A federal inspector says the discovery of a spiral-bound ledger supports what farmworker advocates have said for decades - that credit sales of wine, cigarettes and drugs are used to bind migrant workers to the fields.
The notebook was given to inspectors Oct. 10 by the wife of a Johnston County crew chief when she was asked turn over records for inspection of their labor camp, where 19 migrant workers are harvesting sweet potatoes.Such ledgers are called "wine books" in migrant camps for the cheap wine they often include.
"Most of the time we are relying only on the word of the worker. But in this case you can see the charges that are being made against the workers' pay," said Dewey Thornton, a wage and hour director for the Labor Department.
Investigators believe recurring charges in the book of 60 cents are for soft drinks, while $1.50 and $2.50 entries are believed to be for cigarettes and pint bottles of cheap wine that can be bought for half that price.
A few entries are marked "light," apparently for an electric bill, said Thornton. But most entries carry no designation. Workers have their own pages in the book, with lists of deductions from their pay.
Thornton said some of the entries could have been for crack and other drugs.
"For the crew leader, that would give him a captive work force," Thornton said. "If you can get your workers addicted to crack, then they're not going to leave you. They're going to stay with you to keep getting the drug."
The unlicensed resale of alcohol and cigarettes is illegal, even if the seller makes no profit.
Migrant workers for generations have said crew chiefs push a sometimes daily ration of wine on them whether they want it or not, deducting the amount from their pay.
Labor investigators say such practices bind migrant workers to the fields, either by getting them drunk or plunging them so far into debt with the crew leader that they cannot move on.
Ledgers of such sales are only rarely found, but such discoveries are akin to finding betting sheets at a bookie joint; the ledgers provide documentary evidence backing up allegations made by usually illiterate farm workers.
Another record book discovered earlier this year in eastern North Carolina carried $50 and $100 fees for "coyotes" - smugglers who help illegal aliens cross the border from Mexico, Thornton said.
He said that the investigation of the Johnston County camp could lead to a fine for unfair wage practices and loss of the crew chief's federal license to operate a labor camp. The inspector would not identify the crew chief.