Events Celebrating Farmworker Housing and Honoring Cesar Chavez held at State Capitol

Salem, Ore.--Yesterday, a Celebration of Farmworker Housing was held at the Oregon State Capitol. The event was in celebration of Oregon’s progress in improving the quality of housing for the state’s agricultural workforce. It also marked the 10th Anniversary of the Farm Worker Housing Tax Credit.

Those speaking during the celebration included Ken Bailey of Orchard View Farms, Inc. and Past Chair of the Oregon Board of Agriculture, Rick Crager, Acting Director, Oregon Housing and Community Services, Peter Hainley, Executive Director of CASA and Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of CAUSA, Oregon's Statewide Immigrant Rights Coalition.

During the event, speakers echoed that although there is much for people to celebrate,  there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in the area of Farm Worker justice.

Following the celebration, those in attendance moved to the Governor’s office for a ceremony and reading of Governor Kitzhaber’s Proclamation honoring  farmworker, labor leader, and civil rights activist Cesar E. Chavez. The proclamation was presented and read by Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown.

Pastor Dan Bryant from Eugene First Christian Church, Frank Garcia, Director of the Governor’s Affirmative Action Office, State Superintendent Susan Castillo, and State Senator Diane Rosenbaum also spoke on the important and inspiring work of Chavez and his continuing legacy.

In addition to honoring the life and work of Cesar Chavez, the Governor's Proclamation also makes March 22nd through April 2nd Annual Farm Worker Awareness Week.

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Labor Secretary Reverses Bush's Attack on Farmworker Labor Laws

This release comes from our partners at United Farm Workers and Farmworker Justice. For more on the organizations, please visit www.ufw.org and www.farmworkerjustice.org.

LABOR SECRETARY SOLIS REVERSES BUSH'S ATTACK ON FARMWORKER LABOR LAWS

Groups applaud the suspension of a policy that slashes wages, worker protections
(WASHINGTON DC) Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will suspend the midnight Bush Administration changes to weaken labor protections in the nation's agricultural guestworker program. The changes to the H-2A guestworker program took effect January 17, 2009, and have had a dramatic impact on wages and working conditions for agricultural workers under the program. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, the Labor Department announces it will reinstate the former regulations in 30 days.

"This is a great relief for our nation's farmworkers." said Arturo S. Rodriguez, President of the United Farm Workers (UFW). "The Bush Administration's rules lowered wages and worker protections and made it easier to bypass legal U.S. workers in favor of guestworkers. We are overjoyed that the Secretary has overturned these cruel and illegal changes."

The Labor Department decided to issue the suspension after a lawsuit was filed by farmworker unions, including the United Farm Workers (UFW), the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO (FLOC), Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) challenging the legality of the changes. The lawsuit is still pending but worker groups praised the DOL's decision. FLOC President Baldemar Velasquez called the announcement, "an important victory against the Bush Administration's efforts to exclude farm workers from voicing their concerns over the harsh policies of a bygone era."

The groups emphasized, however, that for all H-2A applications filed during the period when the Bush-Chao regulations have been in effect, farmworker employment will continue to be governed by the terms and conditions of the Bush regulations, including the lower wage rates imposed by the Bush rules. "We remain concerned about the wages and working conditions of those workers hired under the Bush-Chao changes," said Bruce Goldstein, Executive Director of Farmworker Justice and one of the attorneys on the lawsuit.

"There also remains a pressing need to address the farm labor supply issue in a more comprehensive manner. One-sided changes to the H-2A program do not solve our nation's agricultural labor supply issues. We need Congress to pass the AgJOBS bill."

AgJOBS, the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act, recently reintroduced in both houses of Congress, would, according to Goldstein, "stabilize the farm labor force by allowing undocumented farmworkers who meet certain requirements to come forward and pay fines to earn a temporary legal status and gain documentation. It would also revise the H-2A program in balanced ways that have been agreed to by both industry and labor." The AgJOBS proposal has broad bipartisan support.

The UFW, the farm labor union founded by Cesar Chavez, is headquartered in California, is active in ten states, and led negotiations for farmworkers on immigration legislation.

FLOC, an AFL-CIO affiliate, is headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, and has collective bargaining agreements covering thousands of H-2A guestworkers who work annually in North Carolina and is leading an organizing campaign in that state. Farmworker Justice is a national farmworker advocacy group based in Washington DC.

For more information see, www.farmworkerjustice.org, www.harvestingjustice.org, www.floc.com, and www.ufw.org.

For more information, contact:
Barb Howe, Farmworker Justice. bhowe@farmworkerjustice.org or 202.293.5420 ext. 307
Maria Machuca, United Farm Workers, media@ufwpress.com or 661-889-2758

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AGJOBS Act Reintroduced in U.S. Congress

Today California Senator Dianne Feinstein reintroduced the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act. Sixteen senators have signed on as co-sponsors.

According to a release from Senator Feinstein's office, "The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act (AgJOBS) would reform the broken H-2A seasonal worker program, provide farmers with the stable, legal workforce they deserve, and offer a pathway to citizenship for hard-working, law-abiding immigrants already employed on American farms."

The passage of AGJOBS is necessary to alleviate the nation’s ongoing crisis shortage in agriculture labor. Across the nation, Farmers report not having enough labor to do the jobs necessary to keep food on American tables. There is simply not enough labor to plant, tend and harvest crops or milk cows. This blows apart the false notion that American citizens are lining up to do the jobs.

For the full release, visit this link

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Photos: Cesar Chavez Day Demonstration in Portland

M.E.Ch.A. de Portland State and Las Mujeres held a demonstration honoring Cesar Chavez in Portland today. The event paid tribute to an individual who not only inspires Chicanos and Latinos, but all those who champion for workers’ rights and equality. The demonstration will also address ongoing campaigns in the state of Oregon. Cesar Chavez, former leader of the United FarmWorkers, fought for improving the working conditions of agricultural workers by leading national boycotts and marches across America.

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President Obama's Statement Commemorating Cesar Chavez's Birthday

Today, President Barack Obama made the following statement to commemorate the birthday of Cesar Chavez.

"Today, on what would have been his 82nd birthday, Cesar Chavez's legacy as an educator, environmentalist, and as a civil rights leader who struggled for fair treatment and fair wages for America's workers is important for every American to remember.

Having begun as a farmworker, Cesar Chavez eventually co-founded the United Farm Workers and struggled to provide hundreds of thousands of people with better working conditions and the chance to live a better life. The cause of fair treatment and fair wages for America’s workers lives on today through the work of countless others.

Chavez’s rallying cry, “Sí Se Puede” – “Yes We Can,” was more than a slogan, it was an expression of hope and a rejection of those who said farmworkers could not organize, and could not take on the growers. Through his courage, Cesar Chavez taught us that a single voice could change our country, and that together, we could make America a stronger, more just, and more prosperous nation.”

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Cesar Chavez Day Gathering in Salem

Fifth Biennial
CÉSAR E. CHÁVEZ DAY GATHERING
at the Oregon State Capitol

You are cordially invited to participate in this Oregon tradition.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
12:00 - 1:00 P.M.
House Majority Caucus Room
Oregon State Capitol Building, Second Floor

Sponsored by: Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN),
Oregon Farm Worker Ministry, CAUSA, Voz Hispana Causa Chavista.

Celebrate the life of César Chávez on March 31st, the 82nd anniversary of his birth, and honor the farm workers whose struggle for labor justice César so honorably led. The Governor's Proclamation of Farm Worker Awareness Week, March 29th to April 4th, recognizes the men and women who work under difficult conditions to provide the food that we daily have on our tables.

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OFWM to Host Conversation about Farm Worker Issues on Saturday

Community Conversation about Farm Worker Issues

Date: Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008
Time: 11:30am to 2:oopm
Location: First Christian Church, Eugene

A light lunch will be included. To RSVP, please call Oregon Farm Worker Ministry at 503 805 2343 or e- mail at OFWM at earthlink.net. RSVP is not necessary but preferable.

Six key regions comprise Oregon’s profitable agribusiness. You are invited to come learn and share about urgent challenges faced by our migrant, seasonal, and year round farm workers, as they undergird our food security systems, sustainable agriculture, farmer markets, and retailers who benefit from the bounty like restaurants, wineries, nurseries, and organic supermarkets, among many, many others.

Key issues: Worker rights to organize, impact of anti-immigrant vitriol, Oregon drivers’ license restrictions, and pending federal legislation.

Creative Solutions: Strategic accompaniment for farm workers and collaborations among community organizations, social justice advocates, faith groups and churches...and YOU!

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