While many people are at home following “shelter-in-place” orders, farmworkers a still out tending the fields and harvesting. That’s because agriculture is considered an “essential service” necessary to put food on people’s tables, so farmworkers continue to go to their jobs.
Some workers are reportedly concerned because they take crowded buses to the fields and work in close proximity to one another.
There are also concerns about paid leave for workers who become ill with coronavirus or have to take time off to care for sick children or loved ones.
Their labor union, the United Farm Workers, wants businesses to extend sick pay, remove caps on accrued leave, and offer paid leave if a worker contracts the coronavirus or to care for a sick family member.
