Knight Ridder Publications
July 2001

By Arturo S. Rodriguez

Congress can help thousands of America's undocumented farm workers emerge from the shadows of fear and abuse. It can do that by passing breakthrough legislation negotiated last fall between the Cesar Chavez-founded

United Farm Workers and the nation's agricultural employers-even though the industry has since broken its word to back the compromise agreement.

Undocumented farm workers would use this historic proposal to earn temporary legal status for themselves and their families, and eventually permanent status. With the measure, the often skilled men and women whose labor produces this country's rich bounty of food could win the protections other American workers enjoy-and some day fully participate in the society they feed.

Under the compromise UFW-grower farm worker legalization bill, undocumented farm workers and their families would legalize-or adjust-their status.

They would have the freedom to choose for whom they work and to join a union of fellow workers to collectively protect their interests. These workers would still need to labor in agriculture for a minimum period of time over six years to be eligible for legalization.

The compromise would also make it easier for growers to obtain foreign workers in cases of legitimate labor shortages-with less paperwork and government oversight.

This compromise enjoyed broad bipartisan support in both houses of Congress last year. It would have been enacted during the lame-duck session in December but for fierce opposition from Texas Republican Sen. Phil Gramm.

Now growers have abandoned key parts of the negotiated measure by backing a new bill by other far-right Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho). Craig's bill would preclude many if not most undocumented farm workers from becoming legal residents.

In a classic "Catch 22" scenario, the Craig plan says undocumented workers seeking to legalize would be barred from non-farm jobs until they worked 150 days a year in agriculture. Many would not be able to do that given the industry's short harvest seasons, oversupplies of labor and chronic unemployment. Yet the Craig bill also says these workers couldn't stay in the country for more than 60 days without seeking employment.

Craig's legislation would lower the pay for temporary foreign farm workers imported to the U.S. under an existing federal program. And it would continue the discriminatory exclusion of these imported foreign laborers from the basic federal law protecting the on-the-job rights of domestic farm workers.

Late last year, the growers agreed with farm worker advocates to jointly support this historic compromise . We hope they will change their minds and honor their word.

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(Arturo S. Rodriguez succeeded Cesar Chavez as president of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO in 1993.)