WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 13, 2020 – The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently announced it will no longer collect data for the Agricultural Labor Survey, and its associated publication originally planned for November 2020. The Agricultural Labor Survey provides quarterly statistics on the number of agricultural workers, hours worked, and wage rates. The number of workers and hours worked have been used to estimate agricultural productivity, and farmworkers wage rates. The survey data has also been used to carry out provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
Mily Treviño-Sauceda, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, issued the following statement: “This decision to eliminate the data collection that provides quarterly statistics on agricultural productivity will adversely affect farmworkers employed in the U.S. agricultural industry each year, particularly farmworker women, who are among the lowest-paid workers. Eliminating the data collection process will weaken farmworkers and put them at risk while adversely impacting the measures of their productivity and wages. Farmworkers have been risking their lives to provide food for our families - they deserve a pay raise, not a pay cut.”
“Our nation must not turn its back on the farmworkers and their families. They are suffering unprotected during the pandemic but still work tirelessly to put food on our tables. We stand in solidarity with our farmworkers, who have been working our land non-stop during these difficult times and demand the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to continue with the data collection and publication originally planned for November 2020.”
To learn more about the new rule that would eliminate the data collection that allows the Department of Labor (DOL) to determine and set farmworkers wages, please visit the website.
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Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc. AKA Alianza de Campesinas is the first national farm worker women’s organization in the United States created by current and former farm worker women, along with women who hail from farm worker families. Working through a coalition of farm workers’ organizations, centers, and other networks, Alianza de Campesinas advocates on behalf of hundreds of thousands of farm worker women and their families across the country to secure social, environmental, and economic justice; prevent violence; foster equality; and promote healthier workplaces, homes, and communities for farm worker women and their families. For more information, visit www.alianzanacionaldecampesinas.org.