July 1997, Volume 3, Number 3
Rural America
Welfare Reform and Rural America
Some of the highest rates of welfare dependency
are in the agricultural counties of California, where there are also
farmers who complain of labor
Rural Housing Isssues
It has often been difficult to find adequate and affordable
housing for workers who move into rural areas. In agriculture, where
the demand for
Rural America Grapples with Diversity
Around the US, there are special reports on the changing
composition of rural populations. Unlike urban areas, in many cases a
single employer or
Farm Workers
UFW: Strawberry Campaign
On June 16, 1997, Monsanto Corp
sold Gargiulo Inc., the nation's largest grower-cooler-shipper of
strawberries that hires harvesters directly, to
FLOC Goes to North Carolina
On May 28, 1997, Baldemar Velazquez, head of the Farm Labor
Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, announced that FLOC would try to
organize the several
Farm Labor Contractors
In South Carolina, farm labor contractor Miguel Angel Flores, a
Mexican national based in North Florida, and two of his crew leaders,
pleaded
H-2A Workers Increase in 1996
The number of temporary foreign workers admitted to the US under
the H-2A program, Section 101(a)(15)(H) (ii)(a) of the Immigration
and Nationality
Labor Law Enforcement: DOL and Courts
DOL announced in April that it would clarify its
enforcement procedures under farm labor laws, including the Migrant
and Seasonal Agricultural
ALRB/NLRB Decisions
The UFW launched a letter-writing campaign that urged the
California Senate not to confirm Trice Harvey, the fourth member of
the ALRB, who can
Assistance Programs
The federal government spends over $600 million annually to assist
migrant and seasonal farm workers and their children. Most of this
federal MSFW
PBS Airs Chavez Documentary
On April 16, 1997, PBS aired a two-hour documentary "The Fight in
the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers' Struggle," made by Ray
Telles and
Immigration
INS Enforcement
The INS seems to have stepped up employer sanctions enforcement in
the midwest, northwest and southeastern states, and the results of
most INS work
Other
FVH Trade
Beginning in November 1997, Mexican avocados will
be allowed to be sold in 19 northeastern states for four
months--November through February.
Marketing Orders
The US Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote on June 25, 1997, decided that
farmers could be compelled to contribute to marketing orders that
support generic
Resources
The Changing Face of Delmarva
The fourth Changing Face of Rural America conference will be held
September 11-13, 1997 at the University of Delaware campus in Newark,
Delaware.
Books and Reports
Mines, Richard, Susan Gabbard, and Anne Steirman. March, 1997.
A Profile of US Farmworkers. Washington: US Department of Labor
Stull,