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June and July have been an exceedingly busy time for the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) and its member organizations. As I type, the summer is already a third gone, and Congress and politicos, alike, have decamped to Cleveland, Ohio and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the political parties’ presidential nominating conventions, and the notorious heat and humidity of Washington, D.C. has settled in like a wet blanket. That hasn’t stopped the United States Department of Labor (DOL) from advancing its important work concerning the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP), one the department’s best performing grant programs that brings life-changing change for the better to the nation’s migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs). Daniel Sheehan, AFOP Executive Director (7/29)
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The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced the award of $81 million in grants through the National Farmworker Jobs Program to provide additional employment, training and housing assistance to migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families. Recipients include 63 organizations in 49 states and Puerto Rico. DOL Press Release (6/2)
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The U.S. Departments of Labor and Education recently made publicly available the final rules to implement the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity (WIOA) Act. The WIOA Final Rules include reforms that will affect more than a dozen programs receiving $10 billion in annual training and education funding and programs that serve approximately 20 million Americans each year. DOL Press Release (6/30)
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U
s part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s historic investments in the ApprenticeshipUSA initiative, the department’s Employment and Training Administration recently announced it is seeking to award three to five contracts to workforce intermediaries, including community-based organizations; labor organizations; or workforce, industry and education organizations to develop national or regional “opportunity partnerships. DOL Press Release (7/27)
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Three simple steps could mean the difference between life and death for workers when summer thunderstorms roll in. DOL Blog (6/2)
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The Obama Administration is announcing new actions to develop and expand ecosystems of high-quality IT talent in rural America.
DOL Blog (6/27)
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UMOS has successfully competed for and was awarded two grants: “Tech Hire” from the U.S. Department of Labor and “Transitional Jobs” from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF). UMOS Press Release (6/28)
Image: Lupe Martinez, President and Chief Executive Officer, UMOS (l) stands next to Tom Perez, Secretary USDOL (r) on a recent visit to Milwaukee.
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"The influx of temporary workers is so significant that 35 years ago Montana Rural Employment Opportunities, a statewide nonprofit that helps underemployed and unemployed farm workers, established a site at Finley Point with food, medical and education services during the roughly two-week season." Flathead Beacon (7/20)
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Gerline Paul, a Haitian-American farmworker living in Salisbury, Maryland joined Telamon Corporation’s National Farmworker Jobs Program after working in farmwork at Black Gold Potato Farm to support her young 18-month old daughter. She was very interested in gaining skills and family-sustaining wages in order to make a better life. Jennifer Pusey Shahan, Maryland State Director, Telamon Corporation (7/29)
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Summer is here, and so is the heat! Now that our commute is just a bit longer than before, please take in consideration the following tips to prevent suffering from heat stress or a heat-related illness. Melanie Forti, Director of Health & Safety Programs (7/29)
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AFOP's Children in the Fields Campaign has extended the deadline for its Farmworker Children's Essay and Art Contests to August 15. The theme selected for this year’s contests is Cultivating Roots of Opportunities and the contest flyer and guidelines have been posted in both English and Spanish on our website. Learn More...
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Washington, D.C. | September 20-22, 2016
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Farmworker activist Helen Chavez remembered. NBC News (6/7)
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AspenWSI released a new report on Accelerating Opportunity, an initiative that aims to help students with low basic skills earn occupational credentials, obtain well-paying jobs, and sustain rewarding careers. Implementation of Accelerating Opportunity is the latest of a series of evaluation reports on the Accelerating Opportunity initiative. Aspen Institute (6/30)
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Food Research & Action Center report, How Hungry is America?, shows the United States has made significant progress in addressing food hardship since the Great Recession, but still millions of Americans live in households that struggle to put food on the table.” Food Research & Action Center (6/30)
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The National Consumers League, co-chair of the CLC, has issued its annual update of its "Five Most Dangerous Jobs for Teens" National Consumers League (6/3)
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Today’s guest worker programs for both educated white collar workers and for agricultural workers are still rife with abuses. PRI's The World (6/2)
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The AFOP Washington Newsline (ISSN# 1056-8565) is produced by the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), a national federation of agencies serving migrant and seasonal farmworkers. AFOP’s mission is to improve the quality of life for migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families by providing advocacy for the member organizations that serve them.
The publication is funded by subscriptions and the members of AFOP. The Washington Newsline receives no financial support from the federal government. Staff may be reached by calling (202) 384-1754.
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