I don’t know. But couldn't we try? That’s why U.S., Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced March 30, 2007 legislation called “The Indentured Servitude Abolition Act of 2007” to hold employers and foreign labor contractors responsible for foreign workers recruited for jobs in the United States.Instead of good jobs few Americans want to do anyway [such as hand picking pickles for the big burger you grill today], recruited workers wind up trapped in oppressive employment, often unable to repay their debts to their recruiters or find other jobs.
Unlike U.S. citizens, legal guestworkers do not enjoy the ability to change jobs if they are mistreated. Instead, they are bound to the employers who “import” them. If guestworkers complain about abuses, they face deportation, blacklisting, and in some cases death. This is simply modern day slavery in disguise.
That’s why Baldemar Velazquez, President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee here in Toledo, whom I met at a funeral for one of his employees that had been assassinated [Santiago Cruz was tortured and murdered April 9, 2007 in Monterrey Mexico at the FLOC office for helping Mexicans recruited into the US guest worker program fight for their rights as legal, temporary workers in the US] testified June 7, 2007 before the United States Congress in an effort to support Congressman George Miller's (D-CA) “Indentured Servitude Abolition Act of 2007.”So on this Independence Day, while we polish off our burgers and iced tea, here’s what I’m wondering about modern day slavery in the United States: If labor unions are so bad, why are they the ones fighting the hardest to end it, some with their very lives, while too many in the church just want someone to pass us the chips?
Exodus 22:21 [NLT] says, “21You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” Leviticus 19:34 [NLT] says, “34Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself.” Numbers 15:15 [NLT] says, “15 Native-born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the Lord and are subject to the same decrees. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.”
To donate to FLOC or find other ways to eliminate abuses of indentured servitude in the United States, contact Baldemar at 419.297.7528
To read the press release about Miller's bill click here
To read about the “The Indentured Servitude Abolition Act of 2007” click here
1 comment:
Way to go Mike! Baldemar is a union leader that loves God, and that makes all the difference at FLOC. Leonard
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