One FLOC response was to arrange for employers to pay the costs of recruiting H2A workers from Mexico. This new process undercuts the corruption that has lined the pockets of those involved in the labor recruitment systems. This has broad implications for the labor rights of all "guest workers". In March 2007, FLOC President Baldemar Velásquez conducted training sessons for members in Mexico, and told them to report anyone trying to charge them for being recruited into the H2A program. A week later, Santiago Rafael, a FLOC staff member, was assassinated. (See Justice for Santiago.)

FLOC PRESIDENT BALDEMAR VELASQUEZ MEETS WITH MEMBERS IN MEXICO

One service FLOC provides its members in Mexico is education and training about their rights and options when working in the U.S. as "guest workers". This past March, FLOC President Baldemar Velásquez met with FLOC members in the Huasteca region of San Luís Potosí and Tamaulipas. He was joined by Cástulo Bernavides Rogríguez, Director of the FLOC office in Monterrey, and Presidents of local FLOC Worker Committees in towns in the region, including Cruz Díaz Montalvo, Melitón Hernandez Hernandez, and Antonio Reyes Ramírez Hernández.

The purpose of the meetings was to help the workers prepare for the coming season in North Carolina. Velásquez and Bernavides discussed worker issues with the FLOC members, including how the structure of the agricultural system affects farm labor, how the FLOC contracts provide workers with a direct voice on the job in a "right-to-work" state which denies important labor rights, safeguarding worker health against heat strokes and the right to file for Workers Compensation if injured or disabled on the job, and the development of a pension plan for FLOC members to safeguard the future of their families.

A number of former Bracero workers whose withholdings and pensions had disappeared also came to the meetings to see what could be done to recover the money they had earned over 40 years ago. Others who were interested in joining FLOC also attended the meetings.

FLOC leaders also met with various officials in different towns and municipalities and with national government and labor leaders to discuss issues like migration and protecting the rights of Mexican workers in the U.S.

For more on this trip, see:

THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRANT WORKER CONDITIONS

On a recent trip to México, FLOC President Baldemar Velásquez visits with the family of Raymundo Hernández in a small village in the mountains of San Luís Potosí. Raymundo went to N.C. to help build a better future for his children, where he died ignored and forgotten when he suffered symptoms of heat stroke.
See Urbano's Song: A Discussin Guide

On March 7 2007, church leaders and FLOC held a Lenten Remembrance for farmworkers who had died in the fields of North Carolina. (See Lenten Remembrance)

One of these workers was Raymundo Hernández, from the mountains of San Luís Potosí. Like many other subsistence farmers, Raymundo could not longer support his family, so he migrated to North Carolina to work in the tobacco fields. There, Raymundo suffered from heat stroke, and the grower took him back to the camp in the back of his pickup truck. When the grower stopped to talk with friends, Raymundo got out and walked away unnoticed, and was forgotten. Three months later, they found a human skull near the camp, and other workers identified the shoes and clothes as Raymundo's.

The impacts of his death had a wide affect back home. Raymundo's extended family was left without a major means of support, and their poverty sank to a new low. Reymundo's wife was left without a husband, and his son without a father. Though his brother and an older cousin stepped in to help fulfill these responsibilities, there was still a grief and emotional vacuum in a close family that was difficult to overcome. Raymundo's death also left a gap in the functions of the community, particularly in village relationships and religious life.

A fund was set up to help Raymundo's family, and FLOC arranged to have his remains returned to his village.

The extended family and many people in the village are now FLOC members, and many go to work in North Carolina under union protections... feeling secure that their families don't have to suffer Raymundo's fate.

WHY ARE MEXICANS COMING TO THE U.S.?

Melitón Hernández, a former President of a local FLOC members committee in San Luís Potosí and now a FLOC staff member, said he never considered migrating North to work, until his son was born with a birth defect that required an expensive operation that the family could not afford. The family has a very close relationship with each other, and he says he misses his wife and children a great deal while away... but feels he has to go to provide opportunities for his family. He reports a dramatic difference in the way he and fellow workers are treated now that they have union protections with FLOC.

Why do people leave their families and familiar way of life to go to a strange land? (See Why Are They Here?) Commitment to family is a major motivation in migration among Mexicans. Almost universally, people talked about their families, particularly being able to provide better opportunities for their children. Almost all said they preferred to stay home, but said they had to find ways to better themselves. Many said they had jobs or worked on their farm, but were not able to ensure their children could get a good education, have enough to eat, and be healthy.

There are not enough local resources to support their families. One town official spoke of the impact of transnational corporations in his area, driving up prices. One worker said the rich people who run these corporations have no idea of the impact on local communities. He talked about how these corporations want to sell their products in the town where he lives, but give nothing back.

Most reported bad treatment in the U.S. They indicated they had to put up with bad treatment in order to better their families.

The FLOC members all reported significant differences now that they were working under union protections. They said that before they were afraid to speak up because they felt they would lose the ability to support their families, but now they have a voice and are not alone.

FLOC President Baldemar Velásquez says that he believes most Americans have a sense of fair play, but don't realize that immigrant workers are trying to meet their simple needs like most people. He says the U.S. is only reaping what it has sowed with "free trade" agreements designed only for corporations and the rich. This system devastates local economies, and causes migration. He argues that we need a system that is fully "free", including the open flow of the labor market so people can seek opportunities to support their families wherever they exist.

Thank You!

Thank you for your support! It has always been the commitments and efforts of our supporters that have made our victories possible. As we continue the struggle for justice, we know we can count on you as we face new challenges and victories together.

© FLOC 2007