PCUN UPDATE Issue #38
Smith Pushes Bracero II But Calls It "Amnesty"
Trying once again to divide the labor/ Latino united front against Bracero-style "guest" worker program proposals, Senator Gordon Smith (R-Or) and his agribusiness cronies have launched a new initiative and are resorting to an ancient strategy: the Trojan Horse. In this case, they've developed a "gift horse" resembling "amnesty"--cynically exploiting undocumented workers' hunger for a new legalization program--but stuffed it with the provisions more anti-worker than the Smith-Wyden "guest" worker bill which failed last year at the close of the 105th Congress.
On October 27th, Smith and his eleven co-sponsors (including Sen. Jessie Helms) unveiled S. 1814, "The Agricultural Job Opportunity Benefits and Security Act". If enacted, S. 1814 would:
* Repeal current worker protections which require that growers who petition for and hire H-2A "guest" workers must (1) provide housing, (2) effectively recruit local workers, (3) offer a guaranteed quantity of work and (4) pay above current prevailing wage rates.
* Create a worker registry which growers would use instead of affirmatively recruiting local workers. However, the proposed registry imposes major new barriers for workers, especially those who migrate to or from other states.
* Offer temporary legal status to certain undocumented farmworkers, but require them to prove subsequent agricultural employment of 180 days per year for five years just to keep that status and be placed on a waiting list to apply for permanent residence. Workers with temporary status (1) must leave the country every year, (2) cannot bring family members, (3) have no wage, housing, transportation, or length-of-employment guarantees, (4) have no protection against retaliation if they complain or organize, and (5) are ineligible for legal services. In short, workers with temporary status would have no protections and would be under immense pressure to maintain employment at all costs, especially in the face of a larger-than-ever labor surplus which the program would likely trigger.
(Smith also introduced a second bill, S. 1815, containing only the temporary status proposal.)
"Guest" worker program proponents hoped to attach S. 1814 to a last-minute budget bill or schedule it for a hearing before Congress adjourned in mid-November. Though they were unable to do either, the agribusiness lobby will surely persuade the congressional leadership to take up S. 1814 early in the 2000 session starting in mid-January.
In an effort to avoid the kind of heat he took in 1998, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or) recruited Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fl) to stand in for Wyden as Smith's chief co-sponsor. Though less visible, Wyden remains a key supporter of "guest" worker proposals and an active promoter of S. 1814.
The United Farm Workers, National Council of La Raza, MALDEF, and other major Latino organizations promptly denounced the Smith-Graham Bill. Bruce Goldstein, Co-Director of Farmworker Justice Fund, called the "amnesty" a cruel hoax. "National studies indicate that seasonal farmworkers average 26 weeks of work annually, meaning that most seasonal farmworkers don't--and won't--find 180 days of work per year."
Smith is touring area nurseries and addressing workers at "captive" meetings (conducted during work time with mandatory attendance). Company supervisors asked workers to sign and return form letters in Spanish urging Smith, Wyden and Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Or) to support S. 1814. In their "Dear Farmworker" letter, distributed at Frank Schmidt and other nurseries, Sen. Smith claims that workers would have "protections includ[ing] fair wages, safe and decent working conditions and civil rights". The letter also fails to mention workers' future legal status would require 180 days of agricultural employment per year . Interestingly, a brief biographic sketch of Smith which accompanied the letter, describes him only as a "businessman", not as the owner of Smith Frozen Foods who, as such, stands to benefit directly from S. 1814 if it is enacted.
In 1999, the ag lobby got 68 Senate votes for their proposal. They will again face stiffer opposition in the House in part because Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tx), Chair of the House Immigration Sub-Committee, and 50 other right-wing Republicans adamantly oppose virtually any measure allowing more immigration. In any case, we must re-double our efforts! ·
Register your opposition to
S. 1814 and S. 1815:
Sen. Gordon Smith, (503) 326-3386
e-mail: oregon@gsmith.senate.gov
Sen. Ron Wyden, (503) 326-7525
e-mail: Senator@wyden.senate.gov
Rep. Darlene Hooley, (503) 588-9100
e-mail: darlene@mail.house.gov
Rep. David Wu, (503) 326-2901
e-mail: david.wu@mail.house.gov
Rep. Earl Blumennauer, (503) 231-2300
e-mail: write.earl@mail.house.gov
Solis Family Wins Legal Settlement
After sixteen months of struggle, Gabriel Solis has successfully settled his claim for wrongful termination against Coleman Farms. Gabriel received $6,250 plus one year's worth of rent.
In April 1998, Coleman Farms, one of the Valley's largest and a prominent NORPAC member, fired Gabriel after 18 years of service and gave the Solis family one week to vacate the company-owned trailer where they had lived for 13 years. The family refused to leave and, represented by Oregon Legal Services, successfully staved off eviction for nine months. A procedural ruling in January forced them to move. They're now living near Scio where Gabriel works at an organic dairy.
Since January, the judge had stalled a trial date, reportedly to see if the Oregon Supreme Court would reverse the Oregon Roses case and, thereby, undermine Gabriel's claim. The settlement offer came just days after the Supreme Court reversed Oregon Roses on narrow procedural grounds. As we reported in the last Update, the agribusiness lobby claims that the Supreme Court "restored at-will employment" (allowing discharge without cause), but the Solis settlement and the quick settlement of a similar case in Washington County demonstrate that the Oregon Roses doctrine--outlawing discharge in retaliation for complaints or concerted action--is still alive and well.
The settlement clearly vindicates the Solis' struggle. "We did this so that the Colemans would respect workers," Gabriel declared. "They wanted to scare us or make us lose hope, but we stuck with it and we wouldn't be silenced. Our victory is a victory for all workers and we hope that others will decide to speak up like we did ." The Solis family and PCUN both reiterate our thanks to the hundreds of supporters who donated food and money, who called, wrote, and faxed Coleman Farms and who visited the family. Thanks also to Oregon Legal Services attorney Mark Wilk who represented the Solis family. Your help made this important victory possible. ·
More information on the Solis case is available on this website.
The Analysis Guiding a Decade of Progress
With this issue, PCUN Update completes ten years of quarterly reports--198 total pages--on our movement's successes, set-backs, challenges and strategies. As the 90s draw to a close, we reflect on what this decade has meant for Oregon farmworkers and for the farmworker movement in Oregon. The changes are many but consider these, for example:
* Ten years ago, picketing at an agricultural workplace during planting or harvesting was almost completely banned. A union-organized strike had never occurred in Oregon agriculture and piece-rate wages in the strawberry and other harvests remained stagnant year after year. Today, picketing is legal and farmworkers have united, taken concerted action and won wage increases on dozens of farms!
* Ten years ago, collective bargaining in Oregon agriculture was an improbable dream. Today, it is a reality and at the center of debate on agricultural labor policy!
* Ten years ago, there was only one farmworker housing project in Woodburn--about 50 units built in 1972. Today, there are three new projects with a total of 104 units built and managed with active farmworker participation!
* Ten years ago, a total of 134 farmworker supporters had contributed to our cause. Today, that total stands at 991 and annual support has grown from $8,350 in 1989 to a record $45,752 in 1998!
* Ten years ago, PCUN had a staff of five. Today, the year-round, full-time staff is fourteen and increases to twenty or more during harvest season!
Our experience has repeatedly affirmed that setting and articulating clear direction for our work is an indispensible component of effective movement building. The issues of PCUN Update have included twenty editorials, each one stating and describing a key force or ingredient in our direction.
The PCUN Update circulation has tripled since Issue #1 was published in February 1990. Recent campaigns, such as the Tenth Anniversary Organizing Campaign in 1995, the Accompaniment Campaign in 1997 and 1998, and our recent campus tours have attracted many new supporters. Newer PCUN Update readers may be unaware of the evolution in our strategic thinking during the 90s. To review the titles of selected editorials from past issues which illustrate their collective breadth, click here.
In future issues, we'll continue this tradition, starting with our visions for a new decade of struggle.
NORPAC Updates: The Boycott Goes International
Boycott Expands Into Canada
PCUN member Rosa Solis and staff organizer Alice Gates addressed student and labor organizations during their eight-day tour through Ontario last October.
As one of two keynote speakers at the Student Action for Farmworkers conference in Toronto, Rosa stressed the Boycott's importance in rallying support for the successful legal fight which she and her family waged against NORPAC-member Coleman Farms' retaliatory eviction and firing (see Solis Family Wins Legal Settlement, above).
Rosa and Alice also addressed the National Education Advisory Committee of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), begnning the process of securing the CLC's official endorsement and active promotion of the Boycott. Rosa and Alice met with leaders of the Canadian Federation of Students who pledged to seek endorsement at their next annual convention.
Special thanks to Ontario Student Public Interest Research Group for setting up appearances at three universities, and to Stan Raper, UFW staff organizer in Toronto, for arranging meetings and communicating UFW support for the NORPAC Boycott.
NORPAC Reports Worst Year Ever
NORPAC President Rick Jacobson notified NORPAC's 240 grower-owners June 30th that the co-operative lost $5,000,000 for fiscal 1998-99. Jacobson also informed NORPAC members that they would receive 76.7% of cash market value for that year's crops, the lowest percentage in the co-op's 75 year history. NORPAC blames loss of a major account and claims that their financial condition is unrelated to the Boycott, ignoring the impact of losing Gardenburger and food service revenue as a growing number of campuses remove NORPAC products.
We believe that Boycott is clearly working and we urge farmworker supporters to keep up the pressure. You can receive up-to-the-minute e-mail action alerts. To sign up, just send us a message at farmworkerunion@pcun.org.
Protest at NORPAC Annual Meeting
Students from MEChA chapters at Western Oregon, Portland State, and Oregon State Universities rallied on the OSU campus December 7th outside the NORPAC annual meeting. A simultaneous "electronic" demonstration, organized by the Campaign for Labor Rights, mobilized over 100 e-mail and fax messages to NORPAC from around the country and prompted NORPAC to close its website to unsolicited e-mail. "We're a unionized company, so you must be mistaken," read NORPAC's standard response to pro-Boycott e-mailers. Our response to NORPAC: drop the double standard and accept unionization for field workers, not just cannery workers.
More Boycott Campus Tours Readied for 2000
Boycott organizers will return to campuses in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and Central Atlantic regions and to Ontario Canada this March. Last year, we collaborated with the Campaign for Labor Rights and established a presence at more than two dozen campuses. The upcoming tours will help promote next summer's national student mobilization (see below).
In December, Cal. State Monterey Bay became the 13th campus to join the NORPAC Boycott.
Ag Spends Thousands "Spinning" the Media
The Council of Oregon Agricultural Employers, the Oregon Agricultural Alliance and others have shelled out a total of nearly $100,000 in 1998 and 1999 to hire Vitalink Communications, an anti-union public relations firm based in North Carolina. Vitalink has established an office in Salem and is actively working to discredit the mounting media reports which are critical of ag and to manufacture stories which present a positive image of ag's labor relations.
Vitalink took credit for staging and attracting media coverage for the August 26th press conference at Kraemer Farms where Farm supervisers and their family members denounced PCUN organizing. Vitalink also brags that they undermined media coverage of FLOC's major march at the North Carolina state capitol.
New Staff Organizer Targets Religious Support
In September, Rebecca Saldaña joined the PCUN staff as a full-time Boycott organizer focusing on building wider and more active support among religious organizations. Rebecca, who comes to PCUN from Seattle University where she lead successful campaigns to support the NORPAC and Gardenburger Boycotts, explained her decision to join the PCUN staff: "Thirty years ago, my father was a farmworker in the Willamette Valley. As a MEChA student, I was called to work on the NORPAC Boycott and I saw that the reality for most farmworkers has not changed. I share PCUN's commitment to empower farmworkers to achieve real change."
Rebecca has already made new connections for the Boycott at national meetings, including National Council of Churches, United Church of Christ, National Farmworker Ministry, and the Forging Partnership conference in Los Angeles, co-organized by the Interfaith Committee on Worker Justice and the AFL-CIO. ·
From The Campus To The Campos:
PCUN Launches Summer 2000 Student Mobilization
To accelerate the pace of organizing--in the fields and in the cafeterias--PCUN has begun a national mobilization campaign to bring at least 100 students to the Willamette Valley next summer.
We are planning at least a week of special activities, including
* direct solidarity actions with workers,
* first-hand experience about working and living conditions,
* training and strategizing to achieve more "NORPAC-free" campuses, and more.
Farmworkers in Oregon have taken up the struggle against "sweatshops without walls". Join the mobilization and help us take the farmworker union into the student union.
For details, contact Erik Nicholson at PCUN headquarters by phone (503) 982-0243 or e-mail: <mailto:Eriknicholson@pcun.org.
If you're a student, request an application today!
PCUN and our sister organizations sent a delegation of three dozen activists to the November 30th rally and march in Seattle lead by organized labor. In addition to lending solidarity on general labor and environmental concerns, PCUNistas were motivated to participate because of our members' experiences with NAFTA and its devastating effects on working people caused by unfettered movement of capital and jobs, greater restrictions on immigration, and displacement of small farmers from communal lands in Mexico. Other PCUN concerns relevant to WTO include genetic engineering and the undermining of pesticide protections which our movement has achieved and is seeking.
Thanks to the AFL-CIO for providing transportation and to the Public Employees Representatives Union of CWA Local 7901 for a contribution to defray other expenses for our delegation. ·
Christmas Wreath Project Success Grows Again
PCUN's farmworker women's group, Mujeres Luchadores Progresistas (MLP), has just completed the third year of their economic co-operative. This season, they manufactured and sold more than 900 wreaths, up from 490 last year and 175 in 1998. This year, 25 women participated, earning income to support their families at a time of year when work is scarce and gaining first-hand experience in running a co-operative enterprise.
MLP members thank all those who purchased wreaths and extend special recognition and appreciation to Marion Malcolm who coordinated wreath sales in the Eugene area, Jan Harkness who coordinated Salem sales, and to Verne and Rosemary Cooperrider, who organized a toy drive for MLP member families.
Classes Need Teachers and Tutors
Contact Martha Larsen at PCUN to volunteer staring January 5th. Experience helpful but not required. ·
Cipriano Ferrel Day and Dia de los Muertos Celebrations
PCUNistas gathered twice this year to celebrate the life, work and spirit of our late President and co-founder: on the first Sunday in October--our custom starting shortly after his death in 1995--and on November 2nd, Day of the Dead.
The youth group from the Nuevo Amanecer housing project erected a traditional altar which stood in Risberg Hall for the thirty days--from Cipriano Ferrel Day until Day of the Dead. During that period, people placed flowers, photos, candles and momentos of Cipriano on the altar. The Cipriano Ferrel Day program included music by Samuel Dávila, PCUN staff organizer Leonides Avila read a poem he composed especially for the occasion, and Nuevo Amanecer youth presented a narrative about Cipriano's life.
A standing-room-only crowd gathered for the Día de los Muertos event. Program highlights included Native American drumming by the Bow and Arrow Club and a presentation by Martin González of American Friends Service Committee on the National Day of Action in memory of the more than 300 people who have died crossing the U.S.-Mexican border in recent years.
Risberg Hall was one of more than two dozen locations nationally hosting activities on November 2nd. As was done at many of those locations, we prepared and placed 300 simple white wooden crosses in the front yard at PCUN headquarters, each inscribed with the name of an individual who died at the border. It was a powerful and sobering sight, one that caught the attention of the many hundreds who pass by our offices daily. As PCUN organizer and program co-MC Efrain Peña put it: "Whatever we have endured to be able to be here today, the crosses remind us that we are the lucky ones."