Rural Laws: October, 2002 - Number #11

Mattawa, Washington on the Columbia River has temporarily banned new tax-free housing projects because they increase demand for municipal services without contributing tax revenues. The apple industry has expanded along the river, and Mattawa's population of 3,200 doubles to 6,000 during the harvest peak- many of the workers have decided to stay year-round. The ban blocked a planned 45-unit farm worker apartment project for Mattawa.

Mario Villanueva, director of housing for Catholic Social Services, says "There's been a large settling out of the migrant worker population in Mattawa," and that 90 percent of those who settled would be eligible for subsidized housing on the basis that they earn at least 30 percent of their income from agriculture. In some cases, 16 to 18 men live in 8-foot-by-57-foot trailers, paying $350-a-month rent. The Grant County Housing Authority currently has three housing projects in Mattawa.

JoAnne Lindquist, who manages the Walla Walla Farm Labor Homes, a 128-unit complex, said in September 2002 that it had eight vacancies, which is unusual in peak season. Byron Magnaghi, manager of the Walla Walla Gardener's Association, an onion and asparagus packer, said no crops had been lost due to labor shortages.

Oregon. Some Oregon growers complained of labor shortages in summer 2002, even though strawberry acreage has declined sharply, from 17,500 acres in 1955 to 6,000 acres in 1995 to about 3,000 acres in 2002. Most caneberries, such as raspberries, are picked by machine.

The Fujii Farms' migrant worker camp in Troutdale, Oregon was the subject of complaints in August 2002. The camp, opened in 1978, has barrack beds for 31 workers and a second building for families, but some neighbors complain that 150 people live in the camp which, at 2511 S. Troutdale Road, may be the only migrant camp inside city limits. Fujii has 400 acres of berries, and since 1986, state inspectors have found 14 serious violations and 34 other violations at Fujii's camp in Troutdale. Fujii says the camp is better than the government camp to which his family was sent during World War II.

Cowboys. Cowboys first appeared in what became the US in the 1830s and 1840s, generally as Mexican vaqueros distinguished by their lassos, "superb horsemanship" and a costume cinched with a sash and topped with a flat-brimmed hat. Non-Mexican cattle handlers became known as "cowboys," and had a bad reputation in Texas, which they took with them on the cattle drives north. However, the cattle boom of the 1880s led to a "new class" of cowboy during the peak of open-range cattle grazing on public lands, which lasted until 1910.

The American fascination with cowboys was stoked by artist Frederic Remington, author Owen Wister, president Theodore Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill, all of whom "shared a sense of loss about the West." Wister created the "Virginian," a man of few words and fast action in the early 1900s, and fixed the image of the virtuous cowboy firmly in the American mindset.

Drought. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the summer of 2002 was the hottest since the 1930s Dust Bowl days. About 45 percent of the US experienced moderate to severe drought; the worst drought was in western Kansas and Nebraska. The US Senate approved $6 billion in emergency disaster aid for farmers and ranchers stricken by drought.

Colorado's San Luis Valley's potato harvest usually attracts hundreds of migrants from Texas and New Mexico. In Fall 2002, many of the migrants were reportedly sleeping in their cars, while the Tierra Nueva Apartments, with three dormitories with beds for 200 men, had empty beds. USDA charges rent that is 30 percent of earnings, and began to examine earnings over 52 weeks, not just the anticipated seasonal earnings in the San Luis Valley. Thus, for some workers, rent went from $20 a week to $65 to $80 a week, and some workers elected to sleep in their cars.

The Los Pobres Center for migrants in Avondale, Colorado reported that migrants earned $3 for hoeing a row of onions or melons, $2.25 a bag for picking chile peppers, and 65 to 85 cents for picking a large bag of onions.