Policy Center Intern’s Project on Migrant Farm Workers is Available Online

The project of a summer intern with the Maine Government Summer Internship Program, administered by the MCS Policy Center, highlights the experience of migrant farmworkers who contribute to the harvests in Maine each year. Treva DeMaynadier, a 2015 summer intern placed in the Maine Department of Labor, interviewed migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Aroostook and Washington Counties during her 12 week internship.

Comprising 62 percent of Maine farms’ hired labor workforce, these workers make a significant contribution to Maine’s economy, both as workers and as consumers. This survey provides the narrative experience of these workers and provides state agencies, legislators and the public a glimpse of who migrant farmworkers are, where they come from, and why they come to Maine.

The 2015 Maine Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Demographic Survey is available at:
http://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_laws/migrantworker/summary.html

The Maine Government Summer Internship Program gives college students an opportunity to contribute to Maine government through summer internships:
http://mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu/for-students/maine-government-summer-internship-program/

More detail on the Maine Monitor Advocate is found here:
http://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_laws/maine_monitor_advocate.html

See the Bangor Daily News article here:
http://bangordailynews.com/2015/12/28/news/state/student-helps-state-understand-migrant-farm-workforce/

Find the MPBN radio coverage here:
http://news.mpbn.net/post/study-reveals-details-about-maine-agricultural-workers