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There, she made the soup and the 鈥渉ot, hot tea鈥� that helped her endure the headaches and coughing fits associated with the contagious respiratory disease. Bertha, an agricultural worker, said she couldn鈥檛 risk going to the kitchen or other parts of the house and infecting her 18-year-old daughter.

The two-plus weeks of isolation seem to have paid off: Her doctor recently cleared her to resume normal activities, Bertha said, and her daughter was never infected. But Bertha worries that if she returns to work processing pistachios for Primex Farms LLC 鈥� a California-based grower and exporter of nuts and dried fruits 鈥� she will bring the virus home again.

Bertha, who agreed to speak on the condition her last name not be published for fear of retaliation, said she doesn鈥檛 know whether she can trust the company鈥檚 attempts at disinfecting the space and implementing safety measures. Even before she tested positive, she thought the farm鈥檚 safety precautions were insufficient.

From a lack of social distancing in dining areas to employees handling pistachios without gloves, she estimates 鈥渕any pounds鈥� of pistachios passed through the hands of workers infected with COVID-19.

As of early July, 87 workers and 58 family members, 23 of them children, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to data compiled by United Farm Workers, a labor union. Many more are awaiting results.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to go back,鈥� Bertha said. She feels she has only two options: to accept the working conditions or quit.

The pandemic has forced agricultural workers throughout the Southwest to make a similar choice between their health and their incomes. Though industry representatives say farms are doing everything they can do to protect employees, worker advocates argue a lack of industry protections 鈥� and the 鈥渋nvisibility鈥� of much of the work done by day laborers 鈥� have made farmworkers especially vulnerable to exploitation.

鈥淚t just shows the contradiction in calling somebody an 鈥榚ssential worker鈥� but only for what you need them for, not to care for them as human beings that also are afraid of getting sick,鈥� said Juanita Valdez-Cox, a migrant-rights advocate in Texas.

Workers kept in dark

Primex Farms, which manages 5,000-plus acres of pistachio orchards and processes millions of pounds of nuts each year, did not respond to multiple calls and emails seeking comment about its handling of COVID-19 cases.

But Armando Elenes, United Farm Workers鈥� secretary treasurer, detailed some e stories shared by Primex鈥檚 roughly 400 workers.

Employees first heard about positive COVID-19 cases in passing, he said. Co-workers would say, 鈥淥h, did you hear? So-and-so tested positive.鈥�

As more stories of people not showing up to work started to circulate, a few workers went to human resources in early June. But officials dismissed their concerns as rumors, he said.

Elenes said the supervisor of one employee who reported COVID-19 symptoms suggested the worker only had the flu and was too important to take time off.

Bertha also said she was shooed away when she sought more information on possible COVID-19 cases, saying she received no clear explanation for management鈥檚 silence.

Workers officially found out about the scope when Primex confirmed 31 positive cases on June 23, Elenes said.

鈥淭hey felt betrayed. They felt lied to,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey felt there should have been communication.鈥�

Within two days, about 50 workers had gone on a one-day strike, demanding more transparency, better sanitation, free face coverings, gloves and more.

A day later, Primex closed its facility to conduct a deep cleaning. It reopened at partial capacity July 2, with plans to resume full operations July 6, Elenes said.

At first, workers were not given masks and were told they had to buy them for $8.

Primex also tested workers for the coronavirus, insisting that even those who鈥檇 recently tested positive be present, Elenes said.

鈥淪ome of them went out of fear that they would lose their jobs if they didn鈥檛,鈥� he said.

On July 1, Primex announced employees 65 and older who did not want to continue working could stay home and get paid for the time they took off, Elenes said. Those with symptoms and who tested positive would also be paid for their time off.

But later, Elenes said, workers鈥� paychecks reflected only the time they鈥檇 worked. Workers also reported staff had told them if they didn鈥檛 like the company, they could leave, he said.

鈥淭he company has always consistently told them that it鈥檚 really important that they keep production going,鈥� Elenes said. 鈥淔rom the worker鈥檚 perspective, they鈥檙e prioritizing production over the employee鈥檚 lives.鈥�

Roxana, a sanitation worker at Primex, similarly said the company鈥檚 lack of transparency put lives at risk. It took away workers鈥� ability to 鈥渕ake the choice for ourselves to continue working and expose our families,鈥� she said.

On June 16, she began feeling extreme body aches and had a fever. The next day, she got a COVID-19 test at a community health clinic. Seven days later, she was told she had tested positive for the virus.

Her 9-month-old son also tested positive.

鈥淚t was very difficult,鈥� Roxana said in Spanish. She also agreed to speak on the condition her last name not be published for fear of retaliation. 鈥淚t was very hard to see your kids unwell and not be able to help them in a timely way.鈥�

Each day, Roxana鈥檚 family has 鈥渂een getting better with fewer symptoms,鈥� and she plans to return to work once she gets the green light. But she鈥檚 not confident the company is taking adequate precautions to protect workers, despite masks now being provided free of charge.

鈥淚 still feel scared because they haven鈥檛 hired a business specialized in coronavirus disinfection but instead have used the sanitation crews to clean,鈥� Roxana said. 鈥淚f it isn鈥檛 disinfected properly, if they haven鈥檛 sanitized it well everywhere, the majority of the plant is metal, and scientists say that the virus can live up to 72 hours on metal.鈥�

Workers also 鈥渄on鈥檛 know if this virus can re-infect those of us who鈥檝e had it already, and that exposes us and our families, too,鈥� she said.

On July 6, dozens of workers again protested Primex鈥檚 management of the outbreak, Elenes said, slamming the company for calling COVID-positive employees back to work before they鈥檇 been cleared.

鈥渕argins of society鈥�

Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, said the 鈥渇renzy鈥� of Americans stocking up on groceries at the beginning of the pandemic due to fear of food insecurity should be reflected in support for agricultural workers.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e concerned about food security, you better be concerned about the workers who are providing that food to you,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 take necessary steps to preserve their health, that itself will be a threat to food security.鈥�

He said more people in power need to care about safe housing, work conditions, access to sick leave and a living wage for those in agriculture.

Federal labor law does not protect farmworkers鈥� right to organize, 鈥渕aking it difficult for them to band together to bargain for better pay and working conditions,鈥� according to the Center for American Progress.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found farming, fishing and forestry to be among the occupations with the lowest unionization rates in 2019, at 2.1%. Primex Farms workers are not unionized, but United Farm Workers is assisting workers there at no cost.

鈥淲hen you take workers who are on the margins of society and further marginalize them by diminishing their protections, it leads to a vicious cycle,鈥� Jawetz said.

Juanita Valdez-Cox, executive director of south Texas-based organization La Uni贸n Del Pueblo Entero, also argued workers without legal immigration status have been treated as expendable despite being called 鈥渆ssential workers鈥� during the pandemic.

鈥淭hey are 鈥榚ssential workers,鈥� but only for how this country needs them,鈥� Valdex-Cox said.

When she visited a farm while Texas had a stay-at-home order in place, workers did not have masks. In a watermelon field, she said, workers had no choice but to work side by side.

鈥淭he farmer isn鈥檛 going to space you out, because that鈥檚 more land that he鈥檚 going to lose by not being able to plant closer together,鈥� Valdez-Cox said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as social distancing in the fields.鈥�

And laborers feel pressure to accept unsafe conditions to protect their incomes: 鈥淚f you want to feed your family, you have to go out and work, even though you鈥檙e at risk,鈥� she said.

Industry: owners are 鈥渄oing their best鈥�

Bryan Little, director of employment policy for the California Farm Bureau Federation, argues that agricultural laborers who work outside can more easily practice social distancing than those employed in other settings.

He disputed the idea that owners and managers have placed profits above all else, saying many have implemented guidance from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

鈥淏ased on the conversations I鈥檓 having with farm employers, and phone calls and emails and everything else you can imagine, I certainly have a very strong impression that they鈥檙e doing their best to do everything they can do to protect their employees,鈥� said Little, who also serves as chief operating officer for the Farm Employers Labor Service.

Farmers have revamped certain job requirements to facilitate physical distancing, made sanitizer and additional hand-washing stations available and provided more space for meal and rest periods, Little said. Though he acknowledged workers have struggled to access testing, he pointed to broader testing issues throughout the state.

Little also said employers can only protect their employees during their shifts, which 鈥渓eaves the other two-thirds of the day when an employer has absolutely no influence on what those employees are doing.鈥�

He said the California Farm Bureau Federation has run public service announcements in English and Spanish requesting employees cover their faces, practice social distancing and stay home when ill.

鈥淭o the extent that you are doing things at work to protect yourself, you should be doing them while you鈥檙e not at work,鈥� Little said.