skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans reject spending bill under pressure from Trump and Musk; TX group works to give Latinos seat at table in fight against methane; Clean Trucks Campaign touts benefits of electric vehicles for PA; Child labor in agriculture is a growing concern in FL.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

House Republicans nix bipartisan budget agreement at President-elect Donald Trump is urging. Republicans breakdown priorities of Trump's first 100-day agenda and, the House Ethics Committee votes to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Farmworker Tribunal Sets Legislative Agenda from 'Bottom Up'

play audio
Play

Friday, March 15, 2019   

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Farmworkers will be in Olympia next week to discuss workplace conditions.

For the sixth year, laborers from across the state of Washington will deliver testimonies to tribunal judges in culturally appropriate ways - through stories and in the language they feel comfortable speaking. Their views on issues such as workplace retaliation and the heath risks of pesticide use are expected to be big topics.

Adrianne Sebastian, a naturopathic doctor and organizer with International Migrants Alliance, will be one of the judges. She said her role includes not only hearing about issues farmworkers face, but also finding solutions and making recommendations.

"How we can create a more equitable and sustainable, just food system," she said, "while also creating a platform to hear these community voices and the people most impacted."

The sixth annual Farmworker Tribunal will be held Monday, which also is Latino Legislative Day. It is to start at 4:30 p.m. in the Columbia Room of the Legislative building.

Some will be highlighting Senate Bill 5438, which would establish oversight of the federal H2A guest-worker program, which brings laborers in from other countries and has been criticized for exploiting those workers.

Rosalinda Guillen, executive director of Community to Community Development, one of the organizations hosting the tribunal, said headway is being made legislatively on issues raised by farmworkers in past tribunals. Guillen noted that this is a way for workers to set the agenda.

"Legislative agenda from the bottom up or from the grassroots up," she said. "What do we need to do, what do community leaders need to do, what do farmworkers themselves need to do in the coming years to reach the desired goals - for justice, for safety and health, and economic viability for the community?"

Nina Martinez, who chairs the board of the Latino Civic Alliance, another host of the tribunal, said farmworkers' concerns on the job are critical because of the vital role they play in Washington state's food system.

"Everyone that uses food or sells food - they have to remember where they're getting that from, and they're getting it from the worker," she said. "The worker is not getting treated well or paid well, and this is a problem for all Washingtonians."

More information on the tribunal is online at foodjustice.org, and the text of SB 5438 is at app.leg.wa.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
As of 2023, Wisconsin is home to over 450,000 small businesses, employing nearly 1 million people.
(Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As the new year quickly approaches, Wisconsin business owners and shoppers alike are bracing for the prospect of tariffs from a new administration …


Environment

play sound

Business leaders, clean transportation advocates and other experts say new technologies are helping to accelerate the transition to clean trucks and …

play sound

Groups that fight for environmental justice are praising the Biden administration's decision to grant California a waiver so it can implement clean-ca…


SNAP recipients currently receive as little as $23 per month to purchase food, and the average SNAP benefit is just $6 a day. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Congressional efforts to avoid a government shutdown would extend funding for SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps. And if the continuing …

Social Issues

play sound

By Dawn Attride for Sentient.Broadcast version by Trimmel Gomes for Florida News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaborati…

Agriculture contributes $42 billion to Oregon's economy each year, while the average farmworker earns less than $25,000 a year. (Alessandro Biascioli/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Construction will begin early next year on new affordable housing dedicated to low-income Oregon farmworkers. This project is the latest by the …

Social Issues

play sound

As Michiganders mail their Christmas cards and gifts, postal union members warn that proposed changes could slow mail delivery. The plan to cut costs …

Environment

play sound

Members of the environmental nonprofit Green Latinos are involved in a push to get more Latinos across Texas involved in the fight against methane gas…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021