Fields of fear for Colorado farm laborers

Five undocumented Mexican workers won a civil lawsuit against their agricultural contractor employers, who were found guilty of violating the Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The contractors offered no defense to charges of threatening the workers with violence and deducting from the workers' paychecks fees for rent, transportation, and smuggling them across the border. The judge awarded the workers $7.8 million. To read ...

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27th 2009, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

HOUSING WORKS BOOKSTORE CAFE

126 Crosby St, New York, NY 10012

In light of the paperback release of Out of Exile, editor Craig Walzer will be speaking at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in New York. Special guests (via sateliite): Out of Exile narrators Panther Alier and Alweel Kol.

Paperback copies, signed by Craig Walzer, Dave Eggers and Valentino Achak Deng, will be on sale at the event.

To download the event flyer, ...

If you make a donation of $25 or more, you can receive a free, custom-designed VOW t-shirt. Once you've made your donation, email letters@voiceofwitness.com with "T-shirt" in the subject line. In the body of your message, please indicate t-shirt size (S/M/L/XL) and how you made your donation e.g. online/check. (Offer applies to U.S. residents only.)

Starting July 1, a Utah state law will make it easier to deport undocumented workers. There is debate in Utah about whether its 40,000 undocumented workers hurt or help the state economy. The state government spends millions of dollars each year educating undocumented workers and their children, but the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce estimates that this group contributes, through payroll taxes and consumer spending, $2 billion a year to the state. To read the ...

In a letter to the New York Times this week, the director of the Immigrants Rights Program of the American Friends Service Committee argues that immigration agents' shift in focus from undocumented workers to their employers "will only drive those workers further underground, setting the stage for more exploitation and violations of labor rights." To read the full article, click here.

Monday, April 27th, 12pm

UCSF Parnassus campus

513 Parnassus, HSW 303

Out of Exile editor Craig Walzer will be speaking at UCSF for a fund and awareness-raising event hosted by Health Alliance for Sudan. The event is centered around healthcare in Sudan and health issues faced by IDPs (internally displaced persons) and refugees. Proceeds from this event will benefit Juba Teaching Hospital.