As chairman of the Senates Subcommittee on Migratory Labor for some 8 years196168I have witnessed firsthand the hardship and suffering of farmworkers and their families. During that period of my chairmanship I devoted a considerable effort toward accomplishing a single goalto arouse a nations conscience and focus its attention on the plight of those who were at the bottom rung of the countrys economic ladder. I. of course. was not alone in this fight to gain social dignity and economic selfsufficiency for the migrant laborer. I was joined by many of my colleagues. some of whom continue with me today in the forefront to achieve these illlsive goals. Many of our efforts in this area have been indeed noteworthy and successful. while others admittedly have been less so. I wish to point to two such endeavors which have. I believe. achieved a large measure of their purpose. The first is the Migrant Health Act of 1962. and the second is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1966. In both cases significant Federal resources have been directed to help remedy specific problem areas of migrant farmworkers and their families. During the early 1960s extensive hearings were held by the Migratory Labor Subcommittee on the emergence and evolution of the farm labor contractor to a position of prominence as the primary supplier of agricultural labor. Although the specific functions of the farm labor contractor. often called a crew leader or crew pusher. might vary from job to job. his role essentially remains the samea bridge between the operator and the worker.
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migrant Migrant