Trinity College Trinity College Digital Repository

Resist Newsletters Resist Collection

12-31-1998

Resist Newsletter, Dec. 1998

Resist

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/resistnewsletter

Recommended Citation Resist, "Resist Newsletter, Dec. 1998" (1998). Resist Newsletters. 309. https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/resistnewsletter/309 Inside: FLOC Reaches to NC Farm Workers

ISSN 0897-2613 • Vol. 7 #10 A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority December 1998 North Carolina's Capitalists' Pigs Sharecropping in the New Millennium

STAN GOFF At the end of the day, the integrator appro­ farmer-peasant class had not disappeared priates the majority of the value produced, but remained strong; so strong, in fact­ e independent family farm is headed and the contract grower averages between asserted the professor-that it remained o extinction," says Don Webb, a eight and 10 dollars an hour. Thus Mr. more significant than the wage-laboring T:former independent swine farmer Webb's notion that this is a twenty-first class. The current state of agriculture, how­ from Stantonsburg, North Carolina. "The century form of tenancy. ever, looking at the North Carolina hog in- folks who're still on their land in dustry as an example, makes it this part of North Carolina-the appear that Dr. Hook's critique ones who signed corporate con­ VD.Allltl& l =• ~ = ~ ~: was premature. tracts-are in denial. They' re Found during the first half of 1998 The application of modem sharecroppers now, and ain't management practices and tech­ Discharge of hog waste 60 nothin' but pride and hopeless­ nology to pork production has Discharge into surface water 25 ness keeps 'em in denial about converted farms and slaughter­ Inadequate freeboard 525 bein' sharecroppers." houses into meat factories. The Freeboard less than one-foot 58 Webb's reference to share­ subdivision of every process Lack of certified operator 12 cropping is based on the con­ into the simplest component Over-application of waste 161 tractual relationship between tasks has resulted in completely Failure to meet setback 3 farmers (referred to as contract "de-skilling" production. The Inadequate land 33 growers) and integrators, the majority of the actual sweat in­ Crops different than plan 197 huge corporations who own the vested in every stage of produc­ TOTAL VIOLAnONS 1074 genetically engineered live­ fl DEFICIENCIES tion-the precise mechanical stock. The integrators com­ Source: NC Division ol Mitt• a...1/ty application of engineered foods, pletely control livestock opera­ hormones, and drugs to con­ tions. They arrange for its trans­ Fewer than 10 percent of the facilities were inspected for the fined animals-is coming from statistics above. No charges have been filed against farm owners. portation, processing, and mar­ wage laborers. keting; they dictate facility specs, includ­ While the application of this specific The "management" of the grower facil­ ing approved builders, chemicals, food ad­ contractual arrangement to agriculture was ity by the "farmer" is conducted in accor­ ditives, and pharmaceuticals to be used for pioneered by poultry corporations, the dance with a strict, formulaic rule-book. The maximum growth and disease control; and underlying trends were predicted as early situation for the contract grower is less akin they specify the management practices the as Karl Marx. In 1955, Dr. Sidney Hook to sharecropping-where a poor farmer ap­ "farmer" will employ. made the claim (in Marx and the Marxists: plied his or her knowledge of the art of The contract grower pays for facility Ambiguous Legacy, Princeton, 1955) that agriculture to production for a "share"­ construction with huge loans, indebting Marx had erred in his prediction that even and more akin to the "manager" of a himself for the long haul, and assumes all agriculture would become "proletarianized" McDonald's hamburger stand: an alienated financial, legal, and environmental liability. From Hook's perspective in 1955, the continued on page two

Vol. 7, #10 RESIST Newsletter Page 1 North Carolina's Capitalists' Pigs continued from page one hogs. By 1997, fewer than 4,000 growers national attention. Ten million swine expel surrogate, saddled with accountability by remained, but the state herd was conser­ nine million tons of excrement into their his debts and stripped of his creativity. vatively estimated at over 10 million, in a state environment every year. That amounts to Farmers who have not signed these con­ where only around 7 million people reside. 52,500 tons ofnitrogen, 40,000 tons ofphos­ tracts have been left far behind. The re­ phorus, 37,000 tons of potassium, and a sulting concentration of the industry is The New Environment smorgasbord of heavy metals. striking. In 1983, the State Department of The environmental impact ofthis growth, Rick Dove, a Neuse River Keeper, ex­ Agriculture reported over 24,000 swine most of which occurred in the eastern quar­ plains that these numbers by themselves growers raising just over 2 million head of ter of the state, has been the subject of are significant. "We are importing over a hundred million pounds of nitrogen from Nebraska in the form of com, ~d dumping it into the ecosystem ofNorth Carolina east Hog Farms in North Carolina, 1983-1997 of Interstate 95 in the form of crap. That Information Source: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services nitrogen, just one of the nutrients being imported, does not disappear. It cycles all through the ecosystem here- in the water, the soil, and the air-cycling and recycling. That irrevocably changes the actual com­ 20,000 position ofthe air, soil, and water in a macro way for which we can't even predict the long term consequences." 15,000 Add to Dove's macro-analysis the fish kills from algae blooms, the condemned wells, the airborne ammonia that provokes 10,000 respiratory emergencies, flesh-eating pfisteria (called the "cell from hell"), and a host of other public health concerns, not 5,000 continued on page three

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97

Hogs and Pigs in North Carolina, 1983-1997 Information Source: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

ILLEGITIMATE AUTHORITY ,W,,tli~ ~-«J CNWtfJl- fMCe 1967

For information and grant guidelines, write to: Resist, 259 Elm Street, Suite 201 Somerville, MA 02144 www.resistinc.org

Resist Newsletter is published ten times a year by RESIST, Inc., (617)623-5110. The views expressed in articles, other than edi­ torials, are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the 4,000 RESIST staff or board. RESIST Staff: Robin Carton Carol Schachet 2,000 Newsletter Editor: Carol Schachet Printing: Red Sun Press

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 Printed on Recycled Paper with soy ink ·O~-

Page2 RESIST Newsletter December 1998 North Carolina's Capitalists' Pigs continuedfrom page two saw the mega-slaughterhouse as a threat Maxwell Foods, Inc., and Wendall Murphy to mention the environmental racism im­ to the Cape Fear River, to a local aquifer, of Murphy Family Farms, Inc., the major plicit in the siting of these facilities, and and as a magnet for even more rapid expan­ integrators in the state, to be the key mem­ the picture is clear. Even 60 Minutes has sion of pork production in Eastern North bers of then-Carolina Food Processor's found the environmental story worthy of Carolina. But Tar Heel, North Carolina, and Board of Directors. This is an interlocking their attention, twice. What have not ap­ surrounding Bladen County are among the directorate; a seamless legal connection peared on the public media's radar screen poorest areas in the state, with the highest between the different phases of the pro­ are the economic implications of corporate levels of unemployment, especially among duction process that translated into $1.14 bil­ agriculture. the African-American and Native Ameri- lion in insider business for Smithfield in 1997.

Biggest Fish Eat the Merely Big Ones [T]he United States Department of The concentration of the industry pro­ ceeds apace in other ways as well. The Agriculture ... again demonstrat[ed] the paradox of Smithfield's increased output from 24,000 to 30,000 kills a day is that the government's willingness to privatize gains market for American pork is plummeting. on behalf of corporate America but to Processing capacity is up, and the size of the North Carolina herd is up. But four of socialize their losses. the six largest foreign importers ofAmerican pork-Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Russia--can no longer afford to buy Ameri­ Monopolization and Vertical Integration can populations. Smithfield offered 4,000 can with their own currencies in free fall. In the parlance of modem economists, jobs as the big carrot, and called on their In February, when the Japanese reces­ the consolidation of an industry across one political muscle to do the rest. sion began to take a serious toll on U.S. stage of the production process is referred Then-State Senator Wendall Murphy, pork, the United States Department of Ag­ to as horizontal integration. The pulling who just happens to be the largest hog riculture stepped in and bought up $30 mil­ together of the various stages of the pro­ producer in the world, and then-Governor lion worth of the "other white meat" to prop duction process under one corporate roof Jim Martin were told by Director George up prices, again demonstrating the is called vertical integration. Reality is that Everett of the Division of Environmental government's willingness to privatize gains both forms of "integration" are inextrica­ Management that the Cape Fear River was on behalf of corporate America but to so­ bly linked and occur simultaneously to at or above nutrient carrying capacity, and cialize their losses. The USDA is skeptical, concentrate wealth in a way that some of that Tar Heel was an inappropriate loca­ however, that it can adequately bail out us who are wedded to archaic language tion for the slaughterhouse. Martin directly today's losses. simply call "monopoly." More and more, intervened with reworked figures for the Production costs for pork are around 42 monopolization is occurring in the pig in­ river, and awarded Luter a waiver for any cents per pound. In February, when prices dustry through interlocking directorates. environmental impact study. The facility first fell, the selling price was 36 cents. With A clear example is Smithfield Foods, was built. Smithfield has since been con­ the collapses since February, prices have Inc., whose CEO, Joe Luter, a wunderkind victed of over 6,000 discharge violations dropped to around 29 cents. So the ques­ of agribusiness, said in 1994 that his mis­ in Virginia at their Pagan River facility, but tion should be, why are the big integrators sion was to accomplish the total vertical North Carolina lets Smithfield monitor its and processors increasing production? integration ofpork production. "Smithfield own discharges. Leland Southard, a pork economist for is on the right side of the major industry North Carolina integrators have saved the USDA attempts to answer. The expan­ and consumer trends," said Luter in his a bundle on shipment costs by having a sion of production is a monopoly grab by 1993-94 Annual Report. "Vertical integra­ facility of Smithfield-Tar Heel's magnitude the largest integrators and processors, tion is the most significant of these. Clearly, in their back yards. Even when Smithfield who can sustain losses longer than their the drive to improve the quality, consis­ was operating at their claimed limit of24,000 competitors. "The big guys are putting the tency, and value of agricultural products kills a day, the state's integrators were still squeeze on the little guys," says Southard. requires collaborative relationships between shipping 5,500 hogs a day out of state to "The big companies sell at a loss for a while, producers, processors, and marketers." be slaughtered. With recent expansions, but the small, independent farmers can't." In North Carolina, he has taken a giant employees on Smithfield's kill floor are re­ Farmers around the state, like Gary Grant, stride in that direction with Smithfield-Tar porting to union organizers that the lines who has locked horns with the industry Heel Division, formerly Carolina Food Pro­ have been sped up to 30,000 kills a day. for the past decade, say that Southard is cessors. But the integrator-processor relation­ sugar-coating the situation a bit. "Indepen­ Smithfield-Tar Heel is the largest swine ship is deeper than shared competitive dent hog farmers," says Grant, of the Black slaughterhouse in the world and the linch­ need. Proxy statements from Smithfield Farmers and Agriculturists Association, pin ofNorth Carolina pork output. Built in dated in 1997 showedF. J. Faison of Carroll's "are over. This a case of the biggest fish 1994, Smithfield ran into opposition from Farms, Inc., William Prestage of Prestage swallowing the merely big fish." community and environmental groups who Farms, Inc., H. Gordon Maxwell, III, of continued on page seven

Vol. 7, #JO RESIST Newsletter Page 3 Another Fine Pickle for Labor FLOC Reaches to Cucumber Growers in the Anti-Union South

SANDY SMITH-NONINI gregations are conservative and more sym­ pathetic to local farmers and companies "[_Jow many of us, as we prowl the super than to the Mexican immigrants who pick .rl.market produce section planning our the crops, support for the FLOC campaign holiday meal, consider the human sweat has been slow to materialize in the larger behind those crisp cucumbers and neatly community. FLOC supporters have only re­ wrapped bunches of broccoli? cently begun to build support among ur­ Although 85 percent of U.S. fruits and ban churches and community groups. vegetables are tended or harvested by In June, FLOC organized a four-day hand, farmworkers have long been among march from Mt. Olive to Raleigh, where a the most underpaid and exploited of work­ rally at the capitol drew attention to ers, their lives virtually invisible to most farmworker concerns. A highlight of the Americans. This is particularly so in the event was a speech by J. Joseph Gossman, anti-union South, where agribusiness has Raleigh's Catholic Bishop, who addressed grown in recent years by recruiting the the distinction between the charity work cheapest and least resistant workers. To­ that many churches engage in and day most workers are Spanish-speaking im­ struggles for justice. migrants from Mexico and Central America. "Basic justice demands that people be assured a minimum level ofparticipation in In North Carolina, however, a new orga­ Cucumber pickers in North Carolina nizing drive led by the Farm Labor Organiz­ endure hours of back-breaking work. the economy," said Bishop Gossman. "It is ing Committee (FLOC), an Ohio-based Photo by Jeff Whetstone wrong for a person or group to be excluded farmworkers union, is challenging this bad conditions. A union is the only way unfairly .... Farmworkers need to be part­ 1990s version of a plantation economy. we're going to improve conditions. FLOC ners around the table with growers (and) Over the past 18 months, a handful offormer is going to be here a long time, maybe for­ corporations so that the common good of farmworkers affiliated with FLOC have been ever." all is reached." working in southeastern North Carolina to In Ohio and Michigan, after two decades organize cucumber pickers working for the ofstruggle, FLOC has achieved fairer work­ The Latino Face of Southern Farm Labor growers ofMount Olive Pickle Co., the sec­ ing agreements for more than 7,000 farm North Carolina farmers have felt an eco­ ond largest pickle producer in the US. worker members. FLOC is most well known nomic squeeze as agribusiness processors Baldemar Velasquez, FLOC's charismatic for its 8-year boycott against Campbell have increased corporate control over prod­ president and founder (see box on page Soup. The union eventually won three-way ucts. To reduce their expenses, growers five), views FLOC's campaign to "organize contracts between Campbell Soup, veg­ have relied heavily on the large numbers the South" as part of a wider social move­ etable growers and farmworkers. FLOC has of foreign workers willing to work at low ment. "There is a new Latino labor force all also achieved a collaboration between wages and tolerate marginal living and over the South which will be the founda­ Michigan's state government and the pri­ working conditions. tion of the next civil rights movement in vate sector on a pool of funds to subsidize The state's agricultural industry has United States-a movement that is going housing improvements for farmworkers. grown by leaps and bounds. North Caro­ to have a brown face." Asked why the union targets food pro­ lina agribusiness has risen to second in To date nearly 2,000 cucumber pickers cessors rather than the growers, Sarabia the nation for profits. Processors keep the have signed cards authorizing the union put it simply: "They are the ones who have bulk ofthe profits, while farm owners them­ to represent them. But Bill Bryan, the CEO the money." He explained that in agribusiness selves keep only about a third of gross rev­ of Mt. Olive, maintains that since his com­ today many growers contract directly with enues. Farmworkers receive only about 8 pany does not hire farmworkers, he has no processors, who supply farmers with seeds percent of the food income dollar in North responsibility to them. He has refused to and even buy the crop in advance before Carolina, less than half of the 18 percent encourage growers he buys from to recog­ the seeds go in the ground. the more organized Californian farmworkers nize the union. The new FLOC campaign has been en­ receive, according to the 1993 Commission "Everyone takes advantage of a migrant dorsed by the North Carolina Council of on Agricultural Workers Survey. worker," said Ramiro Sarabia, who heads Churches and is assisted by volunteers The demographics have changed since up FLOC's North Carolina campaign from from the ecumenical National Farm Work­ the 1980s when most migrants were black. an office in Faison. "The wages are low. ers Ministry, who seek to build community Today, 90 percent of the state's more than Some even get paid less than minimum support through the churches. In rural 340,000 farmworkers are Latino. Since 1990 wage. And everywhere you look you see North Carolina, where many church con- continued on page five

Page 4 RESIST Newsletter December 1998 FLOC Reaches South continued from page four Conditions in North Carolina Division at the North Carolina Department North Carolina farmers have begun recruit­ Poor sanitation, hazardous working con­ of Labor, explained that, by law, employers ing large numbers of Spanish-speaking ditions and poor access to health care are of farmworkers are not required to pay them "guestworkers" through the federal H2A among the explanations why farmworkers, for overtime, and there are no requirements program, which provides temporary visas as a population, have abysmal health. In­ that workers be given breaks during the for workers who cultivate and harvest fant mortality rates among farmworkers are workday. It is not uncommon for farm work­ crops during the growing season- typi­ a striking 125 percent higher than rates for ers to labor 10-12 hours a day, seven days cally from May to late October. In eight years the general population. Twenty-five farm­ a week without adequate sanitation facilities. the number of guestworkers in the state workers attended a recent meeting ofFLOC Housing facilities compound the prob­ has grown from zero to 10,000. Most work supporters in Durham. When FLOC presi­ lem. Growers have long provided housing in cucumbers, tobacco and sweet potatoes. dent Baldemar Velasquez asked them who for migrant workers in order to ensure an Velasquez attributes the increased exo­ had received health services in the last year, adequate workforce during the season. dus ofworkers from Mexico's rural areas in not one farmworker responded. Farms are often some distance from towns, part to the economic backlash from NAFTA. One of the stumbling blocks in union­ and most migrants lack transportation. Many Mexican small farmers have gone ization efforts is the fact that federal law A New York Times expose by Steven bankrupt since lowered trade barriers led has exempted agricultural workers from Greenhouse published last May concluded Mexico to import large quantities of cheap wage and hour laws that protect other U.S. that despite the federal housing reforms in U.S.-grown corn. workers. David Craig, ofthe Wage and Hour continued on page six Velasquez is Not a Typical Labor Leader SANDY SMITH-NONINI exploitation. But that doesn't always lead ~e kick-off of Farm Labor Organizing to the solution ofproblems. Now I see that .l Committee's(FLOC's) 1998organizing FLOC is in the business of reconciling re­ season was a Prayer Warrior's Vigil, which pressive relationships." found Baldemar Velasquez, the union's Velasquez found his religious perspec­ president, praying over the pickle vats of tive before he expanded FLOC's organiz­ the Mt. Olive Pickle Company. ing to the South. His unique mix of faith It's not the kind of protest action you'll and organizing has created a strategy that find many labor leaders engaged in. But no emphasizes reconciliation rather than the one has ever called Velasquez a typical la­ traditionally vicious struggle between bor leader. farmworkers and farmers, which in a right­ The winner ofa McArthur Genius Award to-work state like North Carolina might be for his' innovative leadership ofFLOC's 10- a losing proposition. year struggle in the Midwest against the Velasquez believes that exploitative Campbell Soup Company, Velasquez has in farmers who claim a Christian faith can be recent years found himself studying scrip­ embarrassed into sitting down at the bar­ ture as well as labor strategies. He is now gaining table. "You have to get the gar­ an ordained minister, and sees no conflict bage on the table." Opening lines of com­ in the two roles. munication can lead to change. "Fifteen At a recent FLOC planning meeting, years ago there were some farmers there Baldemar. Velasquez speaks to farm Velasquez referenced one of Paul's letter who would set their dogs on me. Now I go workers. Photo by Sandy Smith-Nonini to Corinthians and declared, "The spirit is and sit in their kitchens to resolve issues." the Lord, and where the spirit is there is FLOC's organizing strategies also con­ not about winning or losing; when a com­ liberty. But the prevailing spirit here in trast with the approach most associate with munity is developed, victories will come." North Carolina is the spirit ofbondage left organized labor. "Other unions do a cam­ Velasquez not only emphasizes a longer over from slavery. We have to break the paign and, whether they win or lose, they term presence, he also pushes a distinc­ spirit of slavery in this state!" leave afterwards," explained Velasquez. tively moral angle. FLOC's strategy in the It was the process of the struggle itself, "What I've been telling the AFL-CIO is that Midwest was to make Campbell's laborprac-: and working with Christian supporters of ifyou want to organize workers in the South tices a moral issue with the public. That FLOC, that Velasquez credits for the devel­ you have to make a permanent commitment strategy hurt Campbell's national reputa­ opment of the spiritual side of his organiz­ to the community." tion, and is widely credited with bringing ing. After many years ofregarding churches To Velasquez, the labor contract is just the company to the bargaining table. The as "an Anglo trick" Velasquez said, "I be­ the beginning of the process. He says, "The FLOC campaign is counting on a similar gan looking at things from a different per­ development of the union is more impor­ strategy of a long-term struggle that looks spective. I used to take advantage of ev­ tant than the union. The union is not the to the wider community for moral support ery incident we came across to point up goal, it's a vehicle to build community. It's offarmworkers' rights in North Carolina.

Vol. 7, #JO RESIST Newsletter Page5 FLOC Reaches South

continued from page five A cucumber grower 1986, "more farmworkers than ever are liv­ for Vlasic in Ohio said, ing in squalor." Part of the reason, accord­ "We didn't find FLOC ing to Greenhouse, is that federal spend­ that hard to work with. ing on migrant housing plummeted in the The farmworkers with last 30 years. In 1998 the government spent FLOC are just looking only 40 percent of what it spent to house for a fair shake. We migrants in 1969. The Housing Assistance didn't find unioniza­ Council estimates that 800,000 current tion threatened our farmworkers lack adequate housing. business." A plus of the H2A program in North In fact, in Ohio the Carolina has been more regular housing in­ price for 100 pounds of spections on those farms that employ offi­ ''No. 1" cucumbers (the cial "guestworkers." To date, 1,328 farmers smallest and most prof­ have registered with the state for housing Latinos now account for approximately 90% of the farm itable ones) was $26 16,046 migrant workers, but the North Caro­ workers in North Carolina. Photo by Jeff Whetstone this year, upfrom$14.50 lina Department of Labor estimated that in 1986. The price in many more of the state's 22,000 farms that pesticides, North Carolina farmers, who North Carolina for the same quantity ofNo. employ farmworkers house migrants, yet wield far more clout in the legislature, face l's is $17. Velasquez also cites surveys remain unregistered and unregulated. a maximum annual fine of only $500. showing that production is higher in union­ Housing is not the only aspect of ized areas of the Midwest than before the farmworkers' lives that escapes regulation. Overcoming An Anti-Union Climate FLOC campaign. Pesticide use violations are commonplace. Existing U.S. labor laws offer few pro­ But for the moment North Carolina farm­ The major cause of farmworker illness is tections to farmworkers, who were specifi­ ers continue to regard FLOC as the enemy. poisoning from the 1.2 billion pounds of cally excluded from the National Labor Re­ At the FLOC rally in June a man handed toxic pesticides that are now used in the lations Act. And, as a "right-to-work" state, out leaflets that read "Support Mt. Olive United States on virtually all commercial North Carolina law permits employers to Pickle Company! Defeat Communism!" At crops. A 1995 report by the National Insti­ hire non-union workers, even in a work­ the bottom the acronym "AFL-CIO" was tute of Environmental Health Sciences place where workers have achieved a union followed by an equal sign and a hammer found that pesticides were responsible for contract. Thus, the state's history of hos­ and sickle. more than 300,000 illnesses and 1,000 deaths tility to labor poses a special challenge to Virginia Nesmith, executive director of among farmworkers each year. FLOC's campaign. the National Farm Workers Ministry, said New federal standards for worker pro­ Mt. Olive CEO Bill Bryan claims that the anti-union sentiments of many grow­ tection adopted in 1993 require workers FLOC's pressure on his company is unfair. ers translate into a climate of fear for work­ who will handle the chemicals to take pes­ "Our company has been targeted solely ers. "Workers who support the union of­ ticide safety traini'ng classes. However, because of our name recognition." Asked ten experience an intense level of intimida­ health workers who offer the classes at about his company's responsibility to work­ tion. Public support is very important to migrant clinics estimate the demand for ers, he said, "We deal in free enterprise. create a climate in which workers can come training is far higher than they can meet. Our only moral responsibility is to treat forward." Inspectors are mainly concerned with suppliers as we would like to be treated, Wilfredo Rivera, of the Farmworker "restricted use" pesticides. Although which is to allow them to make their own Project in Benson, agreed, noting that or­ 26,000 North Carolina farmers are certified decisions about unionization." ganizers of any kind are not welcome in to use them, few farms are inspected. In Stan Eury, executive director of the farmworker camps, which are usually lo­ the first nine months of 1998, 451 farms North Carolina Growers Association said cated on the property of growers. "Many were inspected, twice the number in the unionization would hurt farmers. "We've camps don't even allow visitors. The own­ same period in 1997. At this rate it will take heard from farmers in the Midwest that the ers put up no trespassing signs, even about 43 years for state inspectors to visit union was the worst thing that's ever hap­ though it's a violation of the workers' ten­ all North Carolina farmers certified as pes­ pened to them. After FLOC got its contract ancy rights. Growers in many areas have a ticide users. Only one of the state's eight production went down, and it may go down lot of influence over the local sheriff's de­ inspectors speaks Spanish. here if workers unionize. Pickles are not a partment. They'll arrest you for visiting a And violations seldom result in more high profit crop. I think many growers would farmworker camp." In fact, the H2A con­ than a slap on the wrist. In 1996, the most get out of the business of cucumber grow­ tracts adopted by the NC Growers Asso­ recent year for which statistics were avail­ ing if workers unionize." ciation assert that owners have the right to able, 198 complaints resulted in 61 write­ In contrast, Velasquez claims that farm­ restrict access to farmworker camps. ups for non-compliance and 41 fines. The ers, as well as farmworkers, have come out Last June, attorneys for Farmworker average fine was only $370. Interestingly, well from these contracts in the Midwest, Legal Services were expelled from a work while commercial users and homeowners because they now receive a larger price for cam on the farm of Cecil Williams a Nash face a maximum fine of $5000 for misuse of their crops from processors. continued on page seven

Page 6 RESIST Newsletter December 1998 FLOG Reaches South North Carolina's Capitalists' Pigs continued from page six continuedfrom page three of the biggest Republican anti-union at­ County grower who threatened to have A spokesperson for Murphy Family tack dogs in Congress are Representative them arrested for attempting to meet with Farms, Inc., the ironically named top pork Cass Ballinger (R-NC), who has worked tire­ an injured worker on the property. In Au­ producing corporation offormer State Sena­ lessly for years to do away with safety and gust, Baldemar Velasquez, Sarabia and two tor Murphy, says, "We're taking a hit right health regulations for workers, and [re­ other organizers challenged this policy by now. It's going to take some time for things cently defeated] Senator Lauch Faircloth visiting the same camp, where the grower to turn around. Some producers aren't go­ (R-NC), who is himselfa North Carolina pork had posted a large "No Trespassing" sign. ing to make it." Tsk! Tsk! Murphy and the producer." About an hour after their arrival a meeting handful of other giant integrators stand not between the FLOC organizers and about only to gobble up competitors. When they Follow the Money 20 local workers was broken up by Mr. have sustained the last losses they can Pork producers consolidate their friend­ Williams who arrived with two sheriff's afford, they will have to jack prices back ships among elected officials with gener­ cars. When they refused to leave volun­ up to recoup. That will mean drastic reduc­ ous and frequent campaign contributions. tarily, the FLOC organizers were arrested. tions in production. Many contract grow­ The biggest recipient of hog money in Although a judge threw out the case, af­ ers will have their contracts canceled. In­ North Carolina in the 1996 election cycle terwards the local sheriff told organizers evitably, when the de-contracted fold and was Governor Jim Hunt, who is a close he would continuing arresting anyone who sell, the big producers will step in to buy friend and confidante of Wendall Murphy. growers accused of "trespassing." the "farms" at fire sale prices. Yet again, Dozens of key state elected officials take vertical integration. money from pork producers, and the in­ Building Community Support "This industry has shown it cares noth­ dustry does not take kindly to dissenters. In October, around 100 people, includ­ ing for farmers, workers, communities, or For example, Republican Cindy Watson ing Velasquez, the FLOC organizers and a the environment," said Boyd McCamish, a of Duplin County, where 2.1 million hogs contingent of 25 farmworkers, gathered on United Food and Commercial Workers or­ reside, broke ranks last year and voted to Duke's campus in Durham to plan the next ganizer who is involved in NLRB hearings support more stringent regulation of the steps in the campaign. Since Bryan contin­ against Smithfield for dozens of violations industry. The industry spent millions to ues to reject talks, organizers project that a oflabor laws during the UFCW's last orga­ unseat her with a hand-picked candidate centerpiece of the campaign beginning in nizing drive. "Now they are preparing to in the primary. In this year's election for March 1999 will be a boycott of Mt. Olive cannibalize one another. It's monopoly capi­ Watson's House seat, both the Republi­ products throughout the Southeast where talism at its best." can and the Democrat candidates are em­ the company's market is based. ployees of Murphy Family Farms, Inc. But the immediate need is to build a com­ Labors from Neighbors The industry has been systematic in munity network of support for the farm­ McCamish and fellow organizers have fighting for its interests, economically and worker struggle. The involvement of been involved in exploratory discussions politically, and in capitalizing on the most churches, universities and community with community, environmental, and legal reactionary aspects of Southern culture groups were critical to the success of the groups about building alliances to confront and ideology. The fight back, on the other FLOC campaign against Campbell Soup. In Smithfield in a broad way. "Conditions in­ hand, remains fragmented along every one the end, Velasquez credits the combination side this place are medieval," says Jorge of these lines. The most promising devel­ of the boycott against Campbell and the · Carrillo. "In one year, out of 4,000 workers, opments that might occur in the near term moral pressure from the surrounding com­ 3,500 lost their jobs, mostly from injuries." are the strengthening of labor-community munity with forcing company executives The processor has systematically alliances for strategically targeted corpo­ to sit down at the bargaining table with shifted from a largely African-American rate campaigns, and the embryonic cam­ farmworkers and growers. work force to a majority Latino work force paign to establish a public financing sys­ Velasquez says that the FLOC strategy, over the past three years. The perception tem for political campaigns. The former has in contrast to that of many labor unions, is that Latino workers are more compliant has the greatest potential for overcoming ra­ to "make a permanent commitment to a com­ partly driven the shift, but the ability to cial division and the long-standing anti­ munity." In North Carolina that kind oflong pay below the industry standard wage has union ideology in this region, and the lat­ term vision may be what is needed to win a figured heavily into the entire industry's ter is essential for divorcing state elected victory. But if Velasquez is right about his preference for the foreign born. UFCW officials from their abject dependence on prediction that the time is ripe for a "new Assistant Director for Strategic Operations, corporate money to run credible campaigns civil rights movement," winning may well Al Zack, believes North Carolina has been for elected office. depend less on economics than on the targeted for the express purpose of using "It's a little like eating an elephant," said strength of moral commitments. Latino workers to put downward pressure Nan Freeland of the North Carolina Envi­ on wages across the industry nationally. ronmental Justice Network. "You have to Sandy Smith-Nonini, a Research "That's why we have made a long-term do it one bite at a time." Assistant Professor ofAnthropology at commitment to organizing in the Carolinas, the University of North Carolina, where the levels of unionization are the Chapel Hill,· is conducting research for lowest in the country. Stan Goff is the Organizing Director at the Institute for Southern Studies. "But the opposition is formidable. Two Democracy South.

Vol. 7, #JO RESIST Newsletter Page 7 GRANTS

Resist awards grants eight times a year to A $2,000 grant from Resist will support Project Uplift groups throughout the United States en­ the National INS Raids Task Force and its 1601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 320 gaged in activism for social and economic campaign to end immigration raids. Great Falls, MT 59403-1399 justice. In each issue of the Newsletter we list a few recent grant recipients. In this is­ Somos Un Pueblo Unido Project Uplift was initially formed in 1994 sue, we include grantees from our Novem­ P.O. Box 31118 to address proposed "welfare reform" ber allocation cycle. For more information, Santa Fe, NM 87594 legislation in the Montana legislature. contact the groups at the addresses below. Currently, Project Uplift is a grassroots Somos Un Pueblo Unido was founded in coalition oflow-income residents and National Network for 1995 after California's approval of Propo­ concerned citizens working towards the Immigrant and Refugee Rights sition 187. In response, a diverse group principle of economic justice. Recently, 310 8th Street, Suite 307 of people, including long-term and recent Project Uplift developed and negotiated a Oakland, CA 94607 immigrants, teachers, retired state work­ "Welfare Bill of Rights" with the Mon­ ers, and other concerned citizens, came tana Department of Public Health and The National Network for Immigrant and together to prevent a parallel erosion of Human Services. As a result of a series of Refugee Rights was established in 1986, human rights from occurring in New collaborative efforts with other Montana bringing together grassroots community, Mexico. As a result, the state legislature social action programs, the State agreed religious, labor, civil rights and legal passed a memorial establishing that New to distribute, and abide by, this bill of organizations to help build a social move­ Mexico welcomes immigrants and sup­ rights in its work with welfare program ment in support of the rights of immi­ ports their rights to education, medical recipients. grants and refugees. NNIRR envisions and social services. Somos was also A $1,500 grant from Resist will provide the rights of the foreign born as part of a successful in getting the Santa Fe School general support for this coalition as they broader human and civil rights agenda in Board to pass a resolution in October, seek to engage in proactive strategies for the United States. NNIRR is committed to 1996 ensuring that no child would be low-income people. challenging the current assault on poli­ denied educational services based upon cies and laws governing the treatment of their national origin or immigration status. VA Black Lung Association immigrants, and in building an awareness A $2,000 grant from Resist will support P. 0. Box 17 60 in the U.S. of the need for international the INS Raids Awareness Campaign, Richlands, VA 24641 protections and solidarity with organiza­ which is affiliated with NNIRR's work, tions and movements for migrants' rights and highlights abusive discriminatory Black lung disease (pneumoconiosis) is in other countries. INS practices. an occupationally caused progressive, incurable disease that affects coal miners, •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• causing extreme shortness of breath, Join the Resist Pledge Program heart disease and lung failure. Miners We'd like you to consider Yes/ I'll become a contract black lung disease as a result of RESIST Pledge. their exposure to coal dust. In 1988, 32 becoming a Resist Pledge. disabled coal miners and their families Pledges account for over I'll send you my pledge of $__ founded the Virginia Black Lung Associa­ 30% of our income. every month/two months/ quarter/six months (circle one). tion out of frustration with oppressive By becoming a pledge, you help regulations enacted by the federal gov­ guarantee Resist a fixed and dependable [ ] Enclosed is an initial pledge ernment regarding access to health ben­ source of income on which we can build contribution of $__ _ efits. VBLA has grown to 2,141 members our grant-making and has a three-pronged agenda: 1) re­ [] I can't join the pledge program program. In return, we will send you a form the Black Lung Benefits Program; 2) monthly pledge letter and reminder now, but here's a contribution of • develop leadership and advocacy skills along with your newsletter. We will $___ to support your work. among miners and their families; and 3) keep you up-to-date on the groups we Name ______network with other advocacy groups on have funded and the other work being Address ______both the local and the national level for done at Resist. City/State/Zip ______So take the plunge and become a Resist better mine health and safety. Pledge! We count on you, and the Phone ______A $2,000 grant from Resist will fund groups we fund count on us. the purchase of computer equipment to Donations to Resist are tax-deductible. enable better communication between • Resist • 259 Elm Street • Suite 201 • Somerville • MA • 02144 • members of this organization. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Page8 RESIST Newsletter December 1998