Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Recognizes Farmworkers at White House Roundtable on National Hispanic Heritage Month and National Farm Safety and Health Week

Posted by Sally Gifford, USDA Office of Communications in

Farming

Oct 04, 2021

Final month, Usa Division of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack joined a digital roundtable dialogue with farmworkers To acknowledge Nationwide Hispanic Heritage Month, Nationwide Farm Safety and Well being Week, and spotlight the important position that farmworkers play in our nation’s meals security and financial system.

By way of the meeting hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement, Secretary Vilsack reaffirmed USDA’s dedication to farmworker communities and spotlighted USDA’s new Farm and Food Staff Aid grant program which invests $700 million To assist farm and meals workers with pandemic-associated health and protectedty prices.

“Farmworkers are key to the success of the agriculture and meals enterprise, which contributes $1.1 trillion to the U.S. gross home product and recurrents almost 11 % of complete U.S. employment,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Day after day all through the COVID-19 pandemic these important workers labored diligently to safe the nation’s current chain at a time it was needed most.”

Farmworkers in attendance have been chosen by United Farm Staff. Recurrentatives from Pineros y Campesinos del Noroeste and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee additionally joined the roundtable. The group talked about Prolonged time period options To assist guarantee protected and healthful work environment for farmworkers, collectively with a pathway to citizenship, As properly as to securing a reliable workforce for the agriculture enterprise.

Secretary Vilsack added, “I firmly assist the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 And that i applaud grower teams and unions For his or her assist of this effort. This legal guidelines will assist To level out the tide on protections for farmworkers, enabling them to earn greater wages and practice their rights beneath labor legal guidelines for greater working circumstances. Supporting farmworkers guarantees America has a meals current That is plentiful, protected And pretty priced – earlier than, all through and after pandemics.”

Study extra about USDA’s Farm and Food Worker Aid Grant Program.

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