January 1996, Volume 2, Number 1

Rural America

Immigrants Transform Midwest Towns
A Wall Street Journal profile of Worthington, Minnesota recounted the familiar story of how ConAgra recruited immigrant Asian and Latino workers

Education and Rural Growth
According to Business Week, there is another renaissance in rural America led by yuppies using high-tech gadgets to ply their trades in urban areas

Migration Affects Rural California
The Commission on Immigration Reform held a hearing November 15, 1995 in Fresno on how immigration is affecting rural California, and whether the

Migrants in Maine and Kentucky
The increased use of farm labor contractors is a major factor in the increased use of Spanish-speaking workers in Maine's blueberry, broccoli,

Black Farmers
There are about 19,000 Black farmers in the US, down about 95 percent from 380,000 in 1954. Texas and Mississippi have the most Black farmers;

Farm Workers

Agricultural Guest Workers
On December 7 and 14, the House Immigration Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held hearings in Washington, DC on agricultural guest workers.

Adjusting to Farm Labor Shortages
Much of the debate over whether a new guest worker program is needed for agriculture is a debate over how the farm labor market would adjust if the

UFW Activities
The Wall Street Journal published a generally optimistic assessment of the "new" UFW on December 19, 1995--12 straight election victories, most by

ALRB Activities
Michael Stoker was appointed to be the chair of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board in June 1995, and Paul Richardson was appointed General

Regulating the Farm Labor Market
On October 17, 1995, the US House of Representatives approved by a voice vote HR 1715, a bill that reverses the US Supreme Court's March 1990 Adams

NAFTA and Florida/California
On December 6, 1995, Florida farmers dumped produce to publicize what they allege are Mexican imports that are depressing US prices. According to

Pesticides and Farm Workers
California Gov. Pete Wilson called a special session of the Legislature on January 2, 1995 to consider legislation to allow the continued use of a

Florida Farm Workers Protest
In November 1995, 300 workers associated with four farm worker groups organized the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to protest a pay cut, from $4.25

Changes in Federal MSFW Programs
There are 10 federal assistance programs that serve Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers and their children. Most are administered from an office in

Immigration

Hispanic Unemployment
AFOP Washington Newsline, September 1995. Ray Quintanilla, "New US Rules weeding out children of migrants," Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1995. Martin,

INS: Asylum, Naturalization, and Deportation
On January 4, 1996, the INS released its report card on asylum reforms implemented one year earlier. The number of new asylum claims filed fell

Other

Mexico: Farm Policy Changes
Procampo, the Rural Direct Support Program begun by the Mexican government in 1994, offers subsidies to some of the 60 percent of Mexican farms

Starbucks Sets Farm Worker Standards
Starbucks Coffee in October 1995 became the first-ever US company to announce minimum standards for foreign farm workers who produce its coffee.

Farm Workers on Plantations
Phillippe Egger of the ILO reports that there are one billion farm workers employed on plantations in developing countries, and that about 20

Brazilian Farm Workers
In June 1995, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso ordered his ordered his cabinet to make land reform a priority in order to end rural

Resources