26 July 2010, 6:20 pm
Migrant Workers File Suit Against Pioneer Hi-Bred Brownsville Herald (TX) -- July 22, 2010 -- Twenty migrant farmworkers filed a federal lawsuit this week against Iowa-based seed corn producer Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., which they say bound them to live in unacceptable housing and paid them only a fraction of what they were promised for a season's worth of labor. Pioneer recruited the farmworkers from throughout the Rio Grande Valley last summer to detassel corn in Indiana, according to papers in the case filed Tuesday in the U.S. Southern District Court of Texas. In the lawsuit, the workers allege the company lured them to travel across the country for the jobs by guaranteeing stable pay and substantial bonuses. Instead, Pioneer failed to pay them minimum wage, took illegal deductions from their wages and forced them to live in rundown, overcrowded housing, workers state in court filings. Many paid their own transportation to and from Indiana, and work conditions in the fields were poor, according to case records. The workers had "dirty and inaccessible port-o-potties and warm and inaccessible drinking water," as stated in the lawsuit. Some workers were exposed to pesticides when a crop duster sprayed a field while they detasseled corn, the lawsuit says. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) and Indiana Legal Services (ILS) are representing the workers in court. Bridget Anderson, public affairs consultant for Pioneer, said the corporation could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit because litigation is pending. But in a statement she said, "We feel these allegations are being brought by TRLA unfounded." "We have a long-standing, successful history of employing agricultural workers to work in Indiana," Anderson said. "Furthermore, Pioneer Hi-Bred has a great track record of meeting and often exceeding state and federal requirements related to our workforce. We look forward to responding to the allegations at the appropriate time." Texas RioGrande Legal Aid has received complaints from workers regarding Pioneer's employment practices almost on a yearly basis, according to a statement released by the legal services agency. The lawsuit is the fourth large federal case brought by the legal agency on behalf of farmworkers against Pioneer in the last five years. "These 20 workers all have same complaints," TRLA attorney Marinda van Dalen said. "They were promised well-paid, good work by Pioneer, but they were paid peanuts, housed like sardines and transported like cattle. They kept their side of the bargain by traveling to Indiana and working hard, and now they have filed suit to make Pioneer keep its end of the deal." Author: Jazmine Ulloa Copyright (c) 2010, The Brownsville Herald, Texas... Read More »
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