Outreach to Michoacan
Perspective written by Beth Simon, Volunteer
The weekend of July 7-9, 2006, CDM continued its 6-month campaign to inform some 2,500 migrant workers eligible to join a collective action against one of the largest landscaping firms in the U.S.
The case involves a number of common grievances for migrant workers including failure to pay the minimum wage and overtime wages.
The most significant element in the case relates to the application of the principle decided in Arriaga v. Florida Pacific Farms, L.L.C. 305 F.3d 1228 (11th Cir. 2002).
The Arriaga decision was based on FLSA minimum wage protections guaranteed to farmworkers temporarily employed in the United States through the H-2A program. Under the Arriaga principle, the workers are requesting reimbursement for recruitment fees, visa and passport fees and their inbound travel expenses. The workers want to extend the reasoning of the Arriaga case to the H-2B context, an important precedent for H-2B workers.
The case is the first large-scale action against a major landscaping company. Currently, landscaping companies are one of the largest users of H-2B guestworkers.