farm workers

(Runtime 1:03) It’s no secret labor is scarce when it comes to farm work. It has been for the last 10 years, says Mike Gempler, executive director of the…

About 250,000 workers came to the U.S. on H-2A visas last year, the majority of them from Mexico. They've become an increasingly important piece of America's food industry.

A class-action lawsuit argued in the Washington State Supreme Court Thursday is challenging the exemption of agricultural workers from earning overtime pay, alleging that it results in racial discrimination against the largely Latino workforce.

H2A workers tend to be pretty isolated already. Housing is often tucked away in the orchards, away from towns, and getting sick can complicate things. Farmworker advocates criticize the H2A program can leave workers vulnerable. The exposed workers in Mattawa, near Vantage, Wash., are now stuck on the farm until the disease passes. It’s a long period of isolation, which makes it hard for the workers to send money home or buy their favorite snacks.

Dairy workers and members of the United Farm Workers union boarded a coach bus on their way to Seattle this week. It’s all for the start of a five-day fast to bring awareness to their Darigold Dozen campaign against the Ruby Ridge Dairy near Pasco.

The housing shortage in Yakima is coupled with a farm labor shortage. When workers do come, where do they live? The largest farmworker complex in the state opened in Yakima this month. The revamped FairBridge hotel now hosts 800 beds for temporary farm workers. As it opens, critics think it may set a dangerous precedent: Other farmers might start buying up area housing for their own workers - leaving permanent residents searching for affordable housing.

Six years ago, Jose Luis Mendoza lost part of his left leg, and with it, the ability to work as a farm laborer. He now has a lawyer trying to help him get full compensation from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries.