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ACTION ALERT: Urge Your Senators to Oppose All Chambliss Amendments

Sen. Chambliss has filed a slew of amendments designed to make the already difficult lives of farmworkers even more difficult. These amendments would reopen the tough and delicate agricultural immigration compromise reached between agricultural employers from around the country and farmworkers led by the United Farm Workers. The compromise involved tough negotiations over many months with Senators Rubio, Hatch, Feinstein and Bennet. Farmworkers already made major concessions to reach an agreement and should not be asked to make more.

The amendments would undermine the ability of farmworkers to earn legal immigration status, a core piece of the compromise.

The amendments would also undercut protections for all US farmworkers, including the newly legalized blue card workers, and for guestworkers in the H-2A program and the future guestworker program.

Please call or email your Senators to ask them to OPPOSE all Chambliss amendments related to the agricultural provisions of S.744 because they would:
1) Undermine the ability of farmworkers to earn legal immigration status by making it harder for farmworkers to legalize through unrealistic and punitive work requirements, high fines, and barriers to meeting the future work requirements.
2) Make changes to the future agricultural visa programs that would harm farmworkers, including by lowering mandated wage rates for certain workers, undermining the cap on the guestworker program, and limiting worker access to the courts and to justice.

You can call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators or find Senators’ direct lines at www.senate.gov.

Guestworker Bill Approved by House Judiciary Committee Is Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Worker

The House Judiciary Committee narrowly passed an amended version of the “Agricultural Guestworker Act” sponsored by Committee Chair Robert Goodlatte (R-VA). This legislation is fundamentally anti-immigrant and anti-worker and will make life worse for hundreds of thousands of farmworkers already in this country, many of them U.S. citizens, the president of Farmworker Justice said today.

“This legislation would replace the current H-2A agricultural guestworker program with a devastating new H-2C program, expanding employer access to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable new “guestworkers” brought in from outside the country. It is anti-U.S. worker because it allows employers to provide lower wages and worse benefits to both American citizens and permanent-resident immigrants. As the new program erases existing labor protections, U.S. workers will be displaced or earn lower wages.

“It is also harmful to those undocumented workers already laboring in our fields. Unlike the compromise bill in the Senate, this bill denies current undocumented farmworkers, who make up more than one-half of the farm labor force today, the chance to earn legal immigration status or citizenship. Instead, undocumented workers would be required to self-deport with only the hope of obtaining a job offer and an H-2C visa. Instead of supporting families, this bill will cause farmworkers with spouses and children living here in the U.S. to suffer separation and hardship.

“This is a one-sided bill that does nothing to benefit the men and women working to put food on our tables. It stands in stark contrast to the more balanced agricultural immigration compromise drafted by a bipartisan group of senators and a coalition of interested parties including the United Farm Workers and agricultural employers. That compromise would benefit not only farmworkers and agricultural employers, but also our national interest in a secure, safe food supply.

“We are a nation of immigrants, not a nation of guestworkers,” Goldstein said.

Click here for a full summary from Farmworker Justice of the “Agricultural Guestworker Act”, H.R. 1773.

Farmworker Justice Statement on Rep. Goodlatte’s Immigration Bill Markup by House Committee on Judiciary

Legislation likely to be approved by the House Judiciary Committee today will make life worse for hundreds of thousands of farmworkers – many of them U.S. citizens – already in this country and working in the fields, while denying current undocumented farmworkers a road map to citizenship and destabilizing the country’s farm labor force, the president of Farmworker Justice said today.

“The Agricultural Guestworker Act (HR 1773) sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) would aggravate the problems in our broken immigration policy by expanding employer access to vulnerable new “guestworkers” brought in from outside the country, displacing hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants working in agricultural labor. The guestworkers available to employers under the new system would be deprived of basic labor protections and guestworkers attempting to challenge a violation of wage standards or other working conditions would not have meaningful access to attorneys or the courts. Meanwhile, growers would have access to another 500,000 new guestworkers at wage rates even lower than those prevailing today.

“While some undocumented farmworkers in the U.S. would be eligible to become guestworkers, these workers would simply be trading one form of second-class status for another, and would have no chance to become a member of the society they help to feed. The bill would also tear families apart by failing to provide any opportunity for the farmworkers’ spouses and children to obtain legal immigration status.

“We are a nation of immigrants, not a nation of guestworkers,” Goldstein said.

New Farmworker Justice Report Profiles Americans Working in Agriculture

A new report profiling American farmworkers and their stories dispels the myth that U.S. workers do not take jobs as farmworkers. Who Works the Fields? The Stories of Americans Who Feed Us offers a sampling of stories from both U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents working on farms. Although a majority of farmworkers today are undocumented … Read more New Farmworker Justice Report Profiles Americans Working in Agriculture

Action Alert: We need your voice to help oppose Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guestworker Act H.R. 1773

Please call the Members of Congress on the House Judiciary Committee, especially if they represent your district. The list is below. Tell them to OPPOSE the Goodlatte “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” H.R. 1773. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a “mark up” to debate, amend and probably vote on H.R. 1773. Rep. Goodlatte (R.-Va.) chairs the Judiciary Committee; his bill’s cosponsors include Rep. Gowdy (R-SC) chair of the immigration subcommittee.

This bill would establish a new H-2C agricultural guestworker program that would lower farmworkers’ wages, eliminate labor protections that have existed for decades under the H-2A and Bracero programs, minimize government oversight, allow displacement of US farmworkers and exploitation of vulnerable guestworkers, and deprive farmworkers of meaningful access to the justice system.

The bill would not allow undocumented farmworkers in the United States, or their family members, to earn green cards or the opportunity for citizenship. It does not fix our broken immigration system; it would make it far worse.

This anti-worker, anti-immigrant bill is inconsistent with the approach taken by the Senate “Gang of Eight” in the tough but acceptable labor-management compromise on agricultural workers in the bipartisan immigration proposal, S.744. Read the Farmworker Justice legislative analysis of the Goodlatte Agricultural Guestworker Act at our website page on Immigration Reform and Farmworkers.

You may reach them by calling the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Read full article for listing of Committee Members:

Farmworker Justice Statement on the Senate Judiciary Committee Passing S.744

The Senate Judiciary Committee finished debating and amending the immigration bill drafted by the Senate’s bipartisan “Gang of Eight.” The Committee then voted to approve and send to the floor of the Senate the amended version of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, S.744. Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein issued the following … Read more Farmworker Justice Statement on the Senate Judiciary Committee Passing S.744

Agricultural Guestworker Act Would Harm Farmworkers and Aggravate Existing Problems in Agricultural Labor

Following a subcommittee hearing of the House Judiciary Committee focused on the implications of H.R. 1773, the “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” sponsored by Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein made the following statement:

“This bill will only serve to magnify the dysfunction in our current system and deserves no serious consideration. It is merely a distraction from the agricultural immigration compromise included in the Senate immigration bill, which has broad support and resulted from months of difficult negotiations between major agribusiness groups, the United Farm Workers, and a bipartisan group of Senators.

Rep. Goodlatte’s bill deprives current farmworkers who lack authorized immigration status the opportunity to earn a green card or citizenship while proposing a new agricultural guestworker program that would lead to lower wages and more exploitative conditions for farmworkers. That’s a step backwards for agricultural labor. The men and women working to put food on our tables deserve better.”

Farmworker Immigration Update: May 16, 2013

We wanted to share with you a brief update of what has been happening on immigration reform for farmworkers.

Senate Judiciary Committee Mark-Up
Today the Senate Judiciary Committee continues to debate and mark-up (process of offering amendments to the bill) the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, S. 744, which was cosponsored by the bipartisan “Gang of Eight.” We are pleased that S. 744 includes the agricultural immigration compromise that was reached after months of difficult negotiations led by Senators Feinstein, Bennet, Rubio and Hatch between agricultural representatives and the United Farm Workers. We are following the mark-up closely to help ensure that the delicate agricultural compromise is not adversely impacted and to help our friends and allies ensure that other provisions of the bill, such as the roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million, remain accessible and meaningful. The Senate Judiciary Committee mark-up is expected to be completed by the end of next week.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is proceeding through the mark-up by bill titles and today it plans to complete Title IV and begin the employment verification amendments to Title III. Title IV is the title addressing reforms to nonimmigrant visa programs, which includes the newly created “W” worker program for low-skilled occupations (not to be confused with the new nonimmigrant agricultural visa program, which provides workers a W3 or W4 visa, and is located in Title II along with the farmworker legalization program). Title III addresses a variety of interior enforcement issues, including e-verify, asylee/refugee issues, immigration crime issues, and protections to prevent trafficking and international labor recruitment issues. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee completed its mark-up of Title I, addressing border security and began work on Title IV. The Senate Judiciary Committee webpage includes a list of all amendments which were debated on Tuesday.

Farmworker Justice has reviewed all of the amendments, with a focus on amendments that are particularly important to farmworkers or to our broader goals of an accessible and meaningful legalization program for the 11 million and fair treatment of workers. Several of the proposed amendments would harm farmworkers. Some amendments raise issues that, however valid, were considered during the negotiations by the “Gang of Eight” and will be rejected to avoid upsetting the delicate compromise.

House Judiciary Committee Hearing
Also today, the House Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security will hold a hearing titled “HR 1773, the “’Agricultural Guestworker Act.’” HR 1773 is a harsh one-sided guestworker program that would slash farmworker wages and protections without offering current farmworkers a path to immigration status. It represents an attempt by restrictionists to try a piecemeal one-sided approach to a complex problem that must be addressed comprehensively and rationally. UFW President Arturo Rodriguez will be testifying along with Lee Wicker of the North Carolina Growers Association; Christopher Gaddis of JBS, USA Holdings, Inc, JBS self-described as the largest animal protein processor in the world; and John Graham, of Graham and Rollins, Inc, one of the largest crab processors on the East Coast and longtime H-2B user. The witness testimony will be available online.

Farmworker Justice’s NY Times Letter to the Editor: Deplorable Labor Practices of Some U.S. Farmers

“U.S. Workers Sue as Big Farms Rely on Immigrants” (front page, May 7), about race bias on farms in Georgia, unveils the self-serving stereotypes many farmers use as a justification for deplorable labor practices.

Guest workers’ “nonimmigrant” status allows growers to abuse guest workers to protect their bottom lines, an option generally not available to other private employers. These programs serve as a barrier for domestic agricultural workers while depressing wages and working conditions for the entire work force.

Americans are hardly incapable of agricultural labor; in fact, roughly 600,000 United States citizens and lawful permanent residents work on farms. Absurd claims like “domestics just don’t have their hearts in it,” as a lawyer from a Georgia farm quoted in the article says, reflect employers’ ability to impose onerous working conditions for low pay on foreign guest workers and undocumented workers that American workers won’t accept.

Agricultural employers should end their discriminatory labor practices. And Congress should help improve conditions in the fields by creating a road map to citizenship for immigrant workers and for any future farmworkers as well.
BRUCE GOLDSTEIN
President, Farmworker Justice

Join Us at the Farmworker Justice Annual Award Reception

Farmworker Justice hosts its annual award reception to honor individuals who have made important contributions in securing justice for our nation’s farmworkers. Please consider attending the reception and learn first-hand about our fight for immigration reform.

If you are not able to attend, your donation will make a difference. When you give, you will be joining others in making sure farmworkers are not left behind in immigration reform.

The 2013 Farmworker Justice Award will be presented to Arizona's Representative Raúl Grijalva. The son of a farmworker who labored under the Bracero program, Rep. Grijalva has been a strong supporter of farmworkers, workers’ rights and immigration reform.

The 2013 Shelley Davis Memorial Award will be presented to Nelson Carrasquillo, the General Coordinator of Comite de Apoyo para los Trabajadores Agricolas. Farmworker Justice has worked with CATA over many years on a range of issues, including the H-2A guestworker program, immigrants’ rights, and occupational safety and health.