National Farm Worker Ministry an interfaith organization supporting farm workers as they organize for justice member organizations include nearly 40 national, state and local religious bodies
Beef Northwest workers optimistic after meeting with Whole Foods vice-president Beef Northwest is the last stop for the animals that provide the meat for Country Natural Beef which is marketed and sold in Whole Foods Markets. The workers also as hosted a Sunday evening rally at Austin Congregational Church and a breakfast meeting with Austin community and labor leaders. More
Theodore R. Kulongoski, Governor of the State of Oregon, proclaims March 30 -April 5, 2008 FARM WORKERS AWARENESS WEEK in Oregon and encourage all Oregonians to join in this observance. Read proclamation
Fair Immigration Reform Movement urges withdrawal of proposed changes H-2A regulations- February 20, 2008 A major national immigration coalition temporary opposes anti-worker bias of changes Read full letter Bush Administration proposes weakening of H2A guestworker regulations - February 7, 2008 "These employers routinely violate the law already and we need more law enforcement under the H-2A program, not less," said Bruce Goldstein, of Farmworker Justice... Full article in Los Angeles Times
New report on conditions of child farmworkers The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs has released a new report regarding child labor in the fields as part of their ongoing efforts to strengthen child labor safeguards in agriculture AFOP’s field investigations have uncovered children as young as nine working in the fields.
Join the Farmworker Association of Florida and demand that Methyl Iodide is banned from the fields of Florida. Download, sign & mail a letter to Dennis F. Howard, Chief Bureau of Pesticides, demanding that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services exclude Methyl Iodide from use in Agriculture in Florida. More information and take action
Two farmworker advocacy groups sue the U.S. Labor Department - December 14, 2007 The suit claims that DOL failure to release information on farmers that hire guest workers hurt both U.S. and foreign workers. United Farm Workers union and Farmworker Justice filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C. [more]
California wildfires create difficult situation for undocumented farm workers - October 24, 2007 shelters and checkpoints are staffed by authorities that in normal times mean an instant trip back across the border. "We cannot have people not going to a shelter or not coming out into the open because they're scared that immigration will be there," Enrique Morones of Border Angels.
100 farm workers join growers in Washington, DC to support AgJOBS-October 1-5, 2007 AgJOBS week brought together 100 farm workers from 8 states and 20 growers to meet with members of Congress and their aides about the urgency of providing a legal agricultural work force. More
California wildfires create difficult situation for undocumented farm workers - October 24, 2007 shelters and checkpoints are staffed by authorities that in normal times mean an instant trip back across the border. "We cannot have people not going to a shelter or not coming out into the open because they're scared that immigration will be there," Enrique Morones of Border Angels.
100 farm workers join growers in Washington, DC to support AgJOBS-October 1-5, 2007 AgJOBS week brought together 100 farm workers from 8 states and 20 growers to meet with members of Congress and their aides about the urgency of providing a legal agricultural work force. More
The United States Chamber of Commerce supports AgJOBS- October, 2007 In a letter to all members of the House of Representatives, the Chamber say it is "steadfast in its support for a comprehensive solution to fixing America's broken immigration system and believes that AgJOBS is a step towards that goal and one that can be taken now." The Chamber represents more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region. New book discusses roots of farm worker movement in California The Radical Peasant, written Gerald F. Cox, NFWM supporter, is a biography of Fr. Charles Philipps, diocese of San Francisco Philipps mentored several young priests who were early and life-long activists in the farm worker movement, and active with the UFW
Wall Street Journal runs book excerpt on Florida farmworker slavery- September14, 2007 The excerpt, from Nobodies by John Bowe, recounts a case of seven hundred Florida farm workers working under threat of death, for low pay or possibly no money at all. The article goes on to state that many farmworkers labor under the near-total control of their employers. That control leaves them in fear for their lives if they try to leave or complain to authorities.
Mexico detains 3 in FLOC employee's killing -Toledo Blade, May 26, 2007 Officials for the Toledo-based Farm Labor Organizing Committee, or FLOC, called the case "completely fabricated." Full article Yum Brands extends Taco Bell agreement to its four other brands! At its 2007 shareholder meeting Yum Brands confirmed that it has extended the Taco Bell agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to cover KFC, A&W Restaurants, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silvers. This means Florida farmworkers who pick tomatoes for these restaurants are receiving an extra penny per pound for those tomatoes and working under a code of conduct against abuses in the fields. Emergency rule to protect workers in Washington state from heat stress will go into effect June 5 - Capital Press, May 29, 2007 The emergency rule was prompted by the death of a farmworker in Yakima on July 18, 2005. The rule stresses worker training so workers can recognize the signs of heat stress,and it provides good clarity for employers. Full article
The "Fair Treatment of Farm Workers Act" introduced in California - April 18, 2007 This bill will allow farm workers to choose a union by either a secret ballot election or a "majority sign-up" process. This bill is crucial for farm workers who face tremendous pressure during a union election campaign. Send an email to support this bill.
Bill introduced to end indentured servitude in U.S. - March 30, 2007 U.S., Rep. George Miller (D-CA) has introduced the “Indentured Servitude Abolition Act of 2007,” to end the indentured servitude of thousands of immigrant workers in the U.S According to a March 12 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, 121,000 workers in the U.S. H-2 guestworker program are “systematically exploited and abused. Unlike U.S. citizens, guestworkers do not enjoy . . . the ability to change jobs if they are mistreated.” Full press release
Chavez's life remembered on his 80th birthday - March 31, 2007 There have been many events and press articles marking the 80th birthday of Cesar Chavez. We offer you a remembrance by Rees Lloyd who began working with Chavez in 1973 as a leader of ȁTruckers For Justice," a nationwide truckers shutdown protesting windfall profits by oil companies in the so-called “Arab Oil Embargo.” Rees went on to law school and served as one of Chavez’s attorneys from 1979 until the day of his death on April 23, 1993. In this piece he tells how he learned with Chavez "that violence [is] a failure of creative intelligence.”
Judge criticizes state rules in Ag-Mart pesticide case - Palm Beach Post, March 28, 2007 The Palm Beach Post continues its excellent coverage on babies who were born disfigured to mothers and fathers who work together in Florida's fields. A judge evaluating state fines against tomato grower Ag-Mart has issued a strong recommendation that Florida agriculture officials upgrade record-keeping requirements to more accurately determine if growers are protecting their workers from dangerous pesticides.
