Pitts Farm Partnership is being sued by six Black Mississippi farmworkers for bringing in white laborers from South Africa and paying them more for the same type of work.  

The lawsuit was filed by the Mississippi Center for Justice and Southern Migrant Legal Services on Wednesday for the six Black workers against Pitts Farm Partnership. The lawsuit alleges Pitts Farm violated the federal government’s H-2A visa program. The program allows United States farmers to temporarily hire foreign workers when no U.S. workers are available.  

Four of the plaintiffs-Andrew Johnson, Wesley Reed, Gregory Strong and Richard Strong did agricultural work for the farm and the other two plaintiffs, Stacy Griffin and James Simpson drove trucks for the operation during harvest time. 

Pitts Farms Partnership in Sunflower County, Mississippi had a majority Black staff, but in 2014 the company began hiring white workers from South Africa through the H-2A visa program. Pitts Farm continued to employ six Black farmers in order to have them train the H-2A workers, and paid the Black farmers $2 to $4 less per hour for the same job as their white counterparts. 

According the lawsuit, “The Pitts family hired a white supervisor who gave employees their daily duties and had the power to hire and fire workers.”  

“Occasionally, the supervisor used racial slurs,” the lawsuit said. “Pitts Farms was informed about the supervisor’s use of racial slurs and did nothing.” 

The six Black farmers who filed the lawsuit worked for Pitts Farm in a seasonal farmworkers and truck driver capacity. Two men at the company had a combined 43 years at the organization.  

“With the unemployment rate in the Delta hovering at around 10%, it is unacceptable and unlawful that local farmers are looking to hire foreign labor before people in their own communities,” said Ty Pinkins of the Mississippi Center for Justice. “Unfortunately, this case is emblematic of a disastrous pattern in the South.” 

The six Black Farmers would like to find Pitts Farm Partnership in violation of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, and federal anti-discrimination laws and breach of employment contract.  

“The case also reflects our nation’s deep, ugly history of exploiting Black labor,” Pinkins said. “For too long, powerful businesses have abused Black Americans for profit.”