At today’s piece rate, Florida farmworkers have to pick more than two-and-a-half tons of tomatoes to earn the equivalent of Florida’s minimum wage for a 10-hour workday. And, because of exclusions from key labor reform measures, farmworkers do not have the right to overtime pay, nor the right to organize and collectively bargain with their employers.
Today on NPR’s Latino USA, we track the current efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida. They have successfully won wage increases from a number of fast food restaurant chains, now they’re turning to a super market chain and its customers — trying to win a public relations battle by raising awareness of the connection between your salad and their lives. And along the way, they’re talking about modern day slavery in the state of Florida. Andrew Stelzer has our report.
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Read more about the Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum.
U Visas
Reporter Tara Siler reports on the differing standards in employing the U Visa, designed to provide temporary legal status and an eventual pathway to citizenship for immigrants who cooperate with law enforcement agencies in the prosecution of crimes.
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Artist and writer Luis Guerra recently attended a Yanaguana Springs Ceremony in San Antonio — an enchanting place with “mysterious, ancient, giant oaks” and water that gushes from the subterranean aquifer. He felt the Earth was saying something. He hopes we’re all listening.
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Dame Pa Matala is the sound of the streets in Caracas. The band espouses both peace, and a revolution of ideas and sounds. With traditional rhythms and instruments, like the Venezuelan cuatro, Dame Pa Matala, speaks to the youth of today by blending those roots with hip hop and reggae. Reporter Reese Erlich catches up with the band.
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Additional audio track: En favor de la paz
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