UC Survey of Farm Workers Fails to Dig Up Much Dirt

A University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor got a surprise when he interviewed farm workers: They like their jobs and, usually, their bosses. Labor activists, however, aren’t buying it.

“In the past, farm work has not been highly regarded in some circles, but the people who do it really like it,” said Gregory Encina Billikopf, the labor management farm advisor, whose research appears in the January/February issue of California Agriculture magazine.

In 1995, the Chilean-born researcher conducted unannounced interviews, mostly in Spanish, with 265 seasonal and year-round workers in northern San Joaquin Valley fields and orchards. Although many recounted abuses or insults at the hands of supervisors, they generally rated their jobs highly--an average of 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being terrible and 5 fantastic.

Billikopf did not ask for names and told workers that this was an opportunity to send growers a message. Workers said that above all they wanted bosses to treat them with respect.

“In no way am I implying that farm workers are better off than 10 years ago,” Billikopf said. Workers’ real earnings have eroded, many studies show.

Farm-worker advocates were highly skeptical of the results.

“You have to wonder, if the patrons are so marvelous, why do farm workers leap at the chance to take jobs as dishwashers or restaurant workers in town?” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank studying immigration’s effect on environment, society and economy.

Others said workers often answer positively in such cases out of fear of losing their jobs.