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rdrrm8e
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San Quintin quieting down?
This is from BD. Capt. Juan is a local in SQ and has a good rep.
http://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/agrement-reacht-in-...
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rts551
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For the time being....It appears the government is agreeing with farmworkers but the growers have not signed anything yet. I would keep an eye on
things day to day if you are planning on going there.
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DianaT
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The first week in June will tell a lot. At the most recent meeting the growers agreed to a lot, but the list really reads like what was already a
part of the law; even if the law was not being followed.
June is when they are supposed to decide on any wage increases, and there is some talk about possible government subsidies.
Meantime, the protesters are taking this international to try and promote the boycotts unless something good happens that first week of June.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexico-Farmworkers-Launch-Global-Campaign-for-Living-Wage-20150505-0025.html
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DianaT
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Meanwhile IMHO, BerryMex who grows for Driscolls does not do itself any favor by posting propaganda photos like this on their website.
Those hands do not pick berries and look at that new very clean sweatshirt and hat with the scarf tied in such a stylish way. Nice try.
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durrelllrobert
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MEXICO LABOR DISPUTE CLEARS HURDLE
The government agrees to pay part of the farmworkers’ wages to help meet their demands.
BY RICHARD MAROSI
Baja California farmworker leaders and the Mexican government reached a tentative agreement Thursday that would boost wages and guarantee
government-required benefits to thousands of laborers, in an apparent breakthrough aimed at ending the nearly two-month-long labor dispute.
In an unprecedented move, Mexico’s federal government agreed to pay part of the workers’ wages in order to meet their demands for a minimum daily
wage of 200 pesos, or about $13.
“This is an agreement that will help us construct an orderly, peaceful, respectful and responsible way to provide a better quality of life for
those workers who live in the valley of San Quintin,” Baja California Gov. Francisco Vega de Lamadrid said after 18 hours of tense negotiations in
Ensenada.
The deal won’t be formalized until a signing ceremony June 4 and some key negotiations remain, mainly to determine the industry and government’s
share of the wage increase. Some observers remained skeptical, noting that the language of the agreement didn’t guarantee that the workers’ wage
demands would be met.
Even so, farmworker leaders struck a positive note as they were greeted by thousands of cheering laborers upon their return from Ensenada to San
Quintin on Thursday morning.
The announcement came after weeks of stalled talks and increasingly violent clashes between protesters and police.
In a key concession, the government agreed to ensure that every laborer in the region 200 miles south of San Diego would have access to social
security benefits, which provide pensions and healthcare. Some of the region’s largest agribusinesses for years have been denying the benefits, which
are required by law.
A summary of the 13-point agreement distributed by the Baja California governor’s office says that government and industry representatives will try
to reach consensus on a minimum daily wage that comes “as close as possible” to workers’ demands.
Negotiations between the government and industry representatives were continuing Thursday. “To our knowledge, all parties involved have not come to
a mutual resolution,” said Alfredo Arvizu, a spokesman for BerryMex, a major grower for Driscoll’s, the world’s largest berry distributor.
Erik Nicholson, national vice president of the United Farm Workers, which has sent representatives to Mexico to monitor the discussions, said he is
unaware of the Mexican government ever agreeing to subsidize farmworker wages. “They have not achieved the 200-peso goal yet,” Nicholson said.
The labor standoff, which began in mid-March with laborers blocking the region’s main highway to export markets, had been growing increasingly
tense in recent weeks. Dozens of protesters were injured Saturday by police firing rubber bullets in clashes that were broadcast across the country.
Baja state officials accused protesters of starting the riot by setting fires and throwing rocks at police, but many observers believe the widely
circulated images of injured farmworkers, several of whom were hospitalized, helped turn public opinion against the government.
“I don’t think the government wants to give the impression that it’s a repressive force,” said farmworker leader Justino Herrera of the Alliance of
National, State and Municipal Organizations for Social Justice, a coalition of indigenous groups.
“All of Mexico is behind us, supporting our movement,” Herrera said.
Threats of an international boycott of produce from the San Quintin Valley also may have been a factor forcing the government’s hand. The strike
crippled exports for a time and caused losses estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.
Driscoll’s, a California company that distributes berries to major retailers across the U.S., had been targeted with boycott threats for partnering
with farms accused of shortchanging worker benefits and having onerous work quotas.
The company, which has cultivated a labor-friendly image, has denied that its suppliers mistreat workers. A spokesman said the company could not
comment while negotiations are ongoing.
The federal government has taken an increasingly active role in addressing working conditions at Mexico’s export farms. After The Times’ published
a four-part series, “Product of Mexico,” documenting widespread labor abuses, Mexican federal officials and industry groups formed a social
responsibility alliance and pledged to improve the lives of more than 1 million farmworkers.
The coastal valley of San Quintin is one of Mexico’s leading agricultural export regions, sending millions of tons of strawberries, cucumbers,
tomatoes and other vegetables to the U.S. every year.
Owners of the region’s largest agribusinesses are politically powerful, with some having held high posts in the Baja California state government.
They have been negotiating through their trade group, the Agricultural Council of Baja California.
A spokesman for the organization was not available for comment. richard.marosi
[url=http://eedition2.latimes.com/Olive/ODE/LATimes2/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=TEFULzIwMTUvMDUvMTU.&pageno=MTc.&entity=QXIwMTcwMQ..&am
p;view=ZW50aXR5[/url]
Bob Durrell
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ligui
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More ... http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/farmworkers-strike-ends-with...
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irenemm
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BerryMex is one of the best employers in this area. the media does not print the true about any of this going on in this area.
BerryMex is not printing propaganda. I am sorry you all feel that the farmer workers are taken advantage of . If you live here you would and could see
this is a political movement. They have and do make more than minimum wage workers. Driscoll's and Berrymex have always had all the benefits for the
employees since they started here. They are going after Berrymex and Driscoll because It is the biggest and well know berry grower out there.
As for the force by the police should they just stand and let them hit them with rocks and stick. this all happened right behind my house. Was it ok
for the people in Baltimore to hit the police NO. The cops here are outnumbered. These so call good people plet my house with rocks and have set fires
to my field. We were and are lucky with them so far not they have not done things here right now But because we are not the the highway where the
media is and can see this. They want to seen and heard.
Diane T perhaps you should ask your sister how she feels about BerryMex and Driscoll's she know them and how they work. What they do for this
community.
the whole show of the meetings in Ensenada was not for the Farmer. In this area everyone lives from the farmer. Every business not one person here
does not live from the work they bring to this area. As for the leaders of this movement none of them work in the fields most are drunks and thieves.
This is all for the benfits of themselves not the farm worker. I have live here for 34 years I have seen this town and area go through many changes
but it is being held hostage by this movement.
This will get worst on the 4th of June when the government does not give them what they want. The government can not pay the the difference. That
would have to be for everyone in this country to get the same. That is taxpayers money. By the way these farm workers do not pay for water. do not pay
property taxes they did not pay for that property either. Most all was given to them some but did pay. the government gave many cement floors and
built them block homes. This is the cultural of the them they live this way because they choose to. How can they have expensive phone but say they
don't have food. How can they big parties and but have no food.
HOW CAN THEY SELL THEIR CHILDREN AND THEY DO. THEN TELL THE LIES ABOUT WAGES. ITS THE CULTURAL
I have many employees who worked in the fields and they say it is not true what is being said. They choose to work here because it is a steady job all
year. They can and did make better money in the fields because you get the piece work besides dally wages. This is all like I said political for the
leftist party PRD they the padrinos of this whole thing.
I have a women who has worked for me for 28 years. She raised 3 children without the support of her ex husband she bought and paid for her property
and build a home she made choice to live better then her mother. She did not have any schooling. I have another woman who worked for us until she
retired she also raised her child as a single mother build her home and paid for her property. How can these women do it but the farmer worker who
makes more then they did can not.
You can be a victim in life or you can change your life. This is Northa America you have choices here.
I have a girl who works for me right now she has 4 children no husband and she is building a home she worked in the fields she did not like it. We pay
all our employee above what the pay scale says It is not a benefits for us as we can not deduct that from our taxes. these people choose to make a
better life for them and their children. The Oaxacans can also make a better life if they so choose.
this is just my 2 cents.
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JoeJustJoe
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Irenemm says BarryMex, is one of the best employers in this area, and doesn't feel the farm workers are taken advantage of!
Saying BarryMex is one of the best employers in the area is like saying, one plantation in the south before the US civil war, was better than another
plantation, when slavery was still going on.
The Mexican farm workers aren't slaves, but they are being paid a "slave wage, and they are being exploited and screwed over badly by big AG.
It's beyond me how anybody could be on the side of the Driscoll, Berrymex, and the other smaller AG companies that exploit the hell out of the Mexican
farm workers.
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irenemm
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@JoeJustJoe
Do you drink Mexican beer, Tequila, eat tacos off the street buy fish shop at the grocery stores? If you buy anything in Mexico then everyone who
works at any of these place is paid a slave wage. the farm worker make more than any of those people. Mexican wages are controlled by the government.
Do you live here? do you have a housekeeper a gardener? DO they have all the benefits the government say you must pay. These benefits are for
everyone even if you pay them good gringo wages.
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bajacamper
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Way to go Joe. This is a one sided story Right? Perhaps if you are right in the middle of it you might have an opinion that should at least be
considered, don't you think?
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JoeJustJoe
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Quote: Originally posted by irenemm  | @JoeJustJoe
Do you drink Mexican beer, Tequila, eat tacos off the street buy fish shop at the grocery stores? If you buy anything in Mexico then everyone who
works at any of these place is paid a slave wage. the farm worker make more than any of those people. Mexican wages are controlled by the government.
Do you live here? do you have a housekeeper a gardener? DO they have all the benefits the government say you must pay. These benefits are for
everyone even if you pay them good gringo wages. |
Yeah, I do all of those things, and the fact is most Mexicans make more than the minimum wage, although it sometimes it takes having a second job.
And at least Mexicans working a regular job, and living at home, aren't forced to buy groceries at marked up prices at company stores in order to keep
the farm worker like indentured slaves.
It's really shameful how big AG treats their workers, and providers them living quarters that aren't fit for animals, let alone human beings.
Its' none of my business Irenemm, but I would really be interested in how much you pay your employees who work for you.
BTW I been following this labor dispute since it started, and even before when I read the "LA Times" investigative series how the Mexican seasonal
farm worker was being exploited badly. The LA Times" articles was a real eye opener.
I have also been following this on social media, where there is a lot of good information, but at the same time, I have also seen social media
members having an agenda, as if they were on the payroll of Big AG, and I even heard rumors, some members were on the payroll.
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bajacamper
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n/c
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Pescador
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Wow, I have avoided opening this discussion because it is usually a rant about how bad the owners are that they only pay such lousy wages and provide
living conditions that are substandard. Then irenemm puts down a really revealing post about things that go deeper than just the surface of the
struggle. I see a great amount of frustration by the workers that will not be fixed by putting band aids on in the form of small wage increases and
it is obvious that our left leaning posters think that the owners should give away the farm and everything thing will be sunshine and roses. But as
irenemm points out it goes much deeper than that and the problem has its roots in lack of education, lack of financial management, nonexistent
motivation for change, and on and on with the chains of poverty. So a quick adjustment by making the wages twice the amount, really does very little
to change the underlying problems, but it sure is a lot easier to blame all the problems on the owners but no one seems to really understand, from a
business perspective, what percentage of costs should be allocated to labor and it is an un-informed mind that suggests a company can double that
amount with no adjustment made to the bottom line.
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mtgoat666
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Today's economy is little changed from 500 years ago. The facts of life are that the worlds economy relies on a vast class of low paid uneducated
workers to do the simple tasks for little pay. It will never change. Capitalism requires a poverty class to provide cheap labor. Capitalism will
always seek out cheap labor and thereby perpetuate conditions of poverty.
Look at the USA. In past 30 years the Kings of capitalism have continually shipped their low skill jobs to the cheapest countries. Now we gringos
rely on a poverty stricken class of people in Bangladesh for our cheap clothes at Target.
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DianaT
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Encouraged a couple more shoppers at Vons yesterday to buy the strawberries from Ventura County and NOT to buy the raspberries from Driscolls. When
there is a good settlement, we will stop promoting the boycott.
[Edited on 5-19-2015 by DianaT]
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JoeJustJoe
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I would be happy with the 200 peso agreement to start with for the farm workers, that the governor of the state, just promised the farm workers, but
the employers are backing away from, saying they never agreed to this, and now everybody is wondering how the Mexican government is going to back up
it's promise to the workers to increase their pay to 200 pesos a day, when many are also saying, the Mexican government lacks the legal authority to
do this.
So from what I could see, the Mexican farmers are getting the short end of the stick again as usual, and they are being lied to, and most of the 12 or
more point agreement the employers agreed to are already part of Mexico's labor laws or practices, that are ignored like over time pay, the use of
children farm workers, sexual harassment of the female workers, and other illegal labor practices the Big AG employers were getting away with.
I don't know what left leaning poster that wants the employers to give away the farm to the farm workers, but if you ask me, paying the farm workers
about 100 pesos a day, or about $6.50 is almost criminal, and is nothing short of slave labor! I see the employers are offering at best a 15% increase
in pay, which but a joke, and really disrespectful towards the farm workers.
So lets start at 200 pesos pay for the Mexican farm workers, because 200 pesos or about 13 dollars, really doesn't sound like it's going to break a
multiple billion dollar industry that treats it's Mexican workers like slaves.
Wow, I see some right-wing posters blaming the farm workers lack of education, and financial management, as the root cause of their plight on the
Mexican farms!
I'm speechless!
It's the farm workers fault, talk about blaming the victim!
You know who else is speechless, the US corporations like Walmart, who demand cheap agriculture products, and turns a blinds eye to the abuse and
slave wages on the Mexican farms. If the US corporations like Walmart, Safeway, Whole foods, and other super market chains, wanted to end this
strike, and bad working conditions of the Mexican farmer, they could easily do it.
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Bajaboy
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| Quote: Originally posted by JoeJustJoe | I would be happy with the 200 peso agreement to start with for the farm workers, that the governor of the state, just promised the farm workers, but
the employers are backing away from, saying they never agreed to this, and now everybody is wondering how the Mexican government is going to back up
it's promise to the workers to increase their pay to 200 pesos a day, when many are also saying, the Mexican government lacks the legal authority to
do this.
So from what I could see, the Mexican farmers are getting the short end of the stick again as usual, and they are being lied to, and most of the 12 or
more point agreement the employers agreed to are already part of Mexico's labor laws or practices, that are ignored like over time pay, the use of
children farm workers, sexual harassment of the female workers, and other illegal labor practices the Big AG employers were getting away with.
I don't know what left leaning poster that wants the employers to give away the farm to the farm workers, but if you ask me, paying the farm workers
about 100 pesos a day, or about $6.50 is almost criminal, and is nothing short of slave labor! I see the employers are offering at best a 15% increase
in pay, which but a joke, and really disrespectful towards the farm workers.
So lets start at 200 pesos pay for the Mexican farm workers, because 200 pesos or about 13 dollars, really doesn't sound like it's going to break a
multiple billion dollar industry that treats it's Mexican workers like slaves.
Wow, I see some right-wing posters blaming the farm workers lack of education, and financial management, as the root cause of their plight on the
Mexican farms!
I'm speechless!
It's the farm workers fault, talk about blaming the victim!
You know who else is speechless, the US corporations like Walmart, who demand cheap agriculture products, and turns a blinds eye to the abuse and
slave wages on the Mexican farms. If the US corporations like Walmart, Safeway, Whole foods, and other super market chains, wanted to end this
strike, and bad working conditions of the Mexican farmer, they could easily do it.
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Okay, maybe we can blame the people who shop at Walmart, etc.
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Pompano
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One can only hope.....
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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chuckie
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Blame me, I bought some Driscoll Raspberries at the Grocery store in St. Francis Kansas this morning....
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4x4abc
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I love those berries - $49.90 (6 oz, 170 gr) at Walmart in La Paz. Buy them a lot. Very eco, organic, healthy. If those obnoxious farm workers would
only agree to work for less, then I could have those berries for less (they are a bit expensive!). How dare the farm workers ask for more money?
Why can't we go back to the good old times and sell those rebellious workers to someone else? They need to learn the lessons of capitalism.
But the Walmart owners have to feed their own children and might not be able to pass on the savings. I would understand. Times are rough.
Harald Pietschmann
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