Overview  |  Stressed  |  Exhausted  |  Exploited  |  Abandoned

EXPLOITED: PROCESSING FISH IN NEW BEDFORD

“The owner of the place would always say, 'You got a problem, come and see me.' I tried to find somebody to speak English, to come and talk to the owner and nobody would step forward to help me. That’s how everybody works in that environment. They are too afraid to say anything or do anything because they don’t have their papers and they don’t want to speak up because they are too afraid …”

Escaping poverty and hoping to earn enough to support their families left behind in the highlands of Guatemala, 2,500 – 3,000 Mayans have come to New Bedford to work in the fish houses. Twenty-five years ago cutting fish was a decent unionized job, but fish processing today is done largely by immigrant workers, many undocumented. As one community activist suggests, “Exploitation is the name of the game in these fish houses, pretty much.” Older than most, “Benito” has a wife and three children back in Guatemala.

”My boss doesn’t know how to treat people.  Treats people like they aren’t human. It’s not right.  He hits people.  He has this magic marker and will paint people with it.  On last Wednesday I was working and he grabbed the marker and painted me on the side of the face.”

“I started by cleaning fish, taking the bones out. Then I learned the skinning machines. Then I learned cleaning and sanitation work. I inspected the temperature in all the tanks where the fish are kept… I took only a half an hour for lunch. Everyone took an hour but if I didn’t do it they would kick me out and say, 'Oh there is no more work for you.' I was putting up with the bad treatment…because I didn’t have any other choice.”