On this edition of Your Call, we’ll speak with Dr. Ann López, executive director of the Center for Farmworker Families about how California's farmworkers are still unprotected, months after the COVID-19 crisis began.
The US government has deemed farmworkers essential workers, but they are still underpaid and struggle to make ends meet. Dr. Lopez says most of California's farmworkers make $20,000 a year or less. In California, two-thirds of more than 500,000 farmworkers are undocumented, leaving them without health insurance or financial relief if they get sick. What resources are available for farmworkers during the COVID-19 crisis? And what systemic changes are needed to ensure they have basic rights and dignity?
Guests:
Dr. Ann López, executive director of Center for Farmworker Families
Andrea, an undocumented farmworker who has worked in California's fields for decades
Web Resources:
Facing South: Who takes care of the farmworkers' children?
CalMatters, Kate Cimini: Trump is considering cutting farmworker pay during the crisis. Don’t do it, California growers say
InsideClimateNews, Evelyn Nieves: 'Essential' but Unprotected, Farmworkers Live in Fear of Covid-19 but Keep Working
Civil Eats: Farmworkers Are in the Coronavirus Crosshairs
