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.

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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.

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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.

Senate hearing on Ending Abuses and Improving Working Conditions for Tomato Workers

Last Updated (Thursday, 17 April 2008 01:06) Written by barb howe Wednesday, 16 April 2008 18:08