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Farm Workers Win Case Against Gun-Toting Foreman

Farm Workers Win Case Against Gun-Toting Foreman
Roque Planas
By 

National Reporter, HuffPost

Employees pick strawberries on Steve Sakuma's farm outside of Burlington, Washington, on a hot morning in mid-July. Sakuma estimates that 80 percent of his workers are illegal immigrants. (Rob Hotakainen/MCT via Getty Images)
Employees pick strawberries on Steve Sakuma's farm outside of Burlington, Washington, on a hot morning in mid-July. Sakuma estimates that 80 percent of his workers are illegal immigrants. (Rob Hotakainen/MCT via Getty Images)

The Wild West is alive and well for some low-wage workers, but things are beginning to change thanks to a courageous group of farm workers in Washington State’s Yakima Valley. Juan Morfin, a foreman who farm workers alleged routinely cheated them out of wages by intimidating them with his gun, recently lost his Yakima Valley apple orchard job thanks to a class-action lawsuit filed by a farm worker, Sandra Saucedo, and a group of her co-workers.

Saucedo, who had the courage to call 911 on behalf of her fellow workers in an attempt to stop the gun use, was thrilled with the outcome.

“Farm work is hard enough without the foreman pulling out a gun to intimidate people. We tried to complain to his brother and the people in the office, but they never took our complaints seriously. They can no longer supervise workers at these orchards and that is a big victory that we hope will protect future workers,” said Saucedo.

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