Thread: US farm union recruits laborers in Mexico

Union and states try recruiting farm workers in MexicoBy GARANCE BURKE04/25/08 17:59:24


Weary of waiting for Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, the United Farm Workers is marching forward with a plan to recruit Mexican laborers to pick crops on U.S. farms.

The union's efforts to import temporary workers under an existing government program follows similar moves by lawmakers in Arizona and Colorado, who are also trying to create new pathways to bring in foreign field hands without approval from Washington.

This month, UFW President Arturo Rodriguez signed an agreement with the governor of the Mexican state of Michoacan to help recruit local residents to apply for temporary jobs on U.S. farms, all of which would be covered under union contracts.

Thousands of people from the central Mexican state already harvest strawberries, oranges and other crops in the U.S.

Under the new pact, government field staff in Michoacan will distribute information on U.S. labor protections, especially in rural towns known for sending a large number of their residents north. In exchange, the union will negotiate contracts with U.S. growers willing to guarantee that legal workers' rights will be respected on both sides of the border, UFW International Director Erik Nicholson said.

The UFW got involved after hearing that Mexican recruiters were charging people as much as $5,000 for short-term contracts under the existing, but rarely used federal guest worker program, Nicholson said.

"Agriculture is a global industry, so we're building an international infrastructure to advocate for these global workers," Nicholson said. "Workers need to know about their rights on both sides of the border."

Immigration raids and employer penalties have led to a shortage of workers in the nation's largest farm states, leading many in the agriculture industry to conclude that growers can't get their products to market without a stable supply of workers from abroad.

But with Congress deadlocked over immigration reform, the question is under what conditions the workers will be hired - legally or illegally.

The farm labor force in the U.S. currently numbers about 1.6 million, 70 percent of which is thought to be undocumented, according to people in the industry. Only about 70,000 farm workers were brought in from abroad last year for the short stints permitted under H2-A visas issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The UFW wants to increase those numbers by matching willing workers in Mexico with U.S. farmers ready to use the H2-A program. That would in turn help grow the union's membership, which has been in decline.

The entire guest worker program was nearly gutted last year under a U.S. Senate bill that would have given some recruits a path to citizenship.

The legislation never passed.

Legislators in Arizona are considering a proposal that would let employers recruit workers through Mexican consulates, if they could document they faced a labor shortage. A similar Colorado bill was introduced, aimed at helping chili and watermelon farmers hire foreign staff by eliminating the bottlenecks in the federal program.

Both put the Labor Department in an awkward position, and could be challenged in court, said Leon Sequeira, its assistant secretary for policy.

"I don't think anybody would object to organizations trying to prevent recruiters from charging workers exorbitant fees," Sequeira said. "But it's new territory when you are talking about states setting up their own guest worker programs and letting aliens into the country."

The federal government is trying to stave off the state-by-state approach by tinkering with its existing guest worker program, and released a set of proposed changes in February.

The department is considering thousands of letters it received about the proposed changes, but expects to implement the new rules by year's end.

California farmers opposed several of the new provisions, including higher application fees, and say the program still won't help them get the crews they need to harvest their crops on time.

"Four months out, you may not know how many workers you'll need. Is it going to be a big crops, or a small crop?" said Jack King, the California Farm Bureau Federation's national affairs manager. "These rules help, but we still have a long way to go."

The UFW is critical of the federal fix, too. Making it easier for farmers to import foreign laborers without requiring them to prove they exhausted every avenue for finding workers at home could mean U.S. citizens are more easily passed over for jobs, Nicholson said.

Attorneys with California Rural Legal Assistance have filed a few successful lawsuits against farmers for firing U.S. workers and hiring foreign laborers instead. They also have sued over housing and wage conditions for guest workers themselves.

Simon Sangerman supports his wife and two children picking cauliflower and celery in Huron, about 55 miles from Fresno.

Sangerman, 44, is a permanent U.S. resident, has a green card and more than two decades of experience.

But in March, Tanimura & Antle Fresh Food, Inc., the nation's largest lettuce grower, laid him and 14 other U.S. workers off at the same time the company tried to bring in a foreign crew, Nicholson said.

The company did not respond to repeated requests for information about a complaint the union filed in March. Sangerman said he was recently hired back temporarily to ready watermelon fields for planting.

"They should have told us they had jobs available in Arizona and in the Imperial Valley, but instead they wanted to bring in the foreign workers," said Sangerman. "I was ready to go there to work, but they never offered us those jobs."


http://www.fresnobee.com/state_wire/bus ... 54669.html


So we have American workers AND green card holders not being offered these jobs? Where do they get off saying these are jobs Americans won't do??? Don't be trying to tell us foreign workers aren't taking our jobs!

Weary of waiting for Congress to overhaul U.S. immigration laws, the United Farm Workers union is marching forward with a plan to recruit Mexican laborers to pick crops on U.S. farms.

This can't be legal. United Farm Workers shouldn't be able to recruit temporary workers or make any deals with the Mexican government to bring foreign workers here. IT WOULD CAUSE COMPLETE CHOAS.

WHEN DOES THIS MADNESS EVER END?!

I wish I'd kept the last "form" letter I received from Dianne Feinstein re: HB-1 visas IE increasing the number of foriegn workers. All I hear from her is that they, the IA's, are simply doing jobs Americans WON'T do, and that they fully intend to protect American workers ! Then she goes into sob stories about Jose or Carlos who've lived, and worked here for years...... this is where she leaves out the word ILLEGAL, and goes on to say how much the growers need them etc..... blah blah blah ! Feinstein was once Mayor of SF. That says it all !

Zeezil wrote:

Shouldn't we be demanding an answer from Congress why they are allowing labor unions to import workers from Mexico???

They are using the H-2A program. Assuming all programs requirements are followed, it's legal.

Correspondence: Dear Representative Tom Tancredo, I'm very concerned that the United Farm Workers Union( Huron, CA) is taking the initiative to negotiate contracts with a foreign country to import foreign workers into the US. This would be a dangerous precedent, if they were allowed to get away with it. More states are sure to follow. We have enough anarchy in this country ! The labor union officials say they're "weary" of waiting for congress to take action. Well, we are weary of this administration not enforcing our immigration laws ! I know you're the one guy I can count on to look into this, and do the right thing ! Below is the link to information regarding the subject matter of this email. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/ ... Gamble.php

I sent this to Tom, and will also send one to Boxer, Feinstein, Gary Miller (my congressman, and Bilbray

Good work Nicie.

Thank you, butterbean. The pat on the back is appreciated.

Shouldn't we be demanding an answer from Congress why they are allowing labor unions to import workers from Mexico???
_________________

This was a great idea !

I sent letters not only to Tom ( and after tweaking on the original draft, making a point to include protection of American workers rights, states can not act without approval from congress ! ), also to Boxer, Feinstein, my congressman, Schwarzenegger, and the white house. I still have Bilbray to go, but will do that today.

: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dir ... congdir.tt

Published Tuesday | April 29, 2008
Union and states try recruiting farm workers from Mexico
By GARANCE BURKE Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10322516

HURON, Calif. (AP) - Weary of waiting for Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, the United Farm Workers hopes to recruit Mexican laborers to pick crops on U.S. farms.

The union's efforts to import temporary workers under an existing government program follows similar moves by lawmakers in Arizona and Colorado, who are also trying to create new pathways to bring in foreign field hands without approval from Washington.

This month, UFW President Arturo Rodriguez signed an agreement with the governor of the Mexican state of Michoacan to help recruit local residents to apply for temporary jobs on U.S. farms, all of which would be covered under union contracts.

Under the new pact, government field staff in Michoacan will distribute information on U.S. labor protections, especially in rural towns known for sending a large number of their residents north.

In exchange, the union will negotiate contracts with U.S. growers willing to guarantee that legal workers' rights will be respected on both sides of the border, UFW International Director Erik Nicholson said.

The UFW got involved after hearing that Mexican recruiters were charging people as much as $5,000 for short-term contracts under the existing, but rarely used federal guest worker program, Nicholson said.

"Agriculture is a global industry, so we're building an international infrastructure to advocate for these global workers," Nicholson said. "Workers need to know about their rights on both sides of the border."

Immigration raids and employer penalties have led to a shortage of workers in the nation's largest farm states, leading many in the agriculture industry to conclude that growers can't get their products to market without a stable supply of workers from abroad.

But with Congress deadlocked over immigration reform, the question is under what conditions the workers will be hired - legally or illegally.

The farm labor force in the U.S. currently numbers about 1.6 million people, 70 percent of whom are thought to be undocumented, according to people in the industry. Only about 70,000 farm workers were brought in from abroad last year for the short stints permitted under H2-A visas issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The UFW wants to increase those numbers by matching willing workers in Mexico with U.S. farmers ready to use the H2-A program. That would in turn help grow the union's membership, which has been in decline.

Legislators in Arizona are considering a proposal that would let employers recruit workers through Mexican consulates, if they could document a labor shortage. A similar Colorado bill aims to help chili and watermelon farmers hire foreign staff by eliminating the bottlenecks in the federal program.

Both put the Labor Department in an awkward position, and could be challenged in court, said Leon Sequeira, its assistant secretary for policy.

"I don't think anybody would object to organizations trying to prevent recruiters from charging workers exorbitant fees," Sequeira said. "But it's new territory when you are talking about states setting up their own guest worker programs and letting aliens into the country."

The federal government is trying to stave off the state-by-state approach by tinkering with its existing guest worker program, and released a set of proposed changes in February.

What a crock !! I sent Lou Dobbs an email about this topic today.