Press Room

Farmworker Justice Statement on President Trump’s Plans for Anti-Immigrant Executive Actions

“President Trump signed two executive orders today that threaten some of our country’s most essential values, including diversity and the right to due process, and will inflict great harm on innocent people,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice, a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. These include provisions calling for the construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and increased detention and prosecution of immigrants, as well as a renewed attack on cities that choose to protect immigrants, referred to as “sanctuary jurisdictions.” Further anticipated actions may include an order banning refugees from certain Muslim countries.

These actions represent a campaign to blame innocent immigrants for problems they did not cause. While calling for budget cuts, President Trump intends to spend billions of dollars without valid reason. These measures also will likely lead to an increase in civil rights violations by immigration and law enforcement officials, and subject many immigrants to verbal and physical abuse by individuals who feel empowered to act on their xenophobia and racism.

President Trump’s harsh rhetoric and actions regarding immigrants are instilling fear in many farmworkers and their families. The large majority of the people who harvest our fruits and vegetables and tend our livestock are immigrants, and many are undocumented workers. Most farmworkers have held these low-paid, difficult jobs for many years. Many have children. They help agricultural business owners prosper.

“We will continue to help farmworkers fight for immigration reform that brings greater justice to the fields and farmworker communities and ensures a prosperous, productive agricultural sector for all,” said Goldstein.

Farmworker Justice Honors David Damian Figueroa and Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce

Farmworker Justice will recognize David Damian Figueroa with its Dolores Huerta Award Thursday, February 23, honoring his important contributions towards advancing farmworkers’ quest for justice throughout his career in business and at nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Figueroa, an executive with Frontier Communications, was a farmworker as a child, and is one of the leading influencers in shaping Latina and Latino popular arts through his work in film, television, music production, and publicity. His role as an executive producer of the critically acclaimed documentary film Food Chains and associate producer of The Harvest/La Cosecha brought national attention to the conditions of farmworkers. “David Damian Figueroa has never forgotten where he comes from and, more importantly, throughout his career, he has used his remarkable skills and resourcefulness to elevate often marginalized voices,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice.

Farmworker Justice will also present a corporate social responsibility award to Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce for its successful efforts to engage with employees, farmworker organizations, and other agricultural stakeholders to improve food safety, wages and working conditions, and occupational safety. “We greatly appreciate the opportunity the company has provided us to learn more about the business of farming and to collaborate on developing and promoting cutting-edge labor and environmental practices in agriculture.” Headquartered in San Diego with operations in Watsonville and Oxnard, California, and in Mexico, the company grows strawberries, tomatoes and other crops.

The event will be held at Sheppard Mullin |333 S. Hope Street, Los Angeles from 6 to 8:30pm.

Host Committee:

Gilbert Vasquez Vasquez & Co.

Alfred Fraijo, Jr. Sheppard Mullin

Tony Salazar McCormack Baron Salazar

Arturo Rodriguez United Farm Workers

Andrea Bazan El Puente Learning Center

Alex Nogales National Hispanic Media Coalition

James Garrison Pacific Federal

Rachel Garrison

Craig McNamara Sierra Orchards, Calif. State Board of Food & Agriculture

Dr. Alma Martinez

Special Guests: Dolores Huerta, actor/producer Nicholas Gonzalez, and actor Johnny Ortiz

FARMWORKER JUSTICE’S STATEMENT ON EPA’S CERTIFICATION OF PESTICIDE APPLICATORS RULE

Farmworker Justice is pleased that the EPA has published important changes to regulations that govern the certification, training and supervision of individuals who apply high-risk pesticides. The Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule (40 CFR 171), which has not been updated in nearly 40 years, provides national competency standards for those who may purchase and apply ‘restricted use pesticides’ (RUPs). A pesticide is classified as restricted if it poses heightened risk to people or the environment.

The new rule imposes stricter standards to protect human health and the environment and reduce risk to those applying pesticides. Currently there is wide variance among state certification and training programs for pesticide applicators, and requirements for supervision of non-certified applicators. We are hopeful that the new national standards will provide greater consistency in the knowledge and competency of applicators across the nation. In addition, those who apply pesticides aerially or by fumigation will have to demonstrate competency to use these application methods which pose high risk to applicators, farmworkers, surrounding communities and the environment.

Many farmworkers applying RUPs are non-English speaking, non-certified applicators who are applying these chemicals “under the supervision” of certified applicators. These are the applicators whoare the most vulnerable to occupational injury from pesticide exposure. The vast majority are unable to read the application instructions and safety information printed on the pesticide labels, which are almost entirely in English. Although we are disappointed that the EPA does not require pesticide labels to have bilingual content, the revised rule requires supervisors to provide to non-certified applicators the label information about safety precautions and detailed use instructions in a manner and language that the non-certified applicator can understand. The revised rule also includes improved standards for supervision, establishes a minimum age of 18 for applicators, and requires non-certified applicators to receive pesticide handler and safety training in a language they understand.

We hope that the improved regulation will result in greater awareness by pesticide applicators of the risks they face, stronger protections from exposure, and ultimately, fewer pesticide-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths among farmworkers and their family members. Farmworker Justice will work with farmworkers to help them understand these changes and their right to a safe workplace and environment. We will also work with EPA to ensure timely implementation and strong enforcement of the new rule, and continued engagement with farmworker communities.

LTE: Agriculture and Immigration Article One Sided

Most representatives of agricultural employers and farmworkers agree that immigration reform is desperately needed so that the hard-working, experienced agricultural workers who lack authorized immigration status have an opportunity to earn immigration status and a path to citizenship.

However, the article, “We’d better have a good door: Colorado farmers depend on immigrants to feed the country,” should not have accepted the one-sided viewpoint of some farmers about the H-2A agricultural guest-worker program. The reality is that the program is not all that difficult to use. It’s been around in one form or another for decades. It has certain wage and labor protections to prevent displacement of U.S. workers or undermining of their wages and minimize exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers. There is no limit to the number of H-2A visas each year, and the U.S. Department of Labor approves almost all employers’ applications.

The H-2A program protections should not be weakened and should be enforced more effectively. More importantly, undocumented farmworkers and their family members should be given a chance to obtain a green card and continue their work to feed our nation.

Bruce Goldstein, president, Farmworker Justice, a national advocacy organization for farmworkers

NYT Letter to the Editor : Guest Worker Programs

“A Framework for Managing Immigration,” by Eduardo Porter (Economic Scene column, Oct. 26), supports a proposal for a United States-Mexico temporary foreign worker program made by the Center for Global Development.

In discussing the Bracero guest worker program, the column notes the serious labor abuses that are inherent in guest worker programs but suggests that there can be solutions to prevent labor abuses in a future program. The experience with guest worker programs in the last century justifies skepticism about this claim.

An even greater concern, not discussed in the column, is the threat to our country’s democratic values posed by guest worker programs.

If this country truly needs to draw from other countries to find additional workers, such workers should be given the opportunity to become immigrants with a path to citizenship. They should not be deprived of the opportunity to earn the right to vote and participate in the civic life of this country.

Our democracy is undermined by relegating people to a temporary status and denying them the opportunity for immigration status and citizenship.

Bruce Goldstein, President Farmworker Justice

LTE: Undocumented deserve a path to citizenship

Your editorial on immigration policy is an encouraging signal reflecting common sense and an informed opinion during a policy debate that often lacks both (“To grow economy, Maine needs more immigrants,” Aug. 8).

As labor advocates for farmworkers, we know that a path to immigration status and citizenship for the undocumented would benefit all workers. To address future labor needs, the editorial calls for “visa system … changes that make it easier for companies to match workers to jobs.” If we truly need additional workers, they should be offered an opportunity to become an immigrant and a citizen, not mere temporary visa workers beholden to a business owner. Immigration reform must be true to our democratic and economic freedoms.

Bruce Goldstein

Letter to the Editor: Congress Should Pass Immigration Reform

The article “Ag issues crop up in Gardner’s tour” quotes a farm operator who suggests that problems in the H-2A agricultural guest worker program should be solved by turning the program over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA has no infrastructure, expertise, or history administering guest worker programs, in agriculture or in any other sector.

The U.S. Department of Labor has the longstanding responsibility for several guest worker programs. Taxpayer money would be wasted in such a restructuring.

Although H-2A program delays are being addressed, we agree that there should be more resources to administer the program and enforce the modest labor protections for U.S. and foreign farmworkers. The fees charged to employers for this program’s services are woefully low, inadequate to the task, and should be raised. The more important solution is for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes an opportunity for immigration status and a path to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers, who make up the majority of the agricultural workforce.

BRUCE GOLDSTEIN
Washington, District of Columbia

Disappointing Loss: U.S. Supreme Court Punts on Obama Immigration Action, Leaving Injunction Against DAPA/Expanded DACA Programs in Place

Today, the Supreme Court ruled against the Obama Administration’s executive action on immigration. The Court announced that the eight Justices were split 4-4 in U.S. v. Texas, and consequently the lower court rulings against the Administration remain in place. The one-sentence opinion simply says that the lower court decision is affirmed. The injunction against the programs remains in place while the litigation proceeds.

The decision means that the Obama Administration may not implement the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). More than 700,000 farmworkers and family members would have been eligible to apply under these programs, which would grant a temporary reprieve from deportation and temporary work authorization.

“We are extremely disappointed and saddened that hard-working farmworkers and their family members who contribute to this country will not have the opportunity to apply for DAPA or the expanded DACA initiatives,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice, a national advocacy organization for farmworkers. “The majority of the people laboring on our farms and ranches lack authorized immigration status; these programs would have provided some of them with temporary protection from deportation and authorization to work.”

He added: “We will continue to help farmworkers fight for immigration reform to bring greater justice to the fields and to ensure a prosperous, productive agricultural sector of the economy. We count on farmworkers for our food and they should be able to count on us for fair treatment. Farmworker Justice will continue to advocate for Congressional action to grant a path to immigration status and citizenship for undocumented farmworkers and other undocumented immigrants living and working in the US.”

Washington Post LTE: Farmworker Health Deserves Attention

The dangers to farmworkers from exposure to pesticides in the fields were noted only parenthetically in the May 18 Food article “Is organic farming really better for the environment?” Pesticides poison not only farmworkers in the fields but also their family members from pesticide spray drift. Pesticides can cause skin and eye infections, breathing problems, birth defects in children born to farmworkers and several types of cancer.

The article, which argued for continued pesticide use, discussed the health of the environment and consumers but not needed protections for farmworkers.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently strengthened the Worker Protection Standard to prevent pesticide poisoning on farms, but the keys to its effectiveness will be education, training and enforcement.

Other safety protections are needed. Some pesticides, such as chlorpyrifos, should be banned because of their harm to the environment and humans. More attention should be given to the serious health risks pesticides impose on the people who labor to put food on our tables.

Bruce Goldstein, Washington

Farmworker Justice Statement: California and New York minimum wage increases will benefit many farmworkers, but more progress is needed

Many farmworkers in the United States are paid the minimum wage and therefore will benefit from the minimum wage increases that California and New York plan to adopt. Farmworker Justice applauds California’s and New York State’s actions and all of the workers and advocates who fought hard for the increases. However, we are somewhat disappointed with the shortcomings in the New York legislation and even in California there is more policy change needed.

Farmworker Justice is pleased that the California legislation will boost wages for workers statewide from the current $10.00 an hour to $10.50 in January and gradually up to $15.00 by 2022 and will be adjusted annually for inflation after that. While some farmworkers earn more than the minimum wage, the increase will affect tens of thousands of California farmworkers.

California legislators should now pass the bill extending overtime pay to agricultural workers, who deserve equality with other workers.

While workers in New York will also receive a sorely needed minimum wage increase above the current $9.00 per hour, Governor Cuomo compromised on the minimum wage for upstate New York, where the minimum wage will increase by $0.70 a year going up to only $12.50 by 2021. There are many farms, as well as urban areas, in upstate New York. New York City’s minimum wage will increase to $15 by the end of 2018. New York City’s suburbs will be given a few more years to reach the $15 minimum.

According to media reports, the New York budget deal also “includes $30 million set aside to help farmers pay the higher wage to workers.” That money could be better spent improving farmworkers’ conditions and enforcement of their rights.

The NY Farm Bureau expressed strong opposition to the bill, even after the subsidy was announced. Growers’ claims of the effects of wage increases on food production are overblown. Agricultural labor economist and professor at UC-Davis Philip Martin, predicts that if farmworker wages go up by 47%, household grocery bills would go up just $21.15 a year, or $1.76 a month. Moreover, California is by far the most successful agricultural state and has a higher minimum wage, collective bargaining rights for farmworkers and other labor protections.

New York farmworker advocates and allies have come close to passing legislation to grant farmworkers rest breaks, collective bargaining rights and other protections that workers in other sectors have. The state legislature should pass the farmworker bill of rights.

The NY compromise is disappointing due to its limitations, but it is a significant increase, that will help many farmworkers in the state’s substantial dairy industry, apple harvests and other produce farms. NY’s current minimum wage of $9 and California’s current minimum wage of $10 already are substantially higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and that of other states with major agricultural sectors.

We at Farmworker Justice hope that the worker organizing that led California and New York to increase their minimum wages will help pave the way for a federal minimum wage increase as well as improvements in other states.