El Paso migrant farmworkers file lawsuit against former employer
In an age when many think farmworker abuse is a thing of the past, 14 El Paso migrant workers are suing a west Texas company for inhumane conditions at a farm just south of Van Horn, Texas.
Julian Lopez-Holguin is one of the 14 men suing Seminole, Texas, company AJK Enterprises. The plaintiffs allege the employer of housing them in such bad living quarters that they had to leave after weeks of working on a green chile farm during 2013 … even though they were promised months of work.
Joined by several of his fellow migrant farmworkers … Lopez-Holguin described Wednesday morning what it was like working at a farm south of Van Horn, Texas, last year. He responded in Spanish, but it was translated for this story.
“There was only one bathroom about six feet wide. We had a toilet and a shower. That’s all there was for 35 people,” Lopez-Holguin said of the living conditions. He said the quarters had no chairs to sit, one small fridge for all the workers to share, one sink, one stove and there were insects.
“When the bosses arrived we complained about the toilet, the bathrooms, the kitchen. They agreed to provide us with gasoline for our vehicles. None of this was done,” Lopez-Holguin said.
All 14 plaintiffs in the lawsuit against AJK Enterprises claim they faced inhumane conditions, were intimidated and even threatened when they worked during 2013’s green chile season.
The group is being represented by the nonprofit Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc.
“Many of them thought this is the worst housing situation they’ve ever experienced and they have decades of experience behind them so that’s saying something,” attorney Sarah Rich said. “They couldn’t let this stand. They wanted it fixed for other workers who still live there and they wanted justice for what they had to live through.”
Lopez-Holguin said the workers knew something was wrong the moment they arrived on the job.
AJK Enterprises is being represented by Holly Haseloff out of Lubbock, Texas. ABC-7 reached out for comment via telephone and e-mail but never received a response.
