Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern (FST) PI
2018-2019 Falk Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Seed Grant Award
This research will look at the circumstances and experiences of farmworkers who participate in federally sponsored guestworker programs, as well as farmers who use these programs, throughout New York State. This pilot study will consist of approximately sixty in-depth interviews at four sites, with farmworkers and farm owners who participate in the Department of Labor’s H-2A agricultural guestworker program. Due to historically low wages and physically demanding work conditions, labor shortages are a consistent challenge in production agriculture. The current presidential administration’s position on preventing and deporting undocumented immigrants is putting added pressure on farmers to seek out alternative means to access a stable workforce. There is little current research documenting worker and farmer experience with guestworker programs in the United States, particularly in Central New York and the surrounding areas.
The P.I., Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, will be collaborating with Mary Jo Dudley, a faculty member in the Development Sociology at Cornell University and director of the Cornell Farmworkers Program. Through their combined expertise and resources, they will conduct the first thorough study of agricultural guestworker programs in New York State, with a focus on the current H-2A program. Ultimately, this project will shed light on the role of agricultural guestworker programs in the current political environment as well in the context of the global demand and competition for cheap food. By better understanding the conditions for workers and farmers, this study will address larger issues related to worker justice and potential options for a more secure and fair food system.