Fernando Javier Rodríguez Luna, a former H-2A agricultural worker from Mexico, just filed a class action lawsuit against his former employers in North Carolina, Jackson Farming Company of Autryville, farm labor contractor Alvino Avilez Castaneda, and Avilez & Sons Harvesting LLC, alleging violations of trafficking and wage laws.
We are proud to support Mr. Rodriguez Luna in his fight for justice alongside North Carolina Justice Center (NCJC), our co-counsel in this case.
Fernando’s story is very similar to many others we’ve heard over the years from migrant farmworkers: He was charged thousands of dollars in illegal recruitment fees and had to pay travel expenses and visa costs without reimbursement. To cover these costs he borrowed money which meant he arrived in the United States already indebted and with no real options but to keep silent in the face of abuse.
Once in North Carolina, his employers confiscated his and his co-workers’ passports to ensure they couldn’t leave. At Jackson Farming Company, Fernando harvested watermelons, melons, sweet potatoes and tobacco, among other crops, for long hours without adequate access to drinking water or bathrooms. His employers did not provide essential protective materials, so Fernando had to buy his own. And for his work, Fernando earned less than the minimum wages required by federal and state law.
Today, Fernando is standing up and demanding justice for himself and all farmworkers who, like him, experienced abuse and exploitation at the hands of their employers. Will you stand with him?