True of False?

SCMEP Training on March 27, 2013

Today I attended our annual meeting/training session at the Department of Education in Columbia, SC. I just wanted to publish some of the info we received at this meeting.

First a True / False Quiz:

1. Undocumented children may, in some instances, be excluded from public school because of immigration status.

2. The U.S. Supreme has not directly ruled on the right of immigrant children to attend public school.

3. Schools can require that an enrolling child provide a social security number.

4. It is permissible to ask enrolling children or their parents for immigration papers.

5. It is permissible to require a birth certificate to be presented before admitting a child in school.








(Simply False)

Last Day of Farm Worker Awareness Week March 31

Farmworkers Deserve Equal Workplace Rights!

Sunday March 31

"Farmworkers do the difficult and debilitating work that brings food to our tables every day -- and they do it for poverty wages" (http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/ our-view/x290597523/Farmworkers-deserve-equal-job-treatment).

Farmworkers are some of our nation’s most vital workers, as their labor enables us to enjoy high quality, low-cost, fresh fruits and vegetables all year round. Despite farmworkers’ economic and cultural contributions to the communities where they live and work, they continue to be some of the lowest paid, least protected, and unhealthiest workers in the United States. However, together we can raise the living and working conditions farmworkers. All workers deserve dignity and equal treatment in the workplace and in society. Join the movement for justice in agriculture.

Click here to see a video about farmworkers' rights.

Take action in support of farmworker rights:

http://www.witnessforpeace.org/section.php?id=86
http://www.gainesvilleiaij.blogspot.com/p/farmworkers.html
http://www.ncchurches.org/2013/03/national-farmworker-awareness-week/
http://action.ncjustice.org/
http://farmworkerjustice.org/support-farmworker-justice

Farmworker Awareness Week March 30

The Cause


Saturday March 30

Latinos, the fastest growing minority, making up 16% of the nation's population, made their mark on election night [November 2012]. The number of registered Latinos has increased by 26% in the last four years to 12.2 million. (http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/politics/latino-vote-key-election).


United, our voice is powerful. Farmworker Awareness Week partner organizations, from non-profit to university-student organizations, have worked to elevate the livelihoods of farmworkers. We strive to educate farmworkers and our community through panels, booths, publications, art and demonstrations. Our programs offer health support to farmworkers in the field, and fight for their basic rights to water, shelter and a decent wage. Our supporters send letters to their legislators and big corporations to state our case and to petition for positive change. Our faculty and students educate themselves in the history and contemporary struggles of farmworkers and work to create solutions on campus and in the community. You may not think your vote or voice will count but with everyone working together, we will make a difference.


Click here to see a video about the cause.

Grab your megaphone and add your voice today. Take action for the cause for farmworker justice:

http://www.friendsfw.org/

http://www.elcentronc.org/index.html

Farmworker Awareness Week Friday March 29

 Awareness Week March 24-31, 2013

 Another challenge facing migrant farmworkers is . .

CHILDREN WORKING IN THE FIELDS

FRIDAY MARCH 29

“An estimated 33,000 children incur farm-related injuries each year in the U.S... Over 100 of these children die as a result of their injuries.” (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae168).

Farmworkers were excluded from child labor laws in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The FLSA sets 12 as the minimum age for farm work, not 16 as in other jobs. When we think of our children, we think of their innocence, their carefree nature and their potential to do amazing things. But for farmworker children, their innocence is torn from them by performing untrained, back-breaking work, receiving little to no heath care (90% have no health insurance). They are unable to answer the question as to why the other kids at school move upwards and onwards, while more than 50% of them are unable to even end the cycle of poverty in their own homes.

Click here to see two videos about children in the fields:
The Childhood We Deserve
Children Working in the Fields

Take action against child labor:
http://www.ncfan.org/child-labor/
http://www.thesame.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=60

Farmworker Awareness Week March 24-31, 2013

Another Concern Facing Migrant Workers is  . . . 

ACCESS TO EDUCATION

THURSDAY MARCH 28

“The median highest grade of school completed by farmworkers is sixth grade.” (http://saf-unite.org/content/united-states-farmworker-factsheet).

For most students, sixth grade is just the half-way mark, but for many farmworkers, this is the end of their education. Farmworker children are more likely than any other child to quit school even before high school graduation, not because they want to, but because they have to help support their family. They are not able to be rooted in one community and school system; they may attend up to three different schools in one year. For many children it takes roughly three years to advance one grade level. How can they get the education they need, not only for academic progression but even for knowledge of their basic rights?

Click here to see a video about access to education.

That is where you come in. Take action to ensure that all children can reach their full educational potential:
http://www.saf-unite.org/content/access-education
http://en.adelantenc.org/
http://elcambio.webs.com/takeaction.htm

Celebrate Farmworker Awareness Week March 24-31, 2013

Another Challenge Facing Migrant Workers is . . . 

A FOOD SYSTEM THAT IS CHEAP BUT IS BUILT ON THE BACKS OF THE POOR IS NOT MORAL AND IS NOT SUSTAINABLE

WEDNESDAY MARCH 27

"Migrant farm labor supports the United States’ $28 billion fruit and vegetable industries. Yet half of all farmworker families earn less than $11,000 per year.” (http://www.ncfh.org/docs/fs-Facts%20about%20Farmworkers.pdf).

Every day, we take the abundance and low-cost of our food supply for granted. Ironically, farmworkers, those whose lives are spent harvesting the fruits and vegetables we eat, can rarely afford to eat decently and healthily. Nearly 5 out of 10 farmworker households in NC cannot afford enough food to feed their families. As environmental and public health concerns related to food issues gain traction and the word “sustainable” is used more often, it is important to remember farmworkers as a critical piece of the equation. They deserve dignity, fair treatment, and access to the essentials we take for granted every day. Their efforts bring food to your table. Help us bring dignity to theirs.

Click here to see two video about our food systems:
Is Cheap Food Good Food? 
On the Backs of the Poor

Take action to support a more just food system:
http://www.urbannutrition.org/
http://www.justharvestusa.org/getinvolved.html

Farmworker Awareness Week March 26

Farmworker Awareness Week March 23-31, 2013

Another need for migrant workers  is  . . . 

WORKER UNITY
TUESDAY MARCH 26

“In 1966, Cesar Chavez and a group of strikers set out on a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento to draw attention to the plight of farm workers, and during this strike the union won its first contract.” (http://nfwm.org/campaigns/ufw/).

Since Chavez’s time, more and more farmworkers have begun to learn about and fight for their right to collective bargaining, safer working conditions, better wages, fair housing, and more access to health care. And yet hundreds more, if not thousands, are left vulnerable and exploited by the system that uses their labor, yet keeps them in poverty. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers do the important work that feeds America - the work upon which we all depend.  Today, many farmworkers are immigrants with language barriers, low education levels, and obstacles of immigration status. We must stand in unity with workers and support their right to self-determination and to a life with dignity.

Click here to see a video about Worker Unity.

Take action to support workers today:
http://act.aflcio.org/c/18/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=5796
http://act.aflcio.org/c/758/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=5757&tag=facebook
http://nfwm-yaya.org/take-action/
http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?b_code=take_action
http://www.floridafarmworkers.org/

 Farmworker Awareness Week March 24-31, 2013.

Another challenge facing migrant workers is . . . 

SEPARATION OF FAMILIES

MONDAY MARCH 25

“Most farmworkers are married and/or have children; yet almost six out of ten farmworkers live apart from their immediate family members.” (http://saf-unite.org/content/united-states-farmworker-factsheet).

Because agriculture is one of the most dangerous and lowest-paying occupations in the United States, the U.S. agricultural industry cannot recruit citizens to fill much-needed jobs. Rather than improve wages and conditions in the fields, the industry recruits workers abroad where there are more laborers, fewer jobs, and much lower wages. Workers are also lured to labor on United States farms by the promise of a better life for themselves or their children: the “American Dream.” Many people in developing countries face extreme poverty, lack of jobs, natural disasters, armed conflict, and civil unrest. As economic refugees, many immigrant farmworkers have made the difficult decision to leave their homes and families in search of new possibilities in the United States.

Click here to see a video about Separation of Families.

Take action to support migrant families:
http://www.migrantstudents.org/chavezchallenge2013.html

Farmworker Awareness Week March 24.

PESTICIDES, HEALTH and SAFETY
SUNDAY MARCH 24

“Each year, an estimated 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied to U.S. farms, forests, lawns and golf courses… Pesticide applicators, farmers and farm workers, and communities near farms are often most at risk.” (http://www.panna.org/issues/pesticides-101-primer).

Not only is pesticide use increasing in agricultural production, but so are associated illnesses and health issues, such as increased risk of certain cancers, birth defects, neurological diseases and learning disabilities. Farmworkers may face long hours of arduous work exposed to these dangerous pesticides and are often fearful to report pesticide exposure because of the threat of losing their jobs. Many are also denied proper protective gear and even the most basic of amenities such as clean drinking water and washing water. About 90% do not have access to necessary medical care and insurance.

The following 3 minute video introduces why all of us need to be concerned about the pesticide exposure:

http://vimeo.com/album/2310640/video/62262941

For more about Farmworker Awareness Week 2013 go to the following website:

http://saf-unite.org/farmworkerawareness

A Happy Birthday

 

On this beautiful day in March, the children in this camp gather as we help to celebrate an eighth birthday. She receives her new clothes and a pocketbook that comes with fabric markers. After cake and icecream, the birthday girl will spend the rest of her party carefully coloring in the fabric designs on her pocketbook.

Some migrant children live in the camps year round in Beaufort County. Some live under the same roof with both parents. More typically, the father travels to find farm work in other states, occasionally reuniting briefly between crops and travel. Quite often the women will find work cleaning or doing other odd jobs while their children attend the St. Helena Elementary School. Some women take turning taking care of the children while the other mothers work.

Although the first tomato crop will not be ready until the first week in June or so, many migrant workers are already here getting the fields ready for planting.

Today it's about cake, ice cream, and celebrating a special birthday of a little girl who loves going to school.