Fall, 1992 (v5n1)
Labor Market Information Division,
Employment Development Department, State of California
Proceedings of a
conference held June 5-6, 1991, Napa, CA.
This 164-page report highlights
current developments in agricultural labor, especially the growing importance
of farm labor contractors (FLCs) in California. It is an edited transcript
of the Farm Labor Research Symposium held in Napa, California on June
5-6, 1991. The symposium was a project of the Labor Market Information
Division of the state of California's Employment Development Department,
in cooperation with the UC Agricultural Personnel Program and the Department
of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley.
The symposium consisted of
panels in three areas: farm worker studies, farm labor contractor studies,
and agricultural labor management. Sixteen panelists presented findings
from their recent research, and discussed with other panelists and audience
members the implications of those research findings.
Farm Worker Studies
In introducing the researchers
on the farm worker studies panel, Don Villarejo of the California Institute
for Rural Studies noted what made them unique. Until recently, most of
the relatively scant information about farm workers was derived from the
reports of employers. By contrast, the panelists assembled for this symposium
"spend most of their time talking to farm workers."
The panelists agreed that
increased production of labor-intensive commodities such as fruit and
vegetables has increased labor needs in agriculture over the past 10-20
years. Despite this, and despite the Immigration Reform and Control Act
(IRCA), the flow of unauthorized immigrants into the United States has
contributed to an oversupply of labor. This oversupply leads to the underemployment
of farm workers and exacerbates their low economic status. Existing services
to workers, such as housing, health care, workers' compensation insurance,
etc. are inadequate.
Farm Labor Contractors
The Farm Labor Contractor
panel was chaired by Ed Taylor of the Agricultural Economics Department
at UC Davis. Taylor noted that "farm labor contractors are by far
the most important single employer group in California agriculture."
These contractors are middle men who recruit labor for growers for a fee.
Most licensed contractors face intense competition, some of it from illegal
FLCs, and operate with a very low profit margin. To preserve this margin,
they often charge workers excessive fees for needed services such as housing
and transportation. All the panelists agreed with Taylor that, on average,
workers hired by FLCs are worse off than workers hired by other types
of employers in California agriculture.
While the stated intention
of the IRCA reforms was to create a smaller, more legal and regular work
force, Taylor's study of labor contractors suggests "a picture of
a farm labor market that is still being fed by new and unauthorized immigrant
workers." In this market, FLCs play an expanding and critical role.
A key service to growers is the ability to avoid the employer sanctions
that were part of the IRCA reforms. As Taylor puts it, "In fact,
one could argue that evading employer sanctions may be an important service
that farm labor contractors are a buffer between them, on the one hand,
and labor laws, on the other."
Agricultural Labor Management
The third panel was chaired
by Howard Rosenburg, director of the UC Agricultural Personnel Management
Program. Panelists focused on the role of alternative management practices
in making the most productive and efficient use of labor, in order to
maintain farm profitability. As Rosenburg puts it, "How workers perform
is determined by what they can do and what they want to do. Personnel
management decisions affect both, and through them, ultimately, business
results and the quality of worklife for employees."
The search for economically
viable and socially just conditions for labor remains a central task in
the creation of a more sustainable agriculture here in the state. These
proceedings represent a timely and insightful look at agricultural labor
in California.
To obtain a copy of the proceedings,
contact The Special Projects Unit, Labor Market Information Division,
MIC 57, Employment Development Department, Box 942880, Sacramento, CA
94280-0001, (916) 424-7310.
(DCC.002)
Contributed by David Campbell
[ Back | Search | Feedback ]