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"A New Bracero Program: Agribusiness' 'Fast Track'" (Issue #30, December 1997)
Just as Congress has acted to force thousands of "documentable" workers to leave the country or jeopardize their chance for legal status (see story on Page One), congressional support is building for a revival of the infamous Bracero Program. Not surprisingly, Republicans like Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho and Rep. Bob Smith from Medford are leading the charge. But Oregon Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Darlene Hooley, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer are preparing to back the growers, too.
Are there enough documented workers to meet Oregon agribusiness' labor needs at the wages and workplace condition they presently offer? Growers in Oregon and throughout the country say "no" and they want thousands of "guest" workers brought in from Mexico. Their plan? Expand and streamline the current "H-2A" temporary worker program (read: gut protective standards, and enforcement) which growers on the East Coast have used limitedly for two decades in the apples, tobacco, and sugar cane. Their proposals? 20,000, 250,000, or an unlimited number of new braceros.
From 1942 through 1964, the Bracero Program undercut organizing, cheated and abused thousands of farmworkers, and was even labeled "legalized slavery" by its last administrator. To "fix" it, Congress later created the "H-2" program, requiring employers to aggressively recruit documented workers locally and nationally, pay at least the "adverse wage" (Oregon's is presently set at $6.87/hour), and provide transportation and decent housing. Even this "improved" form of Bracero is badly flawed according to a recent government study which blasted poor or nonexistent enforcement.
Stripping H-2A is a fast track to busting farmworker unionization now on the rise especially in Oregon, Washington (UFW apple campaign) and California (UFW strawberry campaign). Since growers can't dodge organizing by taking their land "offshore" to cheaper and more tightly controlled labor, they're trying the reverse. Bring workers here without their families, warehouse them under grower control, send them back when the work ends, or cancel their visas and deport them if they complain or go on strike. It's agribusiness' version of NAFTA.
What's the solution? Improve wages and benefits, reduce workplace harassment, recognize seniority rights, pledge non-retaliation, negotiate with workers and the representatives they designate, and enlist the recruiting assistance of a union hiring hall. These measures would vastly reduce turnover, increase productivity, and assure a sufficient workforce, with documents or without.
Fighting any new Bracero Program or H-2A rollback will be one of PCUN's highest priorities in 1998. Here's how you can help. Contact the Congressperson and Senators who represent you and tell them (1) to hold the line on H-2A; (2) to oppose HR 2377 and S. 169, and (3) "No Fast Track Agribusiness". The future of farmworker unionization may well depend on it.