TV6 – LAKELAND

February 28, 2006

Report Reveals Plight Of Citrus Industry's Poorest Workers

A Problem Solver investigation revealed shocking conditions under which some of Central Florida's poorest workers are living and how those who are appointed to protect them are apparently making a profit on the workers.

There are an estimated 150,000 seasonal and migrant workers in Florida.

The report said recent estimates showed that about 75 percent of the workers are undocumented and live in poor conditions like Teresa and her brother, who left Mexico in search of the American dream.

For two years, the two have paid $30 a month to live in a storage shed, according to the report.

Both depend on organizations like Operation Hope in Fellsmere, Fla., to survive. Operation Hope is a food pantry with donated clothes and after school care for children.

"But charity is not their only hope," Problem Solver Nancy Alvarez said. "Here at the state's capital, lawmakers also hold the fate of these migrant workers in their hands. But in some cases those charged with pushing for laws to protect migrants are also the people who profit from them. And some call that a conflict of interest."

A joint legislative commission on migrant and seasonal labor is made up of a group of lawmakers hand-picked to study the plight of Florida's poorest workers.

However, in a group of six, only one person -- state Rep. John Quinones -- speaks Spanish and the two co-chairmen are citrus growers.

The two co-chairmen are also cousins and heirs to a fortune shared by the Ben Hill Griffin family, which is a name synonymous with Florida's citrus industry, the report said.

Sen. J.D. Alexander is president and CEO of Atlantic Blue Trust and he is also invested in Alico Inc., where his cousin, Rep. Baxter Troutman, sits on the board of directors.

At one of their groves in Frostproof, Local 6 News found a group of migrant workers, including a 17-year-old, the report said.

However, Troutman claimed he did not know these migrants work for him, the report said.

"Do you hire migrant workers on your groves?" Alvarez asked.

"No," Troutman said.

"You do not?" Avarez said.

Troutman said he was not involved in the hiring process at his groves.

"We use harvesting companies that come in and harvest the fruit and they're the employer of record," Troutman said.

Alvarez said the labor contractors or crew chiefs are the middle men between the grove owners and workers.

"And, ironically, the commission just called for greater oversight of this crew chief system," Alvarez said.

Advocates said that grove owners, like Troutman, must be more accountable, according to the report.

"We're trying to do the right thing, after all, it's where I derive most of my income," Troutman said. "But it's also a heritage. Agriculture is not just a job it's a lifestyle."