2 Awardees Announced by Farmworker Justice for 2010

Written by Bruce Goldstein Wednesday, 10 March 2010 18:36

Farmworker Justice is pleased to announce the recipients of two of its three annual awards, which will be presented at the Farmworker Justice Award Reception on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel.

The Shelley Davis Memorial Award will be presented to Patti Goldman, Vice President for Litigation, at Earthjustice.  Patti collaborated with our late Deputy Director, Shelley Davis, on advocacy and litigation to reduce farmworkers' exposures to toxic pesticides, and has continued to work with Farmworker Justice and farmworker organizations to improve the Environmental Protection Agency's policies, practices and enforcement efforts.  Earthjustice (founded as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment.  Patti received her undergraduate and law degrees at University of Wisconsin, and was editor-in-chief of the law review.  She works from the Seattle office.  This will be the first year of presenting an award in honor of Shelley Davis, an extraordinary advocate for farmworkers, who died of breast cancer in December 2008.

The Irma Flores Gonzales Award will be presented to Joel Davis.  Joel helped Farmworker Justice establish and build the Shelley Davis Memorial Fund to carry on the creative work of his sister, Shelley Davis, our late Deputy Director.  Joel is Shelley's oldest brother.  He is retired from a career as a corporate executive.  Working with other members of his family, Joel led efforts to ensure that Farmworker Justice's tremendous loss when Shelley died would not mean the end of the kind of advocacy, litigation and empowering of farmworkers for which Shelley was beloved.  Irma Flores Gonzales died in 2005 at age 62 while a member of our Board of Directors.  A leader in the Latino community at the national level, through her work as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Council of La Raza, she helped build Farmworker Justice into an institution of greater impact.  The award has been presented to Cecilia Munoz, Charles Kamasaki, Ellen Widess and the Rosenberg Foundation for their assistance in building Farmworker Justice.

The recipient of the Farmworker Justice Award for 2010 will be named soon.  Previous winners include Dolores Huerta, Raul Yzaguirre, Arturo Rodriguez, Baldemar Velasquez, Linda Chavez-Thompson, Rep. Howard Berman, Rep. George Miller, Joseph T. Hansen, Sen. Edward Kennedy and Maria Echaveste.

You can support Farmworker Justice and enjoy a wonderful evening at the Reception on May 11 by becoming a sponsor.  More information is available on our website's Special Events page.

Why Guestworker Programs Are Inherently Problematic

Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 09 March 2010 23:22

Once employers get guestworkers, addiction sets in.  With no right to switch jobs, no right to remain in the country beyond the job term, and coming from a poor country where wages are very low, guestworkers will usually be highly productive at wages that are very low by U.S. standards.  So even when U.S. workers face high unemployment and desperately seek work in agriculture, the growers still say that U.S. workers are lazy and don't want these jobs.  The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Coloradao, on March 5, published a story entitled;  "Demand high for orchard jobs: Ads draw big response for seasonal farm work."  The article reported on a grower's observation that a large number of local workers had returned to look for agricultural work recently and his reaction:

"One of the area's largest fruit growers, Talbott Farms, 3782 F 1/4 Road, received 400 to 500 walk-in requests for employment this year, co-owner Bruce Talbott said. The company hires about 120 people a year. "We got guys that came in here and say, ‘I worked here 15 years ago. Do you have any work for me?'" he said. "They're roofers, concrete guys, landscapers, all kinds of people who have been laid off from the trade industry."  The H-2A "workers are "highly reliable," Talbott said. Local job seekers are usually unaccustomed to the hard work that farm work entails, he said. And local workers are much more likely to quit midseason, or often, after only a day. H-2A workers have incentives to be here, do good work, stay out of trouble and make money to support their families in their home countries, Talbott said. They also know the farm well and "know the difference between putting in time and being an efficient employee," he said. "My very best guys are in the H-2A program," Talbott said. "They don't want to commit to a vehicle. They know they're safe here, and there's a lot less stress than trying to run the border."

The U.S. Department of Labor should not approve an H-2A application when three times as many workers apply for work as there are jobs. The employers must be required to comply with the law: U.S. workers must be offered the job and the job terms must be equal or exceed the wages and working conditions of the U.S. labor market.

3 opportunities to protect farmworkers' kids from pesticides

Written by barb howe Tuesday, 02 March 2010 14:51

Pesticides pose risks of short- and long- term illness to farmworkers and their families. Children living in rural areas and especially children whose parents are farmworkers face much higher exposure to dangerous pesticides that could have serious consequences for their health.

Right now there are three opportunities to protect rural children and help reduce their exposure to pesticide drift:

• Demand buffer zones to protect children.  The Environmental Protection Agency should establish buffer zones around schools, homes, and other places were children are likely to be to prevent children near agricultural areas.

• Require better pesticide labeling. The Agency is also considering changing how pesticide drift is regulated. This is an excellent opportunity for the Agency to enact real protections for children in rural areas. Pesticide labels should state clearly that pesticides must not move away from where they are used either during or after application, and that applicators and manufactures will be liable should drift occur.

• Improve Risk assessment. EPA also recently proposed improvements to how it assesses pesticide risks to farmworkers and their children. These improvements should be adopted, but by themselves they are not enough. They neglect inhalation and dermal exposure and the combined effects of multiple pesticides. The Agency needs to do more to protect kids from pesticides.

Right now there is an opportunity to protect rural children and help reduce their exposure to pesticide drift.  Watch this video, then sign this letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson about all three of these issues

Agriculture: Where All Employers Pay Below the Average Wage

Written by Bruce Goldstein Friday, 26 February 2010 14:40

This news article from Highlands Today in Central Florida has a relatively extensive discussion of the pros and cons of the H-2A program regulatory changes that Secretary Solis has made, effective March 15.  The article also reveals the growers' innate feeling of entitlement to exemption from the marketplace. The H-2A program, under the rules in place since 1987 until Bush changed them in early 2009, and under the Solis regulations, requires employers to pay the average wage paid to farmworkers in the state as determined by USDA farm labor surveys. The growers say they can't afford it.

How did the average wage get to be the average wage? It's the reverse of Lake Woebegone, where are all the children are "above average." In agriculture, everyone somehow pays below the average.
"Changes may cost farmers but boost worker wages," Highlands Today, Feb. 26, 2010.