The Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the Dangerous Expansion of H2A

Presenters: Liz Darrow, & Australia Hernandez Cosby, Community to Community (C2C) Development, Bellingham WA More than 30,000 farmworkers come to Washington State every year on H2A Agricultural visa contracts. The H2A program provides a pipeline of cheap labor for industry growers and is notorious for abusing workers. Following the death of an H2A worker in Whatcom County in 2017, C2C and other advocacy groups fought hard and won oversight of the H2A system in Washington State. Now, a federal bill called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act threatens to permanently expand the H2A program and reverse important progress that has been made. Darrow and Hernandez Cosby will outline the history of H2A and review what can be done to fight back against this bill.