This ACTION ALERT is being sent to members of St. Martha's community and others who have requested Peace and Justice updates. Please remember that this information is educational and no one is expected to agree with everything forwarded. If you have received this in error, or you wish t o be unsubscribed from this list, please reply accordingly.
Hello Farmworker Advocates:
I write to you because you have indicated your concern about farmworkers in
Florida and your commitment to taking action on their behalf.
The Florida Catholic Conference, together with the United State Catholic
Conference of Bishops, is working for the passage of the Agricultural Job
Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2003 (AgJobs).
The AgJOBS bill would provide a one-time earned adjustment of status (i.e.,
legalization) for farmworkers. It would apply to people who can show they
were farmworkers before the bill's introduction and who work an additional #
of hours in agriculture over the next 3-6 years.
Some of the positive outcomes expected from this legislation are:
* greater personal security and dignity for farmworkers and more stability
in their lives and their children's lives;
* the opportunity to fully participate in the society to which farmworkers
already contribute their labor;
* greater economic security to Florida farmers (who would enjoy a more
stable workforce);
* greater national security (e.g., law enforcement is aided when people have
legal documents; border security improves when people can cross legally to
visit relatives in their home country, rather than contracting with
smugglers to go back and forth);
* reduced vulnerability to abuse and intimidation--which are serious
problems in Florida agriculture as have been widely reported in Florida
newspapers in recent months (Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post);
* some additional legal protections to "guestworkers" (people working in
agriculture on H2-A work visas).
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS (and solicit associates in your diocese/area to contact THEIR members of Congress) to urge their ACTIVE support for this legislation, so that it passes this spring.
Your email message or phone call doesn't have to be long. Just:
1. Ask for their ACTIVE support for HR 3142.
2) Point out, from your personal or professional experience, why
legalization is needed. Or, draw upon the talking points above, or, at:
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/asmg-04updates.htm#5 .
3) Highlight the urgency of not letting this measure fail (it's not often
that a bi-partisan compromise between major industry and farmworker
representatives is reached).
4) Ask for a response.
5) Send me a BCC on the message or a brief e-mail telling me who you've
phoned and any response you received.
IMPORTANT: Please use phone or e-mail to contact your member of Congress
(regular mail gets delayed because of security problems).
WHERE TO CALL/WRITE: To identify your congress member AND get their email address: simply go to: http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and type in your zip
code and it'll give you an email to fill out to your representative. For phone contact info., just look here:
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html
MESSAGE DETAILS:
The following members from Florida already support the bill, but it's
important to REINFORCE and strengthen their commitment so this bill doesn't
die. The message to these sponsors is: "thanks for supporting the bill.
Please keep up your efforts. Don't let it get watered down. Let your
colleagues and leaders know you favor doing everything possible to make sure
it passes this spring."
Allen Boyd (D)
Corrine Brown (D)
Jim Davis (D)
Adam H. Putnam (R)
Katherine Harris (R)
Mark Foley (R)
Kendrick Meek (D)
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R)
Robert Wexler (D)
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R)
Alcee E. Hastings (D)
Mario Diaz-Balart (R)
The following members from Florida are not yet sponsors and should be asked
to become supporters. If you are in their districts, please let them hear
from their constituents!
Peter Deutsch (D)
Jeff Miller (R)
Ander Crenshaw (R)
Virginia Brown-Waite (R)
Cliff Stearns (R)
John Mica (R)
Ric Keller (R)
Michael Bilirakis (R)
C.W. "Bill" Young (R)
Porter Goss (R)
Dave Weldon (R)
E. Clay Shaw (R)
Tom Feeney (R)
Please call or e-mail me if you have any questions or concerns. THANK YOU
for taking a few minutes to show your solidarity with farmworkers.
Nancy R. Powers
Consultant for Farmworker Affairs
Florida Catholic Conference
P. O. Box 1677 Tallahassee FL 32302-1677
850-222-3803 (o) 850-681-9548 (fax)
E-mail: npowers@flacathconf.org
www.flacathconf.org/Issuesinfo/Farmworkerhomepage.htm