Ann Arbor Times

For many seasonal and migrant farmworkers who plant, harvest, and process produce for stores, stands, farmers markets, and festivals across Michigan, living conditions can be unsafe and unhealthy, University of Michigan researchers say.

In interviews conducted as part of the Michigan Farmworker Project, workers described crowded housing, dirty mattresses, sewage odors from bathrooms, common areas doubling as bedrooms, and a lack of air conditioning. Additionally, some reported food insecurity, fears of polluted drinking water, high rents, low wages, and a general lack of safe and affordable housing.

The five-year-old community-engaged research project led by Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios and Alexis Handal of the U-M School of Public Health has examined various topics related to treatment by farm owners and supervisors over time. The latest study published in the Journal of Agromedicine assessed housing conditions using phone interviews with 63 seasonal migrant and H-2A farmworkers.

“This is about basic human rights,” said Iglesias-Rios. “They are not afforded the same protections as other workers with federal and state occupational health and safety rules.”

Housing conditions are especially relevant as local officials continue to monitor the spread of avian flu detected in another Michigan dairy herd this week. It has also infected two farm workers in Michigan.

About 19,000 migrant H-2A and seasonal farmworkers either live in Michigan or travel from other states or countries each season. “Our desire is to see policy changes that prevent precarious working situations,” Iglesias-Rios added.

The study was conducted in partnership with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and Farmworker Legal Services. One worker commented: “I would like for workers to have more humane treatment.” Another said: “I would like less people in the apartments because they put eight people.”

Many farmworkers reported satisfactory living conditions; however, the research focuses on mistreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic period when Latinos were disproportionately affected by the virus. In late 2020, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights commissioned a housing study to describe work characteristics for farmworkers during this period.