Farm Workers Regret Ruling On Trump Administration’s Wage Cut
Fresno, Calif. — On Thursday, May 14, a U.S. federal district court denied farm workers’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s illegal wage cut rule, which drastically cuts wages for H-2A workers and undercuts U.S. farm worker wages. This decision means the Trump administration’s devastating wage cut rule can continue to be in effect while the United Farm Workers and UFW Foundation lawsuit challenging the rule’s legality continues. The Trump administration’s wage cut rule is estimated to transfer over 4 billion dollars in wages from workers to employers annually.
The UFW, UFW Foundation, and 18 individual farm workers sued the Trump administration in November 2025, arguing that the Trump administration’s wage cut rule is a violation of the federal statute governing the H-2A agricultural guest worker program, which is required to prevent an adverse effect on the jobs and wages of local workers. The court’s denial of the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction was based on a narrow, technical issue and deferred ruling on the merits or legality of the Trump administration’s wage cut rule.This lawsuit will continue and we believe the wage cut will be declared unlawful.
“The Trump wage cuts will mean billions of dollars in lost wages for some of the hardest working and worst paid workers in America,” said Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers. “Lowering the wages of the H-2A guest worker program to undercut the wages of American farm workers is plainly illegal. We will continue to demonstrate this in court and look forward to a final ruling. We are confident farm workers and the law will prevail.In the meantime, every day the Trump wage cut is in effect makes it harder for farm workers to make ends meet. We will organize to overcome this sad reality as we always do — in the fields, in the legislatures, and in the courts. Farm workers will always fight for the wages we deserve.”
“The UFW Foundation is disappointed that the Trump administration’s wage cuts, which drastically lower farm worker pay, remain in effect for now,” said Erica Lomeli Corcoran, Chief Executive Officer of the UFW Foundation. “At a time when farm workers are already amongst the lowest paid and most vulnerable U.S. workers, these wage cuts further enrich agricultural interests at their expense. We will keep working towards a better tomorrow for all workers and look forward to seeing this unjust wage cut defeated and reversed.”
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