Migrant laborers till fields in Monitor Township on a recent sweltering day. Migrant Farm Labor Numbers Crunched
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A few years ago there were about 25 camps for hundreds of sought-after migrant laborers in Bay County.
Now there are three camps in Bay County with 11 living units that are state-certified for 78 workers.
Farmers and officials in farm support agencies say the reason for the drop in the number of workers here is the importation of pickling cucumbers from India.
Labor is one of the biggest costs of farm products and food processing firms find that they can import cukes fromIndia cheaper than they can buy them from local growers.
Migrant labor is important to Michigan agriculture. Migrant laborershelp cut costs, but tighter border controls and Homeland Security measures since the 9-1-1 terrorist attacks have lowered the numbers of migrants coming here, according to farm labor sources.
"National security initiatives restrict the flow ofmigrant farm labor," said one official. "We've heard complaints that there is not enough farm labor, that labor is tight, as a result."
This makes Michigan products more expensive and opens the door for imports from places like India and Central America. Mechanized harvesting also has reduced the need for migrant labor and cuts costs, even though the yield is lower because it results in only one picking.
Stringent, strictly-enforced Michigan standards for housing helps the state attract migrants who help cultivate and harvest farm products, according to Joel E. Gorch, program manager for migrant labor housing for the state agriculture department.
In Michigan last year there were 824 migrant labor camps with 3,997 living units approved for 22,609 persons, said Mr. Gorch. State law requires 100 square feet of living space for each individual.
State law requires licensing for living quarters occupied by five or more migratory laborers engaged in agricultural activities, including food processing, said Mr. Gorch.
Arenac County has nine camps with 70 living units approved for 373 persons, he said. There are no approved camps in either Saginaw or Midland counties.
"We have made a significant improvement in upgrading housing with matching construction grants to farmers," said Mr. Gorch. "Having quality housing is one way to attract migrant workers from feeder states like Florida and Texas; this is a prime motivator for them to come to Michigan."
Testimony that migrant labor is desired by Michigan farmers is the fact that grants requested for upgrading housing is five times greater than the grants appropriated, said Mr. Gorch. "This represents a $5 investment by producers for every $1 invested by the state," he said.
Another impact on farm labor has been the fact that since the North American Free Trade Agreement, farmers in Central America have been encouraged not to grow coca plants that are the root crop for drugs like cocaine and heroin. Those countries are engaged in drug enforcement initiatives. Therefore, farmers are producing more vegetable crops, like asparagus, that compete with American farm products, officials theorized.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw reported recently in the Catholic Weekly that about 970 migrant families are receiving food and other assistance. And Bishop Robert J. Carlson recently celebrated Mass for migrants in Standish.
Another agency supporting migrant labor in Michigan is Healthy Hispanics, with offices in Saginaw.
The local migrants began arriving early in June and will work until the first week in September. Most are U.S. citizens from Texas and Florida, and some are foreign workers with visas, although some are undocumented aliens, according to farm sources.
The migrant labor situation in Michigan is vastly different from 1940. Bay City Times Reporter Leonard Jackson won the national Heywood Broun Award for exposing bad conditions in local migrant labor camps. There were thousands of migrants coming here then.
Interestingly, conditions in Palm Beach County, Florida, presently are probably little different, and possibly much worse, than they were in Michigan in 1940. The Palm Beach Post last year published a series of articles exposing slave-like conditions in Florida's farm labor camps.
Illegal workers using fake names and Social Security numbers were reported, with the corruption protected by farmer-politicians in the Florida Legislature.
Despite supposedly tough regulations, the newspaper reported that some workers are denied drinking water, toilets and hand-washing facilities.
The housing in Palm Beach County is said to be the worst in the country, with licensed facilities for only 6,635 workers while 20,000 to 45,000 show up during the season. There is no approved housing in Lake Worth and West Palm Beach. Thousands of workers are crammed into decrepit rentals, the newspaper reported.###
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