Essential Worker Struggle

Kate Anderson 

Ka668316@ohio.edu

courtesy of Foreign Policy

Daffodil Altan and Andrés Cediel's Frontline Documentary film shows the struggles that many unrecognized essential workers faced at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Daffodil and Andrés discuss the emotion and importance of sharing these real stories of people who are essentially feeding the United States. 

This documentary opened my eyes to issues I had never even thought of prior. The stories of Cynthia and other farmworkers and food packaging workers highlight an even bigger problem in the United States. Undocumented people/workers are essential in the US but do not receive the protection they need and deserve. For example, undocumented workers in California cannot collect unemployment.  

The film highlighted why the problem of no unemployment benefits was incredibly unfair and challenging during the PandemicPandemic. Cynthia, an undocumented worker with cancer, was forced to continue to work to support her family in times of crisis. Unfortunately, she could not put her or her family's health first due to the lack of protection and benefits provided by the United States. 

The film told similar stories from workers suffering through terrible COVID-19 conditions at Central Valley Meatpacking facility and Taylor Farms. Workers were suspended for wearing face masks and forced to work while positive for COVID-19. There was no option for many of these workers to quit or be fired. Instead, they constantly lived with the fear of deportation, loss of food income for their family, and exposure to an unknown deadly disease. A House of Representatives subcommittee found that five major meatpacking companies were responsible for at least 59,000 COVID-19 cases and 269 deaths. This is extremely sad but not surprising after learning the personal stories of workers in the Central Valley meatpacking plant. The Taylor Farms stories were equally horrifying. Workers who expressed concern were encouraged to quit and seek unemployment. However, the company knows that the majority of the workers are not eligible for unemployment. 

Companies need to do better for their workers. The government needs to do better to protect essential employees. More recognition needs to happen for these essential workers who are risking their lives every day by working in their conditions. The unfair and downright disgusting treatment of these essential workers in the United States is regrettable and could be avoided if laws and protections were implemented. The film brought these stories to the spotlight and portrayed these people's emotions.