Interfaithimmigration.org

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Interfaithimmigration.org

• Welcome to this months Webinar on
• Farm Worker Justice
• Call and Webinar will begin at 400 p.m. EST
• For audio, please dial  
• 1-218-936-4700 and enter access code 657758
• The audio and visual portions are NOT linked. You
  must dial this number to hear the audio portion
  of the webinar.

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Farmworkers and Immigration Reform

• Farmworker Justice
• Adrienne DerVartanian
• Director of Immigration and Labor Rights
• adervartanian_at_farmworkerjustice.org
• www.farmworkerjustice.org

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• Farmworker Justice is a nonprofit organization
  that seeks to empower migrant and seasonal
  farmworkers to improve their living and working
  conditions, immigration status, health,
  occupational safety, and access to justice. Based
  in Washington, D.C, Farmworker Justice was
  founded in 1981. 

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Who Are Farmworkers?

• Majority foreign born
• Over half are undocumented
• Median annual income is 10,000 - 12,499
• At least 30 earn incomes below the U.S. poverty
  line
• Young, mostly male but also families
• 11 are children and teenagers
• Spanish speaking
• Minimal formal education and low literacy even
  in Spanish
• Excluded from overtime, NLRA protections and
  other workplace protections
• Source U.S. Department of Labor, National
  Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2001-2002

Photo by David Bacon
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Immigration Reform and Farmworkers

• Ongoing efforts for immigration reform for
  decades
• AgJOBS Compromise
• Renewed push for guestworker-only solution
• Desperate need for immigration reform with path
  to citizenship

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Harsh New Guestworker Proposals

• Multiple proposals in Congress to create
  new/revised guestworker programs
• No path to permanent immigration status or
  citizenship
• Sharp wage cuts and poorer working conditions
• Reduced government oversight and access to
  justice

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What would be the impact of these guestworker
proposals?

• Proposals would be devastating
• Employers could easily hire new foreign workers
  at substandard wages and avoid hiring U.S.
  farmworkers
• Expansion to new year-round industries dairy,
  meat processing
• Do not address majority of current workforce
  the undocumented workers and their families
• Undocumented workers would be pushed further
  underground and become even more exploitable

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H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program

• Uncapped guestworker program.
• Employers must prove that there are no U.S.
  workers available for the job.
• Employers must show bringing in foreign workers
  wont harm wages and working conditions of U.S.
  workers.

Photo by Earl Dotter
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H-2A Guestworker Program

• Use of program has almost doubled over last ten
  years
• Complaints red tape and burdensome, BUT
  protections needed and majority of applications
  are approved.
• FY 2011 95 applications approved.

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H-2A Guestworker Program

• Workers indebted
• Non-immigrant status
• Isolation and family separation
• Incentives to discriminate against US workers
• Inadequate enforcement

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• The farmers can take advantage of the H-2A
  workers where they cant take advantage of the
  Americansbecause we know the laws when they
  dontI think it was more or less, they didnt
  want the Americans out there.
• -Mary Jo,
• U.S. Farmworker

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Our Future Guestworkers?

• What are Americas values?
• Are we comfortable with an entire industrys
  workerforce being guestworkers?
• Or are we a democracy that values all workers and
  gives needed workers basic human dignity and
  rights, and an opportunity to achieve the
  American dream, including economic freedom and
  political representation?

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How Can You Help?

• Oppose one-sided guestworker proposals.
• Support immigration reform with a path to
  immigration status and citizenship.
• Support equal protections for farmworkers.

Photo by David Bacon
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Cleo Rodriguez, Jr., Executive Director- NMSHSA

• Head Start 101

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The Birth of Project Head Start 1965

• Heightened Awareness of Poverty in the United
  States
• John F. Kennedys campaign for president
• President Lyndon Baines Johnsons
  educational/social background
• Sargent Shriver and the Kennedys family interest
  in children with special needs
• Interdisciplinary Planning Committee Convened

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The Birth of Project Head Start 1965

• Pediatricians, Psychologists, and Early Childhood
  Specialists stressed the strong role played by
  parents in guiding and motivating their children.
• James Colemans research held that parental
  involvement is a supplement to a childs learning
  in the classroom.
• It was a summer catch-up program
• Evidence showed needed more than summer and
  became year-round

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Philosophy of Head Start

• Bring greater degree of social competence in
  children
• Each child is unique and individual
• Child benefits from comprehensive services
• Childs entire family is critical for success

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Philosophy of Head Start

• Foster social competence
• Improved health/physical abilities
• Encourage self-confidence
• Enhance communication skills
• Establish patterns for success
• Enhance sense of self-worth

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Core Values of Head Start

• Supportive learning environment
• Inclusive of all cultures/languages
• Empowerment of families
• Comprehensive
• Respect individual developments
• Relationships/partnerships with community
• Shared governance (Parent Policy Council)

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Structure of Head Start

• Federal to local grantees
• Local grantees have flexibility to meet the needs
  of the community
• Local Board of Directors
• Parent Policy Council
• Parent Committees

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Head Start Act

• What is the Head Start Act?
• This is the law that governs how each program is
  governed and operated. Every 5 years Head Start
  is reauthorized. It is during this period
  changes can occur.
• On December 12, 2007, President Bush signed
  Public Law 110-134 "Improving Head Start for
  School Readiness Act of 2007" reauthorizing the
  Head Start program.
• Should be reauthorized in 2012. May be delayed
  due to elections and other factors.

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Performance Standards

• Regulations that are issued and monitored by the
  US government for the operations of ALL Head
  Start Programs
• Developed and revised by the Department of HHS
• Every program is legally bound to meet all the
  standards. If not, the program is out of
  compliance

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What is the Policy Council/Board?

• Made of program parents and community
  representatives
• Elected for terms
• Approve all operations of the program
• Oversight of program operations
• Has legal and fiscal authority
• Must include parents and work with Policy Council

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Current Numbers

• Regional Head Start 845,000 (93)
• Migrant/Seasonal Head Start 34,000 (4)
• Indian/Native American 23,000 (3)
• Total Children served 2010 904,000

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Simple Migrant Program Facts

• 23,738 Number of families
• 2,635- Number of classrooms
• 78- Number of Teachers/Teacher Assistants with a
  CDA or higher
• 75- Infants and Toddlers
• 25 - Preschoolers

Funding History

• 1965- 96,400,000
• Served 561,000 children

• 2009-7,112,786,000.00 (7.1 billion)- Serving
  904,000 children

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Cost per child in Migrant/Seasonal Head Start
Programs

8,500.00 per child
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Unique Characteristics of each

• Migrant/Seasonal
• Work requirement
• Birth 5 years old
• Extended hours
• Meets the needs of family based on agricultural
  work/season
• Provides coordinated efforts between programs and
  other migrant serving agencies for seamless
  services.

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Chris Liu-BeersNC Council of
Churchesncfarmworkers.org
Photo Peter Eversoll www.peversoll.com
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Distributing information
Photo Peter Eversoll www.peversoll.com
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Collaborating with Seminaries
Photo Peter Eversoll www.peversoll.com
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SupportingUnions
Photo Peter Eversoll www.peversoll.com
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Participating with FANncfan.org
Photo Peter Eversoll www.peversoll.com
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Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida

• Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida (IA)
• A network of people of faith and religious
  institutions that works in partnership with the
  Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to improve
  sub-poverty wages and end modern-day slavery and
  human rights abuses in the fields.
• IA brings the spiritual resources of diverse
  faith traditions and the moral weight of
  faith-based voices in society to our work in
  collaboration with farmworkers for justice in the
  fields.

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Coalition of Immokalee Workers
The CIW is a community-based organization of
mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian
immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout
the state of Florida.
From this basis we fight for, among other things
a fair wage for the work we do, more respect on
the part of our bosses and the industries where
we work, better and cheaper housing, stronger
laws and stronger enforcement against those who
would violate workers' rights, the right to
organize on our jobs without fear of retaliation,
and an end to forced labor in the fields.
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Faith Solidarity with Workers
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Interfaith Action at Work

• IA facilitates education for faith communities,
  including dialogue between farmworkers and
  non-farmworker people of faith, and animates
  people of faith to take action for justice in the
  agricultural industry.
•  IA coordinates faith-based participation in the
  CIWs Campaign for Fair Food, leveraging the
  moral, consumer, shareholder, and social power of
  faith communities to effectively call on major
  tomato purchasers to ensure fair wages and human
  rights for farmworkers.  
• People of faith played a crucial role in bringing
  about the historic agreements between the CIW and
  Yum Brands, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, and
  Whole Foods to directly improve the wages and
  conditions for the farmworkers who pick tomatoes
  for these companies.
• IA also provides a wide range of logistical and
  technical assistance to the farmworkers of the
  CIW, both in Immokalee and in planning national
  tours and actions. IA is an affiliate
  of Interfaith Worker Justice and a founding
  member of the Alliance for Fair Food"   For more
  information click http//www.interfaithact.org/?q
  aboutus

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Campaigns - Publix, Kroger, Stop and Shop

• Publix is Florida's major supermarket chain and a
  large buyer of Florida tomatoes. Unfortunately,
  while Publix has a reputation for community
  involvement, it has yet to join the Fair Food
  program to help ensure fair wages and conditions
  for those who harvest its tomatoes.
• As the nation's second-largest grocery chain,
  Kroger is a major purchaser of tomatoes. Yet
  despite letters from the CIW, over 80 religious,
  human rights, student, and community
  organizations that are part of the Alliance for
  Fair Food, and thousands of consumers across the
  country, Kroger has yet to improve the
  sub-poverty wages and human rights abuses faced
  by those who pick their tomatoes. You can join in
  calling on Kroger to ensure justice in its tomato
  supply chain
• Over the past several years the CIW and over 80
  religious, human rights, student, and community
  endorsers of the Alliance for Fair Food have
  written letters to Ahold - owner of Stop Shop,
  Giant, Giant Food Stores, Martin's, Ukrop's and
  Peapod - to invite it to improve the sub-poverty
  wages and conditions faced by the farmworkers who
  harvest their tomatoes. Join in calling on Ahold
  to ensure justice in its tomato supply chain

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Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida
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IIC Contacts by organization

• African American Ministers in Action Leslie
  Malachi, lmalachi_at_pfaw.org
• American Jewish Committee Chelsea Hanson,
  hansonc_at_ajc.org
• Bread for the World Institute Andrew Wainer,
  awainer_at_bread.org
• Church World Service Jen Smyers,
  jsmyers_at_churchworldservice.org
• Disciples of Christ Ken Brooker Langston,
  revkenbl_at_yahoo.com
• The Episcopal Church Katie Conway,
  kconway_at_episcopalchurch.org
• Franciscan Action Network Marie Lucey,
  lucey_at_franciscanaction.org
• Friends Committee on National Legislation Ruth
  Flower, flower_at_fcnl.org
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Liza Lieberman,
  liza.lieberman_at_hias.org
• Interfaith Worker Justice Thomas Shellabarger,
  tshellabarger_at_iwj.org
• Irish Apostolate USA Geri Garvey,
  administrator_at_usairish.org
• Islamic Information Center Hajar Hosseini,
  hosseini_at_islamicinformationcenter.org
• Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, Shaina Aber,
  saber_at_jesuit.org
• Jewish Council for Public Affairs Elyssa Koidin,
  ekoidin_at_thejcpa.org
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Nora
  Skelly, nskelly_at_lirs.org
• Mennonite Central Committee Tammy Alexander,
  talexander_at_mcc.org
• Muslim Public Affairs Council Hoda Elshishtawy,
  hoda_at_mpac.org
• Sisters of the Good Shepherd Larry Couch,
  lclobbyist_at_gsadvocacy.org