MONTGOMERY, Ala.,PRN - GHN-- Routinely immigrant women, particularly those who are
undocumented, are the targets of sexual harassment and dangerous work
conditions, the Southern Poverty Law Center finds.
sign at Mexican border
The report – Injustice on Our Plates: Immigrant Women in the U.S. Food Industry –
describes a frightening situation for women who have come to the United
States to avoid abysmal conditions and abject poverty. Laws to keep
them from being exploited are seriously inadequate, according to SPLC,
an organization routinely examining conditions of the poor and various
ethnic groups.The report can be read at www.splcenter.org/foodreport. It comes at a time when of the anniversary of Edward R. Murrow's documentary "Harvest of Shame," which chronicled the plight of migrant farmworkers. CBS broadcast the documentary on Thanksgiving in 1960.
"These
women are the backbone of the food industry but are exploited and
abused in ways that most of us can't imagine and that none of us should
tolerate," said SPLC Legal Director Mary Bauer, co-author of the report.
"Fear keeps these women silent, so their suffering is invisible to all
of us who benefit from their labor every time we sit down at the dinner
table."Bauer underlines.
The report is based on extensive interviews with 150 immigrant women from Mexico, Guatemala, and other Latin American countries who have worked in various fast food industries, fields or in factories.
Those interviewed were afraid to give their identities for fear of being deported or their families harassed or intimidated.
"It's because of fear [that] we have to tolerate more," said one 26-year-old Florida
farmworker interviewed for the report. "Sometimes they take advantage
because we don't have papers. They mistreat us, and what can we do?
Where would we go?"
Many
workers are promised wages they don't receive and some have been
subjected to brutal sexual assaults by male co-workers and supervisors.
Some say they have had to work in dangerous conditions with chemicals
and pesticides without adequate safeguards.
"For these women, workplace exploitation is the rule – not the exception," said Monica Ramirez, co-author of the report and director for Esperanza:
The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the SPLC. "Virtually every
American relies on their labor. It is our responsibility to stop their
abuse."
undocumented, are the targets of sexual harassment and dangerous work
conditions, the Southern Poverty Law Center finds.
sign at Mexican border
The report – Injustice on Our Plates: Immigrant Women in the U.S. Food Industry –
describes a frightening situation for women who have come to the United
States to avoid abysmal conditions and abject poverty. Laws to keep
them from being exploited are seriously inadequate, according to SPLC,
an organization routinely examining conditions of the poor and various
ethnic groups.The report can be read at www.splcenter.org/foodreport. It comes at a time when of the anniversary of Edward R. Murrow's documentary "Harvest of Shame," which chronicled the plight of migrant farmworkers. CBS broadcast the documentary on Thanksgiving in 1960.
"These
women are the backbone of the food industry but are exploited and
abused in ways that most of us can't imagine and that none of us should
tolerate," said SPLC Legal Director Mary Bauer, co-author of the report.
"Fear keeps these women silent, so their suffering is invisible to all
of us who benefit from their labor every time we sit down at the dinner
table."Bauer underlines.
The report is based on extensive interviews with 150 immigrant women from Mexico, Guatemala, and other Latin American countries who have worked in various fast food industries, fields or in factories.
Those interviewed were afraid to give their identities for fear of being deported or their families harassed or intimidated.
"It's because of fear [that] we have to tolerate more," said one 26-year-old Florida
farmworker interviewed for the report. "Sometimes they take advantage
because we don't have papers. They mistreat us, and what can we do?
Where would we go?"
Many
workers are promised wages they don't receive and some have been
subjected to brutal sexual assaults by male co-workers and supervisors.
Some say they have had to work in dangerous conditions with chemicals
and pesticides without adequate safeguards.
"For these women, workplace exploitation is the rule – not the exception," said Monica Ramirez, co-author of the report and director for Esperanza:
The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the SPLC. "Virtually every
American relies on their labor. It is our responsibility to stop their
abuse."
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