Labor
As labor pool shrinks, Illinois farmers turn to foreign workers
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Farms across the Midwest are struggling to hire domestic employees. In Illinois, the number of foreign agricultural workers has increased more than 250% in the past five years.
Coronavirus
DOL watchdog: OSHA’s virtual inspections during pandemic likely led to dangerous workplaces
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While complaints increased, overall inspections dramatically decreased, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
Agribusiness
The CDC recommended states prioritize farmworkers for the COVID-19 vaccine. A few large agricultural states have not.
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A few states with large agricultural populations have, so far, left farmworkers out of their COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Coronavirus
Without federal oversight, some states protect workers from COVID-19, others shield businesses from lawsuits
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Advocates have said safety measures need to be enforceable in order to protect workers. Without the feds, some states have stepped in and done so.
Agribusiness
With no guaranteed protections from COVID-19, agricultural workers face tough decision: protect their lives or retain financial security
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Some states have enforced rules to prevent COVID-19's spread among farmworkers, but the federal government hasn't done so, leaving many workers unprotected, advocates said.
Agribusiness
GRAPHIC: Industrialization has pushed out more and more chicken
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The pounds of chicken available to consumers on a per capita basis has increased more than 500 percent since 1909, according to USDA data.
back wages
Graphic: Agricultural workers still denied millions in wages each year
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Tens of thousands of agricultural workers have been denied wages by their employers — a violation of labor laws — over the past two decades, according to Department of Labor data.
forced labor
Feds could do more to investigate forced labor claims in the seafood industry, GAO report finds
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The federal government struggles to evaluate forced labor allegations in the seafood industry, according to a Government Accountability Office report released this month.
Government
Nearly two years after ICE came to town, trauma still haunts these Iowa families
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The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting conducted an eight-month review of health studies, government data and interviews with researchers, undocumented residents and community leaders on the aftermath of the 2018 raid in Mt. Pleasant, finding that families and the community remain traumatized by the events, long after the attention by national media and local support waned.
Agribusiness
Missouri’s housing inspections for H-2A workers missed deficiencies for years
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The lax inspection process led to an incident in summer 2018 where workers lived in a former jail, a motel with bed bugs and a house with a leaking toilet.