As journalist James Warren wrote in this article in the New York Daily News, it is "the day to celebrate the American worker and his sacrifices and economic and social achievements". Oooh. Now that sounds a little more interesting. According to Warren, it all started in 1894 when Pullman railroad workers had a walkout against unfair wages and poor living conditions. Federal marshals and the Army killed 30 of them. This event led to the government proclaiming an Annual Labor Day, to honor the American worker.
I began my internship at Student Action with Farmworkers. I have to say it is one of the most unique organizations I have ever learned about. Its mission is to bring students and farmworkers together to learn about each other's lives, share resources and skills, improve conditions for farmworkers, and build diverse conditions working for social change. It is a true social justice organization - I am so excited to be a part of it!
So today on Labor Day, I invite you to consider the American worker. How can you even begin to describe them? Black, white, Indian, Asian, Latino... the list goes on and on. We are a diverse workforce. And we have a long way to go before everyone receives a fair wage and safe working conditions.
Farmworkers are paid as little as 40 cents for a bucket of tomatoes they picked. Minimum wage laws only apply to workers on large farms (how is that fair?) The Fair Labor Standards Act does not provide overtime for farmworkers. The legal age for a farmworker is 12, not 16 like other jobs. (Source: United States Farmworker Fact Sheet)
Farmworker conditions are still very similar to slavery. They share rooms and substandard houses with many other workers. Many do not have transportation to leave the property. Only 10% of farmworkers have reported that their employer provides insurance. They are exposed on a daily basis to pesticides, which puts them at risk for toxic chemical injuries.
Immigration to the United States increased greatly in 1994, when NAFTA (the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) was signed and over 2 million Mexican farmworkers were driven out of business. This article offers an upsetting list of all the damage NAFTA has done, both in the loss of jobs in the U.S. and Mexico.
...It's interesting with farmers markets on every corner, and everyone talking about local food and concern for their diet... Very few people are talking about farmworker rights. I like this SAF fellow's take on it all. It takes a village. On this Labor Day and all days, may we take the time to educate ourselves, and may we begin and continue to take action.
"In this day-to-day struggle, it sometimes feels like we are spinning our wheels in deep mud. So this is what I’ve really learned this summer: it takes a village. It takes Araceli and Selena lobbying in Raleigh to protect the legal rights so easily stripped from farmworkers. It takes Jessie in South Carolina helping migrant children stay in school. It takes Ramon working with Legal Aid to make sure human rights are not violated in the farmworking community. And it takes me, in Burgaw, working with one patient at a time to make sure those who produce our food stay healthy. It takes a village for this movement, no one person or organization in this fight can stand alone, and together we can move towards real, evident change. Adelante juntos, hasta la victoria!"
-Miranda Schartz, SAF Fellow
"Every time we sit at a table to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations"
-Cesar Chavez, co-founder of United Farm Workers
No comments:
Post a Comment