Championing the Rights of Migrant Women Workers in the Crab Industry

Elisa Martínez Tovar, 2018

In 2000, Elisa Martínez Tovar could not find employment so she left her 4 children behind in Mexico to travel to Maryland to work in the crab industry. In order to secure work in the US on a H-2B visa, she incurred debt paying recruitment fees and travel expenses.

When she arrived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, she found the working conditions were not what had been promised. Housing conditions were deplorable and she shared living quarters with seven of her coworkers. Women were paid less than men and work and pay was not always guaranteed. However, she felt she had to stay in order to pay off her debts.

Guestworkers need the government on their side. Every time that the men and women from Mexico go to work in the U.S., they leave their families behind in search of a better future. At these jobs in the U.S., many of them give so much more — their efforts, their health, and their lives. It is only fair that they be justly compensated and protected in return.

Championing the Rights of Migrant Women Workers in the Crab Industry

— Elisa Martínez Tovar