Speech #860094581

Mr. Speaker. recently many Members of Congress received correspondence concerning migrant farmworkers. For many years I have followed this phase of our national economy. both as an observer and as a Member of the legislative body. whose duty it was to try to pass corrective legislation. This matter has more or less been left to the various States with the result that the National Consumers League. in calling for the passage of minimum Federal labor standards. makes the following statement: These proposed labor standards are moderate to the point of being inadequate. They .nevertheless represent an attempt to cope with the problem of the tremendous poverty and exploitation which is now the lot of American farmworkers. Therefore. these standards deserve support. As you undoubtedly know. workers on corporate farmsand especially the migrant workersare the most depressed and poverty stricken group in our society. Wages for them go below 40 cents an hour. child labor is common. employment is at best sporadic. A first step to help them. such as these meager standards. is therefore necessary. Even so. we find the same profit hungry groups that are determined to undermine the overall labor standards of American workers again lining up to destroy even these low plateau standards suggested by Secretary of Labor Mitchell. It is hardly conceivable that in this year of our Lord. 1959. we can visit agricultural areas where migrant workers live under conditions and in circumstances that would put some of our preCivil War slave quarters in the luxury class. Hunger and need are no strangers in America. in spite of our high standards and high cost economy. There are still many of our people living on low and sub standards in housing. medical care. clothing and education. The one remaining block that can be localized as a unit is the group labeled. "Migrant Farm Workers." This move by the Secretary deserves the support of every decent and humane citizen and especially those of us entrusted with the legislative power and authority to protect the health and wellbegin of our entire citizenry. The New York Times in covering the fatal crash in Arizona lately had this to say: The highway smashup in Arizona that took the lives of 16 migratory farmworkers from Mexico and injured 32 others. some crtlcally. seems an unmitigated tragedy. But perhaps it will shock the public into realization of the desperate need of better protection for migrant farmhands. foreign and native. not only in their transportation but in their living and working conditions. The bus in which the Mexicans were riding was a mediumsized truck. with canvas sides and no windows. and Its only exit. in the rear. was blocked by baggage and a water barrel. Those killed were asleep on the floor or trapped near the front of the bus. The driver had dozed off at the wheel. Evidently the most obvious requirements of safety. both as to the vehicle itself and its operation. were flouted. Migrant farm labor is subject to three classes of regulations: By treaty. as in the Migrant Labor Agreement with Mexico embodied in U.S. Public Law 78. by Federal laws and orders of executive agencies. and by State laws and departmental rulings. Public Law 78. applying to Mexicans. and orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission. which apply generally. contain detailed minimum safety and health requirements for vehicles transporting migrant workers. Only a handful of States have such regulations. however. even though State authorities have been urged to incorporate ICC standards in intrastate transportation. The Arizona catastrophe should spur an immediate checkup on the enforcement of these controls and stimulate their enactment by States that dont have them now.