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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, In the United States, an estimated three million |
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migrant and seasonal farmworkers cultivate, harvest, and prepare |
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crops for market or storage each year; and |
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WHEREAS, The first wave of migrant farmworkers arrived in the |
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United States in the mid-to-late 19th century; these early |
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travelers were experienced miners, workhands from cattle ranches, |
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and indentured servants fleeing Mexican traditional farms; between |
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1850 and 1880, more than 55,000 Mexican workers immigrated to the |
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United States, about two-thirds of them pursuing employment in |
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Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Though many workers continued to immigrate at the |
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turn of the 20th century, the use of migrant laborers declined |
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during the Great Depression, as internal migrant workers from Dust |
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Bowl states moved West; the major federal labor laws of this era, |
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which established a minimum wage and set 16 as the minimum age for |
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work, excluded farmworkers, who could legally work at the age of 12; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Ethnographic accounts of migrant laborers during |
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that time reveal that most lived and worked under very poor |
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conditions, and many feared that complaining would lead to |
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deportation; in the years that followed, leaders like Cesar Chavez |
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and Dolores Huerta and groups like the United Farm Workers and the |
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National Center for Farmworker Health fought to ensure safer |
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working conditions and better wages; the advocacy for farmworker |
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rights and protection continues under La Union del Pueblo Entero, a |
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sister organization of the United Farm Workers, which has 7,000 |
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members in South Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Migrant farmworkers are the engine that drives the |
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agricultural sector of the United States economy, a $28 billion |
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industry, yet despite their tremendous contributions, most earn |
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annual incomes below the poverty level; and |
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WHEREAS, In addition to low wages, migrant farmworkers rarely |
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have access to workers' compensation or disability benefits, even |
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though their occupation is one of the most dangerous in America; |
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they suffer from the highest rates of toxic chemical injuries and |
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skin disorders, while only 10 percent report having |
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employer-provided health insurance; the consequences of these |
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conditions are alarming: according to the Centers for Disease |
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Control and Prevention, the life expectancy for migrant farmworkers |
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is 49 years, compared to 73 for the general U.S. population; and |
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WHEREAS, More than three million people work in the |
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agricultural industry in the United States, and one-third of those |
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are hired farmworkers, according to a 2006 report from the U.S. |
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Department of Agriculture; their presence has been shown to |
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increase the overall economic output of the regions in which they |
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labor, including Texas, where more than 131,000 migrant farmworkers |
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actively work, including more than 31,000 in Hidalgo County alone; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The seasonal and labor-intensive work that migrant |
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farmworkers perform is integral to the success of the agricultural |
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economy of our country and our state, and it is indeed fitting to |
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honor the men and women engaged in this honorable occupation; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize April 23, 2013, as Migrant Farmworker |
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Day and encourage all Texans to consider the contributions and |
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history of migrant farmworkers in the Lone Star State. |