Negotiations with San Quintin Growers Continue

False Reports Spread Into Negotiations

BAJA CALIFORNIA.- Over the past two weeks, laborers from approximately sixty farms in the valley of San Quintin, Baja California have been on strike. Estimates are that as many as 50,000 laborers are believed to have walked out, and millions of dollars worth of export-oriented crops are at risk of rotting - primarily cucumbers, tomatoes, and strawberries. It is estimated that half of the tomatoes consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico alone.

Thousands of laborers took to the streets this week, their main complaints include poor working conditions, low pay, lack of benefits, and abuse. Some of the protests escalated from marching in streets and blocking the trans-peninsular highway to violence -burning tires, throwing rocks at vehicles, and looting. Reportedly over 200 protesters have been arrested after incidents of rock throwing and looting.

Many workers are migrants from southern states in Mexico such as Guerrero and Oaxaca, with families to support in poorer states down south. Frustrated by the lack of progress and improvement over the past years, the laborers have now bypassed their leadership who they believe are looking out for the interest of big business instead of their own, and took to the streets instead to garner attention.

Heavy national and International news coverage has the ability to change the course of negotiations. In an article published by the LA Times, there were reports of a small grower named DeWayne Carlos Hafen who was stated to have raised salaries for his workers to 250 pesos per day. The article goes on to state that soon after coming forward, Hafen was "visited by state inspectors demanding to review his employment records….he believes it was an attempt to intimidate him." This report was echoed throughout many other news outlets.

This grower's account was later brought up in the negotiations by the laborers. "How is it possible that a small grower is paying more than the large companies, and that he is willing to pay 300 pesos a day if that is what discussions lead to, while the most powerful growers are only willing to increase our salary by 10 pesos?", said Justino Herrera on behalf of the laborers.

Apart from the fact that it is unknown where the large portion of Hafen's income comes from or how he operates his business, it is known that Hafen has a murky criminal record in Ensenada leading back to the early 2000's, where he has been accused of crimes ranging from property damage, abuse of confidence, falsification of documents, fraud, to sexual abuse. While most of these were just formal investigations, he was also detained at one time for involvement with a gang in Ensenada in 2010.

Now that more is known about Hafen, it certainly calls into question his claim that he raised salaries and was later visited by state inspectors and intimidated.

The city has been on edge since the protests erupted, with many businesses closing down shop as discussions were ongoing. Special security forces, Baja California's Governor, Francisco Vega de la Madrid, and his team arrived on scene shortly after the protest broke out, and has been mediating discussions between growers and labor groups ever since. Currently, most laborers earn $8 to $10 dollars for a full day's work, and initially demanded that wages be raised to nearly $20 dollars a day.

Initial attempts to negotiate were stalled by the growers for five days. Two days ago, the last proposal from the farm workers dropped from 300 pesos a day to 200 pesos per day, about 13 dollars a day. Growers countered with a 12% pay raise which would equate to around 9 dollars, an increase of less than a dollar of what they make now. A subsequent counteroffer of 15% from the growers has also been rejected.

BerryMex, one of the farms affected by the walkout, in an interview with SanDiegoRed has announced that it has agreed to increase salaries and benefits for workers, but has not specified the amount or conditions. With many of these companies supplying to large grocery chains in the U.S., growers are under a lot of pressure to treat laborers fairly with the unmentioned caveat to keep prices low without affecting the quality. Some companies in the U.S. affiliated with Mexican growers have issued public statements about the situation and their commitment to ensuring that farm workers are protected.

Growers that do not reach an agreement with laborers risk millions of dollars worth of harvests being lost, and this would have a resounding effect on the local economy. Given that sustainable agriculture, organic food, and knowing where your food comes from is ever more becoming an important issue to U.S. consumers, news of unfairly treated workers does not bode well for big agro-businesses, or for the retail outlets that buy the perishables.

On Friday night, leaders walked away from the negotiations, refusing to settle for the 15 percent pay raise offered by growers. According to El Mexicano, the talks will be postponed another week until a representative from the International Labor Organization and Mexico's Secretary of the Interior, Miguel Osorio Chong arrive.

The State Government has reiterated its commitment to mediate the dialogue moving forward, and insists that the only way to resolve this issue will be via honest, respectful, and constructive negotiations. The government has also stated its commitment to continue to support San Quintin's development with more social programs and projects to support its residents.

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@borderzonie

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