National report documents conditions of immigrant women in the U.S. food industry, highlights the need for AgJOBS
Los Angeles, CA – On Monday, Nov. 22, the Southern Poverty Law Center will hold a press conference in Los Angeles to release Injustice on Our Plates, a powerful new report that exposes the exploitive working conditions and the rampant sexual harassment and abuse endured by immigrant women working in the U.S. food industry. The release coincides with the 50th anniversary, this month, of Edward R. Murrow’s documentary “Harvest of Shame,” which chronicled the plight of migrant farm workers.
“‘Injustice on Our Plates’ puts a face to the plight of immigrant women in the United States. As it often happens, a lot of new immigrants look for jobs in the fields as farm workers, but due to the lack of immigration papers, they soon become the victims of exploitation and sexual harassment,” said Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers.
“That is why, now more than ever, Congress needs to act to bring a solution to this crisis in the fields by approving AgJOBS,” he said.
The United Farm Workers and the nation’s agricultural employers negotiated the most bipartisan broadly supported immigration reform measure in the United States. AgJOBS would allow undocumented farm workers earn the right to permanently stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture.
WHO:
Mary Bauer, Report Co-Author and Legal Director, Southern Poverty Law Center
Mónica Ramírez, Report Co-Author and Director of the SPLC’s Esperanza legal initiative for immigrant women
Arturo Rodriguez, United Farm Workers President
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Pacific
WHERE: Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
2130 James M Wood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90006-2202