Even amid dire climate change warnings, NJ doesn’t protect farm workers from rising heat
WNYC News | Sep 27, 2023
There are no heat-specific federal or New Jersey laws regulating conditions for the roughly 25,000 farmworkers in New Jersey — even as state environmental experts expect the number of heat-related deaths to double over the next three decades.
A Biden administration initiative to protect farmworkers from heat, setting standards for limits on working hours, remains years away from realization. Most states — including New Jersey — have no such protections of their own. And labor organizers say they have limited clout to help the workers, many of them migrants, fueling the Garden State's $1 billion agriculture economy.
Farm workers, often paid by the piece, have few incentives to take breaks. Many are housed in labor camps without air conditioning. Farmers, often operating on the margins, themselves, have few incentives to make upgrades.
For workers who suffer in the heat, it's a problem that threatens to grow quickly. This year is on track to be the world’s hottest on record, and climate experts agree scorching summers will only get worse.
A Biden administration initiative to protect farmworkers from heat, setting standards for limits on working hours, remains years away from realization. Most states — including New Jersey — have no such protections of their own. And labor organizers say they have limited clout to help the workers, many of them migrants, fueling the Garden State's $1 billion agriculture economy.
Farm workers, often paid by the piece, have few incentives to take breaks. Many are housed in labor camps without air conditioning. Farmers, often operating on the margins, themselves, have few incentives to make upgrades.
For workers who suffer in the heat, it's a problem that threatens to grow quickly. This year is on track to be the world’s hottest on record, and climate experts agree scorching summers will only get worse.
