The H-2 visa program invites foreign workers to do some of the most menial labor in America. Then it leaves them at the mercy of their employers. Thousands of these workers have been abused — deprived of their fair pay, imprisoned, starved, beaten, raped, and threatened with deportation if they dare complain. And the government says it can do little to help.
Many of those employers have since been approved to bring in more guest workers. Some have even been rewarded with lucrative government contracts. Almost none have ever been charged with a crime.
Republicans are outspoken against a bill signed by Governor Brown Monday that requires farmers to pay their workers overtime after eight hours or 40 hours per week. Riverside County Senator Jeff Stone pointed out "AB 1066 will put some farm workers out of work and limit the number of hours others can work. These workers, who for years have counted on a 60-hour weekly pay check to support their families, will now find themselves limited to just 40 hours,” Stone said. Senator Jim Gerber, Vice Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and a life-long farmer, warned that farmers, ranchers and growers cannot afford the mandate. “To keep their family farms in operation, they will hire one crew for eight hours or less; and a second crew for another,” Gerber said. Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) complained “It’s the same old story of a government that is out of touch with the reality of living, working, and doing business in California.