Speech #860107225

Mr. President. on behalf of myself and the Senator from Pennsylvania . the Senator from Connecticut . the Senator from Illinois . the Senator from Minnesota . the Senator from Minnesota . the Senator from Oregon . the Senator from Montana . the Senator from Oregon . the Senator from Wisconsin . the Senator from Ohio . the junior Senator from Michigan . and the senior Senator from Michigan . I introduce. for appropriate reference. a bill for compulsory registration of migrant labor contractors who recruit. transport. supervise. feed andtoo oftenexploit many of the 800.000 men. women. and children who cultivate and harvest the perishable crops of our Nation. Protection at a Federal level is the only way to correct many of the abuses now faced by these farmhands. the bill being introduced is intended to fill a gap which would. in my opinion. still be left open even if all pending legislation were to be passed within the near future. The problems of the migrant worker follow him throughout the United States. The majority of the migrants winter in three States. Florida. Texas. and California. But during the spring. summer. and fall months they can be found in any State of the Union. The Florida migrant travels up the east coast to the peach. strawberry. bean. and other crops in Georgia and the Carolinas. then to the bean. potato. and tomato crops on the eastern shore of Virginia. Maryland. and Delaware. from there he moves northward into New Jersey. Pennsylvania. New York. Connecticut. and sometimes even to Maine to cultivate and harvest our fruits and vegetables. The Texas migrant might follow the cotton harvest northward through Oklahoma. Arkansas. and Missouri. or he might seek work in the sugar beet and vegetable fields of the Mountain. Great Plains. or Great Lakes States. Sometimes he heads to the Northwest. to the sugar beet fields of Idaho. and then into Oregon and Washington to harvest the hops. the peas. and the apples. The California migrant moves northward following the cotton. the tomato. the grape. and the peach and pear harvest work in California. and some then push on to Oregon and Washington to engage in the harvest of fruits and hops. In 1957 the widely separated States of Texas. with 79.000 employed migrants. Michigan. with 62.000. California. 60.000. New York. with 46.000. and Florida. with 24.000 led in the employment of migrant workers. The States of Oregon. Washington.