Article Features Farmworkers' Grinding Poverty in Coachella Valley's Grapes
Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 23 June 2009 21:24
The LA Times has a long story about the difficult conditions faced by farmworkers harvesting table grapes in the Coachella Valley, near southern California's Salton Sea. Mecca, California is a place of hard, dangerous work, decrepit housing, low pay and over a billion dollars worth of produce. These farmworkers feed us. But they often are afraid to challenge their employers' illegal or unfair conduct, and frequently that's because so many of the workers lack authorized immigration status. Also, federally funded legal aid programs may not represent undocumented workers (even with non-federal money), so there are few avenues for workers who do want to step forward. Workers are much more likely to feel empowered to join labor unions and challenge their employers if they have immigration status. Immigration reform is a critically important step in advancing the interests of farmworkers.
We need immigration reform. President Obama is meeting with key members of Congress on Thursday about immigration reform. He needs to tell them to get it done. They need to tell him to use his bully pulpit to explain to the American people that it's the smart thing to do and the right thing to do.
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