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Guestworker Programs Hurt All Workers
Last Updated (Friday, 09 May 2008 23:31) Written by barb howe Friday, 09 May 2008 23:27
CNN’s Lou Dobbs Show had a camera crew at the House hearing on guestworker programs the other day. No reporter was there to interview the witnesses, and the resulting story, which aired the following day, simply showed slyly chosen excerpts of the hearing accompanied by their opinionated commentary which they portray as “news.” The story included a clip of Farmworker Justice Executive Director Bruce Goldstein’s testimony.We were hesitant to even mention the Lou Dobbs story on our website since the show’s anti-immigrant, xenophobic tone is front and center in this particular story. But it does contain half of the truth: guestworker programs are bad for US workers. However, we would like to point out one glaring omission: guestworker programs are also bad for guestworkers.
FJ testifies at House Hearing on Guestworker Programs
Last Updated (Wednesday, 07 May 2008 16:46) Written by barb howe Wednesday, 07 May 2008 13:02
With all the attention guestworker programs and the economy are getting in the news these days, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing today to explore how these programs impact US workers. In his opening statement, Chairman George Miller (D-CA) expressed concern about existing requirements in our guestworker programs to protect US workers and whether those requirements are effectively enforced.
FJ’s Executive Director Bruce Goldstein testified about the harmful and unnecessary changes to the H-2A agricultural guestworker program that the Bush Administration is proposing that would lower wages and working conditions. Such changes would be devastating to both US and foreign guestworkers. He emphasized that the more effective solution to the farm labor problem already exists in the form of the AgJOBS legislation. AgJOBS -- the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act—is an historic compromise between agricultural employers and labor unions that has broad support across both sides of the aisle. Growers and labor unions alike agree it is a more effective response to the labor shortage than the Bush plan.
Read more: FJ testifies at House Hearing on Guestworker Programs
J. Richard Cohen on the Workers at the Bottom of the Economic Food Chain
Last Updated (Wednesday, 07 May 2008 17:06) Written by barb howe Tuesday, 06 May 2008 12:57
J. Richard Cohen is President of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The following blog post of his was published in The Huffington Post:
"The recent story in the New York Times about the loot taken home last year by hedge fund managers provides us with the starkest - and most obscene - evidence yet about the growing disparity between the rich and the poor in our country.Topping the list was John Paulson, the founder of Paulson & Company. His payday: $3.7 billion.
Let's compare that to the pay and benefits of those at the bottom rung of the economic ladder - migrant tomato workers..." Read Full Article.
Farmworker Justice to testify at House Hearing on Guestworkers
Last Updated (Wednesday, 07 May 2008 16:47) Written by barb howe Monday, 05 May 2008 18:32
The House Committee on Education and Labor is holding a hearing on guestworker programs on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, to investigate whether US workers are denied jobs by employers seeking exploitable foreign guestworkers. The hearing, "Do Federal Programs Ensure U.S. Workers Are Recruited First Before Employers Hire From Abroad?” will be held at 11:00am in room 2175 in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Under current US law, employers are required to recruit US workers before receiving permission to bring in temporary foreign workers. Critics say many employers bypass qualified U.S. workers. The Bush Administration’s Department of Labor has proposed changes to one guestworker program –the H-2A agricultural program—that would reduce government oversight and allow such abuses to become even more rampant.
Congress is considering expanding guestworker programs in the US to encompass a wider array of industries. Farmworker Justice’s Executive Director Bruce Goldstein will testify before the Committee on the abuses suffered by farmworkers under the current programs, the plans to erode current protections for U.S. workers by the Department of Labor and the urgent need for Congressional reform.
You can watch the hearings live on the Committee's website.
Read more: Farmworker Justice to testify at House Hearing on Guestworkers
Farmworkers Meet with EPA
Last Updated (Wednesday, 07 May 2008 16:48) Written by Shelley Davis Thursday, 24 April 2008 20:41
On April 22, 2008, Farmworker Justice, with the help of Pesticide Action Network, United Farm Workers, Farmworker Association of Florida, California Rural Legal Assistance and others, brought three farmworkers to Washington DC to meet with EPA officials. Each of the farmworkers had been injured by pesticides. They each explained how they had been injured and what improvements they would like to see in the pesticide regulations.
The first speaker, Sandra Garcia from California had two 2007 incidents to recount. In the first incident, she and a crew of about 40 workers were tipping grapes, when a tractor began spraying in an adjacent block in the same field. The spray drifted to where the farmworkers were working. Despite their attempts to get help from the crewleader, the spraying continued. Sandra and other workers experienced symptoms. She felt dizzy, had a dry throat and coughing. The symptoms lasted about three days. She never learned the name of the pesticide and did not seek medical help for fear of losing her job.
New Documentary: Morristown: In the air and sun
Last Updated (Wednesday, 07 May 2008 16:48) Written by Jennifer Freeman Wednesday, 16 April 2008 18:52
Filmmaker Anne Lewis has just released a new documentary titled Morristown: In the air and sun.
Filmed in east Tennessee and Mexico over an eight-year time span, Lewis chronicles the struggles of poultry workers and their efforts to organize. I haven't seen the film yet, but I am eagerly awaiting its arrival in DC. Judging by the events calendar found on Lewis's website, this film is likely to be screened near you soon as well!
You can watch a trailer of the film on her website.
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