Moden Day Slavery in Florida

This video is of a Congressional committee hearing on modern day exploitation of migrant farm workers in Immokalee, Florida. Workers are claiming intolerable working conditions, substandard and poverty level housing conditions, indentured servitude and slave wages. The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which represents the majority of tomato growers in Southern Florida, denies those claims and attempts to explain their actions to the committee.

On November 16, 2010 the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange reached an agreement. The agreement now improves working conditions and allows giant food retailers such as McDonald's, Taco Bell, Subway and others to pass on the penny a pound initiative proposed by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. However, this is still a far cry from solving the problem. Many more giant food retailers have not signed on to the agreement. Locally, Publix Supermarkets and most recently the new Trader Joe's grocery store in Naples have refused to accept the agreement. Pressure needs to be put on these retailers to help the struggling Immokalee workers.

One thing I can do  is write a letter to these food giants demanding that they agree to the penny a pound initiative. 

This is a link to a sample letter supplied by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers that anyone can use to write to the giant food retailers who do not support the migrant workers.

http://ciw-online.org/Resources/tools/manager%20letters/GenLTR.pdf

Budget Cuts Hurt Families

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2012-02-16/FGCU-facing-serious-budget-cuts-in-the-battle-for-funding-

 

FGCU Facing Serious Sudget Cuts in the Battle for Funding

-No author listed

•  Students facing increased tuition due to budget cuts will affect students negatively

•   FGCU is facing millions of dollars in budget cuts which will increase   tuition by 15%.

•  If tuition is increased, students may be forced to change schools.

•  When budget cuts are made school programs suffer. 

     I agree that many will suffer if budgets are slashed. Students will not be able to afford tuition and be forced to attend less expensive colleges.  I don’t believe that educational institutions should be forced to take on the burden. We should be working to preserve our educations. Education leads to jobs and cuts in education should be the last resort.

     It seems as though this article focused more on cuts in school programs when the real problem is the increase in the cost of tuition. The author concludes in the article how programs will be affected, not how students will be affected by the tuition increase.  It also doesn’t address how cuts will affect instructors and class size, leading less classes being offered.  The article does depict how it will hurt students who are already straining to pay their tuition.

Kiva Gives the Gift of Hope

Every day I wake up I am preparing for my day ahead, I lose sight of what I have and the things I take for granted. There are some things that have become part of my daily routine I rarely think about such as my daily Starbucks habit.  Five dollars a day doesn’t seem like much, but it is for a country whose average annual income is $119.  

The Mapendo Plus Group is a group of ten micro-entrepreneurs.  The chairwoman, Sylvie has proven herself to be successful. She has a customer based business based on excellent customer service and good management skills. The money raised would be used to purchase inventory to expand business to create an additional profit.

These members have gone through due diligence. It is the initial screen where Kiva has analyzed and audited the financial statements, portfolio reports, resumes of Board and Management, organizational manuals, projections, and ratings.  So far, Sylvie has successfully repaid nine loans. The risk is minimal based on Sylvie’s past history.

My need for a fancy drink doesn’t pale in comparison to the needs of these women. One week without coffee would provide for a family whose weekly profit is less than $90. I urge you, Professor Bolduc-Simpson to give up one luxury for a short amount of time.  This generous gift would provide an opportunity to those who do not have the luxuries that we all so often take for granted.

                    Ethnic Journey

I am the daughter from the land of the free,

Born in New England,

In the smallest state in the union, the Isle of Rhodes

A child surrounded by glorious rivers and blue oceans,

Warm taste of sea spray touch my lips,

From my parents I have the blood of the French,

Granddaughter of French immigrants,

I have the gift of English and French,

Je m'appelle Danielle

My ethnic identity is a journey

Racist Police

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/opinion/an-outrage-in-east-haven-conn.html?_r=1&ref=discrimination

 

In the article, An Outrage in East Haven, no author listed, discusses how Hispanic residents in an East Haven Connecticut neighborhood were terrorized by local police. The article details how three police officers and a Sergeant were arrested by the FBI after they unlawfully detained and searched those of Hispanic descent. Sometimes the police interactions included beatings and other physical violence.  When confronted and asked how he would rectify the situation, the Mayor met the opposition with the response, “I’ll have tacos for dinner”.

This article to me was very disturbing. The same people we are to trust and uphold the laws are doing just the opposite. I don’t know how a department can be led by a leader who is so ignorant and racist.  The author of this article pinpointed the problem. The mayor did not understand the severity of the problem within the police department.  The fight for equality in America is as tough as ever. It’s about time that people who are discriminated fight back.  Racism by police should not be tolerated. They should be held to a higher standard. They are role models. If we cannot look to our police for direction, who is left to look to?