KGMI News
SUMAS, Wash. – The workers at a Sumas farm who walked off the job over working conditions experienced generosity and malice from Whatcom County residents.
The temporary camp that became home to approximately 70 striking Sarbanand workers received so much donated food, it needed more refrigerators to store it.
So people donated the appliances and generators to power them.
But the people who own the land the told the Seattle Times someone also broke out a truck window at the camp.
The homeowner next door asked to keep the campers off his property, and several people had negative comments for the workers.
People helping the workers told the Times five of them were hospitalized with dehydration and others had ear and throat infections.
One worker died after becoming ill at the farm.
The owners of Sarbanand said the workers were not at all mistreated and were fired because they refused to do their jobs.
Still, the company offered to pay to fly all of them back home to Mexico.