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Wiping out farm worker program would hurt thousands of families
WASHINGTON--A Bush Administration proposal to wipe out the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) would mean lost job opportunities and lost family security for nearly 25,000 largely Hispanic families in the U.S. in the coming year alone, according to a warning from the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP). The group also cautioned that dismantling the program would leave farmers and agribusiness concerns nationwide with a less educated, less healthy and less reliable workforce.
NFJP is designed to provide non-farm job training and other assistance to improve the circumstances of the predominately Hispanic season and migrant farm workers, nearly all of whom live well below the federal poverty line while harvesting 85 percent of the fruits and vegetables that Americans consume.
AFOP noted that the Administration's recommended cuts are particularly difficult to understand in that the NFJP recently was recognized by its parent federal agency, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), as DOL's top-performing job training program. In a DOL report issued in January 2004, over 83 percent of eligible farmworkers who sought a job through training or placement got one through the NFJP--a key indicator of success that exceeded every other DOL job-training program. According to additional DOL data for fiscal years 2002-2003, 89 percent of all people leaving the NFJP program either found jobs outside of agriculture or received related assistance services to stabilize their agricultural employment.
"The plan by the Administration's Department of Labor to kill the National Farmworkers Job Program would be a major lose-lose situation for the United States," said AFOP Executive Director David Strauss. "Every year, this program helps thousands of Hispanic families people find their way out of the vicious and unrelenting poverty cycle of seasonal and migrant farm work and into good-paying jobs that pay benefits and allow for people to keep their families together and healthy. This also is a raw deal for farmers and agribusiness concerns nationwide who would pay the price in terms of a decline in the quality of workforce skills and stability of those workers."
According to AFOP, nationwide NFJP support--such as ESL training, work experience and vocational classroom training--helped 6,591 largely Hispanic farmworkers in the most recent year transition to full-time, non-seasonal, non-agriculture employment at an average end wage of $8.53. A total of 17,798 employed farmworkers--mostly migrants--received "related assistance" services (such as transportation, housing, nutrition, child care and emergency assistance) to stabilize their seasonal agricultural employment.
Strauss noted: "The Administration wants Congress to kill funding in 2005 for the National Farmworker Jobs Program, even though it is one of the outstanding success stories of the federal government. No other program nationally would carry out the unique mission of the National Farmworker Jobs Program in serving the predominantly Hispanic migrant workers who handpick nearly all of the fruits and vegetables that Americans eat."
The NFJP overcomes substantial barriers to make trainees the successes they are. By definition, all of those in the program have family incomes below the federal poverty level. Half (49 percent) of those served by NFJP are migrant farmworkers and about the same proportion (51 percent) are seasonal farmworkers. Four out of five are of Hispanic origin, with a substantial share speaking little or no English (In fact, more than half--56 percent--of all those in the Program have limited English proficiency). Nearly three in four (73 percent) are high school dropouts.
Examples of the NFJP program at work include the following case studies:
--Roberto Lopez, Pennsylvania. A Mexican, Roberto moved to the United States in search of a better future. However, he was unable to find a job because of his lack of English language skills. Roberto moved to Pennsylvania, where friends offered him a job in the mushrooms fields. He worked an average of 14 hours a day but still earned only $180 per week. Trying to survive on this small amount each month, Roberto fell behind on the family utility bills and rent. As a result, it seemed certain that the Lopez family would soon lose their apartment and be evicted. Roberto then sought help from the Rural Opportunities, a local NFJP program. He was enrolled in the training and employment program. Funds were arranged to cover the families rent in full. Roberto also entered into an on-the-job training program at a local plant. He finished his four weeks of training successfully and then was hired as a production line worker earning $8.60 per hour.
--Oziel Moreno, Ohio. Oziel decided to move to Texas to live with a relative in Ohio. He wanted to find a full-time job that would allow him to improve his standard of living. Oziel found a NFJP training flyer and eventually was situated in a full-time job. The local NFJP program helped Oziel buy some of the supplies needed for his new job. He also was assisted in getting into a local college to pursue further studies. As a result, Oziel now has his own job, is in school and lives in an apartment. Recently, he received a raise in his pay to $14.00 an hour.
--Ivan Guadarrama, Virginia. Ivan's mother works hard and long hours to be able to provide her kids with the necessities of life, but can't always provide the "wants." Ivan was a young boy when his mother brought the family from Mexico to California, where she picked oranges and tangerines. About five years ago, the Guadarrama family moved from California to Virginia to start over. Ivan is the only male in the family. He is son, brother and protector for his mother and sister. Ivan also wanted to pay his own way. He wanted things that his mother was not able to provide. So, he worked. As a teenager, Ivan strived to be successful in school to make his mother proud and to become somebody in life. With help from NFJP, Ivan has managed to stay in school. He even has attended "college for a weekend" sessions at Liberty College and the University of Virginia. Ivan now is looking at going to college on a full-time basis.
In his comments today, Strauss pointed out there appears to be broad-based and bipartisan support for continuing the National Farmworkers Job Program. Last year, despite the Administrationâs first attempt to end the program, Congress appropriated $76.7 million for the NFJP on a strong bipartisan basis. Farmworkers, unions, Latino organizations and faith-based groups convinced Republican and Democratic members of Congress that a national program best meets migrant farmworkersâ needs and that it is unfair to expect Governors to serve people that may work briefly in their states.
To see a related AFOP fact sheet, "From Hero to Zeroed: The Case Against Dismantling the National Farmworkers Job Program," go to http://www.afop.org.
Date: 5/11/04
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