U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) hosted a “Fight for Farmworkers” discussion last week with labor rights activist and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, students from the College Migrant Assistance Program (CAMP) at the University of New México, and the Young Farmers Coalition. During the community discussion, Rep. Stansbury and Huerta highlighted investments in the Build Back Better Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act that protect farmworkers, invest in union jobs, promote food access, and sustain robust economic development for rural communities.
Among other historic investments, the Build Back Better Act includes meaningful deportation protections and work permits for nearly 1 million undocumented farmworkers nationwide, invests $10 billion in programs to address child hunger that will provide school meals to more than 44,000 students in New México during the school year, and invests billions in small farmers. The bill also protects workers’ rights to organize and invests in union jobs.
“It was an honor to sit down with Dolores Huerta and youth leaders from CAMP and the Young Farmers Coalition to discuss how the Build Back Better Act and bipartisan infrastructure bill will help invest in our communities, rural development, address hunger and create good-paying jobs,” said Rep. Stansbury. “In New México, agriculture is fundamental to our culture and ways of life, and I am proud that the Infrastructure and Build Back Better bills will invest in our rural communities, farmers, and workers. We must get the Build Back Better Act across the finish line in the Senate to get the job done, and as Dolores Huerta has taught us, Sí se puede!”
“What would we do without farmworkers to feed us? What would we do without construction workers to build our buildings?” said Dolores Huerta. “We have to respect the people that work with their hands—not only the people who build our buildings, but the construction workers and the carpenters. You know how important they are, and that they also should have good union jobs, and why we’re happy that New México is a union state.”
Rep. Stansbury and Dolores Huerta later heard from community members who shared their concerns, questions, and priorities for workers’ rights and environmental justice.
“What would we do without farmworkers to feed us? What would we do without construction workers to build our buildings? We have to respect the people that work with their hands…You know how important they are, and that they also should have good union jobs.”
Dolores Huerta
The Economic Policy Institute has projected that the Build Back Better Act will support 2.3 million jobs per year
for the first five years by investing in working families and addressing the costs that hold communities back. Included in the estimate are the bill’s investments in work permits, deportation relief, and program supports for undocumented immigrants and farmworkers. In New Mexico, an estimated 60,000 undocumented immigrants are essential to communities and the workforce but have been excluded from most federal programs.
The Build Back Better Act also provides critical financial relief for farmers in need, investing $12 billion in debt relief for farmers in need and for USDA to tailor its programs to support new and existing farmers through outreach, education and technical assistance. The bill also invests in land grant institutions and 19 Minority-Serving Institutions in New México like the University of New México, New México State University, and Tribal Colleges and Universities.
The Build Back Better Act is financed by closing corporate tax loopholes, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and increasing tax enforcement on the wealthiest Americans.
For More New México News: ELSEMANARIO.US
