By Stephanie Hoff
Wisconsin farms may be unaware that labor trafficking in agriculture could be happening right in front of them. Mariana Rodriguez, director of UMOS Latina Resource Center in Milwaukee, advises farmers on what to look for when hiring contract labor to avoid legal implications.
Rodriguez starts us off by explaining what labor trafficking is: the recruitment, harboring, and transporting of workers and using force, fraud, or coercion for labor services.
“It can happen without you knowing it,” she says. “Those are some of the things that we need to understand: what the experiences of the workers are? How were you recruited to this farm? How did you know about this job? What were you promised if you came into this job, into this farm?”
She says the trafficking culprit is often the recruiter.
“Workers have said, ‘The owners are very nice, but we don’t get to talk to them.’ When we’re looking at some of the farms that are working with an agency and a recruiter, they should do a lot more background on who they are. Who is that recruiter specifically? What are the workers saying?” Rodriguez says. “So, the employer does need to invest some time in interacting with workers.”
She says even if a farmer doesn’t know there’s labor trafficking going on, if it’s happening on your operation, you may be facing liability.
“At the end of the day, it’s their business. It’s their location. They are very much responsible for everything that happens in those farms,” Rodriguez says. “If they can take some time to ask the question: How safe are my workers? That’s the investment of resources that I said needs to happen.”
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