Emails reveal miscommunication between several agriculture and health departments, delaying public information and responses during the bird flu outbreak among dairy cattle.
Michigan has reported the most cases of the bird flu in dairy herds in the country, but officials said that’s likely because of widespread testing in the state.
Housing for immigrant workers on dairy farms is often tucked away and largely exempt from inspections. Advocates say that can lead to poor conditions. ‘You have no one to protect you,’ one worker says.
While oversight of H2A farmworker housing is enforced by the federal government, migrant farmworker housing is state jurisdiction. Some Midwestern states inspect twice — others not at all.
En Michigan, a los trabajadores que son indocumentados y se lesionan en el trabajo se les niegan las prestaciones por pérdida de salarios, basándose "únicamente" en su estatus migratorio, según una demanda.
The bed bug infestation at the Pine Creek migrant labor camp in Holland, Michigan, had become so bad by June that Tomas and Leonor Pizana turned their bedroom lights on before going to sleep.
An investigation by In These Times and The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting reveals how today's migrant farmworkers are still living in deplorable housing reminiscent of "Harvest of Shame."
