Thread by @Casein_Micelles

Thread about farm labor that's been buzzing around my noggin for a few months.

"The hired hand," is a term you hear a lot on smaller farms, that plus one that adds to the labor above and beyond what the family unit can perform.

During the nine years I was working on someone else's operation, my dad would frequently say, "the hired hand always gets screwed."

He's right.

Here's why:

First, ag labor laws are kind of lenient to begin with. Lots of rules that apply to everyone else don't necessarily apply to them (child labor, minimum wage, overtime, workman's comp insurance).

Also, as small businesses with under 50 employees, farms often get out of offering health insurance, FMLA rules, etc.

And, that's if the farm operator actually abides by the laws. Ag has a long tradition of abusing 1099 laws or paying cash wages.

This sets the stage for all sorts of unfair compensation situations and work hazards.

Farms are *so dangerous*

Imagine you're working as a "1099" and fall off a silo ladder, shattering both your legs. What recourses are there for you? Certainly, there's not an easy set path to be compensated for your injuries and lost wages.

That's to say nothing of not paying into Social Security because you're paid under the table or as a contractor.

Pro-tip: If someone says, "I'll pay you this way so you won't have to pay taxes," what they are REALLY saying is, "I'm paying you this way so *I* don't have to pay taxes."

Don't trust people who try to cheat the system. We're all members of the (admittedly flawed) system. They're actually cheating YOU.

There's also the phenomenon of providing housing for farm employees as part of their compensation package.

It's kind of bullshit.

1. Instead of paying an employee a fair wage to afford the location and home of their choosing (or even put money into their own property to gain value), they are forced into a mutually beneficial arrangement that isn't that mutual.

1 a. You're probably not going to have a neat, clean lease, which lays out your tenant rights.

1 b. Having housing as part of a package is another way of getting around taxes.

2. It basically guarantees that an employee is always at work or at least on-call 24/7.

That's kind of the role of a hired hand. Just do everything the existing ownership structure can't do.

They want to go on vacation? It's your job to fill in. Not enough labor? You can work 18 hour days, right? Time off? What's time off?

Fill in all the holes, having extreme responsibility with no ownership.

That's the core issue of being a farm hand. You're using your labor to create value for someone else without the protections of a normal job.

The core value of a farm is material (land, livestock, equipment) not liquid.

It's an excuse to always pay you less while adding value to their property.

Sure, it's a paycheck, but is it a fair one?

Young and marginalized groups generally get sucked into the farmhand role. They beat themselves down, lose years, and ruin their bodies for low-wages.

This is one of the reasons why we have to make farms more financially efficient, more just.

We need to create good, secure, fair jobs for people who love to do farm work.