Farm workers work hard to put food on our tables and feed communities across the country. They deserve fair wages that allow them to support their families and build a secure future.
Maria, Michigan
*Disclaimer: Maria’s name and image has been changed to protect her identity.
Maria has been working in the fields of Oceana County, MI for 20 years and has been regularly and reliably working all year to put food on the tables of families across the country.
As a farm worker, she works year-round in various fields, picking asparagus in the spring, cherries in the summer, apples in the fall, and pruning trees and doing other prep work during the winter months.
It’s a hard-working life but Maria is content with it, making friends and being reliable and capable of doing the job needed to ensure a good crop year. Maria wasn’t just a dependable worker; she was also depending on this consistent work to support herself and her family,
It wasn’t until last year when the Trump Administration enacted new AEWR regulations that Maria’s life changed for the worse.
Last August, the Department of Labor implemented an interim final rule that changes how Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) are calculated for H-2A agricultural workers, lowering hourly pay by $3 to $5 per hour in multiple states, including Michigan. As a direct result of this, employers have either cut domestic worker salaries or have replaced them with more exploitable H-2A workers.
Maria’s employer started bringing H-2A workers in 2021, and, since then, she noticed that local workers were being let go gradually. During her last season in 2025, her employer would often mention that if Maria and her coworkers did not work hard, they would bring in more H-2A workers. Maria kept working hard, but ultimately, she was laid off due to her employers bringing in more H-2A workers.
“It was the worst possible outcome, losing my job like that,” Maria said. “I gave so much for all these years only to be laid off like this. A lot of us depend on these paychecks to survive. Being told we can’t work brings so many emotions. I just want to make a living, and I won’t give up looking for work to help my family.”
Due to the layoff, Maria has been out of work and job hunting for months, leading her moving in with family to share housing costs. Her unemployment has affected her deeply, making sacrifices like not buying personal care items or buying cheaper versions of shampoo, laundry soap, and similar items to save money.
However, there is hope for Maria.
The UFW Foundation has won our lawsuit against the Trump Administration seeking to stop the wage cuts and bring people like Maria back to work.
Cutting the wages of those barely getting by is UNJUST. But thanks to this lawsuit, farm workers like Maria will be in a stronger position to go back to work, gain better wages, and do what they do best: become the essential workforce that is the backbone of our economy but food security.
Farm workers work hard to put food on our tables and feed communities across the country. They deserve fair wages that allow them to support their families and build a secure future.
We’re proud to stand with farm workers across the country, thanks to the generous support of our community.
Donate today and support farm workers like Maria, as we continue to fight against unfair wage cuts.
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