[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 33 (Thursday, March 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FARM LABOR ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 17, 2005

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the Farm Labor 
Organizing Committee (FLOC) and their historic achievements.
  For more than 35 years, FLOC has represented the guest workers who 
labor in our fields and farms bringing food to our tables. They are 
striving to achieve the American dream, a good-paying job in a safe 
workplace and the ability to provide for their families. Something that 
everyone in America can understand.
  Under the leadership of FLOC's president, Baldemar Velasquez, the 
organization has achieved historic gains--including the first labor 
agreement in U.S. history to cover guest workers. Other significant 
achievements include increasing workers wages, improving worker 
housing, and protection against harmful pesticides. FLOC's actions will 
provide a safer working environment for its members and a better 
product for the consumer.
  Today, FLOC will open an office in Monterrey, Mexico, it's first 
outside the U.S. The office will help oversee the recruitment and 
transportation of guest workers. All of us have heard the nightmarish 
stories of coyotes smuggling workers across the border only to have the 
workers trapped in de-facto indentured servitude or perish in the 
unsafe crossing. FLOC has worked to bring workers to the U.S. legally, 
informing them of their rights as guest workers.
  Without FLOC's assistance, so many workers would fall through the 
cracks. Today I celebrate FLOC's accomplishments and success. Their 
legacy is greater than the agreements signed. Their legacy is a 
workforce that is paid a living wage and laboring in a safe 
environment. Their legacy is hope.

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