'Control & manipulation' | Report: Migrant workers in DOL program subjected to forced meal plans & poor conditions

Migrant farmworkers in North Carolina are being subjected to poor working conditions, including forced meal plans and substandard food, according to advocates and workers involved in the Temporary Agricultural Worker Program.

The program, overseen by the US Department of Labor, allows American employers to hire foreign workers for seasonal agricultural labor, but critics argue it fosters exploitation and leaves workers vulnerable.

According to a report in The Guardian, one worker from Mexico has spent 14 years working in North Carolina under the H-2A worker program, harvesting crops such as tobacco and sweet potatoes. He is one of over 35,000 H-2A workers in the state this year. He described being forced to pay for inedible meals, despite his contract promising kitchen access. For these meals, workers pay as much as $80 a week, with some even falling ill after consuming mouldy and undercooked food.

The H-2A program, while intended to regulate housing, transportation, and food provisions for migrant workers, has been criticized for its lack of enforcement and widespread violations. Workers often find themselves locked into forced meal plans, unable to access kitchen facilities, and forced to pay inflated prices for low-quality food. The meal plans are sometimes unlawfully priced above the Department of Labor’s maximum allowable cost, which was $15.88 per day in 2020.