At Battle Fish, a catfish farm in Tunica County, Mississippi, seasonal workers from Mexico say they have faced years of threats, unpaid wages, and dangerous living conditions, and the U.S. Department of Labor is now investigating the farm for a second time.

According to court records from a 2023 federal case, investigators reported that management created what officials called a "chilling effect": workers were so afraid to speak that some hid behind dumpsters and cars just to talk to federal investigators away from the farm. One employee wrote in a sworn statement that a supervisor told workers they would be sent back to Mexico if they complained. Former Labor Secretary Julie Su called one of the farm's housing facilities "uninhabitable."

Workers described sleeping on floors without running water, working 12 to 14 hour night shifts without overtime pay, and driving tractors with no brakes near the edge of fish ponds after dark. Former employee Jacob Vargas Huante said in a court declaration that a supervisor switched on the electrical current running through wiring he was repairing near the ponds. He told reporters the experience left him with nightmares years later.

The 2023 case ended in a settlement, with no findings of guilt and no admission of wrongdoing by Battle Fish. The company's attorneys say the matter was a misunderstanding that has been resolved, and Battle Fish says it has a strong safety record. But workers say conditions have not changed, and some say they were denied future work contracts after speaking to investigators.

No one should have to hide behind a dumpster to safely report abuse at their job. Sign the petition to demand the Department of Labor complete its investigation and hold Battle Fish fully accountable for how it treats its workers.