{"id":431724,"date":"2024-07-12T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?post_type=newspack_nl_cpt&p=431724"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:26:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T16:26:39","slug":"how-and-why-we-dug-into-farmworker-housing","status":"publish","type":"newspack_nl_cpt","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_ko\/newsletter\/how-and-why-we-dug-into-farmworker-housing\/","title":{"rendered":"How and why we dug into farmworker housing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Guest workers at Balletto Vineyards store their groceries for the week. While these workers’ ranch home is well-maintained, other guest workers report living in overcrowded and unsafe conditions. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Good morning, Inequality Insights readers. Today, it\u2019s Wendy Fry here with Felicia Mello to talk to you about our latest investigation<\/a> into how California state housing inspectors have struggled to make sure farms are providing guest workers with safe and adequate housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’d noticed that the number of workers on H2A visas \u2014 a federal program for the temporary agricultural employment of foreign workers \u2014 had nearly tripled in California over the past six years. At the same time, the state was suffering a blistering housing crisis. We wanted to know how those two themes overlapped and what the state was doing to protect these vulnerable workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out that California assigns only three inspectors full-time to review housing for the state\u2019s 41,000 guest workers. Inspection records and complaints filed with the state showed the living conditions some workers endured: overcrowding, electrical hazards, mold, missing fire extinguishers, and windows that didn\u2019t open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few complaints stood out. I\u2019ll let my reporting partner, Felicia, tell you about one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Felicia here. After Wendy and data reporter Erica Yee analyzed some of the complaints, we noticed a report of dozens of guest workers living in a Salinas hotel with only two-and-a-half bathrooms. Some of the beds had no mattresses, the complaint alleged, and the hotel rooms were infested with bedbugs, rats and roaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I contacted the lawyer who\u2019d filed the complaint on the workers\u2019 behalf, and she connected me with one of them, Antonio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many guest workers hesitate to publicly tell their stories for fear of retaliation from their employers. But Antonio wanted to speak out. He said he still suffered from insomnia after spending months sleeping on the floor and in a bare metal cot during his time as a guest worker. And, he said, he wanted to prevent this from happening to other workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We dug into public records and interviewed experts to find out how Antonio\u2019s case had fallen through the cracks. Along the way, we discovered some gaps in the state\u2019s oversight system: Inspectors were doing routine inspections only when housing was empty, though conditions can change after workers arrive. In a handful of 2023 cases, they had signed off on housing without ever visiting it. And while state inspectors found 1,053 violations in employee housing in 2022, they did not issue a single citation to the employers responsible for providing safe housing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Housing and Community Development, which oversees employee housing, said it is stepping up enforcement and plans to hire more inspectors. We\u2019ll continue to follow this story and others about the agricultural guest workers who play a key role in one of the state\u2019s most important industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you worked as a guest worker in California or do you know someone who has? Tell us your story here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00bfHa usted trabajado en una granja en California por medio del programa H2A? Cu\u00e9ntenos su historia.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DON’T MISS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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