Posts Tagged ‘farmworkers’

Immigrant Workers Need Our Love

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| Immigrant Workers Need Our Love

May 14, 2013

The Senate Judiciary Committee will be considering amendments again today to the bipartisan immigration reform bill. They began the amendment process last week, and will continue through the week of May 20. The amendment process is vitally important to comprehensive immigration reform. While some of these amendments provide important anti-discrimination and labor protections for immigration workers, others would effectively eliminate the ability of any guest workers to immigrate legally to the United States.

We must raise our voices and tell the members of the Judiciary Committee that our country needs compassionate immigration reform. Senators in the Judiciary Committee need to hear from people of faith across the country about the impact these amendments will have on our communities.

Please call 1-866-940-2439 to speak with the office of a Judiciary Committee member this morning and say:

“As a person of faith, I urge the Senator to SUPPORT all immigration amendments being offered by Senator Blumenthal, and Schumer #5, which would protect immigrant workers.

I also urge you to OPPOSE amendments that would hurt immigrant workers, specifically Sessions #3, Lee #19, Hatch #19 and #20, and Grassley #73 and #74.”

If you get an answering machine, please leave a message. Staff will be reporting all day on the number of calls for and against each amendment to the Senators. Find more information on the specific amendments below.

We believe that love has no borders, love keeps families together, and love respects the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Together, we can ensure that this immigration reform bill reflects our values.

Please call 1-866-940-2439 today!

In faith,

Jennifer Toth
Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love

SUPPORT

Senator Blumenthal’s Amendments #7, #13, #17, and #18
These amendments would ban hiring discrimination based on national origin or citizenship status, provide whistleblower protections for temporary workers, ensure workers have the right to a pay stub so that they can prove employment status for the pathway to citizenship, and codify current ICE policy restricting immigration enforcement actions where labor violations have been cited, so a threat of raids won’t keep workers from reporting abuse.

Senator Schumer’s Amendment #5
This amendment would help workers change employers without the risk of losing their visa, and would provide an electronic monitoring system for the program.

OPPOSE

Senator Sessions’ Amendment #3
This amendment would prevent any guest workers from entering the U.S. if the unemployment rate is 5 percent or more. This is such a low threshold that it could effectively keep all guest workers from immigrating to the U.S.

Senator Lee’s Amendment #19 and Senator Hatch’s Amendments #19 and #20
These amendments would exempt employers of temporary workers from complying with labor and employment laws, thus allowing them to violate the rights of temporary workers; and would limit the ability of individuals and groups from submitting a complaint about worker’s mistreatment on behalf of a mistreated temporary worker.

Senator Grassley’s Amendments #73 & #74
These amendments would restrict temporary workers (new “W” visa recipients) from renewing their visas, and would require all temporary workers to provide proof that they can and are paying for their own health insurance, which could effectively prevent almost all temporary workers from entering the U.S.

*Please note that you likely will not be connected with your own Senator’s office through this number, unless they are a specific Judiciary Committee member. This is the best way to raise our voices at this moment. Judiciary members know they are responsible to ALL of us as they consider amendments. Feel free to call 1-866-940-2439 multiple times to connect with all priority Judiciary members. The Judiciary Committee list can be found here, if you want to call directly.

The message above went out on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

Tags: amendment, compassionate immigration reform, comprehensive immigration reform, farmworkers, immigrant justice, immigrant workers, labor, mark-up, migrant rights, Road from Phoenix, Senate Judiciary Committee, workers' rights

Day 6: Inspired by my grandfather, César Chávez

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| Day 6: Inspired by my grandfather, César Chávez

Jan 24, 2013

Today is Day 6 of the Thirty Days of Love. Today’s action is to think about who—from past to present—inspires your own justice-making. Click here for more resources, family actions, and more! Click here to sign up for the daily Thirty Days of Love emails.

“The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being, but it is also the most true to our nature” – César Chávez

Growing up, I was in awe of my grandfather, César Chávez, as I watched his tireless work for the fair treatment of farm workers—an unwavering dedication that changed the lives of millions of people. My grandfather taught immigrants to read, orchestrated massive strikes, advocated for better wages and working conditions, and engaged in civil disobedience. The way he lived his life inspired me to make a lifetime commitment of my own to civil rights, the labor movement, and community organizing. During this week, when the beautiful Standing on the Side of Love community honors the legacy of those social justice leaders who came before us, I am proud to share how my grandfather inspired me.

My grandfather believed in giving power to the people so they could stand up for themselves. For strength, he drew upon Catholic teachings about goodwill, and he engaged in several spiritual fasts to affirm his personal commitment to non-violence. He once said, “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” Indeed, my grandfather organized across lines of religion and culture. He cared about many disenfranchised groups, speaking out for other unions, against racism, and for LGBTQ rights, animal rights, and peace.

Honoring my grandfather’s legacy, I spent eight years as political director of United Farmworkers Union, the organization he helped co-found over 40 years ago. I also became active in fighting Prop. 8, performing commitment ceremonies to set an example of Latino community support for marriage equality, and helped form the Latino and African American Leadership Alliance to bring two historically disenfranchised communities together to forge peace and unity.

I also draw my inspiration from people all around me today, such as the organizers of Alianza Campesina. In a few months, I will bring 100 women involved in this farmworker women coalition to Washington, D.C. for a U.S. government interagency briefing where they will tell their stories—about wage and hour violations, hardships faced by those who are undocumented, and sexual harassment and domestic abuse.

During this Thirty Days of Love, as you embark on your spiritual journey for social justice, join me in thinking about who—from past to present—inspires your own justice-making.

Carry that inspiration with you as you continue to create incredible change in our world.

Sí, se puede,

Christine Chávez

Christine Chávez serves as the Farmworker Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a new position in the USDA focusing on how the Department can better serve the farmworker population.

Tags: 30 Days of Love, Alianza Campesina, Cesar Chavez, Christine Chavez, farmworkers, honor legacy, migrant rights, National Standing on the Side of Love Day, National Standing on the Side of Love Month

Allies support the work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| Allies support the work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Apr 01, 2011

Margaret of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida translates for Nely of CIW

Margaret of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida, left, and Nely of CIW, right

On Sunday, a delegation of UU Allies for Racial Equity (ARE), a Unitarian Universalist white allies group, with several of us wearing our Standing on the Side of Love T-shirts and pins, went to Immokalee, Florida to meet with the Coalition for Immokalee Workers (CIW). CIW is a community-based organization across Florida of mainly immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. They have been leading a Fair Food Campaign and are working to increase pay and working conditions for farmworkers by getting major buyers of tomatoes to commit to paying just a penny more per pound, which substantially improves working and living conditions for workers. What may seem like a small increase in pay would enable them to buy a bike to commute and to get better housing.

Through collective organizing and targeting the biggest buyers, CIW succeeded in getting fast food giants, including Taco Bell and Burger King, as well as food service providers, including Aramark and Sodexo to agree to buy tomatoes only from growers that agree to the provisions in the Fair Food Campaign. Building on these successes, they are now focusing on getting supermarkets, who buy 90% of fresh tomatoes in the US, to agree to pay a penny more per pound.

On Friday night, Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida addressed the participants of the Allies for Racial Equity conference. As an interfaith coalition of people of faith and religious institutions that work closely in partnership with CIW to end sub-poverty wages and abuses in the fields, two of their staffers, Brigitte Gynther and Margaret Gleeson, talked to us about what it means to them to be a good ally. They were introduced by Rev. Allison Farnum, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Meyers, Florida, who both serves on Interfaith Action’s board and hosted the ARE conference. Their faith has called them to work for justice in the fields, and to truly support farmworkers, they follow CIW’s lead. From sharing office space and aiding with technical support to translating Spanish when a CIW member gives a presentation to a congregation to involving the faith community in CIW’s campaigns, these two organizations work side-by-side.

The UU Allies for Racial Equity conference this year focused on “Commitment in Action,” offering UUs who identify as white an opportunity to examine what it means to be an anti-racist ally in our congregations and communities. It was inspiring for me to know that my faith community is actively involving our congregations to support immigrant farmworkers. In fact, the very first resolution the UUA General Assembly ever passed was in 1961 in support of migrant farmworkers. In 2008, the UUA General Assembly passed a resolution in support of the CIW Fair Food Campaign after hearing from the CIW farmworkers in plenary. The UUA Witness Ministries staff are partners of CIW and support them by both connecting congregations with their campaign as well as financially. Partnering with CIW is a powerful way to stand on the side of love and really bring about change.