Latinas and Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Ken

It has been gratifying to see commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire mention two Latina victims, Josie Del Castillo, 21, and Daisy Lopez Fitze, 26.

The 1911 fire in New York underscored the need for workplace health and safety laws. It also demonstrated the need for organized labor as a voice for the young female workers. At the time, the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) had organized thousands of garment workers, but that particular employer had not signed a collective bargaining agreement.

The tragic loss of life shocked the state and nation. In response, Frances Perkins helped pass a series of reforms under governor and then president Franklin Roosevelt, for whom she served as Secretary of Labor during the New Deal.

Today, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis continues Frances Perkins’ mission.

Let us never forget the seamstresses like Josie Del Castillo and Daisy Lopez Fitze who’s lives were lost in the long struggle for worker safety and dignity on the job.

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The Emergency Committee to Aid Farm Workers

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Ken

The day after Thanksgiving, 1960, millions of television viewers came together in living rooms across the United States to watch CSB Reports. Edward R. Murrow’s venerable documentary, “Harvest of Shame,” opened with a black-and-white image of farm laborers being recruited for work, while the narrator intoned:

This scene is not taking place in the Congo. It has nothing to do with Johannesburg or Cape Town. It is not Nyasaland or Nigeria. This is Florida. These are citizens of the United States, 1960. This is a shape-up for migrant workers. The hawkers are chanting the going piece rate at the various fields. This is the way the humans who harvest the food for the best-fed people in the world get hired. One farmer looked at this and said, “We used to own slaves; now we just rent them.”

After examining the plight of the workers across the nation, including Mexican Americans in California, the program ended with this sobering reality:

The migrants have no lobby. Only an enlightened, aroused and perhaps angered public opinion can do anything about the migrants. The people you have seen have the strength to harvest your fruit and vegetables. They do not have the strength to influence legislation. Maybe we do. Good night, and good luck.

Continue reading →

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With numbers now established, redistricting debate begins

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Ken

In this morning’s Ventura Star, I comment on the link between new Census data showing a growth in California’s Latino population and the redrawing of legislative district lines. For those of you outside the state, Ventura County is located on the coast just north of Los Angeles County.

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With numbers now established, redistricting debate begins

By Timm Herdt

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

If drawing political districts could be done in a vacuum — without having to worry about how the numbers work out in the rest of the state — creating new congressional districts along California’s central coast could be a pretty tidy task.

Redistricting data for the state, released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau, show the combined population of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties (693,532) almost exactly equals the population of what a new congressional district must be (702,900).

Moving on down the coast, if one were to carve out Simi Valley and group it with areas in Los Angeles County, the population of the remainder of Ventura County (699,181) would neatly fit into a second district.

It probably won’t be that easy, of course. Continue reading →

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