BURLINGTON — More than 200 farmworkers walked off Sakuma Bros. berry fields Thursday to demand better wages and working conditions at a Skagit County farm. The farmworkers said they will return once their demands are met, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.
“I’ve never seen a group this organized walk off,” said Edgar Franks of Community to Community Development, a social justice advocacy group. “I’ve never heard of a list of demands.”
While galvanizing around a co-worker’s firing, the field hands also say they are unhappy with the Sakumas bringing in temporary H-2A visa workers for the late August harvest. The field hands say the visa workers will be guaranteed a higher minimum wage, better housing, and all of their transportation costs covered to and from Mexico.
Owner Steve Sakuma says there has been a misunderstanding.
Under federal law, H-2A workers must be provided transportation to and from where they are recruited, housing and local transportation for personal matters. In an H-2A contract period, U.S. migrant workers, such as the striking group, should be given similar compensation if they perform the same job as the H-2A workers. Additionally, H-2A workers can’t displace U.S. workers.
