Empowering Youth hispanics to join drugs, gangs, crime and they are the least educated. According to Lloyd Carter

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Apology...No way..look at the tone of voice and his face remarks. I am wonder where Mr. Carter buying his foods?. Look at video and judge for yourself.

So I am proud to say that both my parents were hard working farmworkers. So, if we apply your theories about farmworkers and their children to me, I am not educated, I am a criminal, I am on welfare and I must be dealing in drugs with my gang.

This may be news to you, but I am educated (I have a BA in International Laws). I am also proud to say that I have never been arrested, been on welfare, never using drugs and I have never had a desire to belong to a gang. And by the way, when it was time for my mother she never use any Goverment benefits at all..imagine that!!!

Also, please stop referring to human beings as illegal aliens...i would recommend that you refer to them as undocumented workers. God give you a lighted guidance for your soul. God Bless you...

Farmer on the loop of civil rights violation.

Farmworkers who have Seen for themselves that there is NO JUSTICE in this World of Woes: because the People who do the Most Work seem to get Paid the Least Money for it, while those People who do the Least Work seem to get Paid the Most Money for it. Therefore, there Needs to be a more Equitable System of Good Government, which makes Farming Profitable for whomever is Willing and Able to Learn and Work.

The FBI confirmed Yesterday it was investigating allegations that a farmer fired shotgun blasts over Mexican guest workers' heads, exposed them to pesticides and paid them less than minimum wage.

The abuse allegations were outlined in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by immigrant rights organizations.

A delegation of African Americans attempted to conduct a citizen's arrest of their boss, Charles "Bimbo" Relan, because he is violating the federal laws that define slavery, peonage, human trafficking, and servitude.

The lawsuit accuses Charles "Bimbo" Relan, owner of Bimbo's Best Produce, of forcing the workers to toil in strawberry fields in Amite, La., about 75 miles northwest of New Orleans. Relan also confiscated the workers passports so they would not flee, the lawsuit claims.

"We worked hunched over for hours, doing backbreaking work. He treated us like animals. We were not human beings," said former worker J. Jesus Martinez-Hernandez, one of 13 plaintiffs.

Hours before the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court, FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne said authorities were investigating possible civil-rights violations in the case. She declined further comment.

Relan didn't immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

According to the lawsuit, Relan oversaw field work carrying a shotgun and fired it over workers' heads "on occasion." He also shot a stray dog to death that workers had befriended, according to the lawsuit.

Relan did not spray the pesticides on workers, but in a proximity that "vapors from these pesticides came into contact with plaintiffs' skin and mouths," according to the lawsuit.

The workers were in the country legally under the H2A visa program, which enlist foreigners to do seasonal farm work for at least minimum wage.

H2A More vulnerability for Farmworkers.

The long anticipated regulation changes to slash wages and reduce worker protections under the H-2A agricultural guestworker program are out. The changes, proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were revealed on the DOL website late Monday evening but have not yet been officially published in the Federal Register.
The changes are horrible. At a time when the jobless rate is at a 15 year high, they reduce obligations for growers to effectively recruit U.S. workers before applying to bring in guestworkers for these jobs. They lower the wage rates for all farmworkers by changing the program's wage formula and, in an industry known for labor abuses, they eliminate or reduce government oversight.

This parting gift on behalf of the Bush Administration to our nation's farmworkers is irresponsible and completely unacceptable. The H-2A guestworker program is already rife with abuse. These changes will only make a bad program worse. That's why today, Farmworker Justice is releasing a special report, Litany of Abuses: Why more -not fewer-labor protections are needed in the H-2A program. This report explains the current protections within the program and highlights some recent court cases illustrating the harm caused to both U.S. farmworkers and guestworkers alike. We urge you to take a look at the report then act now to urge Congress to take action to stop the Bush Administration from formally issuing the regulations. There are reasonable alternatives to solve the farm labor crisis that have won bipartisan support. The Bush Administration's harmful changes are completely unnecessary.

These midnight regulations will put farmworkers in this country back more than 60 years. During this holiday season, with so many families facing overwhelming economic burdens, we must think about the people toiling to put food on our tables. They deserve fair wages and decent working conditions. Bush's legacy to farmworkers must be undone.

U.S. Farms losing their Market share due to a Broken system.

The United States is losing fruit and vegetable market share in large part because of labor issues, including an immigration system that’s clearly broken.

“One-third of the nation’s fruit and about one-fifth the vegetables are already imported,” says Craig Regelbrugge, co-chair, Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.

Regelbrugge, speaking at the annual Texas Produce Convention recently in McAllen, said agriculture needs a guest farm worker program that works. “We need a system that allows a transition to permanent status.”

He said permanent does not necessarily mean citizenship.

Regelbrugge put the problem into focus. Of 1.6 million serious farm workers in the United States, 80 percent are foreign born, and of those 70 percent are unauthorized. He said less than 2 percent of ag jobs nationally are filled by H-2A workers (a program that helps bring legal workers into the country for short periods, but one that is criticized as expensive and highly regulated).

The Texas ag work force consists of less than 1 percent H-2A workers; Georgia has less than 10 percent.

Regelbrugge said unauthorized worker numbers have increased from 1989, when just 7 percent admitted to illegal status. In 1994, that percentage had risen to 34. In 1998 it was 52 percent. “Now, it’s at least 70 percent,” he said.

One of six ag workers leaves the job each year, meaning one of six every year is a new worker, Regelbrugge said. “Of those, 99 percent are unauthorized.”

The reason, “lack of legal channels,” he said. “The system is broken.”

He said Undocumented workers run the gamut from single males with no interest in establishing citizenship or remaining in the country to workers who have been in the country for years, have families and possibly positions of responsibility with employers.

Solutions for groups within the spectrum must be different, Regelbrugge said. “We have to allow people to find where they fit instead of trying to impose the stupid one-size-fits-all solution.”

In some cases, he said, workers need a transition to permanent status.

The broken system has contributed to a labor shortage. “In 2006, Northern California lost one-fourth of a pear crop. In 2007, Michigan lost $1 million worth of asparagus.”

He said a recent Texas survey indicated more than 75 percent of producer respondents indicated they would consider downsizing operations because of labor shortages. More than one-fourth were moving production out of the United States. More than one-third were considering moving out of the country. And some shut down operations.

He said immigration reforms, including AgJOBS and the Emergency Agriculture Relief Act could help. Some proposals would reform H-2A, streamlining the process, overhauling the legal aspects, simplifying the program, and bringing wage relief.

“It would also provide a blue card to experienced ag workers and allow them to pay a fine and have a chance to earn legal status. As many as 1 million workers qualify.”

Regelbrugge said individual states can’t solve the problem on their own, “but border states have unique challenges.”

He said the immigration reform debate in Congress “is ugly. But Congress sees agriculture differently from other industries. Food policy is part of our national security and we have long enjoyed bipartisan support. We have dedicated political champions,” he said. “Diane Feinstein, for instance, is a great advocate.”

He said neither party’s presidential candidate has taken a strong stance on immigration reform, but that Barack Obama faces less risk than does John McCain by supporting reform. He said both have supported AgJOBS.

Challenges include union resistance to guest ag worker programs. Other challenges include “an epidemic of state and local laws,” and a tendency to blame employers as “the common denominator. And each element in any solution will be controversial. Broad bipartisan support will be essential and agriculture must be ready to move alone or as part of a bigger package.”

Regelbrugge said the Bush administration effort at immigration reform has concentrated on “enforcement-only legislation. That can’t fix it.”

He said an immigration bill, HB 4088, has nearly 200 cosponsors.

“We have to have a grassroots movement and political education,” Regelbrugge said. “We need favorable media attention and passionate community outreach. We also need support for the national effort, both of money and time.”

He said a big problem continues to be public perception. “A key challenge is that the issue is emotional and people are misinformed. The extreme end of the opposition (may be) racist,” he said. “The key issue is to appeal to a sense of fair play, real solutions, assimilation, and integration. We all want our borders to be secure and we want people who commit crimes to be held accountable.”

AL LADO DE UN GRAN LIDER ESTUVO UNA GRAN MUJER. DOLORES C. HUERTA





Dolores C. Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW)

Her parents divorced when she was three years old. Her mother, Alicia Chavez, raised Dolores, along with her two brothers, and two sisters, in the central San Joaquin Valley farmworker community of Stockton, California. Her mother was a businesswoman who owned a restaurant and a 70-room hotel that often put up farmworker families for free.

In 1955, Huerta co-founded the Sacramento chapter of the Community Service Organization, and in 1960 co-founded the Agricultural Workers Association. In 1962, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chávez, which would later become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee and still later, the UFW. In 1966, she negotiated a contract between the UFWOC and Schenley Wine Company, marking the first time that farmworkers were able to successfully collectively bargain with an agricultural enterprise.

Huerta directed the UFW’s national grape boycott, taking the plight of the farm workers to the consumers. The boycott resulted in the entire California table grape industry signing a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the United Farm Workers.

She has been highly politically active, lobbying in favor of (and against) numerous California and federal laws. The laws that she supported included:

A 1960 bill to permit people to take the California driver's examination in Spanish

1962 legislation repealing the Bracero Program

1963 legislation to extend Aid to Families with Dependent Children to California farmworkers

The 1973 Agricultural Labor Relations Act

As an advocate for farmworkers' rights, Huerta has been arrested twenty-two times for participating in non-violent civil disobedience activities and strikes. Huerta's organizing and lobbying efforts are often overshadowed by those of Cesar Chávez, who is revered by many (especially Chicanos) as the primary figure of the Chicano civil rights movement. She remains active in progressive causes, and serves on the boards of People For the American Way and Feminist Majority Foundation.

In September of 1988 in front of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Huerta was severely beaten by San Francisco Police officers during a peaceful and lawful protest of the policies/platform of then-candidate for president George H.W. Bush. The baton-beating caused significant internal injuries to her torso, resulting in several broken ribs and necessitating the removal of her spleen in emergency surgery. The beating was caught on videotape and broadcast widely on local television news, including the clear ramming of the butt end of a baton into Huerta's torso by one of the helmeted officers. Later, Huerta won a large judgment against the SFPD and the City of San Francisco, the proceeds of which were used in benefit of farm workers. The assault is credited with starting yet another movement to change SFPD crowd-control policies, as well as the manner in which officer discipline is handled.

Immigration amendment could 'impede' farm bill.

Farm Bureau analysts warn there are risks in introducing “divisive” immigration issues into an already controversial farm bill debate.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) argued AgJOBS, a stalled immigration reform proposal that would grant temporary legal status to an estimated 800,000 migrant farmworkers, should be offered as a farm bill amendment on the Senate floor.
AgJOBS champion Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D.-Calif.) reportedly has been canvassing senators and staff seeking support for a floor amendment.

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) seeks reforms in the face of increased immigration enforcement and its impact on farm labor availability. But AFBF analyst Stefphanie Gambrell fears immigration debate “could have the ability to impede the farm bill.”

“We have not been supportive of having a divisive immigration debate taken up in the context of the farm bill,” AFBF policy specialist Paul Schlegel told FarmWeek.

“If members (of Congress) were to coalesce around a modified version of AgJOBS or anything else that addressed our needs in agriculture, if it wasn’t divisive and there was a consensus, that would be another question entirely.”

Further, Gambrell argued AgJOBS does not adequately address deficiencies in the existing H2-A ag guestworker program.

Under AgJobs, workers could obtain a temporary “blue card” to stay in the U.S. if they have been working on farms for at least two years.

Schlegel agreed the plan initially would “stabilize” the ag labor force, but Gambrell suggested many blue card workers likely would move into other fields such as construction once they eventually obtained their permanent residency or “green card.”
According to USDA, the number of hired ag workers nationwide is down this fall over the third quarter of 2006. Over the past year, federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials have ramped up raids and other activities, including last week’s arrest of a Vermont hotel owner for hiring illegal workers.

Gambrell attributed a quarter-by-quarter reduction in worker numbers in part to a “fear of enforcement.”

At the same time, a federal court has temporarily barred the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from enforcing new “no-match” letters that alert employers to mismatches between a worker’s name and reported Social Security number and ask them to help resolve the problem. Employers would have 90 days to comply with the letters.

Schlegel was uncertain how long the injunction against no-match implementation would remain in place, and advised farmers that “ignoring these letters is not an appropriate approach.” — Martin Ross