At the starting Point

Story by Paul Peters,

photos by Katherine Head

Migrant workers arrive to harvest Flathead cherry crop

They drive through the night to avoid trouble with immigration and arrive in packed vehicles, ready to harvest cherries for the orchards that circle Flathead Lake. They come to find work during the one-month period when there is little harvesting to be done in other parts of the country.

Almost all of the migrant workers come from Grandview and Sunnyside, Wash., both small towns just outside of Yakima.

Most, if not all of the migrant workers are also first or second-generation immigrants from Mexico. Many of the first-generation immigrants do not speak English. Their children, however, are often fluent in both English and Spanish and act as translators for their parents.

Jose Luis Casas, of Sunnyside, arrived early July 12 after driving all night with his wife, daughter, two sons, and their Chihuahua, Chico.

That morning, Casas had turned in paperwork to Lake County Job Services so that they could connect him with an orchard. In the yard next to the Finley Point packing plant he and his family waited for Job Services to assign them to an orchard. About 150 more migrants were doing the same.

This is the Casas family's first year participating in the local cherry harvest.

"Many people come here from Sunnyside," Casas said, "They say it is a good place for work."

According to several workers and growers, the orchards pay between $4.50 and $5 for each 30-pound box of cherries.

Dr. Louise Swanberg, who owns an orchard in Lakeside, said that her workers are able to pick between two and three boxes per hour, thereby earning $10 to $15 an hour.

Despite these earnings, Rural Employment Opportunities (REO), a non-profit organization that provides aid to struggling farm workers, estimates the average migrant worker makes about $7,500 per year. Federal guidelines place the U.S. poverty line at $9,310 per year. The average annual income in Montana is $25,920.

According to REO Executive Director Bruce Day, migrant earnings are low because of the number of days during the year when there is no work for them.

Cherry pickers generally begin work just after sunrise, between 5 and 5:30 a.m., and work until about 1 p.m., or until the temperature reaches 84 degrees. Picking in higher temperatures can cause cherries to bruise.

According to workers and growers, migrants generally stay in cabins or tents on or near the property where they work. Many of these cabins and tent cities can be seen along Montana Highway 35, usually with a few portable toilets lined up next to them.

This year, according to Mike Shoquist of Lake County Job Services, about half to three quarters of the normal number of workers arrived.

Casas provided a possible reason for the lack of workers this year, "The pickers are not coming because they are afraid of immigration."

This was the same reason several other migrants gave; that U.S. immigration has been cracking down on illegal immigrants in Washington State.

But, Shoquist said, growers have been able to compensate for fewer workers this year. When orchards are picked out, workers are sent to others that still need picking.

When they arrive, migrant workers can receive food stamps, free medical care, food and gasoline vouchers, and legal advice. Most of this aid is given because the workers earn wages below poverty levels.

To receive healthcare, the migrants line up before a series of tents, where they are interviewed about their current state of health. They are then treated in a large R.V., the council' s mobile treatment center.

Often the only healthcare migrants receive for the year is at the Finley Point plant, according to Claudia Stephens of Montana's Migrant Health Council.

"Most of the [migrants] have multiple problems," Stephens said. These ailments include diabetes, asthma, dental problems and skin infections. There are also an increasing number with mental health issues, Stephens added.

Last year, the program received about 1,000 patients. No one is turned away for care.

Funding for migrant health care comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a combination of other public and private funding.

Health care provided to migrants at the packing plant typically focuses on preventive care. According to Stephens, when care is needed from either a hospital or a dentist, migrants can use Medicaid. But, she said, it is often difficult for them to receive hospital or dental care. According to her, many doctors in the Flathead area do not accept Medicaid.

In addition, Stephens said, "[Migrant workers] choose to continue working rather than making appointments. If they have a swollen mouth, and they choose to work anyway, things are not going to get any better."

Another problem, according to Stephens, is poor nutrition. But this problem may be partially alleviated with the help of food stamps.

Office of Public Assistance worker Marilyn Becker said she has helped distribute food stamps to 949 migrants this season at the Finley Point plant. The value of this assistance comes out to $116,472 or an average of about $122 each.

If they are legal residents of the U.S., migrant workers are considered residents of the state they are working in upon their arrival, which allows them to apply for food stamps.

Food stamps are applied for through the state, but are federally funded. According to Becker, recipients cannot "double dip," but can only receive food stamps from one state at a time.

To qualify for food stamps, migrants must fill out an 11-page application with information that includes the number of people in their household, their income and expenditures. This information is used to determine whether or not someone should receive food stamps, and how much they will receive.

Only legal residents of the United States can receive food stamps. The stamps come in the form of cards, similar to debit cards, which can be used anywhere in the U.S. that food stamps are accepted.

Food stamps are paid on a monthly basis. Benefits for migrants are paid out for the specific amount of time they spend in Montana, usually about two weeks.

Rural Employment Opportunities also supplies aid to incoming migrant workers. The workers line up at REO's tables in the morning to receive up to 75 numbered tickets from REO. Everyone who receives a ticket is seen that day. This year, REO received 628 applications for aid.

REO provides laborers with a $20 gasoline voucher, a food voucher with a value between $35 and $65, a box of food supplied by the USDA surplus food program and free legal advice to help them deal with pay and housing issues.

This is REO's 19th year providing aid to migrant laborers at the Finley Point plant. But ,"Every year the program is in danger of being cut,"according to Sue Pate, who has been helped administer the Finley Point program for 10 years.

Last year, according to Pate, REO's budget was cut in half by the federal government, which provides funding through the U.S. Department of Labor.

"When we left, there was a lot of people that hadn't been served. But we were out of money."

Pate says she loves her job with REO.

"It kind of grows on you," she said. "It sure reminds all of us of how fortunate we are."