From SantaCruzSentinel.com, Steve Schnaar, 30 Oct 2011. In a clear case of big money running politics, last year the California Department of Pesticide Regulation [DPR] approved an extremely dangerous chemical called methyl iodide for use as a pesticide, with strawberry production as the largest intended use. While no use is yet slated for Santa Cruz … Continue reading
From WallacesFarmer.com, 24 Oct 2011. U.S. Department of Labor wants to revise child labor laws to put stricter safety requirements on young workers employed in agriculture and related fields. The department is accepting public comments until Nov. 1. Proposed changes in federal safety rules would significantly restrict the type of farm work young people under … Continue reading
From HealthyCal.org, Robin Urevich, 11 Oct 2011. Environmentalists say a newly uncovered memo shows how the California Department of Pesticide Regulation gave in to industry pressure when it approved the controversial soil fumigant methyl iodide for use in California agriculture at levels more than 100 times higher than those its own scientists recommended. The Feb. … Continue reading
From PublicHealthPractices.org, Source Agency: National Latino Research Center at California State University San Marcos California is home to the second highest number of FEMA-declared disasters each year, and it is also a substantial producer of much of the nation’s agriculture. Farmworker communities are prevalent especially throughout southern California, and it is estimated that 2.8 million people, … Continue reading
From NYTimes.com, “Hand vs. Machine” by Philip Martin, 9 Oct 2011. What Happened to the American Work Ethic? Millions of people are looking for jobs, but aren’t jumping to be seasonal farm laborers. Why is that? Sweet corn can be picked by hand or machine, and many growers use machines to pick the third of … Continue reading
From Freakonomics.com, 6 Oct 2011. A study released this week by NBER measures the elasticity of substitution between American workers and their immigrant counterparts — in non-economic speak, the study asks whether immigrants are good substitutes for equally skilled native workers. While some comparisons remain murky, it appears that non-native workers are actually “perfect substitutes” for equally … Continue reading
From LatinoFoxNews.com, 14 Sept 2011. San Diego – Increasing the incomes of migrant farmworkers by 40 percent would add just $15 to what the average U.S. household spends every year on fruits and vegetables, according to a researcher at University of California Davis. Philip Martin, a professor in UC Davis’ Department of Agricultural and Resource … Continue reading
From Menafin.com, Inter Press Service, 9 Sept 2011. MEXICO CITY, Sep 9, 2011, 2011 (IPS/GIN via COMTEX) – Twenty five-year-old Ermelinda Santiago is one of thousands of native people who migrate every year from the municipality of Tlapa and its surroundings in the southern state of Guerrero, to pick fruit and vegetables in the north … Continue reading
From BuffaloNews.com, Maryellen Tighe, News Business Reporter, 5 Sept 2011. The coming of fall means apple-picking time at Lakeview Orchards. It also means about 70 Jamaican workers will relocate to the hamlet of Burt to help bring in the harvest. They are filling a critical labor void that has become so severe that some farms … Continue reading
From SantaCruzSentinel.com, Kimberly Freeman Brown, 4 Sept 2011. This Labor Day, it’s no secret that California’s working families are facing an unprecedented set of challenges: sky-high unemployment, stagnant wages and an uncertain economic future. Huge income disparities between the haves and have-nots are dividing our communities. According to the Pew Research Center, we have also … Continue reading
