Actor Tony Plana from "Ugly Betty" Co-Hosts Socially Responsible Wine Tasting

Written by Bruce Goldstein Wednesday, 08 September 2010 19:11

New! Actor Tony Plana will join us in NYC at the Socially Responsible Wine Tasting on Sept. 21. Well-known as Ignacio Suarez, father of "Ugly Betty" (America Ferarra) from 2006-10, he has been in many movies, stage productions and TV shows, and has been a voice for comprehensive immigration reform. Join us!

Good New York Times Editorial on Labor Trafficking But Root Cause Needs to be the Focus

Written by Bruce Goldstein Wednesday, 08 September 2010 08:46

The New York Times editorial today on the Global Horizons indictment for trafficking under the H-2A agricultural guestworker program is helpful in focusing on a pervasive problem, but the government and the public need to focus on the root cause, as discussed in our last blog posting:  the growers who use the abusive labor contractors need to be indicted or else the growers just find another labor contractor who abuses workers.

Labor Contracting Indictment Fails to Get at Root Cause

Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 07 September 2010 22:11

The indictment of leaders of the labor contracting firm Global Horizons for human trafficking in Thai citizens to perform work in U.S. agriculture, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/us/04trafficking.html, does not get at the root problem. Farm operators hire labor contracting firms and reap the benefits of the low costs when the labor contractors cheat workers. Under the main employment laws applicable to farmworkers, the farm operator is a "joint employer" with a labor contractor of the farmworkers on the farm. The farm operators either know what's going on or willfully hide their head in the sand in many cases. The long arm of the law needs to reach the farm operator. Teach them a lesson and many abuses will be prevented because the farm operators will change their ways if they know they will be prosecuted.

Indictment of H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program Labor Contractor

Written by Bruce Goldstein Friday, 03 September 2010 11:50

A labor contracting firm that brought Thai workers to Hawaii and our mainland to do farm work under the H-2A guestworker program has been indicted for human trafficking.  But the abuses under the H-2A program are extensive and the international labor contracting system must be reformed through law, enforcement and organizing. 

Read the Farmworker Justice report on the H-2A program, Litany of Abuses.

 

Special NYC Socially Responsible Wine Tasting

Written by barb howe Tuesday, 31 August 2010 11:05

Great news New Yorkers!  Farmworker Justice is bringing a special encore presentation of our Socially Responsible Wine Tasting to the Big Apple.

Please join us September 21st at Charlie Palmer's Astra restaurant in the D & D (Decoration and Design) building on 3rd Ave (at 59th Street).  You'll meet wine expert Michael Green, former wine and spirits consultant to Gourmet magazine and frequent guest on the Food Network, who will entertain you with a lively presentation on the artistry of wine.

All wines tasted at the Socially Responsible wine tasting are from vineyards where workers are treated fairly and enjoy safer and healthier working conditions. 

Attending or sponsoring the wine-tasting is a fun and entertaining way to support the work of Farmworker Justice.  To purchase tickets or become a sponsor, visit our main website.

Egg Farm Owner Had History of Unsafe Working Conditions

Written by Bruce Goldstein Monday, 23 August 2010 07:42

The salmonella outbreak in eggs apparently occurred at Wright County Eggs in Iowa, which is owned by DeCoster Egg Farms, a large company with a past history of serious occupational safety and health violations, as reported by the Washington Post.  Back in the late 1990's Farmworker Justice sought to help a local group in Maine improve conditions at a large egg production facility in Maine.