Human Trafficking in Upstate NY.
The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human Trafficking word wide, 81% of those are trapped in forced labor, and an estimated $ 150 Billion is profited by annually.
The upstate New York area seems to be a prominent area for these types of cases. Partly due to a large amount of farm work available, since a decreased interest in agriculture work among millennials. The Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking and Worker Justice Center of New York work together to provide services to those affected by Human and Labor trafficking. Services are free and include paralegals, attorneys, case managers. According to their website, WJCNY, in collaboration with Western New York, Human Trafficking Task Force, is the first of its kind in assisting federal agencies with the investigations of cases and the development of strategies and protocols which have shaped the approach of the government in addressing human trafficking.
According to The National Human Trafficking Hotline, Agricultural situations become trafficking when the employer uses force, fraud, or coercion to maintain control over the worker and to cause the worker to believe that he or she has no other choice but to continue with the work. They also state that Agricultural work is frequently completed by foreign national workers who are recruited overseas with promises of receiving work visas from specific farms or contractors.
Jenn Wolfley, professor at RIT with a career in public service, is passionate about stopping Human and Labor trafficking and is one of the founders of Rochester Regional Coalition. Jenn Wolfly said that the trafficking business operation shifted all in thanks to the internet. Instead of having to know somebody seeking services and someone who could provide. Negotiations of terms and conditions now take place on sites like Craigslist, Back Door, and other different chat rooms or advertise day laborer jobs at Spanish groceries, Spanish churches, Spanish neighborhood. Traffickers run their operation through brokerage, making money from the people they enlist, and bring over while they are working.
Immigrants who find themselves in labor trafficking environments often are afraid to leave the job in fear of deportation. Jenn Wolfley says that many times, employers of immigrants offer housing on the farm or place of work in return for labor, and workers feel obligated to stay.
Many of the folks who take the jobs are desperate for money and a sense of security, not realizing the long-term effects of not having disability, insurance, or unemployment. The working conditions are incredibly inhumane. Jenn recalls stories from some of the laborer’s on orchard farms working 16 hours days “these men were wearing Depends and urinating themselves because they didn't receive something as simple as bathroom breaks."
In a 2016 article titled ‘MILKED’ milkedny.org researches further investigated the working conditions trafficked laborers experienced on dairy farms in Upstate New York. The report states that in 2014-2015, when the minimum wage was $8.75 an hour, immigrant workers were making just above that at $9 an hour, working long grueling hours while only receiving a five-minute break.
American farmworkers revive far better treatment than immigrant employees. One worker from the MILKED article reported, “they always make undocumented workers do the heaviest work” and that American workers are grated hour lunch breaks and days off. An immigrant worker who was interviewed for the service said these been times where an American worker sat and rested or goofed off on the job and never got reprimanded, but that's far from the truth for an immigrant worker like himself.
According to reports in MILKED, "twenty- eight percent of immigrant dairy farmworkers have knowingly experienced at least one instance of wage theft; still, others suspect it but have trouble interoperating their pay stubs and do not know for certain." Wage theft experiences include denial of a final paycheck, being paid for scheduled hours and not for extra hours worked, unpaid "training," or non- reimbursement for personal protective equipment."
Jenn Wolfley stated another issue many tend to overlook is the fact that often men bring their wife's over so that they too can have a chance at a better life. However, when these women become pregnant, they typically deliver at their place of living and with only the assistance of the husband and family members because they don't have health insurance and, again, fear deportation. Jen says this brings a whole other issue to the table. Because these children don't receive a birth certificate, there is no documentation to show they even exist and create a group of invisible people. These children often don’t receive the proper health care or education as a result.
However, Somethings have changed. In July of this year, Governor Cuomo signed a Farm Workers Bill, which “protects Farmworkers’ rights and ensures equitable housing and working conditions by granting collective bargaining rights, overtime pay, disability, and family leave coverage and unemployment benefits." The bill is to take effect on January 1, 2020. Although this is progress, Jenn Wolfley says she sees the best way to ending this issue is by closing the borders. Although it seems like a harsh thing to do, Jen says there are more positives than negatives in doing so. According to Jen, many of the children coming across the border aren’t the actual children of the adults they’re coming over with. Some of them are taken from their real families, used as safety children (used to increase the chances of entering the US), and exploited along the way.
Labor trafficking, much like human trafficking, is nearly impossible to do away with completely. In the meantime, Jen says the best way to help is to act. She says if you suspect someone is being exploited ask if they need help and be prepared to do so right away, frequently they are monitored by their traffickers and only have a small window of time to get the help they need successfully.