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Migrants say they are owed past pay
Field workers say it went to Mexico

By Angelica Martinez amartinez@VenturaCountyStar.com
August 20, 2005

It has been about 45 years since Sabas Montelongo worked the fields in Oxnard under a program that promised to hold 10 percent of his earnings later to be returned to him in Mexico.

The years have passed, he said, and he has yet to see a penny.

Friday, Montelongo and about 70 other Oxnard residents who worked the fields in the United States from 1942 to 1964 ended a week of protest in front of the Mexican Consulate on Fifth Street in Oxnard to pressure Mexican President Vicente Fox to return that money.

Workers allege they were contracted to work for U.S. companies and were told 10 percent of their pay would be sent to Mexico, where they could retrieve the money when they returned home. Records of that agreement, however, are not available, Mexican officials said. None of the workers has kept documents that support the claim, Mexican Consul Fernando Gamboa said.

No one really knows which companies took 10 percent from the workers or if it was a scam to get workers to sign up for the jobs, he said.

Alianza Bracero Proa, an organization advocating for farmworkers, estimates that the average worker under the program should receive about $10,000, based on those promises.

"I'm hopeful that we'll be paid," said Montelongo, 74, of Santa Paula. "I'm retired now, and I have very little means. Anything they give us will be very helpful to us."

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers have petitioned the Mexican government for several years for what they say is their share of money. The Mexican Congress this year passed a law that would ensure they get paid, Gamboa said.

"Fox has said he's with them and will help. The problem so far has been that there is no proof, no document or receipt that says this percentage was actually taken away and should be returned," Gamboa said in Spanish. "So, the questions that remain are: Who do we pay? When did they work? And how much are they due?"

Gamboa explained that there are various possible scenarios, including the one given by the migrant workers. Companies may also have promised the workers a return of their pay just to get them to agree to work for them and never actually taken any percentage away.

"In any case," Gamboa said, "Congress has already allocated the equivalent of $29 million for former migrant field workers. I think the reason why it took this long is that there was no proof and very difficult to resolve."

A Mexican committee and several offices operated by the Mexican government have been established there to determine how the amounts will be given to the people. The money will be given to farmworkers personally as early as this month or in September, he said.

Some questions, however, have yet to be answered. Many of the workers have died. No one knows for sure whether their relatives will be paid their shares.

Robert Nunez, a member of Alianza Bracero Proa, said in Spanish that there were 1.4 million workers who came to the United States at the time to work the fields, but the Mexican government has only recognized 100,000 of those workers.

A majority of those protesting Friday carried signs in Spanish that read "Pay us Fox."

They shared stories of being herded from Mexico into the United States and being forced to undress to be sprayed with powder to remove lice and pests.

"They treated us like animals," Antonio Gonzalez Farias, 67, said in Spanish. "It's so sad, all the humiliation and on top of that to not be paid."

Carmen Martinez, coordinator of Alianza Bracero Proa for Ventura County, said simultaneous protests were taking place this week in Los Angeles and San Bernardino as well.

"It's not only because of the money but also because of the humiliation many went through at the time to get to work here," Martinez said in Spanish.

The protesters Friday held folders with personal information and applications that will be submitted to Mexican authorities through the Mexican Consulate. It is unknown whether their applications will be included with those already filed.

Until then, the farmworkers say, they will continue to petition Mexican officials for their shares.

"We keep hoping that eventually we'll be paid," Farias said. "The last thing that dies is hope."