Good news for the nation and for farmworkers in Obama appointment

Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 10 January 2012 17:34

Today, January 10th, the White House announced that current Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Cecilia Muñoz, will now serve as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council. Ms. Munoz will coordinate the policy-making process and supervise the execution of domestic policy in the White House.  Cecilia, who received the Irma Flores Gonzales Award from Farmworker Justice when she was a Vice President of the National Council of La Raza, is a brilliant human being who is a tremendous asset to this nation.  She has a strong commitment to fairness and to intelligent governing.  Congratulations to Cecilia and our thanks to President Obama for his selection of such a fine choice for an important position in the White House.

Georgia's Immigration Debacle Continues: Report on Agricultural Workers

Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 03 January 2012 18:53

Farmworker Justice statement on the report issued this afternoon by the Georgia Commissioner of Labor called “Report on Agriculture Labor,” which was required by the new Georgia immigration law.  The report is available at http://agr.georgia.gov/AgLaborReport.pdf ].

 January 3, 2012   Farmworker Justice   Washington, D.C.

 The Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture, Gary Black, as part of the state’s onerous immigration law, has issued the “Report on Agriculture Labor.”  The report is very disappointing because the agricultural laborers – the focus of the report – play no role in the report.  Despite lengthy surveys of growers and other agricultural business operators, the Report lacks any input from the seasonal farmworkers who are supposed to be the main subject.  The report does explicitly acknowledge that federal law does not permit state governments to create a foreign guest worker program, and that solutions to labor issues facing Georgia agriculture rest in the hands of the federal government.  But the report ignores the “elephant in the room” – which is what to do about the fact that the majority of seasonal farmworkers in the United States are undocumented workers and we need their labor. 

 Much of the report is a long list of complaints that some growers have about the H-2A agricultural guestworker program (although 90% of the Georgia growers have not used it).  One mind-boggling example is the allegation, aimed at legal aid programs, that “attractive women come on to my property, without my permission to try and talk my workers into suing me.”  (p. 58).   The report gives these growers’ complaints more than ample space, but there  are no voices of farmworkers, farmworker organizations or even the U.S. Department of Labor, which has had primary responsibility for administering the H-2A program and its predecessor since it began over 60 years ago. 

 The recent report of Farmworker Justice, “No Way to Treat a Guest: Why the H-2A Agricultural Visa Program Fails U.S. and Foreign Workers,” is just one example of sources that could have been used to provide a balanced approach.  Despite the growers’ complaints, to his credit, the Commissioner did not recommend many of the harsh changes in the H-2A guestworker program that some grower groups have advocated.  His call for more education, outreach, research (including research into worker concerns) and federal action will undoubtedly anger many agribusiness representatives.   

Nonetheless, the report missed an opportunity to help build a coalition to support legalization of undocumented farmworkers and demonstrated once again that many policymakers in this country do not view farmworkers as part of agriculture.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays from the Staff of Farmworker Justice

Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 20 December 2011 16:21

Thank you for your support of Farmworker Justice.  Best wishes for the holidays and the New Year from the staff.

Lynn Bock

Adriane Busby

Adrienne DerVartanian

Jessica Felix-Romero

Jennifer Freeman-Smith

Bruce Goldstein

Alexis Guild

Kattrina Hancy Merlo

Candace Mickens

Merlyn Perez

Silene Ramirez

Renato Rocha

America Rivera

Virginia Ruiz

Carlos Ugarte

Weeun Wang

Rebecca Young

Staff Attorney Position at Farmworker Justice

Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 13 December 2011 18:46

Farmworker Justice is hiring an additional staff attorney.  Information about the position and instructions for applying are on our website at http://www.farmworkerjustice.org/staff-attorney . 

Thank You for Supporting the Socially Responsible Wine Tasting

Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 13 December 2011 13:15

Farmworker Justice held its tenth annual Socially Responsible Wine Tasting.  Despite the miserably cold, windy, rainy weather, we had a great turnout of about 100 people for the wine tasting.  The AFL-CIO once again hosted the event; National Worker Centers Coordinator Eddie Acosta, who represents the AFL-CIO on our Board of Directors, welcomed the group.  The longstanding wine expert for the event, Michael Franz, gave a particularly poignant talk this year, noting the increasing recognition that the quality of wine really depends on the quality of the grapes in the vineyard despite a lot of hype about individual winemakers, and that we need to recognize the importance of the vineyard workers who care for the vines that produce those grapes.  And those vines need a lot of care to produce good wine.  Our favorite cellist Allen Kadis provided background music.  We appreciated the presence of some old friends and some new acquaintances.

Thank you to all of our supporters, including the sponsors and ticket purchases, for the Socially Responsible Wine Tasting.  Also thanks to St. Supery and Balletto vineyards for their donations of wine. 

Thank you for making the work of Farmworker Justice possible and promoting vineyards where workers have a voice at work and good wages and working conditions. 

For those who could not participate in this year's wine tasting, we hope you will make an end-of-the-year donation to Farmworker Justice, either online by using the Donate button below, or sending a contribution to 1126 16th St., NW, Suite 270, Washington, D.C. 20036.

Remembering David Burciaga

Written by Bruce Goldstein Saturday, 10 December 2011 09:26

David Burciaga, who died at age 88 on November 28, was a member of our Board of Directors for many years up through 2000.  He was a very savvy guy, previously having been the UFW’s chief union negotiator, and was very helpful as we strategized at what was then Farmworker Justice Fund.  The UFW’s homage to David is on the union's website, www.ufw.org.  David worked for many years for the American Friends Service Committee, along with our former Board chair, Domingo Gonzalez, serving farmworkers in a variety of roles.  There is a nice photo of David on the UFW website.  We extend our condolences to the Burciaga family and remember David fondly.