws that growers have to abide by or face really huge fines. As for their wages, they have to earn at least $8.25 an hour based on how much they
do according to the United States Department of Labor. The grower is required now to provide decent housing for all its workers. The also have to provide protection against the pesticides that get sprayed on all the plants. Predominantly, masks and gloves are the important ones. When operating machinery, instructions are visibly posted on the safety guidelines for using that type of equipment. Tools are provided so that farmers aren’t stressing out their backs as much and they aren’t using their bare hands to do heavy workloads. They have a form of health care in case they are injured on the job. Overall, the working conditions may have improved just a bit, but it is still rough. You can’t control the weather but now they have tents to either keep out the sun or to protect from the rain. Its getting better but still can improve much more.
No matter who you are, or what you do for a living, all it takes is a few people to gather around and voice their opinions for something to get done. We see this in today’s world with the occupies that are going on in the country. If you have the right people supporting you in what you are doing, then your voice will be heard. That’s what America is all about, hearing what the people have to say. There are equal rights for everyone whether you are Latino or American, it doesn’t matter if you work in the fields picking fruit or you work in an office wearing a suit everyday. Laws and acts that are far from disappearing protect farmers and that is all they need, they have been heard!
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