Government Finds Labor Surplus in Major Rural Areas
Last Updated (Monday, 06 October 2008 22:03) Written by Bruce Goldstein Monday, 06 October 2008 21:51
A new Department of Labor Report released today announces labor surpluses in areas around the country for Fiscal Year 2009, which began October 1st. Many of the areas are counties with significant agricultural production: In California: Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare Counties, Hendry County in Florida, Yuma County in Arizona and Yakima County in Washington. In some of these counties, their agricultural products are sold for more than $1 billion per year. There are a lot of farmworkers in these counties.
The Government's report means there is more than enough labor supply in these areas. With wages low and unemployment high, the Bush Administration’s plans to slash the wage rates and labor protections in the H-2A agricultural guestworker program make no sense. Why encourage employers to bring in more cheap foreign labor with no rights when they should be encouraged to offer decent wages and working conditions to attract unemployed and underemployed immigrants and citizens?
The Administration should withdraw its plans to deregulate the H-2A program. It's the wrong approach. There also must be a policy that recognizes the need to offer legal immigration status to qualified undocumented farmworkers already in the U.S. because we need their labor but they should be treated fairly. The Administration should allow Congress to confront these issues in a bipartisan compromise that both farmworkers and employers can support.
Sacramento Bee Article Reveals H-2A Guestworker Abuses
Written by Bruce Goldstein Saturday, 04 October 2008 22:57
Saturday's Sacramento Bee newspaper contains a lengthy article on a company's mistreatment of H-2A agricultural guestworkers in California and the failure of the state and federal governments to either prevent or remedy the harms. Workers were subjected to illegal wages and housing conditions and were lied to about the opportunities they would have if they paid their way to come from Mexico to the U.S. This serious incident is yet another reason why the Bush Administration should not go forward with its plans for changing the H-2A program's regulations and why Congress needs to address these issues in a bipartisan way based on the labor-management compromise in the AgJOBS legislation. There article, which quotes FJ's Bruce Goldstein, is here: http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/1288107.html .
Update on the Auction of the Hawaiian Retreat
Written by Steven Moore Sanchez Friday, 03 October 2008 13:27
For technical reasons, eBay informed us that our charity auction of the week stay at a Hawaiian beach househad to be discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Although FJ was certified as a not-for-profit seller on eBay, there are special additional rules regarding travel items on eBay. We are communicating with eBay to determine how to resolve the problem. Thanks for your patience. For further information about the Kauai retreat, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Op-Ed Criticizes Bush Guestworker Plan for Agriculture
Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 30 September 2008 02:30
Dreading Bush's Next Move on Guestworker Program
Written by Bruce Goldstein Thursday, 25 September 2008 18:32
When is enough enough?
Written by Shelley Davis Friday, 19 September 2008 20:28
This week the EPA's Scientific Advisory Panel took up the question of whether chlorpyrifos posed unreasonable risks to children and pregnant women.Usually the EPA evaluates the toxicity of a pesticide based on studies with lab animals, but here it had three epidemiological studies of pregnant women, infants and children who were exposed to chlorpyrifos at home or on the job.
Those and other studies found that developmental outcomes associated with chlorpyrifos include:
- motor and cognitive delays;
- attention deficit disorder;
- decreases in birth weight,
- length and head circumference;
- severe and unusual birth defects;
- increased risk for neural-tube defects;
- and in one case, fetal death.
One study observed infants born both before and after the ban on home uses. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of harm occurred in the group who had been born while chlorpyrifos were still in use.
With so much evidence of harm in real-world circumstances, the only question left to answer is why hasn't the EPA taken this pesticide off the market. When is enough evidence enough?
NY Times Blames McCain and Obama on Immigration Policy
Last Updated (Friday, 19 September 2008 11:52) Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 16 September 2008 04:20
The New York Times in an editorial on Friday blamed both McCain and Obama for the way immigration policy is being discussed, or, really, not discussed, during the campaign. The Times wants comprehensive immigration reform, including an opportunity for many undocumented workers to earn legal immigration status. While Obama supports that policy, the Times says McCain has walked away from his own previous active support for it but Obama should not be putting McCain in the same camp as the immigration restrictionists.
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