April 1996, Volume 2, Number 2
Rural America
The Latinization of Rural America
Newspapers report that more and more Mexican and Central American
immigrants are making their way from California, Texas, and Florida
to farm and
Farmers, Meat Packers, and Rural Communities
The meatpacking industry increasingly relies on immigrant workers,
and these workers are transforming the midwestern rural communities
in which
Watsonville/Santa Paula, California
Watsonville, California has been hard hit by the closure of food
processors who froze vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. In
February,
Rural and Farm Employment
About one-fourth of the 263 million US residents in 1995 lived in
rural or non-metro areas--it should be noted that both rural and
non-metro are
Farm Workers
UFW Settles with BCI
On March 29, 1996, the UFW and Salinas vegetable grower Bruce
Church, Inc. settled a labor dispute that dates from 1978. Under the
pact, the two
House Rejects Guest Workers
Congress in March took up proposals by Senator Alan Simpson
(R-WY)--S S269 and S1394--and Representative Lamar Smith
(R-TX)--HR2202--to deal with
ALRB: Boycotts and Definitions
The California Supreme Court on April 11 upheld an earlier court
of appeal decision which held that the California Table Grape
Commission could not
Minimum Wages/Workers Comp
The US minimum wage of $4.25 has fallen to its lowest-ever in
relation to average wages. The US Senate held a vote on raising the
minimum wage over
Farm Worker Services
The US UI system pays about $25
billion annually to an average two million unemployed workers each
week.
California requires all employers
California Extends Methyl Bromide Use
On March 12, 1996, Governor Wilson signed a law that permits the
use of the soil fumigant methyl bromide through December 1997.
The 1984 Birth
US Changes Farm Policies
Basic US farm policies that support farm incomes by establishing
minimum prices for crops such as corn and wheat were enacted in 1938
and 1949.
Immigration
INS Raids Farms
Independent Agricultural Workers Union leader Ventura Gutierrez
pressed the INS to check Altman Specialty Plants in San Diego county
for
Migrant Beatings
On April 1, two white Riverside county sheriff's deputies were
taped beating two unauthorized Mexican aliens who had led them on an
80 mile
Other
NAFTA and US Agriculture
In 1994, the US exported farm commodities worth $5.5 billion to
Canada and $4.5 billion to Mexico-- agricultural exports to Mexico
fell to $3.3
India Steps Up Produce Exports
India is the world's second largest producer of fruits and
vegetables--after the US. India's exports of FVH commodities more
than doubled to $137
Japanese Agribusiness
Japan is the largest food importer in the world--Japan imported
over $10 billion in farm commodities from the US in 1995, and is
expected to import
Russia Privatizes Farm Land
Farm workers in November, 1995 were declared Russia's worst-paid
employees, averaging just R294,000 (about $60 per month), while the
average wage
Isreal Replaces Palestines
After a three-week ban on Palestinians entering Israel due to a
series of suicide bombings, the government announced on March 24,
1996 that it was
Resources
US/California FVH Production
The 39 billion pounds of fresh vegetables produced in the US in
1995 were worth about $7.4 billion, up almost $1 billion from 1994,
and the 55