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The Strawberry Fields By Eric Schlosser

Decent Essays

Bethany Beaudoin
Professor Byrne
English 1510
9/24/17
Farmers and Their Fields

Strawberries are treasured by numerous throughout the world, but feelings may transformation after the unveiling of some dark secrets of strawberry farms. “In the Strawberry Fields” by Eric Schlosser brings up many concerning realities about what life is truly like for strawberry pickers. Many of these farm workers are illegal migrants from Mexico. Because of their illegal status, they are far less probable to go to the authorities with complaints of unfair treatment. Many strawberry field owners are more than willing to take advantage of this. Strawberry pickers are often overworked, poorly paid, and not treated fairly. Most are Mexicans searching for work so …show more content…

These Mexican workers will work strenuously in hopes of earning more money, yet despite the extra hours of labor, their income hardly increases. This unfair treatment is far too common for workers such as these. On average, a strawberry picker works 12 hours a day. Not only is this considered working overtime, it is also extremely strenuous on one 's body. Bending down low to pick the faultless strawberries is challenging for anyone, and hours of this can be tremendously painful. When forced to work like that several days a week for months at a time, permanent spinal impairment is common. Overworked, underpaid, and all around mistreated, these field workers deserve better treatment. Improved living environments could possibly come about merely by reasonable salaries. If everyone got paid the accurate amount for the work accomplished, money would not be such a struggle. It may not pay well, but minimum wage would be sufficient to at least help workers find places to live. The demanding hours and low pay makes life far more challenging than it ought to be. “Paying less than minimum wage brings the greatest savings of all” (Schlosser). While paying less than minimum wage saves the farm owners money, it turns these poor migrants work into something that is nearly slave labor. Often, Spanish speaking workers will sign an English contract, even though they comprehend nothing about it. While this may benefit the owners, it is cruel and unfair

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