DeCoster reaches migrant settlement

PORTLAND – DeCoster Egg Farms has reached a $3.2 million settlement with the Mexican government and migrant workers who sued the operation in 1998 over alleged racial discrimination in housing and working conditions, the parties announced Thursday.

The Turner farm had gained a reputation in the mid-1990s as one of the nation’s most notorious workplaces. In their suit, the Mexican government and 15 workers accused DeCoster of recruiting Mexican workers and subjecting them to horrific conditions based on race.

But at a news conference Thursday, the plaintiffs praised DeCoster for improvements made since the suit was filed and hailed the agreement as a milestone in a new era of cooperation between workers and the egg producer.

Ben Guiliani, executive director of the Maine Migrant Workers Advocate Group, said the changes marked the difference “between night and day.”

“We are encouraged by this settlement and the apparent commitment that the company holds for the best treatment of workers,” Guiliani said.

Housing conditions at DeCoster could serve as a model for other farms, Guiliani said, and communication between management and labor is open.

U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby gave preliminary approval to the settlement Thursday. Formal approval was expected Nov. 7.

Approval of the settlement brings an end to a legal battle over a previous agreement.

In 2000, the parties had reached a $6 million settlement. But A. J. “Jack” DeCoster contested it after Hornby dismissed some charges, a move DeCoster argued would leave him vulnerable to future lawsuits.

After Hornby ruled that the $6 million settlement was enforceable, DeCoster appealed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. That appeal was pending when the current settlement was reached.

Karen Wolf, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said much has happened in the last 21/2 years. Employees’ workplace and housing conditions improved and DeCoster has demonstrated that he is committed to making the farm a safe workplace for Hispanic workers, she said.

“That has been as big a goal as the money part of it,” Wolf said.

Also, the parties wanted to avoid continued legal wrangling that Wolf said had the potential to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It is important for these people who have endured so much over the last 12 or 13 years. It is important for them to have closure, it is important for them to have compensation and it is important for them to feel secure in a place where many of them still work or have the opportunity to work,” Wolf said. “And that is in large part why this settlement has been reached.”

The settlement will be advertised to class members through Mexico’s consular network and in Spanish- and English-language media, according to Carlos Rico, minister of political affairs at the Mexican embassy. The settlement covers all Hispanic workers, not just Mexicans.