Better Harvest
Two weeks ago, the Weekly ran a cover story by Sarah Stuteville and Alex Stonehill which explored the tangled politics and policies of the United States' foreign guest worker program. The story was grounded in the fields of the Yakima Valley, and mentioned separate class action lawsuits filed by both Thai guest workers and domestic workers over mistreatment and discriminatory hiring practices perpetuated by recruiter Global Horizons and a handful of Central Washington employers.
While the suit brought forth by the Thais is still pending, the domestic workers have been awarded $1.9 million in damages against Global, Valley Fruit Orcards, and Green Acre Farms, in a verdict handed down yesterday by U.S. District Judge Alan A. McDonald, who found the defendants liable for federal labor law violations.
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