( – promoted by kestrel9000)

(The VT Migrant Farm Worker Solidarity Project asked me to post this here, which I’m glad to do)

VT Farm Workers End 3 Day Strike in Frustration. Workers denounce Mack Farm and file $4,494.00 back wage claim.

Charlotte, Vermont-November 18-. “We told him we’re not working and we’re not leaving until you pay us,” explained, a 27 year old migrant farm worker woman from San Isidro, Chiapas, Mexico after going on strike last Saturday with her boyfriend and father at Mack Farm in Charlotte.

The workers are owed $4,494.00 in back wages for the previous months work and since beginning employment there last January they claim the farmer owes them $8,344.00. “He is always late with pay and sometimes pays us half of what he owes us, sometimes the checks bounce, and sometimes he gives us nothing at all. Then he tries to run you from the farm. He owes others who got frustrated and already left the farm,” explained the worker.

The 3 workers ended their 3-day strike on Monday night to stay with friends and were fortunate to find work at another farm within a couple days. They filed a back wage claim with the Vermont Department of Labor yesterday.

Background

On Friday November 12th, the VT Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project received a call from a worker on the farm. She had called months earlier with a similar complaint. On Saturday, after the Solidarity project reminded David Mack that the workers had been promised payment by 12 noon he hung up the phone saying, “This conversation is over”.

On Monday, an anonymous source called the Solidarity Project and shared that when he told a group of unemployed workers there was work at Mack farm one worker replied, “Mack Farm, no way, I’ll never work there again.” It turns out the worker is owed roughly $3,000.00 from Mac. The Solidarity Project is working with the farm worker community to track him down to help him file a back wage claim.

Today is a National Day of Action Against Wage Theft (www.iwj.org/index.cfm/national-day-of-action-against-wage-theft) and today the VT Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project stands with this family to publicly denounce Mack Farm . “We are aware that neither Mack Farm nor any dairy farmer is getting rich right now,” said Natalia Fajardo co-coordinator of the community organizing project at the Solidarity Project. “However, in this well documented case that spans a number of years Mack farm must be singled out for their consistent wage theft.”

Just last year the Solidarity Project received a similar complaint about Mack Farm. Workers were owed thousands of dollars and went on strike. Some of the workers left without being paid and in the process the Solidarity project learned that there were a number of other former Mack employees who had also left without pay. A clip from the interview they conducted at that time is available on line at: http://www.vtmigrantfarmworker…

After consulting with a group of anonymous dairy farmers, the Solidarity Project learned that some farmers are aware and concerned about Mack’s disregard for workers and fear he makes all farmers look bad. Although, non-payment of workers is not a problem on the majority of VT dairy farms there are a handful of other back wage claims in Vermont that have been or will be filed in the coming weeks after repeated failed attempts to appeal directly to farmers.

“This isn’t a simple case of a farmer who falls behind on pay once or twice and negotiates some agreement with workers. This is the way this farm is run. We are hopeful that the farming community might find ways to denounce Mack because he makes other farmers look bad.” Farjardo continued, “This is a messy situation. On the one hand dairy farms are going under creating an environment where a handful of employers like Mack are more likely to exploit workers. While on the other hand Gregg Engles, CEO of Dean Foods that controls 70-80% of the Northeast Dairy Market, averages $21.3 million in compensation packages. Trickle up economics lines the pockets of CEO’s and systematically exploits the hard work of both farm workers and farmers. This case is a serious reminder for the urgent need for bold steps in economic, agricultural and immigration reforms.”

More information at: www.vtmfsp.org; 802-825-1609; vtmfsp@gmail.com

(Nicely written. – promoted by JulieWaters)

Long-time readers know me.  My original signature line was something like “proud to be GMD’s token libertarian-socialist” (as a play on long-time commentator Charity’s line “proud to be GMD’s token conservative”).  For those who don’t know me: the first diary I ever wrote was one taking Odum to task for a piece he penned critical of our overtly conservative mainstream press yet dismissive of the anti-capitalist left.  In short: I am an anarchist lurking and participating amongst you all- but I make no secret of it and am glad to have received a modicum of respect from some of you along the way.

I won’t bother with an explanation of my self-described “libertarian-socialist” politics (as that can be a lengthy conversation in its own right) except to basically clarify for those of you totally shocked by the term (because I’ve learnt that that happens frequently): “libertarian-socialism” is often used interchangeably with “anarchism” but hoping to avoid all the BS associated with that word.  It connotes a belief in the Absolute freedom of the individual, but places the individual in the context of (and there for responsible to) the community around him/her.  I hope for the complete deconstruction of the State, but not for the rampant whim of corporations (ie, “libertarianism” as presented by the political right) but instead to be replaced by the directly democratic notions of “the people”.  The vast majority of those who share similar political and social beliefs as I are strictly anti-electoral; why I personally deviate from that stance is probably a matter for another time and place.  Anyway…

I’m writing now to present an argument why other anti-capitalists in Vermont (be you Marxist, green “anarchists”, or like me, quasi-living nineteenth or even twentieth-century Russian or French or Spanish-style communists) should consider the Democrats for at least a few of the state-wide tickets this coming election day.

We’ll start with the governor’s race.  I have never voted more to the right of the Progressive Party in the Vermont governor’s race.  Mostly, I’ve cast my ballot for the Liberty Union candidate, though the Progressive Party candidate has a few times gained my vote.  This particular election, however, is noteworthy.  I will be voting for Peter Shumlin.  

Not only is it true that our strong tradition of not removing incumbents is finally irrelevant because Jim “Doesless” Douglas is stepping aside, but we are certainly at a very important juncture in our history.  The Douglas Administration’s modern-Republican styled decimation of state-services is at a critical juncture, the next century of our electrical consumption is at an unprecedented crossroads because of VT Yankee, and in the face of a national “jobless economic recovery” we’re faced with the crucial task of deciding whether to forge ahead as a state which follows the national model of supply-side tax cuts to those who are more than capable of paying or the internationally-accepted demand-side tax cuts for those who are in need of putting cash in their pockets in order to survive and (hopefully) prosper.

The opportunities for increased self-sufficiancy (as in the purchase of the dams on the CT River) as well as economic equality (as in a progressive tax system) or environmental protection (like a sincere commitment to renewable energy or an earnest protection of our environmental regulations) or a blind eye to inequality (as in marriage rights for our LGBT community) have all been lost or compromised under the Douglas Administration; and will not only continue to be so under Dubie, but in fact continue to get much, much worse.

I am no apologist for Mr Shumlin.  I personally find him to be a slimy, smarmy politician who sees what’s politically expedient and pounces on it.  And let me be frank here: he is well-known amongst the insiders to be, shall we say, less then subtle in his approach towards any even mildly attractive woman.  In my own sole personal interaction with the man, he completely made-up a personal history with me in order to forge a personal connection and camaraderie; In any other moment I would certainly not be voting for him, and would at the least not be suggesting that others do either.

Yet the stakes are so high, at this moment, that Vermont can not risk the potential ramifications of a Dubie Administration.  It is truly a moment in time when the “lesser of two evils” is by far a step towards the greater good (more on this at the end).

Jim Douglas has been a horrible and dangerous Governor for Vermont because he’s extremely politically savvy (a 30+ year career politician who year after year wins by painting himself as an “outsider” against the evil “politicians” and “bureaucrats”?), politically wrong (supply-side economics is barely a legitimate theory anymore anywhere except in the US), and an asshole (just ask any of the thousands of Vermonters who’ve lost their jobs on his watch).  Yet Dubie is demonstrably worse: he (or his handlers) is just as savvy (hard working good ol’ boys across the state love him and accept him as “one of them” despite the fact that he couldn’t fall a tree with a sharp ax if you paid him twice as much as any logger makes to do so), he is even more politically wrong than Douglas (when is that last time abortion was a questioned right in this state? does our newspaper record even go back that far?), and he’s an even bigger asshole than Douglas ever was- I mean, one of Vermonter’s biggest points of pride has been the way we do politics and political campaigns way different than the lower 47- yet Dubie started and has continued to push a political campaign that looks frighteningly like what the rest of American has- lies, smears, distorted facts, outright lies, a short-term vision in the name of profit and at the expense of our children’s future, and un-accomplishable promises.

Personally, I’ve lived-out the Douglas Administration thinking “well, we’ll get through this, and then we’ll have something better and move on”…. yet Dubie somehow threatens to bring us even further into the abyss of supply-side (read: take care of the rich first and foremost) economics and make-sure-government-intrudes-on-your-right-to-decide-what’s-best-for-you-and-your-family” (abortion, privacy, free speech, etc) small government.  There is nothing reasonable about watching Brian Dubie become governor, except for the nihilists among us.

The Lieutenant Governor’s Race.  Ugh.  Let’s be frank: Phil Scott is a shoe-in to win this race.  His Dem opponent (Steve Howard? I’m not even sure if that’s him name) has done a terrible job putting himself out there, and anyone who knows me would certainly describe me as a political junky.  Yet Scott is a moderate Republican who will sit tight as Lt Gov (an almost totally meaningless and perfunctory position) until the Gov seat opens back up and he can run for that.  The only reason I’d urge you to vote for the Dem (whoever he is) in this race is because Scott is really bad news: make no mistake, a “moderate Republican” like Scott is about as good as a pimple in the space between your ass and your nut sack.  He’s a big business/industry insider who thinks corporate “good” is the best way forward on all fronts.  If I were the state Dems, I’d hire a full-time person to start working now to dig up dirt on this guy in hopes of finding a way of derailing his eventual gubernatorial campaign, because he’s nothing more than a Douglas (mainstream national Republican)-style politician who will destroy our social safety net for the benefit of his corporate pals.

Secretary of State.  Jason Gibbs, the GOP candidate, is a Douglas Administration lackey with the morals of a turd and the stink of a turd’s fart.  He embodies the very worst that human-kind can throw into the political arena.  Kick-backs for insiders and friends, direct lies to the press spun as “true enough”, opportunism… people like Gibbs infiltrating the VT political landscape is a direct assault on everything it means to be a “Vermonter”, almost regardless of what you want to define that as.

State Auditor.  This is the biggest no-brainer.  Even if I didn’t have incumbant Tom Salmon’s track record of using state equipment (illegally) for campaign purposes, even if there weren’t a long history of his using his office for inappropriate projects, even if major state employee fraud didn’t happen on his watch (and even if he didn’t try to pass the the buck on responsibility for such crimes); even if he didn’t get a DUI and then try to use his title to worm out of the charge, even if he wasn’t a complete and total fucking lunatic most likely suffering from some form of PTSD and in need of major psychiatric counciling, I’d still be urging everyone I could find to vote for Doug Hoffer.  Mr Hoffer is by far the most qualified candidate for political office that I’ve ever seen run in my entire life.  Regular readers of GMD are well-versed in Doug’s thoughtful, fact-based comments here.  Even as a non-office holder, what he has contributed to the good of Vermont, working Vermonters, and most importantly, the accountability of the State is incalculable.  Doug Hoffer is so amazingly qualified and is so inscrupuably dignified that I regret not having taken the time to personally volunteer for his campaign- and I vow in the future (I’ll pray for a future Hoffer campaign though I’ve never prayed for anything- once- in my entire life) to take time to volunteer to ensure he’s elected to whatever office he decides he wants to run for, whenever he wants to run for it.

The anti-capitalist arguments against me.  These arguements boil down to two different approaches: “I’m voting for this Third Party person because they most represent my beliefs” or “voting only helps legitimize/recognize that which is illegitimate; namely, electoral politics in general (The State).”  Hey, I have strong sympathies towards both these opinions and have argued for them both in the past.  But at the end of the day (on Tuesday, November 2, or there about) the simple fact of the matter is that Peter Shumlin or Brian Dubie will be governor of Vermont, and either a Democrat or a Republican will be elected to each of the down-ticket positions as well.  Absolutely nothing– including the most dramatic scenarios imaginable (nuclear bombs, 100-year storms, alien invasions, zombie attacks) will change that fact.  Which means as anti-capitalists (or, for that matter, radicals of either side) we have three choices: abstain, vote third party, or hold your nose and vote for one of the two possible winners.

Folks, believe me, if there were a possibility of another option, I’d almost certainly be all about it.  And in general, I’d prefer not to live my life holding my nose.

But at this moment in time Vermonters have a unique opportunity to forge ahead of the rest of the country, and we should seize it.

As far as voting for third parties:  we may walk out of the voting booth feeling good to have voted for someone who best represents our own opinions, but when we lay down to sleep at night, the fact that can’t escape our hearts is that we voted against the better (not best) in favor of giving a chance for the worst.  There is plenty of evidence (in Vermont) that a well-run campaign by a strong candidate can buck the two-party system; yet that is not the case in any of the state-wide races in Vermont this year.  There is a statistically 0 (zero) chance of a third party candidate winning.  Does your self-satisfaction really trump the disastrous realities of the GOP ticket?

A vote for a third party candidate this time around is the same as abstentionism.  The libertarian left (anarchism, anti-state communism, et al) has a long and proud history of abstentionism.  I do not need to thoroughly take-up the matter here.  I will say, however, that any electoral tactic (including abstentionism) is only and always effective as part of a mass movement; we anarchists lack such popularity at this time (and hey, to all you cynics: such was not always the case and I’ll guarantee it won’t continue to be such!).  Abstaining in order to go home and feel good about your own personal choice is the same as voting third party: it accomplishes absolutely nothing at the end of the day except make you feel good about yourself.

As a parent, I can see that my own personal ideals are easily trumped by the need to ensure the best possible outcome.  On this matter, there are generally two schools of thought: incremental (and very relative) gains, or “it’s gotta get real bad before people take action to make it better”.  

While once I was patient enough for the latter, with a child in my care, I cannot risk the possibilities of what may come from it.  My beliefs and ideals have not changed an iota- but my tolerance for rightward shifts of the State has.  I hope to raise my child to always be true to her beliefs and that which is important and meaningful to her- yet I hope also to teach her the difference between ideology and pragmatism.

It’s a fine line that, perhaps, before any of us pass on we may finally understand.  Nonetheless, for now, in Vermont, in 2010, it means no Republicans should be given a chance to take state-wide office.  Regardless of who wins, it is our moral job to push, fight, and demand more for ourselves than we have.  The battle neither begins nor ends with the elections- yet the outcome of the election is painfully important.

(good one that shows where some people’s priorities really are… – promoted by JDRyan)

In my job, I am first and foremost a bookkeeper/accountant/backroom guy; secondly, I bartend a couple afternoons a week.  In general, I like bartending- it keeps me honest, knowing the customers and the product and gives me someone more talkative to converse with than the Dell in my office.  Certainly bar customers are more interesting than Excel or QuickBooks (most of the time, anyway!).

But sometimes, it’s clear to me that I’m just not cut-out for such a job.  Today was one of those “sometimes”.

At the very beginning of my shift, just as the place opened, two guys walk in.  Usually I’ve got soccer on the TV (it’s mid-afternoon when we open), but at this rare moment in the season, there just aren’t any live sports on, so instead I’ve got ESPN on.  They’re covering George Steinbrenner’s death.  The one guy starts:  “well, good thing he died this year instead of last year or next year; the ‘death tax’ expired last year and renews next year, but this year, it’s a freebee.”

“Oh, yeah, well, I’d hope his family has more on their mind than tax payments.”

“Of course.  There’s grieving and all that.  But, I sell insurance at National Life, and let me tell you, anyone with any assets is fortunate to die this year.  Last year, and next year? a 45% tax on everything over 2.5 million dollars!  can you imagine! you work your whole life, you wanna pass on your legacy to your family, and the government wants to take 45%?!”

“Yeah, 45%, that’s a lot.  But if you’ve got 2.5 million, and you’re taxed 1.2 million, your kids are still getting over a million dollars for doing nothing at all… that’s not such a bad deal…”

“Wait, wait… if you work hard your whole life and are successful, surely you want and hope to pass that on to your kids…”

“yeah, sure.  Passing a million dollars on to your kids, who didn’t do anything  to earn that money- that actually seems to me more harmful than good.  You’re not really teaching them anything, just giving them money they haven’t earned.  ‘Seems it would be better to pass on a work ethic and  family values and strong morales than a million bucks that they’re just gonna piss away…”

“NO.  But if you’ve earned money, you want it to be there to provide for your family-”

“- sure, but that’s ignoring the vast majority of people who’ve worked hard their whole lives, haven’t been fortunate enough to ‘strike it rich’, and have nothing but debt or heartache to pass on to their kids-”

“NO, NO, if you work hard enough, you’ll have plenty to pass on.”

“Um, OK.  Seems like plenty of people work plenty hard- don’t they constantly say, even during these times, even during a recession or depression or downturn or whatever, that ‘productivity is up’?  ‘productivity is always up’, because the system is gamed that way.  I’m not sure what problem is being addressed by letting rich people keep their money once they’ve died.  ‘Seems to me there are plenty of people in need who could use it a lot more… seems to me we could take that money and provide good schools or healthy food or doctors check-ups to a whole lot of people just from the tax on Stienbrenner’s Estate- if he died next year or last year.

“Either which way- his kids now own the New York Yankees- they probably are going to do just fine for themselves, even if they had to pay $500 million in taxes.”

Anyway.  It went on for a bit.  They didn’t stay long.  They didn’t leave a tip.  And, frankly, I’d rather not have their business.

Frankly, what bothers me much more then the greedy and self-serving notions of wealth that these two dip-shit meatheads exhibited: the total contempt for human (and familial) life.  Their opinion of what Steinbrenner’s kids should think about first and foremost on their dad’s death: how to avoid paying taxes.  How anti-social, anti-human.  Here’s a clue guys: the first thing you should think about when your dad dies: all that you’ll miss, all that he’ll miss, all that you’ve shared, how much and what you’ve shared and been taught by him….

Me?  I’m not really cut-out for being a bartender.

My apologies if this one ends up as mere rumor rather than story, but I was just told by someone who claims their cousin is a Barre firefighter that the BFD is investigating Mayor Lauzon’s possible connections to the “suspicious” fire that burnt the historic Aldrich Block on Monday.  Lauzon had just purchased the building.  Allegedly, there was no electricity on in the vacant building, and the third floor (where the fire appears to have started) was- again, allegedly- entirely empty.  I’m sure there will be more to come, if my source is credible (which, to be clear, I’m not sure of).

Recently passed legislation in South Carolina now requires all groups seeking to overthrow the government to register with the State and pay a $5 registration fee.  I shit you not.  The new law reads:

Every member of a subversive organization, or an organization subject to foreign control, every foreign agent and every person who advocates, teaches, advises or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States…  shall register with the Secretary of State

If you’re wondering:

The terms of this chapter do not apply to any labor union or religious, fraternal or patriotic organization, society or association, or their members, whose objectives and aims do not contemplate the overthrow of the government of the United States…

The full law can be found here and, if you need, the registration form is available here.

With all due seriousness, I’m thinking that the Vermont Legislature, Douglas, or one of our fine Democratic gubernatorial candidates might want to consider something like this as a means of revenue-boosting in these lean times:  Everyone knows VT is a hotbed of socialism, revolution, and radicalism.

from the VT Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project:

Chiapas, Mexico-January 19- “He went to Vermont with dreams and hopes to help his family and came back in a box,” said Elida, José Obeth Santiz Cruz’s sister. Through tears Elida watched the box with her brother inside being secured to the back of a pick up truck in Villahermosa airport in Mexico where the body arrived on Monday morning January 11th. This marked the last leg of a long journey to return the Vermont migrant farmworker home to his indigenous Tojolabal community in San Isidro, Chiapas.

The Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project (VTMFSP) accompanied the body all the way to José Obeth’s home town of San Isidro. Gustavo Teran, a member of the delegation commented, “I was moved to find that amid the sorrow and grief family members and friends received us with open arms and found time to share their stories of hardships, poverty, and survival in their struggling indigenous Tojolabal agricultural community.” Over the next five days the Vermonters joined in the grieving and also interviewed family members, relatives and friends.

Obeth’s mother, Zoyla recalled how she learned of her son’s death. On Tuesday December 22cnd, after returning from her nearby corn field, a neighbor told her she had heard that José Obeth had been hurt in Vermont.  

At first, Zoyla didn’t believe it but when she arrived home her family broke the news and her heart. “He is the fourth son I’ve lost,” she explained wiping tears from her face. “Two from diarrea and one died at birth. He went so far and suffered so much getting there only to come home in a box.”

Santiz Cruz’s mother, father, and sisters explained that José Obeth was forced to migrate, as so many others are in his community, because his family couldn’t sustain themselves without outside income to supplement their Tojolabal agricultural community.

“It took José 20 days to cross the desert, he barely ate. He arrived to Vermont much thinner than he’d left San Isidro and in a lot of debt. It took him 6 months to find work once in Vermont,” shared Zoyla. Three weeks earlier, on December 22cnd in Fairfield, VT on Howrigan Dairy Farm José Obeth’s co-worker, also from San Isidro, discovered José Obeth already dead. His body was propped upright on the floor by his arm, which was entangled in the chain driven gutter cleaner.

In another interview the parents of VT migrant farmworker Rosenberg Alfaro Lopez shared, “We haven’t heard from our son in 20 days, we heard he was detained after going grocery shopping in VT. Can you help us find our son?” A fifteen year old girl shared that she had only seen her mother once for a short time over the past 7 years. She sent a message to her mom through the camera, “I love you. I miss you. Take care of yourself.”

Another former VT migrant farmworker who had invested his VT savings to help his small family cattle farm, shared, “Here we don’t make any money but at least we are free. In Vermont we are not free.”

The VTMFSP will share a short video documenting their findings in the coming weeks. Furthermore, delegates pledge to promote the new organization’s mission by promoting dignity, justice and human rights for migrant farmworkers in Vermont and building bridges of mutual understanding and solidarity between communities in Vermont and Mexico.

On Wed. Jan. 13, amidst drizzle, mud, solemn music and tears, Jose Obeth Santiz Cruz was laid to rest in his home town of San Isidro, Chiapas. Just two days after burying her fourth son, Zoyla shared her anxiety about the moment when her last and only remaining son might ask for her blessings to cross the border for his own journey to help contribute his part to the family.

On the heals of the newly created Vermont Migrant Farm Workers Solidarity Project comes the following announcement:

Tragic Death of Migrant Farmworker José Obeth Santiz Cruz Inspires Vermonters to Build Bridges of Friendship and Solidarity With the Worker’s Tojolabal Mayan Community and Travel to Chiapas, Mexico

Vermonters Hope to Make Visible The Invisible Who Sustain Struggling Vermont Dairy Farms

On December 22, 2009 in Fairfield, Vermont on Howrigan dairy farm 20 year old José Obeth Santiz Cruz from the town of Las Margaritas, Chiapas, Mexico was killed in a tragic farming accident. One day later a vigil was organized to honor the life, sacrifice and dignity of José Obeth Santiz Cruz and call upon Vermonters to commit themselves to work for real immigration reform that recognizes and respects the basic needs, dignity and human rights of all immigrants. But who was Santiz Cruz? Where is he from? Why did he come here? These questions and more have motivated one group of Vermonters to cross the border and learn more to further cultivate a new relationship with Santiz Cruz’s indigenous Tojolobal Mayan community where he will be buried early next week.

On Saturday, January 9 the newly launched Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project will sponsor a small delegation of Vermonters Brendan O’Neill, Gustavo Teran, and Sam Mayfield to fly to Villahermosa, Tabascao in order to meet with the family of José Obeth Santiz Cruz, express their sorrow and gratitude, and accompany Santiz Cruz’s body to their Tojobal Mayan village of San Isidro near Las Margaritas, Chiapas. However, getting Santiz Cruz’s body home has not been easy.

As Gustavo Teran, who will travel to Mexico on Saturday on the delegation remarked, “I was pleased by the collaboration of migrant farmworker support workers and farmers in support of efforts to ensure Jose Obeth had a dignified burial in his own village. Often families never see the remains of their loved ones because they don’t have the money to bring them home.” Teran’s words resonate with the extended family of Santiz Cruz. The VTMFSP has learned that just 10 months ago an extended family member of Santiz Cruz, Ismael Meza Calvo, also from San Isidro, was attacked and murdered on his way home from a night shift in a warehouse in New Jersey and his family could not afford nor arrange for the transportation of his body back to Mexico so he was buried in New Jersey. These two deaths shed light on the hardships and invisibility of the lives and deaths of migrant workers in Vermont and the United States.

(the rest of their press release bellow the fold)

Over the past 2 weeks the VTMFSP has been meeting with and communicating closely with the extended family and community of Santiz Cruz in both Vermont and San Isidro; collaborating with a team of migrant farmworker support workers and the Mexican Consulate; and teaming up with VT Dairy farmers to ensure that Santiz Cruz’s body gets returned safely and respectfully to San Isidro without the financial burden having to fall on the family. This collaborative spirit led one VT dairy farmer, who wished to remain anonymous due to the broken immigration system that has both migrant farmworkers and farmers living in fear, to gather $4,000.00 in donation from the farming community to contribute towards the safe transportation of José Obeth Santiz Cruz’s body home to his village. Additionally, the Mexican Consulate, who contributed $2,0000.00 towards the transportation of Santiz Cruz’s body, has worked tirelessly in collaboration with other migrant farmworker support workers to ensure that José Obeth’s family in Mexico was kept informed and involved with developments, decision making and arrangements. The body of Santiz Cruz is departing today from JFK in New York and will arrive in Villahermosa, Tabasco late Sunday night. On Monday the VTMFSP delegates who have been invited to meet Santiz Cruz’s family and accompany them back to San Isidro will participate in a funeral service in which the entire village is expected to be present.

One goal of the delegation to San Isidro is to meet with the family and community to get to know the untold story of the life of the young migrant farmworker and see and hear first hand who he was, what he hoped for, and why he came here. Over the course of the past weeks VTMFSP has been meeting with community members of Santiz Cruz’s Tojolabal indigenous community here in Vermont and we were told just 2 days ago by one worker that there may be as many as 300 migrant farmworkers workers from the area of Las Margaritas that are currently living and working here in VT. Furthermore, as Teran explains, many migrant farmworkers here in Vermont come from indigenous communities in southern Mexico including in this case the Mayan Tojolabal. “The Tojolabal endure extraordinary hardships and, in the case of José Obeth Santiz Cruz, even death. Their contributions go unnoticed and unappreciated by the general public. Few people even know they are here and even fewer are aware that many workers here are from indigenous communities and some even speak Spanish as a second language. We are traveling to Chiapas because we want to make their presence visible and their contributions to the survival of Vermont dairy industry known. We also seek to promote a dialogue between these two affected communities.”

Teran, continues, “The Tojolabal are in Vermont because they cannot make it on their own farms. They abandon their lands and their family behind because of failed national and international trade and agricultural policies and paradoxically find themselves here in Vermont contributing to the survival of farmers in Vermont, also affected by these same corporate-driven trade and agricultural policies that favor corporate agribusiness.”

José Obeth Santiz Cruz is one of approximately 2,000 migrant farm workers who have come to the aid of struggling Vermont Dairy Farms in crisis and yet despite their essential contributions to Vermont due to an unjust and broken U.S. immigration system they are forced to live and in this case die in fear, silence and in the shadows. In the state of Vermont and throughout the United States the invisible hands that milk so many of our cows and pick so many of our vegetables, which literally puts the food on the table, live and die invisibly without the dignity and respect that all human beings deserve.

( – promoted by odum)

Candle Light Vigil remembers and mourns “Invisible Life and Death” of Oveth Santis Cruz and calls for Immediate Immigrant Rights in Vermont.

On December 22, 2009 on a bone chilling winter afternoon in Fairfield, Vermont on Howrigan dairy farm 17 year old Oveth Santis Cruz from the town of Las Margaritas, Chiapas, Mexico was killed in a tragic farming accident. The death was confirmed by his co-workers and family members last night as concern and sadness spread throughout the migrant farm worker community mourning the young migrant farm workers’ death. Oveth is survived by roughly 80 extended family and community members who currently live and work on Vermont dairy farms.

Although, Oveth Santis Cruz’s family members might like to gather together as a family and community here in Vermont to mourn this tragic death they expressed fears that doing so would mean risking deportation—they are not free to do so. As Vermont resident Brendan O’Neill, a family friend, migrant farm worker advocate, ESL teacher, and member of the VT Workers’ Center, who was in touch last night with relatives who survive Oveth, commented, “Sadly, here in Vermont and throughout the United States migrant farm workers cannot even gather as a community and mourn family members deaths without fearing deportation.

Family members have expressed concern to ensure that Oveth’s body is respectfully and swiftly returned to his family in Chiapas, Mexico.” 

Today, Wednesday December 23, 2009 Vermonters are invited to gather for a silent and solemn candle light vigil organized by O’Neill and hosted by the Vermont Workers’ Center that will begin at 5 p.m at 294 N. Winooski Avenue in Burlington at the Vermont Workers Center to honor the hard work, sacrifice and tragic death of migrant farm worker Oveth Santis Cruz.

The candlelight vigil procession will leave from the VT Workers’ Center at 6pm and make its way through the streets of Burlington to continue the vigil in front of the UU Church on Church St. O’Neill adds, “Oveth Santis Cruz is one of approximately 2,000 migrant farm workers who have come to the aid of our Vermont Dairy Farms in crisis and yet despite their essential contributions to Vermont due to an unjust, broken and oppressive U.S. immigration system they are forced to live and in this case die in fear, silence and in the shadows.” He added, “In the state of Vermont and throughout the United States the invisible hands that milk so many of our cows and pick so many of our vegetables, which literally puts the food on the table, live and die invisibly without the dignity and respect that all human beings deserve.”

The vigil is dedicated to the life of Oveth Santis Cruz and calls upon Vermonters to commit themselves to work for real immigration reform that recognizes and respects the basic needs, dignity and human rights of all immigrants.

(cross posted from IntgralPsychosis.com)

With behemoth health foods retailer Whole Foods marching ahead with plans for an out of scale (and, with the existence of so many local food co-ops, locally-based retailers, and yes, direct-from-the-farm markets, we could say wholly redundant and un-necessary) South Burlington location, faux-progresive and CEO John Mackey may well be getting a bit concerned.  That’s because Vermonters in Pittsburgh to protest the G20 meetings have chosen to target a Whole Foods retailer there as part of their protest against the corporate elite’s pro-profit and anti-sustainability agenda.

A group of Vermont farmers and students blocked the entrance of a Pittsburgh Whole Foods around 10:00 Friday morning.  They then built a raised-garden bed, complete with growing plants and vegetables, under their banners which read “Whole

Communities Not Whole Foods for ½ the people” and ” A Whole Lot of $$$$ GREEN $$$$$” as well as “Grow Gardens Not Corporations”.

From the activists’ press release:

One person joining them from Pittsburgh said “I have watched Whole Foods come in and cater to wealthier folks from outside this neighborhood with its corporate green image while selling products that not only don’t contribute to a local or sustainable food system but are totally unaffordable to most folks that live here.”

Jean Marie Pearce left her farm in the Northeast Kingdom to participate in planting the garden.  “We need to realize that Whole Foods is about growing profits not sustainability and the G20 is about growing capitalism not a healthy world.  I want a world where food is grown for everyone, not the GDP for 20 countries!  Examples like the dairy farm crisis right now prove the need for more inclusion around these policies.  We can’t protect or control our economy when it is run by 20 people and their corporate friends.”

Once these Vermont activists return from Pittsburgh, we can only imagine what they have in-store for the developers who hope to build a Whole Foods in South Burlington.  It’s a safe bet that Whole Foods and those developers are working on trying to imagine that very thing right this moment.

(cross-posted from Integralpsychosis.com)

I have two separate but equally effective proposals to make that will drastically and surely make Vermont a much, much better place for all of us.  OK, not for all of us, ’cause there are a handful of people that gain from the backwards, nonsensical world that Governor Douglas and his corporate stooges have built and continue to weasel us towards.  These status-quo capitalists, as many of us are now familiar, have a simple program of claiming corporate greed and profiteering as “freedom” and simultaneously decrying the collective action of the people to take care of ourselves- for ourselves as well as our most vulnerable and downtrodden neighbors- as anti-freedom, socialistic (which somehow means “bad”) coming-of-the-anti-christ evil.  But for the vast majority of us, these two suggestions would be net positives.  As a result of my first proposal, farming on the scale that fits the Vermont landscape and social climate (i.e., relatively “small scale” farming, at least as compared to the big ag of the Midwest and California) would be a sustainable enterprise, as far and the financial field of view is concerned.  Dairy farms would no longer be servants to out of control processing conglomerates who make record profits while the farms who supply their milk fold or file for bankruptcy at the steady pace of ‘taps’ on the funeral drum.  As a result of my second proposal, the social services and safety net which takes care of our most needy friends and family, which as well provides and nurtures a great many of the finer aspects of life in Vermont which we’ve come to enjoy (not to mention the ordinary aspects of life, like going to the DMV), would be not only saved from the pillaging efforts of the Douglas Administration, but would possibly even thrive and grow to be better, more efficient, and more outstanding.

My first suggestion is for the diary farmers of Vermont to dump obscene quantities of milk into Lake champlain.  Seriously.  French dairy farmers, facing conditions quite similar to Vermont dairy farmers, recently decided to dump obscene amounts of milk into a well-known, public and touristy waterway, and not only did their action garner international attention (I read about it in the Times-Argus) but I’d be willing to bet that it helps lead to a resolution of their grievance.  Elsewhere in France, as well as in the Netherlands and Germany, dairy farmers have been on strike- refusing to deliver their milk- in protest of the low amount they’re being paid (bellow the cost of production) and while some have chosen to collectively dump their milk (cows have to be milked, whether you’re on strike or not) in high-profile places, others still throughout Europe have been donating their milk to neighbors and the needy, while yet others have taken the direct action of raiding grocery stores and giving their product away free to shoppers.

And I promise that if Vermont’s dairy farmers did the same, their woes (and ours, in fact) would be largely over.

OK, these actions won’t end all of society’s ills.  But between mega-conglomerate producers like Dean Foods and the political elites who must put the best face of “taking care of the little guy” forward in order to keep their jobs, to the myriad of economic interests wrapped-up in not only dairy farming but agriculture in general, I assure you that the powers that be will act quickly to ensure that Vermont dairy farmers get whatever it is they demand in order to stop dumping (or giving away for free) their milk.  This will greatly effect the rest of us (who don’t milk cows for a living): for starters, the continued existence of dairy farmers throughout Vermont ensures the survival of open space and preservation of our majestic hillsides and valleys.  The environment (and “environmentalists”, who I guess are defined as people who like having a clean, healthy place to live) would obviously benefit as the micro-ecological zones of Vermont would continue to allow for an abundance of wildlife both big and small to flourish free of the cancer of mindless development.  This, of course, effects our incredibly important (like it or not) (and I don’t) tourist industry and the billions of dollars which we live off because people from somewhere else want to see our wilderness and farm-scapes and rolling hills, etc.  Which, of course, keeps many of us employed in restaurants and hotels, and ski resorts and building condos, etc, etc.  Plus, the rest of the Vermont farming community (who aren’t in the traditional dairy business) would be expected to be inspired, excited by the power of the diary farmer’s victory and perhaps even begin taking collective action for their needs and conditions- suddenly the whole State could be in an uproar about food security and availability and affordability and sustainability!  It would be Scott Nearing’s goddamn utopia around here!

A bit more seriously though, the economic as well as social interests in Vermont which would not be willing to stand for such bad PR- to say nothing of the heated political climate- would act quickly to ensure, in whatever way they can, that our dairy farmers get paid a fair, livable wage for their milk.  Everyone, except for the processing conglomerates and the political hacks like Douglas who support their free-market hubaloo, would win.

My second proposal is for the State employees to go on strike.  Immediately.  Wildcat if necessary (a “wildcat strike”, if you don’t know, is a strike either by workers who don’t have a recognized union, or who individually or as a group chose to go on strike without perhaps the formalistic, legalized steps typically required for unions to go on strike).  I’m very serious here.  If you or your mate or one of your friends or family members work for the State of Vermont, please either consider or talk to them about considering going on strike as soon as humanly possible.  Obviously, if just one or two or ten people do it, not much is gonna happen except you’re quite likely to lose your job.  But if dozens, if hundreds or even more of you (they) do it, I’m certain big things would happen.  And I mean good big things.

Douglas and his worldview want to dismantle as much of the State’s services as possible, to leave the welfare of society out to bid to corporate interests that do a shitty job and which hoard obscene amounts of money into the pockets of their bosses and shareholders.  Listen, I don’t prefer that the State be our savior or our nanny- far, far from it actually- but the State is, at the least- a far more progressive entity than private, capitalist enterprise.  While private corporations are by definition the exploitation of most by and for the profit of the few, the liberal democratic State is, at the very least, an entity intended to bring about the betterment and survival of the collective whole.  The State has no CEO’s to pay, and no profit margin to push.  It seeks only the efficiant delivery of the services demanded of it by the public.

Personally, I would prefer to see neither the private corporation nor the State, but that’s for a different discussion.

In the meantime, the State of Vermont exists for what should be very basic reasons: namely, to provide for the collective good of all of ourselves.  When I’m down and need help I hope that society is there for me, and when I’m not, I hope that my success can provide for the help of someone else who may be down and in need.

And it is the workers of the State, from DMV clerks to IT specialists to Tax Department receptionists and welfare case workers and Health Department inspectors to do just that.  And if none of them (you) showed up for work tomorrow or next Monday, and even if you returned to work Tuesday (though better yet if you didn’t) you would immediately demonstrate the massively disproportionate amount of power that you hold over the Governor or any other politician or political entity which is looking to take your job.

Douglas is insisting on layoffs- so give it to him.  Let him, and the Vermont GOP and the Legislature and the powers that be and the political elite all see what life is like when every single State office, every single State phone, is dead.  No one at the desk, no one answering the phone.  No one processing the application.  If that’s the direction their “free market” ideology wants to take them, let it.  Let everyone in Vermont know the difference between you showing up to work- or having a job to even show up to!- and not.  Every politician from North Hero to Marlboro will be running in front of a camera to declare they’re on your side and want to ensure the security of your job.

And it’s that simple.  Farmers: dump your milk.  State workers: go on strike.  Both of these things, now.  And Vermont will continue to be a place of strong, rural agricultural traditions where our food is from here and our farmers are the anchors of our communities and their open lands provide for the economic as well and ecological and spiritual (for lack of a better word) fulfillment of ourselves and our neighbors; and Vermont will continue to be a place of increasing good will and social strength amongst peoples who come together for their own individual prosperity as well as that of their neighbors and community, especially the sick, the elderly, the disabled, the down-on-their-luck.