Thread: CA: 50 farmworkers distribute plastic fruit to Sen. offices.

Moraga: Getting the plastic (fruit)
Gift baskets show need for immigration reform
By Frank Moraga
Friday, June 22, 2007

The immigration reform debate took an unusual turn Thursday when a group of 50 farmworkers distributed plastic fruit to Senate offices.

The workers were demanding the Senate pass comprehensive immigration reform, which includes the AgJOBS bill that will allow farmworkers the right to apply for citizenship.

"Real fruit requires real people. If politicians don't want to support the AgJOBS bill, they should get used to plastic fruit on their tables," Mirna Vazquez, a farmworker from Porterville, stated in a release from the United Farm Workers of America. "We have earned the right to say, We work hard, we provide food, and we want fair treatment.'"

The farmworkers' group called on the Senate to enact the will of the American people who want reasonable immigration reform, union officials stated.

They cited a recent Pew poll that indicated 63 percent of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for immigrants already working in this nation.

The farmworkers took aim with plastic fruit against those opposed to immigration reform, including a group of Republicans who this week came out with its own bill that would restrict the path to citizenship further than the compromise bill worked out between the Bush administration and Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress.

"Congress should listen to reasonable, ordinary Americans, not be held hostage to a small band of extremists who have no real solutions," Bruce Goldstein, executive director of Farmworker Justice, stated in a release. "Our system is broken and AgJOBS is the one thing that both business and labor agree is good for America."

The farmworkers were joined at a press conference by AgJOBS sponsors Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

Various farmworker organizations agreed last week after a meeting at the UFW headquarters in Keene to sign a joint statement in support of AgJOBS. They also decided to travel to Washington, D.C., to urge "Congress and the president to move the process forward."

"Congress needs to end the delay and get this done now," Baldemar Velasquez, president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee of AFL-CIO, stated in the release.

To back up their support for the comprehensive immigration reform measure, results of a new national poll of undocumented immigrants were released Thursday at the press conference.

Undocumented immigrants by an overwhelming majority are paying close attention to the immigration reform debate and would comply with the proposed legislation to legalize their status by paying stiff fines and fees and undergoing criminal background checks, according to the poll of 1,600 undocumented immigrants from Latin America that was conducted by Sergio Bendixen of Bendixen and Associates.

In fact, 83 percent said they would apply for the new Z work visas, which would require the head of the household to pay $3,000 in fines and fees and an additional $2,000 for each undocumented immigrant in the family.

A total of 94 percent of those surveyed said they were willing to be fingerprinted and undergo a criminal background check, with 83 percent believing they would be able to show that they had a work record here in the U.S.

The poll also found that 78 percent of those questioned agreed with the statement: "The anti-immigrant sentiment is growing in the U.S.," with 64 percent of those polled saying it has had a negative effect on their families.

The poll was conducted for New America Media and funded with the support of The Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corp., the James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Open Society Institute, The San Francisco Foundation, The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation.

"The study ... clearly shows that the bipartisan bill that is being considered by the Senate this week, and should come up for a vote next week, should work," Bendixen said on an UpFront radio interview Thursday. "The overwhelming majority of immigrant, undocumented immigrants would comply with these requirements."

The immigration debate is bound to get more vocal in the weeks ahead as President Bush and Senate leaders continue to push for their compromise immigration reform packages.

One thing is for sure, until a compromise is reached, more members of Congress should expect plastic fruit will become a bigger staple at their dinner tables.

— Frank Moraga is The Star's director of diversity and general manager of Mi Estrella, the Star's bilingual weekly newspaper. He can be reached at fmoraga@venturacountystar.com.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2 ... printer=1/

The immigration reform debate took an unusual turn Thursday when a group of 50 farmworkers distributed plastic fruit to Senate offices.

Well, at least the Senate won't have to worry about getting e coli from unsanitary picking Practices!

BRING ON THE ROBOTS!! They don't "DEMAND" a damn thing.

That is for sure on the e coli. I see you have not closed your eyes ProudAmericanFamily and you have not lost your wit.

Jeremiah 29:11

Originally Posted by JadedBaztard

BRING ON THE ROBOTS!! They don't "DEMAND" a damn thing.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... sc&start=0

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

That is for sure on the e coli. I see you have not closed your eyes ProudAmericanFamily and you have not lost your wit.

Jeremiah 29:11

I may be lapsing into hysteria! :P

I was picturing Harry Reid with a Carmen Miranda fruit hat on his head dancing around his office after our phones calls drive him nuts today!

There does need to be more mechanization in agriculture and less cheap labor which results in costly sickness and death. We should encourage their move toward this reality.

Psalm 91

Laughing, love that Carmen. She could do them in with her fast talk and routine.

Psalm 91

Another ploy to scare Americans into buying "Shamnesty!" The visas will still be available for agriculture workers...The problem is that farmers are complaining that they can't find workers......the solution pay them more money.
Many of the workers have found out that they can make more money working in other sectors....therefore driving down wages for other types of employment!