We are about to celebrate Martin Luther King. He was felled by a rifle shot on the balcony of the Divine Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN in 1968. The reason King was in Memphis was his support for the trash collectors' strike, made famous by their hand made signs reading " I am a man". It strikes us as peculiar that 40 years ago, the workers felt the need to remind the community that they are human beings, too.
Similarly, one can draw parallels with the range workers here with the H2A visas. These men too are earning a wage with is far below the minimum U.S. standard, their living conditions would not be acceptabe to most U.S. workers, in fact there are almost no U.S. citizens willing to work under such conditions.
One must ask what allows the U.S. government to authorize such conditions. A group of local citizens has been visiting these workers and getting informed about their reality. Like other such labor movements, there is strong resistance from their employers. Grand Valley Peace and Justice uses the criteria that the Catholic Church utilizes when evaluating unjust situations: observe, get informed, and act to improve the injustice. IF you wish to find out about this situation, read
Great new website Julie!!!
ReplyDeleteThe inaugural topic of the Grand Valley Peace & Justice blog is soon to come! Keep checking us out.....
ReplyDeleteWe are about to celebrate Martin Luther King. He was felled by a rifle shot on the balcony of the Divine Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN in 1968. The reason King was in Memphis was his support for the trash collectors' strike, made famous by their hand made signs reading " I am a man".
ReplyDeleteIt strikes us as peculiar that 40 years ago, the workers felt the need to remind the community that they are human beings, too.
Similarly, one can draw parallels with the range workers here with the H2A visas. These men too are earning a wage with is far below the minimum U.S. standard, their living conditions would not be acceptabe to most U.S. workers, in fact there are almost no U.S. citizens willing to work under such conditions.
One must ask what allows the U.S. government to authorize such conditions. A group of local citizens has been visiting these workers and getting informed about their reality. Like other such labor movements, there is strong resistance from their employers. Grand Valley Peace and Justice uses the criteria that the Catholic Church utilizes when evaluating unjust situations: observe, get informed, and act to improve the injustice. IF you wish to find out about this situation, read
Tom Acker, Board Member GVPJ
More on Tom's post: http://users.frii.com/clsfcdsl/CLSoverworkedandunderpaid.pdf
ReplyDelete