Today marks the start of National Farmworker Awareness Week! To celebrate, we would like to offer you this special farmworker-focused edition of Five on Friday – five pieces from MCN staff about the health and well-being of farmworkers, from our inboxes to yours. Here it is: Farmworker Five on Friday!

More and more farmworkers who lack authorization to work in the US are reaching ages where they no longer can work. The latest issue of Generations from the American Society on Aging, shared by Kaethe, considers the health and health access issues of older immigrants without authorization with several articles dedicated to the concern. Generations Today, March-April 2022

How many farmworkers have received the COVID booster? It’s unclear. However, we know that the vast majority of farmworkers identify as Hispanic, and this issue brief, sent my Amy, shows that just 40% of Hispanic people had received the booster – the lowest of all races/ethnicities polled. Latest Data on COVID-19 Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity

We can assume that, if 40% of polled Hispanic people have received the booster, the percentage of farmworkers with the booster will be even lower. That’s because of numerous barriers to the vaccination, which are covered in this new article from the journal Vaccine, co-written by MCN’s Alma and Amy, with Christine Thomas as lead writer. Ensuring COVID-19 Vaccines for Migrant and Immigrant Farmworkers

United Farm Workers, Farmworker Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center and others are pushing the Biden Administration to revamp the H2A program to stop labor abuses. Labor Rights Groups Push for Reform of Farmworker Visa Program in Wake of Human Trafficking Case

Weekly Win: How do Starbucks baristas affect the health of farmworkers hundreds of miles away? This Eater article connects the efforts at unionization among Starbucks workers, to food worker organizing, in an era of declining union membership, and how a rebirth of food unions can protect precarious farmworkers across the US. What a Surge in Union Organizing Means for Food and Farm Workers

Have a safe and healthy weekend!

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