Raul Jimenez: The problems at senator’s farm

Regarding the May 27 news article “Labor dispute lands at NC senator’s door”: Sen. Brent Jackson’s attorney has denied charges of wage theft and retaliation put forth in the lawsuit by seven farmworkers who worked last season on his Autryville farm. He pointed to the fact that two of the seven are working on other farms in N.C. as proof that they have not been blacklisted.

What he didn’t say is that managers from Jackson’s farm called several of the workers after the suit was filed and threatened to not rehire them if they didn’t drop the suit. For H2A visa workers who rely on the employer’s request to guarantee employment, this is a serious threat.

This is not the first time workers on Jackson’s farm have come forward with wage issues. In 2014, Jackson had to pay thousands of dollars in back wages to settle a dispute under the union contract that covered his farm at the time.

When a workplace is run with threats and fear, immigrant workers who have no protection when they complain face a difficult choice: put up with abusive working conditions, or speak up and lose their jobs. Sadly, the seven workers who bravely came forward are now facing retaliation for that choice.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Raul Jimenez: The problems at senator’s farm."