N&O staff report
| Here are some words the N.C. Department of Labor thinks the public shouldn't see: tomatoes, landlord, Mexicans, workers. The department recently released to News & Observer staff writer Kristin Collins its files on Ag-Mart, the Florida-based tomato grower that last year incurred the N.C. Department of Agriculture's largest-ever fine for breaking pesticide rules. The Labor Department blacked out so much information that its files were nearly unintelligible. Included was a copy of a 2003 News & Observer story, written by Collins herself and another reporter, in which words or phrases were blacked out in 70 places. |
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References to virtually any human being, including public officials, Ag-Mart executives and workers -- even pronouns such as "their" -- were missing. In some cases, random words such as "tomatoes" were hidden. State law allows the department to keep private the names of witnesses or complainants in a case, or information that could identify them. Labor Department spokesman Juan Santos said Tuesday after examining the documents that the department will probably review its policies on what information is private. "It reflects what some people would say is an over-the-top zeal to protect employees," he said. |
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1. Mexicans 2. Six men 3. Several workers 4. illegally 5. "crew leaders" 6. crew leaders 7&8. Joseph Procacci 9. $2.2 million 10. Procacci 11. Procacci 12. a landlord 13. he was 14. Procacci 15. President Robert Meade 16. for me 17. Workers in Florida 18. Gregory Schell, an attorney 19. workers in Florida 20. tomato pickers 21. six men 22. Their 23. One woman, a 21-year-old 24. Guerrero, Mexico, she said 25. her husband, her 7-month-old 26. another couple 27. she stays 28. the baby while her husband 29&30. picks tomatoes from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 31. Her room 32. on her 33. As she 34. Tomato pickers 35. $2.50 for each "cajita" 36. with tomatoes 37. $60 38. $20, they 39. Several workers 40. they pay $25 41. they 42&43. $1,800 to $3,000 44. them illegally 45. they had 46. that debt, 47. Director Scott Harrelson 48. he had 49. He thought 50. he said "I 51. and I 52. Several Latino supervisors 53. their 54. Nick Wood 55. Farm Labor Organizing Committee. Crew leaders, he 56. Al Hight, an N.C. Cooperative Extension agent 57. crew leaders 58. crew leaders 59. One crew leader 60. his workers 61. workers each 62. $25 63. Their crew leader 64. landlord $400 65. Landlord Pete Pridgen 66. a crew leader 67. him 68. Pridgen 69. the workers 70. his |
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 *The phrase "said that the company was not aware of the Department of Labor", though part of the original story, was not included in the printout from the N.C. Department of Labor. |
