In Virginia, many migrant workers - mostly immigrants from Latin-American countries - work nine-hour days in manual labor jobs and only earn $3 an hour despite the national minimum wage of $5.15.
During the weekly Latino Roundtable at La Casa Bolivar yesterday, Mary Bauer, the legal director of the Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers, spoke about how her organization is helping migrant workers receive just pay and fair working conditions.
But the Center's funding recently came under scrutiny because of a bill introduced in the General Assembly directly attacking their organization, Bauer said.
State Sen. J. Randy Forbes (R-Chesapeake) recently sponsored SB 760, which would have imposed restrictions on legal service programs that accept state funding. Forbes withdrew the bill last Monday, but Bauer said she still fears that the Center's funding will be threatened in the future.
The bill came about from lobbying from the Farm Bureau, which Bauer said dislikes the work the center does. The Catholic Church and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People aided the Center in opposing the bill.
"I have no doubt that there will be more [opposition]. It is not realistic to believe we will keep receiving money," Bauer said.
John Grisham, author of legal thrillers and a Charlottesville resident, has helped raise funds for the Center, she said.
The Center mainly has served to ensure that workers are paid the minimum wage and that they are paid for overtime.
"All of our work is over really obvious violation of labor laws," Bauer said.
According to "With These Hands: The Hidden World of Migrant Farmworkers Today," by Daniel Rothenberg, most migrant workers only are making between $5,000 and $6,000 a year, and many also have to support a wife and two children on that salary.
The Center also examines the working conditions of migrants in the area. The Center recently found workers who were forced to apply pesticides with their bare hands and were forced to have pesticides stored in their homes, despite complaints that the substances were causing headaches and pain.
These problems could be solved if the federal and state governments were more effective in enforcing their laws, Bauer said.
"When the U.S. Department of Labor investigates, they tend to do a good job, but the state is terrible at enforcing laws," she said. "Often, inspectors will inform the employer that they will be coming to inspect and thereby give the employer a chance to clean up."
The AFL-CIO also has aided in helping the migrant worker cause.
"The AFL-CIO has taken the position that migrant workers should have the same rights as others," Asst. Dean of Students Pablo J. Davis said.
The Center was formed in 1998 and receives most of its funding from the Commonwealth. It has represented approximately 450 workers since it began, Bauer said, and continues to press for the rights of migrant workers in the community.
The Latino Roundtable is a weekly meeting started by Davis that discusses Latino issues and concerns facing the University's Latino community.
Read More
Winsome Earle-Sears talks higher education in first U.Va. event of the campaign
By Ford McCracken | 14 hours agoA Jamaican immigrant and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Earle-Sears is the first female lieutenant governor of Virginia,
U.Va.'s Earth Day Eco-Fair 2025 spotlights sustainability advocacy
By Leigh Bailey | 15 hours agoStudents from Contracted Independent Organizations and University Office of Sustainability leadership programs each shared their unique perspectives about sustainability advocacy on Grounds.
Student Council votes to relocate Hereford orchard and basketball hoop
By Lauren Seeliger | YesterdayStudent Council passed a resolution Tuesday to relocate the orchard and basketball hoop of Hereford Residential College due to construction in the surrounding area.
