United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez issued this statement from the UFW’s Keene, Calif. headquarters after U.S. Senate Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday (July 7) attempted to block a vote on the bipartisan AgJobs bill that would allow undocumented farm workers to earn the permanent legal right to stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture:
Undocumented farm workers take the hardest, most difficult jobs other American workers won’t take, toiling every day in the hot sun and bitter cold to produce America’s rich bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables sold at relatively cheap prices.
They work for the minimum wage and pay taxes but enjoy few, if any, benefits while performing some of the most important labor in our nation: feeding America and much of the world. American agriculture cannot survive without them.
The agricultural industry wants a legal and stable work force. Undocumented farm workers who are here now want to earn the permanent legal right to stay in this country by continuing to make their crucial contribution to America¹s economy.
All of them deserve a vote in the United States Senate on the AgJobs bill. It has 63 Senate co-sponsors, more than enough to overcome a filibuster.
Senator Frist should immediately act to allow debate and a vote on this critical measure. And the AgJobs bill should also win the White House’s enthusiastic backing since it is the only fair and rational immigration reform measure with broad bipartisan support and backing from more than 400 employer, labor, immigrant rights and religious organizations.
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