This document presents the findings of a qualitative, grounded theory research study on pesticide worker safety education and learning. A variety of factors contribute to the reasons pesticide applicators are not always fully engaged in the education required for them to practice their work safely, resulting in long-term health and environmental…

Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are typically Spanish-speaking, Latino immigrants with limited formal education and low literacy skills and, as such, are a vulnerable population. We describe the development of the "Pesticides and Farmworker Health Toolkit", a pesticide safety and health curriculum designed to communicate to farmworkers…

Cesar Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Dolores Huerta in 1962, dedicated his life to grassroots organizing to persuade lawmakers and the public to help improve the working conditions of migrant farm workers. In October 1992, the author had been teaching a unit of study on civics to her sixth grade bilingual students in…

In an effort to understand the nationwide problem of recruitment, training, and retention of farm workers, 28 representative New York farm operators with a reputation for success in dealing with hired workers were interviewed in the summer of 1966. Information obtained included personal and educational characteristics, attitudes and aspirations,…

In 1983, personal interviews with 38 adult, Mexican American, migrant farmworker, male heads of households working tomato crops in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan revealed living and working conditions and views and involvement regarding labor rights and the farmworker movement among the estimated 65,000 Midwestern migrant farmworkers. Interview data…

The estimated three million United States migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families suffer from a variety of occupational hazards and ailments exacerbated by limited, or nonexistent, health care services. Although existing migrant and seasonal farmworker health data is incomplete, general statements can be made about the health risks…

Written for young people, this book traces the accomplishments of Cesar Chavez, a labor leader who fought to improve the lives of Mexican-American farmworkers in California. Chavez was born in 1927 in the Gila Valley, Arizona. When Chavez was 10, his family lost their farm and was forced to move to California and become migrant workers. Chavez and…

A survey of the attitudes of migrant farm workers in two upstate New York farm camps revealed that while about two-thirds of them enjoyed farm work, about one-half of them felt that the farm worker had no chance in life and about 60% aspired to earn less than $1000 for the summer's work. In structured, systematic interviews, workers professed few…

Intended to provide a framework for a research agenda on migrant and seasonal farmworker health and to serve as a resource for all those concerned with farmworker health, this report examines farmworker health data gathered within the past 10-15 years. The document contains the following material: (1) an overview of the major occupational health…

Two surveys developed profiles of seasonal agricultural workers and their working conditions in central California. In 1989, a random sample of 347 seasonal workers was interviewed. The sample was 30 percent female and 87 percent Mexican-born. Average age was 35 years and average educational attainment was 5.9 years. Most had parents, spouses, or…

This report examines the extent to which young people work in California agriculture and describes work-related hazards and injuries among young agricultural workers. Data were gathered through a literature review; discussion groups with parents, community groups, and English-as-a-second-language students in the San Joaquin Valley; surveys of 295…

The demand for legal foreign workers for temporary or seasonal agricultural work now permitted under what is known as the H-2A program will likely increase as the employer sanctions in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 limit the use of undocumented foreign workers. To protect U.S. farmworkers, the law requires that they be given first…

Interviews with 60 Mexican-American female farmworkers in the Coachella Valley (California) identified their major problems, needs, and suggestions of topics to be presented in a community-based educational radio program. Two major problems identified by these women were low wages and occupational exposure to pesticides. Contrary to cultural…

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) monitors and encourages human rights compliance by signatories of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975. Language pertaining to migrant workers is found in all major CSCE documents, and the examination of migrant farmworker issues represents part of the Commission's ongoing review of U.S.…

A booklet for farmworkers and employers uses illustrations and simple text in English and Spanish to inform about the dangers, precautions, and use of pesticides. Topics covered include methods of pesticide absorption; signs/symptoms of pesticide poisoning; first aid; residues; appropriate work clothes; safe and unsafe pesticide practices; how to…