Bill Text: TX HR438 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing April 1, 2013, as Migrant Farmworker Day at the State Capitol.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-03-11 - Reported enrolled [HR438 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR438-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 438 | ||
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| WHEREAS, In the United States, an estimated three million | ||
| migrant and seasonal farmworkers cultivate, harvest, and prepare | ||
| crops for market or storage each year; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The first wave of migrant farmworkers arrived in the | ||
| United States in the mid-to-late 19th century; these early | ||
| travelers were experienced miners, workhands from cattle ranches, | ||
| and indentured servants fleeing Mexican traditional farms; between | ||
| 1850 and 1880, more than 55,000 Mexican workers immigrated to the | ||
| United States, about two-thirds of them pursuing employment in | ||
| Texas; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Though many workers continued to immigrate at the | ||
| turn of the 20th century, the use of migrant laborers declined | ||
| during the Great Depression, as internal migrant workers from Dust | ||
| Bowl states moved West; the major federal labor laws of this era, | ||
| which established a minimum wage and set 16 as the minimum age for | ||
| work, excluded farmworkers, who could legally work at the age of 12; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, Ethnographic accounts of migrant laborers during | ||
| that time reveal that most lived and worked under very poor | ||
| conditions, and many feared that complaining would lead to | ||
| deportation; in the years that followed, leaders like Cesar Chavez | ||
| and Dolores Huerta and groups like the United Farm Workers and the | ||
| National Center for Farmworker Health fought to ensure more humane | ||
| working conditions; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Migrant farmworkers are the engine that drives the | ||
| agricultural sector of the United States economy, a $28 billion | ||
| industry, yet despite their tremendous contributions, most earn | ||
| annual incomes below the poverty level; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In addition to low wages, migrant farmworkers rarely | ||
| have access to workers' compensation or disability benefits, even | ||
| though their occupation is one of the most dangerous in America; | ||
| they suffer from the highest rates of toxic chemical injuries and | ||
| skin disorders, while only 10 percent report having | ||
| employer-provided health insurance; the consequences of these | ||
| conditions are alarming: according to the Centers for Disease | ||
| Control and Prevention, the life expectancy for migrant farmworkers | ||
| is 49 years, compared to 73 for the general U.S. population; and | ||
| WHEREAS, More than three million people work in the | ||
| agricultural industry in the United States, and one-third of those | ||
| are hired farmworkers, according to a 2006 report from the U.S. | ||
| Department of Agriculture; their presence has been shown to | ||
| increase the overall economic output of the regions in which they | ||
| labor, including Texas, where more than 131,000 migrant farmworkers | ||
| actively work, including more than 31,000 in Hidalgo County alone; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, The seasonal and intensive work that migrant | ||
| farmworkers do is integral to the success of the agricultural | ||
| economy of our country, and it is indeed fitting to honor the men | ||
| and women behind this honorable occupation; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas | ||
| Legislature, hereby recognize April 1, 2013, as Migrant Farmworker | ||
| Day and encourage all Texans to consider the contributions and | ||
| history of migrant farmworkers in the Lone Star State. | ||
| Canales | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 438 was adopted by the House on | ||
| February 28, 2013, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
