I Harvest Your Food. Why Isn't My Health 'Essential'?
We sacrifice so much for a country that doesn’t value our lives.
By Alma Patty Tzalain
Ms. Tzalain is a member of the grass-roots organization Alianza Agrícola.
April 15, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
I am one of the thousands of farmworkers across the country making sure there is still food to put on your tables. Since I came to New York from Guatemala 11 years ago, I have cleaned cabbage in a packing shed, milked cows on dairy farms, trimmed apple trees in orchards and wrapped and pruned tomatoes in a greenhouse.
If I get sick with Covid-19, I’m afraid of what it will mean for my children, my compañeros and my community. But unlike many other workers in the United States, my workplace has not shut down. Farmworkers are considered essential, and yet we are left out of government support.
A few weeks ago I started to have a headache and fever. The symptoms got worse, with a sore throat and coughing. I called a health clinic, concerned that I had the coronavirus. The doctor told me that I should stay home for a week, and since there is no cure, there was no reason to come in for a checkup. But I was able to get tested for the virus.
I didn’t know what to do. I was so worried: One week at home without a paycheck? I support three daughters in Guatemala and a young son here, and I’m on my own. If I told management, what would happen? How would I feed my children or pay my rent?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/opinion/covid-farmworkers-paid-leave.html?smid=tw-share
= new reply since forum marked as read
Me too. 
TY for posting! 
