Mixteco Immigrants in California Struggle to Get Social Services in their Language – When they need social services, indigenous immigrant families from Mexico go through a litany of problems. This is happening in the farming county of Kern, in the south of California’s Central Valley, home to a growing population of residents who only speak their Mixteco language from southern Mexico. In Kern County, residents report that when they go to get healthcare, to their children’s schools, or to ask for emergency help, most of the time they can’t find an interpreter who understands them completely. Our correspondent Rubén Tapia reports that a group of neighbors and organizers are seeking solutions to this crisis.
More Protections for Guest Workers Sought in Washington – More than 66,000 foreign workers come to the country each year with H2B visas to work temporarily in gardening, construction, and other industries. After years of receiving complaints from workers’ rights groups, reporting the program lends itself to wage, physical, and labor abuse, the federal Department of Labor announced new rules in April, but many employers rejected them. José López Zamorano reports from Washington, D.C. that now, lawmakers and union leaders are trying to come up with a plan of additional reforms to give protection and dignity to the migrants.
Farm Workers Pressure Berry Giant Driscoll’s – Farm workers from the Skagit Valley in Washington State, who are in conflict with the berry producer Sakuma Farms, are now taking their case to consumers in Seattle and other big cities. Leaders are calling for better wages, a recognition for their union, and the right to a collective contract. Now, the organizers are calling to boycott berries with the brandname Driscoll’s, the main buyer of products from Sakuma Farms. The executive director of Comunidad a Comunidad, Rosalinda Guillén, who supports the workers in the state of Washington, spoke about the issue on Línea Abierta.
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