VOTE TEEPLE & VITIELLO
GOVERNMENT
Clockwise: Rene Castillo Gomes severs the root of a honeydew melon. | Guatemalan migrants in the melon fields of Hidden Valley load fruit onto a mobile packing platform as the sun rises. | Water customers fill up jugs at Rob’s Convenience Store in Hidden Valley. Owner Rob Del Cotto’s reverse osmosis system purifies water to hydrate farmworkers in the field.
M RK LAMB SHERIFF
THE RIGHT TEAM FOR PINAL COUNTY HONESTY • INTEGRITY • TRANSPARENCY
Ross Teeple Other Endorsements AZ Police Association Pinal County Deputies
Rich Vitiello Other Endorsements AZ Fraternal Order of Police Professional Firefighters of Maricopa
Please remember to vote for a Deputy, with a lifetime of public service, to be your next Sheriff. Not a politician. – ROSS TEEPLE • Improve 347 & Other Roadways • Lower Taxes • New Jobs & Economic Development • Support Public Safety – RICH VITIELLO
hour, the federal minimum wage but only half of Arizona’s minimum wage, or about $58 a day. That compares to only $24 a day in Guatemala, or $3 an hour. Orozco has perhaps the most appealing job on the line, driving the tractor that pulls the mobile packing platform. He has performed every job in the melon field over the years because it is typical for farmworkers to rotate positions on the cutter and packer lines. While Orozco slowly steers the tractor at a crawl, there are teams of pickers, packers and box stackers who move in tandem. The first farmworkers are on the ground. Using curved box-cutter-style blades, they gently cut the melon stems from the fruit with deliberate and precise actions. They flip the melons to packers on a rolling platform who box up the melons on a tabletop. A third team stacks the boxes on the rolling platform pulled by Orozco’s tractor. Across Papago Road at Rob’s Convenience Store, harvest crew supervisors park their pickup trucks and take 5-gallon jugs inside the store to fill them up with water purified using reverse osmosis.
of language and how difficult it is to adapt, however, we do our work with pride.” Orozco’s wife, Emma Nelly Gonzalez Cardona, and his 10-year-old son, Dilan Manfredo Samayoa Cardona, live in the Jutiapa-El Progreso region of southern Guatemala. “In Guatemala, I am a farmer of basic grains: corn, beans and vegetables,” said Orozco, who returns home during Arizona’s offseason. “Thanks to your country I have been able to build a house for my family and give my son an education.” H-2A visas are acquired through the farm company. The company is required to reimburse farmworkers for any visa expenses. The employer is also required to provide lodging and travel expenses. Orozco said he was happy with his company’s living conditions nearby. The migrant is required to provide receipts to employers. The employer pays for 75% of the worker’s contract and housing costs while in the U.S. as well as 100% of transportation and food. The government covers the rest. The average earnings for a farmworker is $7.25 per
Thanks to your country I have been able to build a house for my family and give my son an education.” MANFREDO OROZCO
TEEPLE for the People
SHERIFF
Paid for by Rich for Pinal County Supervisor Paid for by Teeple4Sheriff and Rich for Pinal County Supervisor
Rich Vitiello Candidate for Pinal County Supervisor District 1 Rich Vitiello • Rich4Supervisor.com
Ross Teeple Candidate for Pinal County Seriff Teeple For The People • Teeple4Sheriff.com
InMaricopa.com | November 2024
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