Federal case of farmworker slavery, June 2002

Justice sought for migrants
By SANDRA TAN
News Staff Reporter, Buffalo News 6/22/2002

Aspacio Alcantara used to work the farmland in the Dominican Republic, where conditions were so terrible that he abandoned the fields for the city and began organizing farmworkers for a living. When he came to the United States, he discovered that conditions weren't much better, particularly for those who had entered the country illegally in hopes of a better life. "I've had a calling to fight for justice," said the weathered-looking man who serves as director of CITA, a Spanish acronym for the Independent Farmworkers Center. "Once you take hold of your anger and overcome your fear, then you decide, this is your path."

Friday, Alcantara spoke at a news conference with the help of a translator, praising federal and state authorities for their persistence in indicting the Garcia family, accused of running forced labor camp operations in Orleans County. He and other members of the Justice for Farmworkers campaign also took the opportunity to highlight the plight of migrant workers and to again petition the state government to pass legislation, now stalled in the State Senate, that would include farm workers in the state's existing labor laws. "Without these changes," he said, "the cases of slavery, of injustice, are going to continue. And it's time now for those that feed us, that they be treated with dignity and more respect. That's why we're here today."

Since the 1930s, farm workers have been excluded from labor laws that guarantee most other employees basic rights to overtime pay, disability insurance, a mandatory day of rest and collective bargaining. Deputy Assembly Speaker Arthur O. Eve, D-Buffalo, the only area politician to stand with the workers on the steps of the federal courthouse in Buffalo, said he identified with the plight of farmworkers and sought more protections for them early in his career in the State Legislature. Most seasonal laborers in New York were primarily African-American in those days, he said, and since Hispanic workers have taken over much of the work, conditions have not changed for the better. Eve plans to call on the chairman of the Assembly Labor Committee to hold public hearings around the state regarding exploitation of migrant workers, in hopes of moving protective farmworker legislation forward.

Many growers have argued that such legislation would be too costly to farmers, who already are having an extremely difficult time making ends meet despite heavy government subsidies. These growers say they already battle slim profit margins and foreign competition, and don't see how the proposed legislation will allow them to stay in business.

Labor and religious leaders attending Friday's news conference said government leaders have an ethical and moral obligation to make sure that some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the state are protected from exploitation and inhumane working and living conditions. "If we don't get that legislation . . . God help us," said Joan Malone of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition. "We'll be here next year, addressing another farmworkers crisis."

e-mail: stan@buffnews.com