Farm worker Owen Salmon has picked apples in upstate New York for almost a decade, some 1,500 miles (2,400km) from home. In the midst of harvest season this year, Hurricane Melissa, a record-breaking category 5 hurricane, made landfall in Jamaica.
“It was terrifying,” said Salmon, whose wife and two children were at home near Black River, a town on the country’s south-western coast. “For days, I couldn’t hear from them. When I finally did, I heard my roof was completely gone. My wife and kids had to run for their lives, but thank God they’re alive.”
An estimated 90,000 households and 360,000 people have been affected by the damage wrought by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. Salmon is one of roughly 5,000 Jamaican workers who come to the US each year on an H-2A visa.
The H-2A guest worker visa program allows US farms and agricultural firms to hire foreign workers for temporary jobs. It plays a significant role in the US’s agriculture industry, which remains reliant on overseas labor at crucial points on the calendar: last year, more than 380,000 workers were authorized for H-2A visas, about 15% of the US agricultural workforce.
“Our boss, he would tell us he likes the H-2A program because you can be there this year and next year he doesn’t have to bring us back,” said Salmon, who works at Wafler Farms in Wolcott, New York. “He threatened us if we didn’t work fast, and there was nobody to stop him.”
“Dozens of workers” who “did nothing wrong” have not been able to return from one year to the next, Salmon claimed. Wafler Farms denied this, claiming they have never not recalled workers but are “required to actively recruit US workers and are required to offer any positions to them before we hire a worker through the H-2A program”.
Salmon is one of several New York farm workers represented by the United Farm Workers, which has launched a fundraiser to rebuild their homes, and those of other union workers hit by the hurricane.
“I came home to see what was going on, and everything was gone. No house, nothing,” said Damian, a H-2A farm worker from Jamaica who has worked at Cahoon Farms in Wolcott, New York. Apprehensive about his US work status, he declined to provide his surname. “It’s something that took 20 to 30 years to build, and in just a few hours, it’s gone now.”
A week before the storm, Damian’s wife had a baby. He said he has struggled to care for his family since flying home in the aftermath of the hurricane. “Here, if you don’t have a job, what are you supposed to do? I’m just hoping for the best,” he said. “It’s terrible.”
Marley, who also declined to provide his surname, has worked at Cahoon Farms in New York since 2018, alongside Damian. He was there when the storm hit Jamaica, where his mother and children live.
“I was just hoping and praying that I could reach home before the storm,” said Marley. “When I heard my home was destroyed, I was devastated.”
He has since made it back to Jamaica, but has been unable to get in touch with dozens of friends and co-workers.
Reports of price gouging have materialized since the hurricane. Marley said his family has grappled with price hikes on food, with several staples such as flour still unavailable.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “Most of my friends, I can’t get in touch with them, and I still feel for them. And I’m not going to be comfortable till I hear from all of those guys.”
Most of the roofs on homes in Salmon’s community in the Black River area of Jamaica are gone, Salmon said. Building materials are expensive – and have soared in cost since the hurricane.
Every year, he said, farm workers from Jamaica leave their homes and families to work on US farms, often for low wages and in poor working conditions.
In 2022, Salmon and his co-workers unionized. A Wayne county judge recently upheld the New York state labor board decision to certify the union, as the employer had argued that H-2A guest workers couldn’t unionize while refusing to recognize the union.
Following the ruling, Wafler Farms has “begun coordinating with the UFW to move forward with the implementation of the bargaining agreement”, a spokesperson said.
“Regarding Hurricane Melissa, we recognize the devastating impact it had on Jamaica and its people, with widespread damage to homes across the island,” they added. “In the aftermath of the storm, Wafler Farms made donations to several reputable humanitarian organizations actively involved in housing recovery and community support.
“We also shared information about these organizations with our workers so they could access support if they or their families were affected. We understand that some workers created a GoFundMe campaign upon returning to Jamaica to further assist with rebuilding efforts. We encourage anyone who wishes to contribute to do so through the avenue they feel will best support the recovery process.”
Cahoon Farms did not respond to requests for comment.
