Catherwood LibraryILR School

Gross economic and political changes, such as stricter enforcement of U.S. borders, the struggling U.S. economy, and more growth in Mexico, are leaving farmers in the U.S. in more fierce competition for laborers. Especially in California, farmworkers, who traditionally had some of the lowest wages of any job family, are seeing their pay jump and receiving perks that most of the workers have never experienced, like transportation to and from work, paid meals, and bonuses for retention or productivity. There is so much competition that some farms have stationed employees around the parameter of the property to ward off rival farmers trying to woo away workers. Many farms all along the West coast are having a hard time finding enough work, and farmers are saying that not getting the fruit off of the trees quickly enough is really hurting their incomes.