大流行上的飓风季节表明，北卡罗来纳州农业工人如何对工作危险的情况感。
This story was published in partnership withEnlace Latino NC, a Spanish-language digital media nonprofit that covers politics, government, immigration and community affairs in North Carolina.
Léalo en Español en Enlace Latino NC.
2018年9月15日上午，里格斯兄弟农场的40名农工从床上站起来，跳入水中。飓风佛罗伦萨前一天晚上在北卡罗来纳州东部登陆，他们在琼斯县的劳改营里等待风暴的到来。他们争先恐后地抢着自己的东西，趟出了门，掉进齐腰高的水里before spending hours calling 911 and farmworker advocates.Their boss, farm owner Randy Riggs, never showed up.
为了营救他们，律师和美国劳工部不得不介入。”当有人终于开门时，水冲得更高了，”一位名叫罗梅罗的工人说，他要求用化名来保护自己的身份，因为他害怕雇主的报复冰箱和电器开始漂浮。”
Two years later and nearly 300 miles away in Alleghany County, Romero faced another emergency: In August, he and 111 other farmworkers at Bottomley Evergreens & Farms tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak was the state’slargest known coronavirus outbreak in congregate farmworker housing.
Romero的经验是公约提醒，在公共卫生应急或自然灾害，农场工人 - 那些没有记录的人和那些在联邦H-2A工作签证的人之后，往往留下自己。
劳动法排除了来自历史工人保护的大多数农业工人，并更好地保护工人的政策改革仍然停滞不前。Coronavirus大流行发表了国家的劳动力和灾难援助系统的大规模缺点，这些灾难和灾难援助系统已经过去了，未能保护那些来自美国的工人每年季节性工作。这意味着罗梅罗和数十万人，在紧急情况下，不保证安全。
“我们邀请他们来到这里来工作，”主管农业工部主任LarizaGarzón说。“我们应该是善良和尊重和负责，足以为他们提供生存的基本需求。”
There are about200,000 H-2A visa holders或合法进入美国从事特定农业工作合同的季节性工人。他们只占250万农场工人总数的10%。For decades, North Carolina processed the most H-2A visas in the country, and still remains in the top five states.
[For] communities of color, undocumented immigrants, people living in poverty due to systemic racism — climate change is hurting them now.
尽管在流感大流行期间有所下降，但根据统计，今年有19050名H-2A工人，占全国总数的8.5%USDOL外国劳工证书办公室— arrived in North Carolina to plant and hand-pick tobacco, sweet potatoes, blueberries and strawberries. Many of them, like Romero, later move west onto pumpkins and Christmas trees in the North Carolina mountains.
实地调查是无情的，但41岁的罗梅罗在完成这项工作中找到了乐趣。他在墨西哥的田地里长大，学习如何种植和收获玉米和豆类。他18岁时第一次持H-2A签证来到美国，此后每年都在北卡罗来纳州工作，6月抵达，12月离开。他挣了很多钱，足够资助两个女儿在墨西哥的大学教育。两人都在学习成为教师。
What frustrates him about his job is the lack of information, protections and equal rights, which haven’t changed in the more than two decades since he’s been working in the U.S.
罗梅罗说，当他感染了COVID-19病毒时，他和其他有症状的工人一起被隔离了8天，这些工人的检测结果呈阳性。他失去了嗅觉，强迫自己吃他尝不到的东西来保持健康。当他周围的人因疲劳和咳嗽躺在床上时，他目睹了一位朋友被紧急送往医院。
"I felt really scared," said Romero.
多年来，工人和倡导者一直要求更好地保护员工收获国家的食物和现金庄稼。在纸上，H-2A签证应提供比无证工人所提供的更强的劳动保护。但在20世纪30年代，农业被排除在现在被称为的过程中大多数联邦劳动法“农业例外论。”
In 2020, the Trump administration pushed formore H-2A visas during the pandemic, echoing the agricultural industry’s refrain that it was a necessary move to ensure ample food supply. But the administration also proposeda decrease in farmworker wages.
拉丁裔人，尤其是基本工人，受到的影响不成比例by the coronavirus. According to the most recentNational Agriculture Workers survey83%的美国农场工人认为是西班牙裔。安普渡大学正在进行的研究估计，超过240,000名农业工人在11月29日截至全国Covid-19的肯定。但是，国家农业工人健康中心表示，这一数字可能低估了这个数字，因为它不包括合同和临时劳动力。媒体网点的案例已审慎记录，包括a mapping tool by the Food and Environment Reporting Network(FERN).
In May, North Carolina led the nation in COVID-19 outbreaks at meatpacking plants. Yet despite pressure from organizers, the state hasn’t mandated any additional worker protections. In June, 16 North Carolina environmental groups, including the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, signed onto一封信罗伊·库珀要求透明度关于爆发，包括植物的名称，以及更好的工人保护。根据蕨类植物的最新数据，北卡罗来纳州的食品部门工人有4,903个Covid-19案例;535是农业工人。
该州的劳动力和健康和人类服务部门不需要农场所有者为使用Covid-19生病的工人提供替代隔离住房。As first reported in Enlace Latino NCRooper在从州农业和劳工部门推动之后，Cooper撤销了他的承诺，以更好地保护农业工人（他在拉丁X社区领导人的一个虚拟城市领导者中制作的一个人）。
Federal COVID-19 guidelines为农场工人和肉类加工工人提供指导，但没有联邦政府规定的保护措施，声明“雇主可以考虑允许暴露在外且无症状的关键基础设施工人在有必要保留关键基础设施工作场所功能的特定情况下继续工作。”倡导者说，这是行不通的几乎足够了；整个夏天的新闻调查和不断上升的案件数量表明，他们可能没有被认真考虑。
Coronavirus大流行发表了国家的劳动力和灾难援助系统的大规模缺点，这些灾难和灾难援助系统已经过去了，未能保护那些来自美国的工人每年季节性工作。
"There has been no investment nor recognition at any level — not local, not state, not federal," said Melissa Bailey Castillo, a North Carolina farmworker advocate for more than 20 years in the nonprofit and healthcare sectors. "It’s as if this is just some mysterious ghost workforce that no one sees or cares about."
大多数H-2A工作人员，如Romero生活在共用军营风格的房间里，称为会议室，由其联邦H-2A临时农业签证计划由雇主提供。但在许多北卡罗来纳州农场，住房尚未达到美国住房和城市发展部健康和安全的最低标准几十年来，留下易于淹没，增加模具和风损坏。
A2015年研究on federal migrant farmworker housing described the "structural standards encompassed in the shelter provisions of the OSHA regulations are rudimentary at best," detailing that "water intrusion from leaky foundations and roofs is associated with respiratory disease from molds, viruses, and other sources." Out of 183 farmworker camps in eastern North Carolina, 74 percent of buildings had structural damage.
Nothing in the H-2A visa requirements for employers details mandatory disaster planning in the event of a hurricane. And as Enlace Latino NC reported, rural county emergency management未能达到许多农场工人向他们发出灾难警告。紧急强制疏散命令没有用西班牙语发出，农村地区的互联网接入也很稀少。
During the pandemic, budgets and resources are strained even more. Mike Yoder, coordinator of disaster programs at N.C. Cooperative Extension, said county emergency managers are "totally overwhelmed."
"They work as hard as anybody can possibly work to try to make sure that everyone is taken care of in a response phase in a disaster," he said, although they "struggle to marshal resources."
Yoder said his team is working with the extension’s farmworker education program to better address disaster preparedness for workers — but it’s mostly reactive, not proactive. "We have the right resources in place for our farmworker and Latino communities, but I’m not sure if anyone pursues that during the non-disaster times," he said. "That’s really important, because that’s when you can make things happen."
In 2018, the Farmworker Advocacy Network released a 56-page备灾工具箱详细介绍应对飓风期间农场工人挑战的建议，包括加强与当地政府机构和执法部门的合作，以了解农民住房位于地势低洼、洪水易发地区的位置。它还松散地提到了联邦法规，需要进行防灾更新。
The Migrant Housing Act requires migrant housing operators to request an annual inspection 45 days before the anticipated date of occupancy. North Carolina’s Agricultural Safety and Health (ASH) Bureau responds to complaints and referrals. NCDOL spokesperson Natalie Bouchard said the bureau received one housing complaint after Hurricane Florence, "but it was not related to storm damage" and that ASH "does not blanket an area after a storm to assess damage. Generally, after a major storm, there are no crops left to harvest and the communities shift to survival and clean-up mode."
Bouchard证实，移民住房也没有更新的住房法规。她还说，“没有关于霉菌的职业安全和健康标准。”
在大流行期间，这些住房情况甚至更加岌岌可危。贾斯汀弗洛雷斯是农业劳工组委会主任，一个农场工会，称“种植者在一起克切工人”，以便留下一栋房屋或拖车可供分区。
An ongoing study by Purdue University estimates that more than 240,000 agricultural workers have tested positive for COVID-19 nationwide as of Nov. 29.
政府没有向农场主提供资金，以便在流感大流行期间提供额外住房，法律也没有要求他们提供任何飓风疏散避难所。”“通常他们会有一些借口，”弗洛雷斯说在2018年，当我们与人们交谈，在风暴即将来袭的那一天确定避难所时，一些雇主会说这样的话，‘我不会把他们一路带到那里；这对我来说不安全；现在太晚了；他们应该早点告诉我。’”
工人们通常不知道自己有权撤离，因为他们的H-2A合同规定他们不能放弃工作。法律援助律师本·威廉姆斯说，他们经常不知道“如果有撤离令，雇主就不能把他们扣为人质”
他说：“在H-2A的背景下，雇主告诉雇员，如果他们撤离，雇主将向劳工部报告他们已放弃合同，这并非闻所未闻。”。这意味着他们将被立即遣返回本国，并有可能被列入未来签证的黑名单。他说，律师们以书面形式建议工人们“向雇主表示，他们不会放弃劳动合同，并打算在安全的情况下”返回。
"It creates an environment of codependence," Bailey Castillo said. "It’s all designed to ensure they have to rely on the grower or rely on the contractor to get basic necessities, food, housing, and healthcare."
During storms or other emergencies, farmworkers often don’t know where to turn. After Hurricane Florence, Garzón and her staff of four at the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, plus several volunteers, scoured 10 flooded counties looking for workers who called for help. However, many in North Carolina for the first time didn’t know their address or even the county they were in. Immigrant farmworker families who live in North Carolina year-round were calling the ministry as well, saying that they were stranded with infants and children and running out of food.
“而不是呼唤911 [弗兰伦飓风]，人们呼唤着我们，”Garzón说。“那是令人震惊的，诚实。我认为人们害怕寻求帮助。”
她说，她的团队沿途依靠拉丁美洲人拥有的天安达和餐馆，希望它们是开放的，并且有线索知道在哪里可以找到工人。
法律专家表示，在飓风上留下劳动营地，他们自己的意志并不容易。许多签证持有者和无证工人缺乏驾驶执照，另一个因素使得难以获得资源。在2019年进行的集中团体中，无证的农业工人表示，即使这意味着出去购买食物，也没有许可证没有许可证是一个障碍。几个人表示害怕在没有许可的情况下驾驶时被警察停止。
State law requires a Social Security number to obtain a drivers license. Through the early 2000s, drivers licenses were still given to undocumented immigrants. But in 2005, Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat, adopted the REAL ID law, which took away the right for thousands of immigrant residents in North Carolina. In the 15 years since, no drivers license bills have been passed by the state legislature.一个国家的账单2019年起草的向“身份有限或没有身份的移民”提供驾照的草案已经停滞不前。
In Enlace Latino NC’s focus groups, several Latinx immigrants expressed concern over police presence on the roads and outside of shelters after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence — especially those without drivers licenses. In a separate interview, one man said he thought if he asked for help after a hurricane, he would end up "trapped" by police.
Since 9/11, FEMA has been under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security. DHS oversees several organizations, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In Spanish-speaking communities, both of these groups are commonly referred to asla migra.. 联邦应急管理局还部署边境巡逻队，协助应急响应。
奥巴马政府前联邦应急管理局局长克雷格·福盖特（Craig Fugate）说：“即使国土安全部或政府的其他部门正在（而不是执法部门）开展救灾工作，那些（移民）社区对获得帮助非常谨慎。”。
冰是在Lenoir县的谣言在弗兰伦飓风后聊天当有人在北卡罗来纳州金斯顿的沃尔玛停车场分享一辆边境巡逻车的照片时，它在拉美裔社区造成的混乱和恐惧导致许多家庭没有撤离；他们在家里呆了好几天没有电和食物。
在任何一个层面上都没有投资或认可——不是地方，不是州，不是联邦。。。就好像这只是一些神秘的鬼劳动力，没有人看到或关心。
福盖特还是佛罗里达州前应急管理主任，他亲眼目睹了飓风恢复期间移民社区的权威存在所产生的影响。
“在一些农场社区和移民营地，如果我们出现，每个人都散发出来。我们所做的只是在FEMA卡车上出现，”他说。
That means farmworker advocates do most of the work in getting aid to people. Garzón, of the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, said many H-2A workers apply to her organization’s emergency fund. The ministry was founded in 1982, but its disaster program didn’t start until 2018. Garzón said she has mixed feelings about supporting workers who should be supported by the government — especially when undocumented workers have no protections in comparison.
"I want to help them, but at the same time it’s infuriating," she said. By doing so, it alleviates employers from doing their jobs in providing basic protections for their workers. "Are we subsidizing bad behavior?"
It took a pandemic to raise public awareness of farmworker issues, said Cintia Aguilar, director of Latino programs at North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Her program struggled to reach farmworkers in person this year, but managed to train more than 100 of them at camps on COVID precautions. Hurricane preparedness, however, fell to the wayside.
阿吉拉尔说，结果是，更多的组织在全州范围内合作，包括诊所和紧急情况管理机构，希望能更好地教育和帮助农场工人在未来做好准备。”“从某种意义上说，这是好事，”她说但我们如何保持我们正在建设的兴趣和能力？”
The Atlantic hurricane season — which ended Nov. 30 — produced a record 30 named storms. North Carolinawas largely spared, but the state can expect more extreme weather events in the future — as evident by the six tornadoes that quickly spurred after飓风Isaias在八月成为登陆以及今年飓风“莎莉”、“埃塔”和“伊奥塔”带来的灾难性降雨和洪水。该州最近的气候评估名称内陆洪水作为农业最大的气候危害，以及一个recent NOAA report把北卡罗莱纳大学和圣列表的顶部ates that can anticipate losing billions of dollars in the next decade due to storms.
气候变化对人类的影响才是我们来到这里的真正原因，我们明白气候变化首先会影响到一线社区。
气候变化也改变了移民模式。几十年来，移民记者和研究人员都注意到气候变化是促使人们从拉丁美洲向北迁移到美国的一个驱动力。红十字会估计有300万人受到去年11月摧毁中美洲的Iota和Eta飓风的影响。再加上目前的贫困和缺乏经济机会，CNN reported持久的,国标的破坏性影响rms "may eventually even reach distant countries, as Central Americans left desperate and vulnerable by the storms flee abroad."
A2019 report by the Government Accountability Office回顾了美国机构如何应对气候变化作为全球移民的潜在驱动力，并批评特朗普政府没有将气候变化作为一个因素，而是实施更严格的移民政策。当选总统乔·拜登的竞选承诺为农业工作者他将“与国会合作，以基于现有农业职工历史提供法律地位，确保他们可以赚取带薪的时间，并要求劳动和安全规则，包括加班，人性生活条件和免受农药和热暴露的保护。严格执行。“
"The human dimensions of climate change is truly why we’re here, understanding that climate change hits the frontline community first,” said Kathie Dello, North Carolina’s state climatologist. "[For] communities of color, undocumented immigrants, people living in poverty due to systemic racism — climate change is hurting them now."
Policies that address these crises are needed at the state level, too — and local farmworker advocates say they haven’t been able to get answers from officials about specific plans. The working poor factor into the state’s proposed plans to mitigate and handle climate change — and to keep the environment healthy and livable for all residents. But North Carolina’s climate risk assessment and resilience plan released in 2020 only mentions farmworkers once, citing them as a population vulnerable to extreme heat.
德洛说：“我们必须认识到有钱的人能够而且确实能够适应气候变化。”但是它的极端高温影响着居住在原始房屋里的农民，或者是那些不断泛滥的地方，并在家里造成霉菌生长。这些都是这些社区真正的公共卫生影响。气候变化是最重要的压力源。”