Rural News: April, 2002 - Volume #8

RURAL AMERICA

SJV, Napa, San Diego: Housing
Overcrowding is usually considered an urban, not a rural problem.

Steinbeck at 100
John Steinbeck was born February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California.

Driver's Licenses, 245(i)
Since September 11, 2001, most states have made it harder for non-citizens to obtain driver's licenses.

Welfare, States
A higher percentage of immigrants than US-born residents receive cash welfare in the US

FARM WORKERS

Court: No Back Pay for Unauthorized
The US Supreme Court in March 2002 ruled that unauthorized workers who are wrongly fired for union organizing

California: Transportation
In August 1999, 13 farm workers died when the van in which they were riding crashed into a tomato truck.

UFW: Pensions, Chavez
The UFW, celebrating its 40th birthday in 2002, operates its own health care (Robert F Kennedy) and pension (Juan De La Cruz) programs.

Southeast
Activists associated with the Apopka-based Farmworkers Association of Florida are supporting legislation pending in the Florida Legislature

Northwest
Washington's Office of Community Development in 2000 and 2001 established tent camps that allowed farm workers to stay for up to 28 days.

MSFW Services
President Bush proposed to increase funding for Job Corps to $1.5 billion- Job Corps is a public-private partnership that provides job training for disadvantaged youth ages 16 to 24.

IMMIGRATION

New Guest Workers?
There are about 2.5 million workers employed sometime during the year on US farms.

Labor Supply, H-2A
There was much speculation about how many farm workers would be available in 2002.

Tyson: Sanctions, Safety
Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world's largest poultry processors, was indicted December 19, 2001

Mexico, Canada
Several Mexican state governments recruit workers for US employers who have been certified to have H-2A or H-2B workers admitted to the US, following the example of Zacatecas in 2000.

OTHER

California: $29 billion, 2000
California farm sales reached $29 billion in 2000, led by $3.4 billion in farm sales in Fresno County, $3.1 billion in Tulare, and $2.9 billion in Monterey county.

Subsidies, Trade
The US first made payments to farmers in 1933, in an effort to help struggling farmers deal with the Depression.

Brazil, UK, Israel
Brazil was the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery, in 1888, and forced labor for both blacks and whites continued throughout the 20th century in some rural areas.

Mechanization and Productivity
The story of US agriculture is a story of productivity growth; fewer workers producing more food and fiber from the same amount of land with more capital and other purchased inputs.