AgJOBS Update and Action Alert: Thursday, July 8, 2004 9:50 am EDT
Today, contact the White House as early as possible.
There is a procedural deadlock in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Frist is not permitting
AgJOBS to be debated. Senator Larry Craig (R.-Idaho), Sen. Edward Kennedy (D.-Mass.)
and others have stated publicly that they want the opportunity to offer AgJOBS as an
amendment to the class action bill (S.2062) that the Senate is now considering. Some
conservative Republicans do not want AgJOBS debated. We believe that President Bush
can end the deadlock; he might even be a cause of the deadlock. President Bush must
hear from us.
Please call and fax the White House. The White House telephone comment line is 202-456-1111.
Please say something like: Please tell the President to strongly support the "AgJOBS" farmworker
immigration amendment to the Senate class action bill, S.2062."
The White House FAX number is 202-456-2461. BELOW IS A SAMPLE LETTER you can sign
and fax. As soon as possible today.
It would also be great if you would fax a copy of your fax to your Senators. The fax numbers for
each Senator are available at our website by clicking here
http://www.fwjustice.org/IMAGES/AgJOBS/Senatefaxlist.doc or by going to our website,
www.fwjustice.org, and then clicking on legislative news, then "call to action."
Thank you, thank you and sorry for the duplicate emails.
Bruce Goldstein
Co-Executive Director
Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.
1010 Vermont Ave., NW, Ste. 915
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-783-2628 fax: 783-2561
www.fwjustice.org
July 8, 2004
President George Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Re: Urgent: Class Action Bill and AgJOBS Farmworker Immigration Amendment
Dear President Bush:
Please immediately inform the Senate that you strongly support holding a vote on Senator Larry Craig's amendment on farmworker immigration during the consideration of the class action bill, S. 2062, this week. The farmworker immigration amendment is based on the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2003, also known as "AgJOBS," S.1645. Please tell Majority Leader Frist that you would like an up-or-down vote on the AgJOBS amendment this week as part of the debate on the class action bill.
. The AgJOBS amendment by Senator Craig and Senator Kennedy is a
compromise
between farmworker organizations, labor unions, agricultural employers, immigrant groups and others. It is endorsed by major agribusiness groups, farm labor organizations, Hispanic civil rights organizations like the National Council of La Raza, and many others.
. The bill would give agricultural employers a stable labor supply
by giving
many agricultural workers who lack authorized immigration status the chance to become legal immigrants. The majority of farmworkers now are undocumented. Under this earned adjustment program, workers will have to demonstrate that they have been working in the U.S. and must work three to six additional years in agriculture in the U.S. to gain permanent immigration status.
. It also will revise the H-2A agricultural guestworker program,
including
by converting it from a labor certification program to a labor attestation program with less paperwork for employers, modeled after the H-1B program. Important safeguards for labor will continue.
. It will promote homeland security by helping our government
identify who
is inside the U.S.
This compromise was carefully drafted after arduous negotiations over every word that took hundreds of hours after years of confrontations in Congress. The delicate compromise, based on painful concessions on all sides of the debate, should be supported.
We know that the Senate will pass it if you support AgJOBS.
Sincerely,
_______________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Goldstein [mailto:bgoldstein@nclr.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 8:48 AM
Subject: AgJOBS Urgent Action Alert TODAY July 7
Urgent: AgJOBS Update Urgent: Action Needed Today
Senator Craig may offer AgJOBS as an amendment on the class action bill TODAY.
We need help re-contacting Senators. The list of the most important Senators to
contact is below, but please contact your Senators even if they are not on the list. We
expect an onslaught of anti-immigrant faxes to Congress today. We need to
demonstrate that AgJOBS has many supporters who care.
The message is: Please support the Craig-Kennedy AgJOBS amendment regarding
farmworker immigration if it is proposed as part of the class action bill. Please reject any
second-degree amendments to AgJOBS unless they are agreed to by Senators Craig
and Kennedy. This is an important piece of legislation for farmworkers as well as for
agricultural emplyers and it is based on complex, highly detailed negotiations after years
of conflict. The status quo in the agricultural labor force is untenable, with 55% to 70%
of farmworkers being undocumented. AgJOBS is a sensible solution that carefully
balances many competing interests. Thank you.
Please fax your letter. The fax numbers for each Senator are available at our website by
clicking here http://www.fwjustice.org/IMAGES/AgJOBS/Senatefaxlist.doc or by going
to our website, www.fwjustice.org, and then clicking on legislative news, then "call to action."
We especially would like help maintaining the support of the following
Senators:
Baucus
Bayh
Carper
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kohl
Landrieu
Lieberman
Lincoln
Zell Miller
Ben Nelson
Schumer
Thanks very, very much. Si se puede, but it is going to take a lot of work.
Bruce Goldstein
Co-Executive Director
Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.
1010 Vermont Ave., NW, Ste. 915
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-783-2628 fax: 783-2561
www.fwjustice.org
Twenty-three years of effective advocacy