|
North to South: Justice Has No Boundaries, Del Norte al Sur: La Justicia No Tiene LimiteFeaturing Baldemar Velasquez10/16/2006
Position(s) nominated for: Labor & Citizenship and Immigration Services Link to Bio: Click here 
En Espanol
Throughout much of our history, the US government has partnered with business interests by moving into land belonging to others, in search of the greatest profit: the most abundant resources coupled with the cheapest labor. Business interests have been 'free' to exploit people and communities, in spite of the terrible 'price' in terms of human welfare, the commons, and the environment. On occasion, government has held companies accountable, and legislation limiting corporate power has been enacted. But in 2006, meaningful limits on corporate power are virtually nonexistent. In the US and elsewhere, transnational corporate interests (with the misleading name of 'free trade') reign supreme, and the human cost is greater than ever. With the passage of NAFTA in 1994, for instance, Mexicans are increasingly hard pressed to find work at home, and so are forced to travel to the US in record numbers in search of work. The issue of migrant workers has taken center stage in national political discourse. Among other proposals, the government is considering two controversial plans: a border wall between the US and Mexico, and a guest worker program. But is there a more humane and just solution to this growing crisis? What if workers had the same privilege that corporations do, to travel freely across national borders as well, but to search for a sustainable living wage, and decent working and living conditions? Two weeks ago, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) held a conference in North Carolina called ıNorth to South: Justice Has No Boundaries.ı Among other topics, immigration policies, wages and worker conditions were discussed. And last spring, FLOC Founder and President, Baldemar Velasquez called for a "freedom visa" for workers. A son of migrant farm workers from Mexico, Baldemar Velasquez formed FLOC in Ohio in 1967. Mr. Velasquez has led this organization from victory to victory in subsequent years. All of FLOC's successful campaigns are too numerous to mention here, but recent victories include: a union contract with the North Carolina Growers' Association in 2004, following a four and a half year boycott of Mt. Olive Pickle Company, assisting in the 1999 creation of the National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty for Immigrants, and leading a delegation in 2002 to the White House on the Coalitionıs proposed Freedom Act legislation. A Backbone Cabinet nominee for Secretary of Labor and Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Mr Velasquez is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Midwest Academy Award, a Bannerman Fellowship, and a MacArthur Fellowship. In addition, Baldemar Velasquez is the1994 recipient of the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award and Mexico's Aguila Azteca Award - the highest award Mexico can award a non-citizen. --Diane Wittner, CoProducer
Elena Herrada (Backbone Cabinet nominee, Latinos Unidos), Guest Producer and English Language Host Dianna Moyer Jesse Lovell
|
|||||||
