Speech #920125451

Mr. President. hood. migrant and seasonal farmworkers Short term solutions to everyday problems gathered in South Texas last week to of farmworkers seemed to be overshadowed discuss their problems and present be- by the reality that the desperate search for fore a panel the details of their plight work conducted yearly by the farmworkers and thei. recommendations to alleviate will become increasingly desperate and frustrating. and that fewer. rather than more. the conditions they face. "Opportunities for jobs. justice and dignity The hearings were significant not only exist for the farmworker. because it was the first attempt that I III. Legislative proposals were made by know of to call farmworkers from dif- most witnesses that varied from removing ferent areas of the Nation together. but existing barriers to full coverage under varialso because it was the first time that an ous social and worker benefit legislation effort was made by farmworkers them- (wages. workmens compensations and unemselves to establish their own agenda. for ployment compensation). to enforcing present laws and enacting new laws and proairing their own problems. on their own grams to provide economic opportunities to terms. farmworkers. An interim report was prepared by IV. The very serious problems of the workthe panel that heard the farmworker er. illegally in the U.S. from Mexico. and commuting green card holders must be met and solved. according to every witness who testified. Depressed wages for farmworkers and other workers prevail. union and community organizing efforts toward selfdetermination are made difficult if not impossible. and an attitude of dislike and an unfortunate setting of brother against brother to the detriment of those on both sides of the border and to the benefit of the farmer and other employers who exploit that labor. are all created by the prevailing situation. Legislation recommended by witnesses included shifting responsibility for hiring illegas to employers. with provision for criminal prosecution of employers. and that the border patrol should be sensitized to the bilingual. bicultura attributes of the border population.