Florida agricultural output is largely harvested by immigrant labor, mostly from Mexico. The growth in the Mexican agricultural workforce in Florida began following the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. With agricultural wages depressed in Mexico, many chose emigration as a way out. However their plight in the US has not been easy, and such workers suffer from low wages, mistreatment, violation of their labor rights, and sexual harassment. Day laborers fare worse, often laboring under slavery-like conditions. But organization of the workforce in the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has, through the Fair Food Program (FFP), led to an improvement in their living conditions, although the FFP still does not benefit day laborers. Aissa Garcia reports from Florida. teleSUR
