GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

March 27, 2010

Michigan farmers offended by report ripping conditions for migrant workers: 'It fails the credibility test

By Kaitlin Shawgo

GRAND RAPIDS -- Jeff Vander Werff knows his farm's future is in his workers' hands.

"I have to treat my workers well if I expect them to treat me well," said Vander Werff, who co-owns Vander Werff Orchards LLC, in Casnovia.

That's one reason he is offended by a report released this week by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission that called for better conditions for migrant workers.

Vander Werff tours about 50 Michigan farms each year in his job as an agronomist with the Hamilton Farm Bureau co-operative. None of the farms have indicated the extent of problems outlined in the report, he said.

"It's a bad characterization of farmers," he said. "It makes it sound like we don't care about our workers."

His farm, which grows apples, corn, wheat and soybeans, employs about 20 seasonal workers. Most of them have moved to the area permanently to work at a variety of farms. They don't live on the property, Vander Werff said.

The orchard offers temporary facilities for workers at the height of the growing season, including a trailer with two portable toilets pulled into the orchard. The toilets are cleaned at least once a week and inspected daily, he said. A gallon of water is available, and workers get regular breaks.

Monday's 102-page report -- based on public forums and tours of migrant camps conducted last year by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and Michigan Department of Civil Rights -- highlighted problems with migrant worker pay, youth employment, discrimination and living conditions.

In a statement Wednesday that described the commission's report as "skewed," the Michigan Farm Bureau spoke out against the report. It pointed out a footnote in the document that said it was not intended to show a representative sample of Michigan migrant workers or farm owners.

"It fails the credibility test," said Michigan Farm Bureau legislative counsel Rob Anderson. "There was no attempt to verify or validate claims that were made."

This does not mean workers' claims in the report aren't valid, or are not in need of justice, he added.

The commission offered 15 suggestions to improve migrant workers' conditions, including keeping up with housing inspections, paying workers at or above minimum wage and making workers aware of their rights.

Many farms strive to create a good rapport with migrant workers, said Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project Executive Director Teresa Hendricks, but things are getting worse for workers at "problem farms."

"It's been this way, and has been getting worse in the last 10 years," she said, describing makeshift bathrooms, crumbling floors, leaky ceilings and overcrowding she has observed in some migrant camps.

Although mostly critical of migrant worker conditions, the commission acknowledged that visits to Michigan farms yielded "a wide spectrum of living and working conditions."

DuRussel's Potato Farm in Manchester, southwest of Ann Arbor, was highlighted in the report as an "excellent example" of a farm that provides solid working and living conditions for migrant workers.

The farm employs between 100 and 130 migrant workers and partners with the community to provide health and educational resources for workers and their families, said owner Mike DuRussel.

Many Michigan farms DuRussel has visited do provide a healthy environment for workers -- but other farms may not do the same.

"It takes one person to make it look bad for everybody," he said.