The Independence Benefit
Two hundred twenty-nine years ago it all started with these words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." (IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America)
Words that led to a fight for a hard-won freedom from tyranny and oppression. And, of course, these were words that declared these rights for men - specifically, white, male landholders. It took another hundred years to end slavery and extend rights to African Americans. And then another fifty years to extend "certain unalienable rights" to women.
Two hundred twenty-nine years of history behind us in the attempt to get it right; to make this the greatest nation on earth for all who reside here or land on our shores. And, in a lot of ways, it is - due in large part to that whole concept of freedom, within bounds.
Granted, the Patriot Act has limited a number of freedoms, but by and large we are free to conduct our lives in the manner we choose.
Some elected government officials firmly believe we have the freedom to make our own destinies - to work, or not; to eat, or not; to buy clothes and heating fuel and house ourselves, or not. Other politicians, just as firmly believe, that our country is obligated to provide a social safety net - to help those who are unable to find work or to afford health care. And generally, legislators on both sides of the philosophical aisle believe the laws they create benefit the Populus, even if "paid for" by special interests.
Unitarian Universalist Reverend Peter Raible reminds us that: "We build on foundations, we did not lay. We warm ourselves at fires, we did not light. We sit in the shade of trees, we did not plant. We drink from wells, we did not dig. We profit from persons, we did not know. We are ever bound in relationship." I would add: We eat food we did not grow or harvest.
So this is a story about our relationship to persons we do not know, but upon whom we depend, and to whom we owe a debt that is often overlooked. People who are our neighbors, living and working right here in western New York. (Start slide show)
My father was a farmer in the Finger Lakes. His operation was diverse, with dairy cows and vegetable and fruit crops. To help get the crops out of the field and on trucks bound for market he employed migrant workers. Fifty years ago these farmworkers were mostly Blacks who arrived in buses from the South. They came to our area each fall for a few weeks, worked hard, and then disappeared as they traveled to the next place needing their temporary help. I don't know much about their housing conditions or their pay, but I know my dad was a deacon in his church and he took both his stewardship of the land and his Christian responsibility to others very seriously. I suspect that he, like most farmers then and now, treated the migrant laborers with fairness.
Unfortunately, today there are a few "bad apples" who employ seasonal agricultural laborers and do NOT treat them fairly. Indeed, some have exploited undocumented immigrant farmworkers in a manner that is akin to slavery.
These few farmers may provide grossly inadequate housing - perhaps putting 15 to 30 people in a three bedroom house with only one bathroom, and providing one bed or mattress on the floor for two or three people. The farmworkers do not have their own transportation, so they must rely on the farmer to get them to the fields and back, maybe calling a taxi to get into town for groceries and laundry. If they do not work, they do not get paid, and every day is a working day. Seven days a week, often 12 hours a day. Only within the past few years were farmers required to provide drinking water and latrines in the fields, and then only when six or more are working. There is no health care, or disability insurance, or time-and-a-half for overtime.
Some of the most basic of workers' rights that we take for granted are not required for farm laborers, like a day of rest each week, or collective bargaining. And because many are here illegally, to do the hard work few gringos would do, they have no vote, no way to elect representatives to speak on their behalf. Yes, some migrant workers are here illegally, but some are not. Some farmers show compassion and fairness in their treatment of their laborers, and some do not. Without voice, who can hear their plea for fairness in a country founded on the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness?
You see, freedom to choose does not mean having access to all the possible range of choices. Seasonal farmworkers are here because they cannot make a living and support their families in their country of origin. They are free to work, to a point. They are often forced to accept what they can find - or is found for them by contractors or traffikers - because they don't speak the language and have no clue about American rights.
We profit from persons, we do not know. We eat food we do not grow or harvest. We are ever bound in relationship. The faces you see here can't tell the whole story, but these are the faces of people who put food on our tables. Most have come without their spouses or children. They work hard, hoping to save enough money to send home so their families can survive. Some have ambitions of making enough to be able to start a business back in their homeland. Yet they work for minimum wages, and illness or injury can wipe out any savings in an instant. And injuries happen regularly on farms, considered one of the most dangerous jobs going. Sometimes it is machinery, sometimes exposure to pesticides, or the fast wielding of sharp knives to cut away fruits. And do not discount the effects of such long term labor - lifting and carrying boxes of produce up to seventy pounds - sometimes at a run from one end of a field to the other, or the possibility of skin cancer from years in the sun.
In essence, we depend upon people willing to sacrifice their lives - their lives with family, their lives in their home countries, their very lives - in order to save a few cents on our weekly grocery bill. A few cents? Yes. If a bill now in Albany - the Fair Labor Practices Act - were enacted then according to Cornell University's Labor School researchers the cost passed on to the average family in New York will only be about ten dollars per year. I ask you, when has social justice required so little from us to achieve so much?
I mentioned the story of Love Canal earlier, and how it was the combined voice of the churches that made a difference. In modern, politically correct parlance this is called accompaniment. We often hear the Margaret Mead quote: "Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." When churches ally with other churches and organizations, their combined voice cannot be silenced or shouted down. In accompaniment, congregations stand with farmworkers in their struggle to organize for equality, dignity, and just working and living conditions.
I am compelled to be in accompaniment in part through the words ascribed to Jesus. He was asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" and he answered, "The most important one is this: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Love God. Love your neighbor.
These are the faces of neighbors who could not be here today to speak directly to you. They are not here because they are out working in the fields. There is one thing I hope you will notice. Even with all they confront on a daily basis - hard work, poor housing, low pay, dangerous conditions, fear and intimidation because many employers use the threat of deportation to ensure their silence and compliance with abuse - even with all that, they still have spirit.
My wife, Louise, tells of a remarkable example. Here are her words:
"The camp we visited that evening was a nightmare combination of cinderblock army-style barracks and crumpled trailers linked by dirt roads. This corner of Western New York looks like the third world. After picking up a few workers from another farm, we arrived in country darkness to have supper and a discussion with the worker residents. We walked through the blackness until we came to small glowing building. This appeared to be a one-room version of the larger barracks that was burnt out and abandoned by the agribusiness landlord. We could see that the original roof was lost in the fire and the wooden windowsills and door frames were now just charcoal remnants.
"From saplings in the surrounding woods, the farmworkers had lashed a new roof peak and then tied tarps over top to make the building weather tight. When we entered we found the walls were freshly white-washed, and a table and chairs were set up for our meal together. At the center of the back wall was a beautiful life-sized image of Quadalupe with an altar surrounded by offerings of fresh cut flowers and lit votive candles.
"I'm sure many workers loose a grip on their lives and fall into drugs and alcohol. But in this place I could also see evidence of hope, and a vibrant spiritual life. Hope despises a vacuum and flourishes in a void, such as with this beautiful little jury-built chapel glowing in the pitch-dark autumn country night. In the midst of adversity the human spirit has its small triumphs."
And that pretty much sums it up. Neighbors in our midst - real people, with lives and spirits, hopes and dreams - working to provide a living for their families, and food for our tables. Now you know, and as Americans, you have the freedom to do what you want with this knowledge. That is, after all, the benefit of freedom.
Closing Words
We'll build a land... If you have been inspired to act for freedom and justice then let me quickly share this. My wife, Louise, and I are here today thanks to a matching funds grant from the UUFP Fund for Social Responsibility. Our charge is to accompany the farmworkers and help spread the word of their situation to the UU congregations of the western New York cluster. You can learn more about this effort from Louise at social hour, or by picking up a newsletter at the back of the sanctuary.So we close this service of worship, recognizing the pursuit of happiness begins with helping others achieve freedom and fairness, too. Go out into the world, and in the immortal words of Bill and Ted, "Be excellent to each other." Amen.
For more information or to make contributions, contact:
The Cluster for Farmworker Justice
c/o Pullman Memorial Universalist Church
10 East Park Street
Albion, NY 14411
clusterforjustice@yahoo.com
585-436-1786
Louise Wu, student, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
July 3, 2005