July 1998, Volume 4, Number 3
Rural America
California: Central Valley
On May 27-28, 1998, about 250 people attended a "new thinking for a
big valley" conference in Sacramento.
There was agreement on
Northeast: Poultry, Eggs
Georgetown, Delaware was profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 29,
1998. Founded in 1792, Georgetown had 4,300 residents in the 1990 Census
Southeast: Latinos, Enforcement
Many southeastern newspapers are publishing articles on the changing face
of their state's population. The Atlanta Journal on April 19, 1998 ran
MidwestL Meatpacking
ConAgra Inc. agreed in April 1998 to pay $223,000 in fines and other costs
for knowingly hiring illegal aliens in Glasgow, Kentucky in 1994.
Farm Workers
UFW: Strawberries
Most observers think that the UFW in 1998 must request
and win an election among strawberry workers to sustain its organizing
campaign. However,
California: Housing
A May 31, 1998 profile of housing in the Watsonville and
Salinas areas reported that strawberry workers earning $200 a week often shared
housing to
Northwest
The UFW filed its second suit against an apple grower in
March 1998, alleging that Auvil Fruit Co. Inc. retaliated against 28 farm
workers who
Florida: Smugglings, Workers
On April 24, the US attorney in Miami indicted 16 unauthorized aliens on
charges of smuggling young women from Veracruz, Mexico to the US and
North Carolina: Pickles
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, estimates
that there are 5,000 seasonal workers who pick cucumbers for growers who
ALRB: No Changes, Case
The ALRB in 1997 began a comprehensive review of its regulations and
invited interested parties to testify in hearings held throughout the
Enforcement: Children, FLCs, MSPA
In the first of 50 planned sweeps in 1998 as part of
"Operation Salad Bowl," the US Labor Department fined six growers in the Rio
Grande Valley a
Services: USDA, 402s
At the recommendation of its Civil Rights Action Team, USDA is requesting
$5.5 million for Cooperative State Research, Extension and Education
Farm Employment and Wages
There were 1,005,000 hired workers on the nation's farms and ranches the
week of April 12-18, 1998, including 800,000 hired directly by farm
Social Security, Pilots
All employers who file 250 or more W-2s in a tax
year are required to provide to the Social Security Administration earnings and
tax information on
Mechanization: Raisings, Olives
Lee Simpson, a raisin grower near Fresno, is believed to
have a vineyard of the future. Vines are planted five feet apart and with
eight feet
Immigration
Southeast: Vidalia Onions
The INS operation "Southern Denial" in mid-May 1998 apprehended 21 workers
in Glennville in southeastern Georgia, home of the $90 million a year
Congress: Guest Workers
On June 24, 1998, the Senate Immigration subcommittee held a hearing on
agricultural guest workers that focused on how the current H-2A program
Other
Strawberries
Strawberries are an unusual crop. Production usually occurs on a small
scale, and is very labor intensive, so that ex-farm workers with access to
Southeast Asia: Structural Demand?
As southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, Korea and Malaysia continue to
expel migrant workers, their employers are requesting new migrants to
US Farms and Farm Land
The number of US farms fell from 6,454,000 in 1920 to 1,925,300 in 1992, a
decline of 70 percent. The number of farms operated by non-whites fell
US and California FVH Production
Fresh fruit consumption fell three pounds a person in 1995 to 98 pounds,
including a drop of one pound of apples to 19 pounds a person.
Chiquita, Dole
On May 3, 1998, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a series of stories on Chiquita
Brands International, the banana grower and marketer headquartered
UK, France
Media reports and raids are finding that many seasonal workers in the UK
are on the welfare or unemployment insurance rolls, or are
Shrimp Farming
In the mid-1990s, the one million tons of shrimp grown on farms accounted
for 25 percent of the $6 billion (farm or fisher) value of shrimp. The
Suro, Roberto. Strangers Among Us: How Latino Immigration is transforming America
Suro's four-part, 18-chapter book explores the origins, status and
trajectory of the fastest growing race/ethnic group in the US--the 30
Resources
Peter Duignan and Lewis Gann. The debate in the United States over Immigration
This three-part ten-chapter book includes the papers presented at a Hoover
Institution conference in October 1996. The contributors include
Ugalde, Antonio and Gilberto Cardenas. Health and Social Services among International Labor Migrants
This 11-chapter book includes selected papers presented at a conference in
May 1995. There are four papers that deal with immigrant health issues
1998 Changing Face Conference of Rural California
The purpose of this Changing Face conference is to assess the prospects for
integrating the immigrants who have arrived in the San Joaquin Valley