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Sky-High NFJP Performance Remains Key
Daniel Sheehan, AFOP Executive Director
March 13, 2023
Control of Congress is once again split between the two major political parties. Following November’s federal elections, the Senate (and the White House) remain in Democratic hands, while the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives is setting its own legislative agenda. Thankfully, grantees of the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) know the drill; they’ve have been here before. They have seen how divided government functions and know that the only way to protect the vital NFJP – and the farmworkers it serves – is to continue to deliver the very best program possible for the federal government.
While compromise between lawmakers would normally be the order of the day under these conditions, the recently energized right of the House Republican conference is insisting on deep cuts to federal spending and demanding that the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-California), not waver in securing them. Speaker McCarthy has a problem, though: Senate Democrats and President Biden want no part of such drastic reductions in federal spending. To overcome that opposition, some House Republicans think the House should play hardball by threatening to block critical must-pass legislation until those cuts are secured; namely, an increase in the statutory debt ceiling and passage of the yearly spending bills funding the government.
First, a little background on the debt ceiling. The ceiling as we know it – a cap on all previously enacted federal debt (and not on new spending) – was first put into effect in the aftermath of the Second World War. For decades, Congress routinely raised the debt ceiling in bipartisan fashion without conditions or additional spending cuts. Why? Because failing to do so would cause the government to default, spurring a cascade of financial ruin across the globe. That all changed, though, in 1995 when the House with then-Representative Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) as its speaker, insisted on deep spending cuts as a condition of a debt-limit increase. While that effort did not ultimately succeed, another attempt to exact spending cuts, this time in 2011, secured the Obama administration’s backing on spending caps that restricted both defense and non-defense spending for ten years, without allowing for any adjustments for inflation or population growth. Budget experts roundly say that this agreement, the so-called Budget Control Act of 2011, is the worst piece of budget legislation ever passed by Congress.
What lies ahead, we do not know. Will House Republicans engage in a high-stakes game of chicken over the debt limit, putting the full faith and credit of the United States at risk? The White House has said it will not negotiate over raising the debt limit. Will the president hold to that position? Will the business community lean on their Republican allies in Congress to lift the cap and then fight later for spending cuts through the yearly appropriations process? That is entirely possible: The respected Bipartisan Policy Center estimates that the 2011 debt-limit crisis raised borrowing costs for the federal government by $18.9 billion over ten years. Nearly $19 billion wasted, funding that could have gone to worthy programs or, in painful irony, reducing the national debt.
To be ahead of these coming challenges, AFOP has already requested of lawmakers $114.6 million for NFJP in fiscal year 2024 appropriations, continuation of the 150-percent low-income definition, and authority for DOL to begin processing grant plans beginning April 1. In doing so, AFOP has made clear NFJP’s excellent service over these last many years and stressed that so much more still needs to be done to help agricultural workers. NFJP grantees’ sky-high performance was key, is key, and will always be key to retaining and expanding our worthy program in the years ahead. My hat is off to all the grantees and their fantastic team members, who, day in and day out, rise to meet the challenge of helping our fellow humans, our farmworkers, realize their dreams of stability and a better life. I congratulate you all.
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Inside the U.S. Department of Labor
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President Biden Nominates Julie Su for Secretary of the Department of Labor
Daniel Sheehan, AFOP Executive Director
February 28, 2023
President Biden has nominated Deputy Secretary Julie Su to serve as the nation’s next Labor secretary. You may recall that Secretary Su addressed, albeit remotely, the AFOP 2022 leadership conference. In her address, she talked about her work for farmworkers and of her concern about how they are treated under the law and pledged that the Biden Administration and its DOL are in our corner. Before coming to DOL, she served as secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. She was previously a highly respected lawyer and is seen as a defender of workers' rights and civil rights, and someone who works tirelessly on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged.
In late February, AFOP signed onto a joint letter to President Biden urging him to nominate Secretary Su. The next step is Senate consideration of the nomination.
Click here to read the letter
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Before leaving the U.S. Department of Labor to take on his new job as Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association, Secretary Marty Walsh took a moment to reflect on what the job meant to him, to his fellow Americans, and to the world. Click the video to watch.
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Labor, Health Agencies Launch Taskforce to Tackle Child Labor
Bloomberg Law
February 27, 2023
Leaders of the US departments of Labor and Health and Human Services announced late February they are taking new steps to address exploitative child labor practices, including forming an inter-agency taskforce on “Child Labor Exploitation” and launching a national strategic enforcement initiative from the Wage and Hour Division.
As part of that effort, senior administration officials said during a press call that the DOL would be “applying further scrutiny to companies who conduct business with employers and staffing agencies that use illegal child labor.” The DOL is investigating over 600 child labor cases, according to Biden officials.
The administration is also asking Congress to increase funding for the enforcement effort and pass legislation to increase civil monetary penalty amounts for child labor violations.
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H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) Rule Finalized
Farmworker Justice
March 1, 2023
Farmworker Justice reports that DOL has issued a final rule on the methodology for the H-2A program’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). The rule maintains the existing AEWR wage methodology for the vast majority of H-2A positions, but it adds a new methodology to protect wages for certain occupations that do not fall within the usual field and livestock job categories. This rule replaces a 2020 Trump Administration rule that was enjoined and ultimately vacated after the UFW and UFW Foundation, represented by Farmworker Justice and WilmerHale, sued to stop the harms it would have caused to farmworker wages.
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WIOA Participation, Performance Numbers Bounce in PY21
Employment & Training Reporter
February 13, 2023
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program participation increased slightly in Program Year 2021, and performance levels rose across most measures for most programs. Results from the program year suggest that a longer-term decline in job-seeker participation in the public workforce development system may have abated. Participant exits recorded for the program year surged, showing a strong reverse of year-upon-year declines. This is according to national level data that was released by the Employment and Training Administration on January 31.
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U.S. Business Owners Pay Premium to Hire Migrant Workers in Extremely Tight Labor Market
Wall Street Journal
February 7, 2023
Migrants who come to the U.S. to find work are now being hired more quickly, at higher pay, and under better working conditions than at any time in recent memory. In many cases, employers and economists say, migrant workers are being paid as well as their American counterparts.
Job vacancies in the U.S. increased to 11 million at the end of December, according to the Labor Department. While the tightness appears to be easing in the white-collar job market, employers say finding hourly wage workers remains a challenge. Unemployment hit 3.4% in January, the lowest rate in 53 years. Many small businesses say they are unable to hire enough native-born and naturalized workers and are paying a premium for migrant workers.
It’s another aspect of the hot labor market that is pushing up wages and prices for consumers, keeping pressure on the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates to fight inflation.
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“Employer Engagement Program” to Serve Asylees and Refugees
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
March 8, 2023
The Administration of Children and Families (ACF) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is soliciting applications for the Employer Engagement Program. This grant program will support employer engagement in the integration and self-sufficiency of refugees and other related populations.
Public and nonprofit agencies are eligible to apply. ACF has $8 million available for this program. Applicants may request awards ranging from $250,000 to $350,000, to cover 12-month budget periods. Projects may be continued for up to three years. Applications are due May 8.
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Will You Be Joining our National Long-Sleeve Shirt Drive?
Melanie Forti, AFOP Health & Safety Programs Director
March 14, 2023
The entire nation will once again celebrate National Farmworker Awareness Week. Over the period of March 25-31, many advocates, individuals, and groups will honor farmworkers and highlight their contributions to society through various events and community efforts.
Since 2014, AFOP’s Health & Safety Programs has held its National Long-Sleeve Shirt Drive to raise awareness among farmworkers about the devastating health effects of pesticides and heat exposure. In that time, AFOP has partnered with over 500 groups, organizations, and individuals to collect over 93,000 long-sleeve shirts. This year, more than 75 organizations, groups, and individuals have come together to collect long-sleeve shirts at over 150 drop-off locations nationwide. The list of drop-off locations can be found on our website: https://afop.org/nfaw.
Are you interested but haven’t joined the effort? No worries! If you are interested in joining the drive, we have developed a complete toolkit with customizable flyers and social media posts. Our own communications specialist, Laura Najarro, can walk you through the process. We even have a recorded 30-minute guided webinar to help you navigate the toolkit and organize a drive in your community.
What do we do with the long-sleeve shirts collected? Good question! The shirts are distributed to farmworkers at varying activities, like pesticide safety instruction, heat stress prevention trainings, community fairs, and direct services, among many other events. Those individuals or groups who collect shirts but don’t serve the farmworker community directly can drop shirts off with an organization that does. If you are interested in being part of this effort, please call or email Melanie Forti as soon as possible at 202-684-1380 or forti@afop.org. We look forward to working with you.
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Sponsors Needed for the Migrant & Seasonal Farmworker Children Art & Essay Contest
Melanie Forti, CIFC Director
March 14, 2023
How many of you have gotten the chance to watch AFOP Children in the Fields (CIFC) contest winners tell their stories in the national spotlight? If not, you will find that it is one of the most moving experiences you will ever know. In telling their stories, these amazing young people describe not only the challenges farmworker children face, but also show their tireless commitment to forging success in life.
If AFOP is to continue this contest for farmworker children, it really needs your help. That's why CIFC is seeking sponsors for the 2023 Migrant & Seasonal Farmworker Children Art & Essay Contest! We believe farmworker children have a story to tell. We offer them a safe platform to do so through the annual Art & Essay Contest. The stories allow us to continue advocating on behalf of all farmworker children in the U.S. Please consider support this worthy opportunity.
WHY SHOULD I SUPPORT THE CONTEST?
- It empowers farmworker children to find their voice.
- It offers a safe platform to showcase their compelling stories.
- It provides the opportunity to win a scholarship.
- It allows AFOP to continue fighting for equal rights for all farmworker children.
HOW CAN I SPONSOR THE CONTEST?
Choose a sponsorship tier that best fits you or your organization. Then, make a check to AFOP for the amount you can donate. Don’t forget to write “CIFC Contest” in the Memo section! Mail the check and send your organization’s logo via email in a JPEG or PNG format to receive proper credit.
Sponsorship Tiers: Please make any donation/contribution by March 31st.
- PLATINUM SPONSOR: $4,000 exclusively sponsors one winner and their chaperone
- GOLD SPONSOR: $2,000 towards CIFC contest winners’ prizes & travel
- SILVER SPONSOR: $1,000 towards CIFC contest winners’ prizes & travel
- BRONZE SPONSOR: $500 towards CIFC contest winners’ prizes & travel
- DONOR: Any donation towards CIFC contest winners’ prizes & travel
WHEN WILL THE CONTEST BE ANNOUNCED?
The 2023 contest and theme will be opened and announced on April 3, 2023. Please follow us on social media to stay up-to-date with the announcements. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as @cifcampaign.
If you would like to sponsor, please:
- Send check with attention to Melanie Forti at 1150 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 315, Washington, DC 20036.
- Send logos to forti@afop.org.
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The 2023 AFOP Leadership Conference was a big success!
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After the Board meeting, Directors gathered for a group photo & some selfies. Clockwise from top: The AFOP Board of Directors | Proteus Directors Jody Stutzman and Randall Collins with MET Director Cynthia Verdeja | MET Directors Victor Cabrera, Enrique Montalvo, Cynthia Verdeja, Frailan Sendejo, and Kandace Bowman
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Members of the UMOS Labor Trafficking Multi-Disciplinary Team, with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul
UMOS & Partners Awarded $5.1M Anti-Human Trafficking Grant
UMOS Press Release
February 24, 2023
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, one of the largest privately owned foundations in the country, has awarded UMOS and its Wisconsin Labor Trafficking Project partners a $5.1 million anti-human trafficking grant to be administered statewide. Says Lupe Martinez, UMOS president and chief executive officer, “We are grateful to the Howard G. Buffett Foundation for its commitment to supporting the anti-human trafficking efforts of the UMOS Latina Resource Center, and our partners, to eradicate this most heinous crime.”
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Victor Reynaga and Patricia Mendoza stand outside of the Central Valley Opportunity Center, which distributed $600 COVID-relief payments to each of them for their time as farmworkers.
Credit: Adam Echelman, Modesto Bee
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Agencies Flooded with Requests for Farmworker Relief Payments
The Modesto Bee
February 22, 2023
Almost three years after the pandemic began, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to say thank you through a $665 million grant known as the Farm and Food Worker Relief Program (FFWA). The grant aims to serve over 1 million workers nationally, according to a USDA spokesperson.
Waitlists already are long. CVOC Executive Director Jorge De Nava said his organization has enough money to give out $600 to 1,300 people, the equivalent of $780,000. “That sounds like a lot of money to some people, but it’s not. ... It already is going very fast,” he said. CVOC already has over 1,000 people on its waitlist.
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But for certain farmworkers, it’s the training opportunities offered by CVOC — not the $600 payments — that made the greatest difference.
Last year, Victor Reynaga and Patricia Mendoza both independently decided to leave farm and food work and pursue other jobs in the hopes of attaining better pay and less grueling work. Reynaga took classes to obtain a truck driver’s license and has left farmwork altogether. Mendoza is finishing a 19-week course that will prepare her to become an office receptionist.
“These payments are great. They’ve helped a lot of people, but CVOC is like 10 times more help,” Reynaga said in Spanish. “Money, it comes and it’s gone, but education, that sticks around.”
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AFOP Members Participate in Educational Meetings on the Hill
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California Human Development’s Mary Potts and Delia Cardenas pose in front of the U.S. Capitol building.
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PathStone representatives meet with Marcy Kaptur, Congresswoman for Ohio’s Ninth District.
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Representatives from the Center for Employment Training (CET) meet with Jimmy Panetta, Congressman for California's 19th District.
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Farmworker Career Development Program, Florida Department of Ed
October 6, 2022
When Herlinda moved back to Florida to be with her family, she took a job in the same nursery as her parents as she pondered her next career move.
Co-workers encouraged Herlinda not to delay her dreams, that she should use her artistic talent and turn it into a career. So, Herlinda enrolled in the Farmworker Career Development Program (FCDP) – the National Farmworker Jobs Program in the state of Florida - to become a facial and nail technician.
Thanks to FCDP, Herlinda is now fully licensed and living her dream. She says she is forever grateful to the program and to her case manager, Ana Maria, who “assisted me with everything I needed [to] be successful in my career field.” Emphasizing the importance of NFJP, Herlinda said, “I would not have been able to be a State of Florida licensed Full Specialist if it weren't for this program.”
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The Proteus, Inc., NFJP team in Indiana
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Proteus, Inc.
Dana Cowsert, Senior Career Coach, Proteus
Connor grew up around horses and trained horses for barrel riding, and he and his family also competed in barrel racing. However, Connor saw a need to upskill in his daily work with horses. When he contacted Proteus and was found eligible for NFJP, he enrolled in the toughest course to gain the most skills possible. After 36 weeks of training and hard work, Connor became a Master Farrier. His teacher recognized him as a stellar student, and Connor even had 70 horses on the books one week after finishing school.
Indiana Regional Director Randall Collins commended Dana and the rest of his staff for coaching clients like Connor. Says Randall, “I have a phenomenal team in Indiana, and they know how to serve others in challenging times.”
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In an Op-Ed for The Hill, Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher Margaret Wurth urged Deputy Secretary Julie Su, now the nominee for Labor Secretary, to “act quickly to initiate new regulations to update the hazardous work list. The health and safety of child farmworkers have been overlooked for far too long.” Wurth described the conditions child farmworkers work in as “harsh and terrifying.”
Despite the advocacy of many child labor groups, former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh did not take up regulatory action for hazardous occupations during his tenure.
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Anti-child labor bill S.637 now has ten Senate co-sponsors. Introduced by Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) on March 2nd, S.637 would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to apply child labor laws to independent contractors, increase penalties for child labor law violations, and more. It has quickly gained traction on Capitol Hill after many egregious cases of child labor were uncovered at multiple meatpacking plants in February.
The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) helped advise Senator Schatz’s office on fine levels and is working with the offices of Rep. Kildee (D-MI) and Rep. Scholten (D-MI) on a similar bill in the House. AFOP is a long-time member of the CLC through its Children in the Fields Campaign (CIFC).
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Senator Cory Booker Reintroduces the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA)
Pesticide Action Network: North America
February 23, 2023
The Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA) was re-introduced in the Senate by Senator Cory Booker on February 6 and is due to be reintroduced in the House mid-March. This bill would overhaul U.S. pesticide regulations, ultimately mandating new rules to protect people and the environment.
The proposed bill provides significant protections for communities that bear the brunt of pesticide exposure, prohibits the use of old stockpiles of banned pesticides, and requires the listing of inert ingredients on all pesticide products, which are often as dangerous as the active ingredients.
The full text of the bill can be found here
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DOL’s Wage Arm Vows Child Labor Focus Despite No Rule Changes
The Child Labor Coalition (CLC)
Reid Maki, CLC Coordinator
January 25, 2023
Despite the four meetings Human Rights Watch, Justice for Migrant Woman and other farmworker advocates have had with them over the last year, USDOL Wage and Hour officials have not yet added banning child labor in tobacco or revising the Hazardous Occupations Orders (safety rules for kids who work in agriculture that have not been significantly updated in four decades) to its regulatory agenda. Wage and Hour is saying that no decision has been made.
Story by Bloomberg
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Child Labor Violations Continue
Melanie Forti, CIFC Director
March 14, 2023
The New York Times recently exposed the story of child labor violations in Nebraska. Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. – a company responsible for cleaning meatpacking plants across the country – paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for making children as young as 13 work in dangerous conditions. Packers was also fined $333,036 for employing children at a JBS plant in Worthington, Minnesota, and $393,588 for employing children at a Cargill plant in Dodge City, Kansas.
Children between 13 to 17 years old spent overnight shifts cleaning equipment such as head splitters, back saws and brisket saws, and were exposed to dangerous chemicals such as ammonia. The risks inside meatpacking plants also include diseases from exposure to feces and blood, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Three children out of at least 102 kids sustained injuries while working for Packers Sanitation Services, based in Kieler, Wisconsin.
Why did it get such big coverage? The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) establishes an 18-year minimum age for those non-agricultural occupations that the Secretary of Labor finds and declares to be particularly hazardous for 16- and 17-year-old minors, or detrimental to their health or well-being. The number of children working in violation of child labor laws has been increasing since 2018 (with the exception of 2021 during the pandemic), according to Department of Labor data. Last year, the data showed 835 child labor violation cases involving 3,876 children.
AFOP Health & Safety is working with the Univision producer of the show Aquí y Ahora to expose similar stories related to child labor violations in agriculture. If you happen to know a family that is willing to come forward to talk about its experience in an anonymous format, please contact Melanie Forti at forti@afop.org.
Stories like this regrettably happen every day in the agricultural industry. Sadly, AFOP’s CIFC has seen children as young as 4 and 5 years old helping their parents harvest produce. This needs to stop. Child labor laws must be stricter and be enforced, while wages and benefits must increase for farmworker parents. Without those changes, we will never see sustained progress in curbing this terrible practice.
In the meantime, CIFC will continue to raise awareness, expose stories from the fields, and provide a safe platform for farmworker children to tell their story.
Read the New York Times article here
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Call It ‘Slavery.’ Call It ‘Forced Labor.’ A Florida Man Did It to People Who Pick Melons
Orlando Sentinel
February 18, 2023
If you bought melons sold at Kroger, Schnucks, Walmart, its big box club offspring, Sam’s Club, or other chains, that fruit might have reached your table via victims of federal and slavery law violations.
Bladimir Moreno, who runs Los Villatoros Harvesting, violated federal and slavery laws in getting H-2A workers from Mexico to the United States, then abusing them once they were here. He admits this in his guilty plea in Tampa federal court to conspiracy to commit forced labor, saying that he controlled the workers by withholding their passports, withholding their pay, and threatening to call the police, among other violations.
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Department of Homeland Security to Propose New H-2A Regulations
Farmworker Justice
February 18, 2023
The H-2A visa program could be getting an overhaul. According to some media reports, the rule would allow guestworkers to pursue existing permanent immigration avenues (i.e. green cards) without abandoning their H-2 visa. If true, and if implemented, such changes could mean that NFJP would be permitted to serve those H-2A workers who receive work authorization.
DHS did not comment on the proposed rule, which has not yet been published. Any rule changes would have to go through a public commenting period and, if approved, would take months or years to take effect.
Story by Fox News
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New Farmworker Data Dashboard Available
National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH)
March 3, 2023
On March 7th, AFOP members were notified of the opportunity to sign up for access to the Farm Labor Data Dashboard. The Farm Labor Data Dashboard was developed by NCFH to centralize nationally available data related to farmworkers in the U.S. The dashboard is an interactive, web-based tool that integrates data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and others to gain an understanding of the national landscape of farm labor.
Learn more about the dashboard here
Request access to the NCFH farm labor data dashboard here
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What Layoffs? Many Employers Are Eager to Hang on to Workers
New York Times
February 26, 2023
Despite a year of aggressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve aimed at taming inflation, and signs that the red-hot labor market is cooling off, most companies have not taken the step of cutting jobs. Outside of some high-profile companies mostly in the tech sector, such as Google’s parent Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft, layoffs in the economy as a whole remain remarkably, even historically, rare.
There were fewer layoffs in December than in any month during the two decades before the pandemic, government data show. Filings for unemployment insurance have barely increased. And the unemployment rate, at 3.4 percent, is the lowest since 1969.
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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 promoting self-sufficiency through employment and training opportunities, educational attainment, and health and safety.
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) 963-3200.
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