The Plight of the Migratory Farm Worker

Abstract

Very few people in the United States would disagree with the statement that migratory farm workers comprise one of the most deprived groups in American society. For decades civic organizations, politicians, and individual citizens have tried to arouse public awareness about the plight of these people and to introduce measures which would improve their position, but so far they have only had limited success. Migratory farm workers, like all agricultural workers, are not only excluded from most of the protective social legislation which is enjoyed by most other workers, but also must live and work under conditions which create a combination of hardship, insecurity, and poverty that is indeed unique. The facts of the farm worker’s life portray a situation which is considerably worse than that of any other occupational category in the United States.