July 2013, Volume 19, Number 3

California: Jobs, San Joaquin Valley
California's unemployment rate fell to nine percent in April 2013, the lowest rate in four years but 1.5 percentage points higher than the US rate of

Meat and Migrants
About 480,000 workers are employed in 6,300 meatpacking plants around the US in 2013. Most beef and pork plants are unionized, but most poultry

California: Wages, EFI, FLCs
The Fresno Bee reported May 11, 2013 that many farm employers were raising wages in 2013 by another $1 an hour, quoting farm employers who paid $9 to

Florida, Southeast
Florida. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is based in Immokalee, a city of 24,000 in southwestern Florida, that produces most of the

Northeast, Midwest, Northwest
New York. The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act (A 1792A) would allow New York farm workers to receive the state's minimum wage, overtime pay and

UFW, ALRB, Unions
The Monterey Herald reported June 6, 2013 and June 23, 2013 that 33 employees of the UFW's Salinas office formed a staff union after office director

EEOC, Child Labor
EEOC. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Washington apple grower Evans Fruit in June 2010 for allowing a ranch manager to sexually

Immigration Reform: Agriculture
S 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, would legalize currently unauthorized farm workers and

Farm Labor Shortages: 2013
Farm papers complained of labor shortages in summer 2013. The California Farm Bureau's weekly Ag Alert on June 12, 2013 quoted FLC Carlos Casta¤eda

H-2A; H-2B
H-2A. A July 2013 Government Accountability Office warned that DOL data on employer applications for H-2A visas to fill farm jobs are unreliable

Canada, ANZ
Canada. The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) brings farm workers from Mexico and several Caribbean island countries to work seasonally in

California: Commodities
County agricultural commissioners in summer 2013 released reports on the value of commodities produced in 2012. Fresno county reported $6.6 billion

US: Farm Bill, Crops
The farm bill, the Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (HR 1947), which provides support payments and crop insurance for farmers, and

Wine, Food
US. Americans bought 360 million 12-bottle or nine-liter cases of wine in 2012 with a retail value of $35 billion, an average $96 a case or $8 a

Global: Population, Food Aid
Population. On July 11, 2013, World Population Day, there were about 7.2 billion people on earth. World Population Day was established in 1987 by