indynewswire 8.29.08: Al Rojas on the state of Organizing in Agriculture

24 min. 18 seg. MP3, mono

"THE CONVENIENCE OF COMPLICITY” IN THE FIELDS OF DEATH
Numerous local Labor and Community Groups Protest "Worker Death in the Fields "
By Al Rojas

Many times in our lives we come to some point in
which our values and convictions are challenged and tested and in so doing we
hope that we have learned from our mistakes and from our experiences in the
decision's we make, but more importantly, the question that we ultimately need
to ask of ourselves es , is “Do we recognize our faults and accept our ultimate
responsibility for those decision's which will severely affect others,
especially when we have assumed that responsibility if in the end we become
"Complicit and a party in "Concert".

44 years ago I helped found the independent "United Farm Workers Union"
(UFW) (1966)and worked closely with the then National Farm
Workers Association (NFWA) founded by Cesar Chavez and
the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC AFL-CIO)
and others and ultimately after several years we managed to
merged the Labor organizations into one Union, for many of us this ment
investing numerous years in building the union for well over 20 years with
the union , we were determined to build a strong workers Union, that was led and
represented by the workers and would defend a workers right to
organize and now very disappointing for many of us to now
see United Farm Workers (UFW) Union take a complete turnaround as to
organizing workers and in being a strong presence and visible force in
the fields,

Most recently, we have openly criticized the
"Complicit relationship ”, of antiunion and antiimmigrant Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Arturo Rodriquez, President of the United Farm Workers Union,
Legislature and the Agricultural organizations , in which we
consider culpable and responsible for their support of Federal and State
legislative economic policies at both levels and for their continued support of
the Government policies that have led to the exploitation and the
forced "Expulsion" of millions of workers to this country in the last 14 years
because of their support and implementation of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ,the cause for the forced migration
and separation of millions of undocumented workers families and the UFW's
support for and the sponsorship of a Federal legislation for a "Guest
worker Bracero program",where the UFW in the last few years has
signed Labor agreements with the Federal HR1"Guest worker Farm Labor
Contractors",a captive workforce completly controled by the U.S. and the Mexican
government and Corporate employers,in turn neglecting in organizing workers
in general..

Schwarzenegger’s vocal statements have also
not helped with his anti-immigrant sentimen'st and antiunion positions
regarding labor rights for workers, his vocal statements of
racism against immigrant workers by encouraging the "Minutemen"
in legitimizing their campaign of fear and ha
te in denying immigrant
workers a right to work and State
and Federal benefits and services for their families.

In addition more importantly our
criticism of the United Farm Workers (UFW),for their failure to invest time and
money in “organizing and mobilizing” the Farm Worker communities
and being a visible presence in the Agricultural fields and by doing so the
Union would become a visible presence and force in the Agricultural fields,
further they would force the Agribusiness community to abide with the very laws
that they, the UFW and the California State legislature and the antiunion
Governor agreed to enforce in the protection of all workers, which in
the end only protected Employers rather than workers.

Which now brings us to the most recent tragic
death's of farm worker, Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, a 17 year old girl
(pregnant at the time) as a “Heat-related fatality”, “Maria” became an
“Occupational victim in violation of State regulations that were supported and
lobbied heavily by the UFW and ultimately signed by the Republican Governor into
law three (3) years ago.

In reading the News articles of the tragedy, we see
the pictures of “Maria’s friend's painful grief and their support for the
family's pain and anguish, I remember vividly those very same images in my
mind of the many times during the UFW strikes of 1973 and the k
illings of Farm
Workers during the strike activity, seeing the images of the UFW's “Black
and White” flags in mourning for people like “Maria”, is to me a flash back to
the past.

What’s very interesting is that “Schwarznegger and
Rodriguez” who backed Legislative the very rules to prevent Farm Worker
deaths, both walk into the church together (one would say that was a very good
gesture on part of the Governor) and "Rodriquez",president of the United farm
Workers Union, who conveniently stands alongside of the antiunion
Republican Governor.

When the Governor pays his condolences at Maria’s
Funeral, he makes a statement, released Wednesday afternoon, stating
“Marias death should have been prevented”. A very profound statement when both
men who were responsible for the very legislation that “Gov. Schwarzenegger”
signed and approved by the United Farm Workers Union, legislation which is
hampered by small fines and the lack workers death defined as on “the
job violations and punishable by long prison terms “, while relying less on
CALOSHA's “Voluntary industry cooperation", in the protection of Workers
from abusive working conditions, the fact is that the law failed to protect
“Maria’s death and the question now is why was this allowed to happen and why
after the fact are they doing everything they can to look at someone else other
than themselves,rather than Looking at why there are no real deterrents in
the law, in other words hear we are talking about a death (s) that was as
the Governor stated “Preventable” if in fact the law would have had
“Strict enforcement Liabilities as to heavier fines and Criminal
Prosecution and a required mandated Safety training "Employer Training
Certification" procedure, which was not the case with the law that the UFW
supported and the Governor ultimately signed, who in reality were
the parties that approved of and signed into law and yet no one sees the
“Complicity of the partnership ”, one wonders when the Governor
appears to pay his respects and condolences what he would say to
“Maria’s Fiancé, Florentino Bautista,”Florentino why did you not drive Maria to
the hospital ?" and “Florentino’s reply would have been, "because you denied my
having a drivers license! That's why!”and because you should have had your CALOSHA
and the Division of labor law Enforcement's field Division enforcing the laws, when all
along all you had was 17 inspectors to supervise and monitor the 1,400
subcontracting agencies, that you promised you would enforce and
protect us and you did nothing for Maria, Gracias de nada!!”

Note : According to a just-released report
by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the death rate
highest for Hispanic workers in the United States in the last decade and
a half has tracked higher than for any other ethnic group. And more recently,
California has experienced a significant percentage of these
fatalities. In an analysis of workplace fatality statistics from 1992-2006, CDC's Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) found that 11,303 Hispanic workers died from
work-related injuries during the 15-year period. MMWR says the death rate for
this group of workers decreased in rate over that time, but at 5.0 per 100,000
workers, was still "consistently higher" than the rate for all U.S. workers (4.0).

In the five-year period from 2003-2006, the highest number of Hispanic fatalities in
any state was in California, at 713, followed by Texas, at 687. The
California rate for that period was 3.7 and most common "fatal event" was a fall to a lower
level. The construction industry experienced the highest percentage of
fatalities, at 27%. Foreign-born Hispanic workers comprised 71% of the California Hispanic

workforce during that period. (Source CAL-OSHA)

The other question is why the UFW approved and supported a law that has no serious

consequences considered as “Willful Violations” of law with criminal prosecutions, is so

meaningless in the protections of workers that this tragedy points to some very serious

intentional flaws in the law, or that the law's real intentions were much more in protecting
the employer than the workers and not withstanding the Governors responsibility
in enforcement procedures, one can almost say that both the Governor and the UFW
and the Agribusiness community can and should be held responsible in “Marias”
death, the other big question is why has the UFW not openly and publicly
criticized Governor Schwarzenegger’s lack of enforcement ?,who dose the UFW blame ?


No sooner than after the UFW and the Governor appear at their funeral and he states that he

will conduct an “Investigation”, states that he is sorry that but he’s flying to meet with the

“Illegitimate President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon”, the very person responsible for
the “Expulsion of Millions of Mexican workers, question is why is he
meeting with “Calderon” ?, is very clear that they are partnering in the
continuation of the Export of $19.5 billion dollars in goods to Mexico and
in partnership with the UFW in the “Export of more Guest
workers”(Braceros”). Calderon’s Governments response regarding “Maria’s
death,was while standing alongside the California Governor , was that “even though
this death could have been prevented if the employers would have enforced the applicable laws",

as stated by the office of the Secretary of State for “Calderon’s” government,in other words

they did not care nos accept any responsibility for the Expulsion of millions Mexican workers”

and the only thing they cared about was that the Mexican workers continue to send
the $29.5 Billion dollars per year in Remittances to support thier families in Mexico and the

equivalent in taxes to the Federal IRS and State taxes paid to the State of California and the

Governor's failure to apologize to “Maria’s grandmother in Oaxaca, Mexico,


The Mexican Government made known that they had incurred all the costs of the transfer of

Maria’s remains to her home town of “Putla” Oaxaca and not the UFW.


The UFW has erred when chosen to organize Legislators rather than workers and in so doing
has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in organizing "Politicians"rather than workers, as

in the most recent example of " Fabian Nunez's introduction of more legislation that in the end

dose nothing in organizing workers in building a strong Union, the UFW needs
to go back to the fields and organizing workers at the grassroots, by allowing workers to take
control of their Union under their leadership and fighting for Union representation and stronger

union contracts with a stronger voice for the workers.


The UFW must breakaway from the close relationship they have established
with the Republican Antiunion Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the
Growers and go back to the very principals in the beginning as to why we founded
the United Farm Workers Union in the first place and organize workers and become a
real visible presence in the Fields and not be a party to token legislation
that only protects "Employers" rather than "Workers"and return to the very foundation as to

why we founded the Farm workers union and that was to build a strong Union for and by
the workers themselves.

Al Rojas.

Former UFW Founder and organizer
and Former State Deputy Labor
Commisioner

here's a foto of al rojas at the press conference covered elsewhere on indybay:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/24/18529502.php