Kerry Kennedy On ‘Stand-Up Guy’ Pedro Espada Jr.

You can only imagine what the poor guy went through…
Some things happen for the best.

Oh dear God, show a little class please, Kerry.
This tasteless display makes that cottage cheese and canned tomato soup sound better and better.

Kerry Kennedy doesn’t have the foggiest clue as to what she is talking about in regards to this issue.

The primary proponent of this bill is a religious nonprofit organization called Rural and Migrant Ministry (RMM). The ministry acts as a self-appointed farmworker advocate organization because the overwhelming majority of farmworkers in New York state have neither elected nor chosen this organization or its designated leaders to represent them or speak on their behalf. Farmworkers do not attend their board or planning meetings and the handful that attend RMM’s annual Albany lobby day event are paid by RMM to be there. These facts were admitted by RMM Executive Director Rev. Richard Witt during his sworn testimony before the state Lobby Commission in 2001.

RMM and its allies consistently claim that there are virtually no laws protecting farmworkers and they are “invisible” and ignored by society. The truth is there are roughly a dozen local, state and federal governmental agencies that enforce a plethora of laws that govern both the living and the working conditions of farmworkers in the state.

Some of these laws, like the federal Migrant and Seasonal Protection Act (MSPA) only apply to farmworkers. Farmworkers are one of if not the most protected work force in the state. New York farmworkers earn, on average, more than $10 an hour. Most also receive free housing and all that it entails, including heat, electric and utilities. Many receive free cable or satellite television. Farmworkers in the state also benefit from a number of governmentally funded social-service programs that, in many cases, only exist for their benefit, including their own free government-funded health clinics, free day-care centers for their children (now 14 throughout the state) free child and adult migrant education programs, as well as their own free government-funded law firm which works only in their behalf. How does a farmworker compare with an urban resident working on the same wage tier when it comes to protections and programs?

What we are talking about are five or six exemptions to state labor law. These exemptions, like the one for overtime pay, exist because of the production and marketing realities associated with farming. Farming does not take place in an enclosed building with a regulated environment. We have a limited time to plant and harvest. If overtime is enacted, farmers will have to cut hours during the growing season so as to afford the overtime at planting and harvest time which can’t be avoided. This may mean fewer overall hours and take home pay for farmworkers. And farmers do not control the prices we receive and cannot pass on increased costs. We absorb it or go out of business. Because of pricing and weather disasters, much of New York’s agriculture is reeling. In four of the past five years, my farm income was below the federal poverty line for a family of four. In 2009, my employees earned more than I did. Where would these self-appointed advocates and legislators who support them like the money to come from to pay for these mandates?

I have no problem defending each and every one of the exemptions within the real world context of agriculture’s production and marketing realities. But I can’t, because the self-appointed advocates’ mantra is that these exemptions are “immoral” and “unjust.” They state that “there can be no justification for this unequal treatment. Attempts at justification of this exclusion are offensive.” Who assigned these organizations the authority to decide which exemptions are “just?” And many of these same exemptions that apply to farmworkers, like overtime pay, also apply to the employees of nonprofits and religious organizations. Yes, the very same organizations that are pointing their fingers at agriculture can legally “exclude” their own workers from receiving overtime. State legislative staffers also are exempt. Yes, the people who work for the people who want to end our exemption are exempt from overtime. The level of hypocrisy is astounding and they don’t have a leg to stand on to play the “moral” card.

I’m thinking of starting some sort of fund to compensate Andrew Cuomo for his years of marriage to her. He must have suffered some sort of psychological trauma. But, he took her out of circulation for a period of time, hence making it a sort of public service (like a soldier hopping on a gernade to save his buddies) that merits public compensation. I really feel for the guy.

At least at this event it looks like she combed her hair.

Espada’s right. Kerry Kennedy’s right. The Church is right. The farmworkers and anyone with them are right. The only people who are wrong here are Sampson and whoever thinks giving people basic rights hurts the Senate Democrats’ election chances upstate… farmers are a tiny fraction of the electorate

Chris, you presented a compelling case against the bill and I agree with you. Then you had to pile on and personally attack the woman.

Classless.

Espada’s (D-NY) only interest is finding cheap labor. He belongs in jail.

Someone said:

“Chris, you presented a compelling case against the bill and I agree with you. Then you had to pile on and personally attack the woman.”

The reason is because Kennedy has repeatedly stated in the press and in the public outrageous allegations that amount to nothing more than smears. She has claimed, repeatedly, without an ounce of any substantiation or credible evidence, that farmworkers are routinely raped, exploited, extorted, abused, etc …. Often she simply mouths RMM Executive Director Richard Witt’s unsubstantiated propaganda, word for word (she was doing this on WAMC last year). She did this even in a NYS Senate, a hearing that should have been under oath and her testimony should have been under oath and she should have been held accountable. I can give you the links if you like but here is the best one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu0ov9EduC4

Just watch it. Watch her testimony. She substantiates NONE of it. The same day this hearing took place Fred Dicker dealt with this topic on his radio show and he said in this day of cheap digital cameras and video cameras and cell phones and the like, if these tales of horrific abuses were the norm and so rampant why can’t Witt and Kennedy and the rest produce a single example? (it’s in the second half of the show: http://www.talk1300.com/CMT/podcast/FredsPodcastMondayMarch012010.mp3).

So yes, I get my digs in on her. Because for over a year I have listened to her on WAMC and hearings like linked above and read her musings in Newsday and in the NY Daily News where she has routinely asserted without a stitch of evidence that my industry routinely rapes and exploits my employees who suffer with no pay, no protections, no services, etc …. and she backs none of her musings. Classless? maybe, but I have a long way to go to catch up to that wacky nutjob!

For more details on this issue, beyond the “Mickey Mouse” narrative woven by the self-appointed advocates see the following:

Go to this link and read the comments I posted in connection with the video of the hearing held back on March 1st:

http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=pu0ov9EduC4&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3Dpu0ov9EduC4

Go to this link and read the comments I posted in connection with the video of the NYS Senate Ag Committee vote held back on April 20th:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHToHTzXiVA

Here are a few other links:

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=814533
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=896400
http://www.westfaironline.com/hudson-valley-biz/article/7015-dont-apply-factory-work-rules-to-farmworkers.html?tmpl=component&print=1
http://lancasterfarming.com/node/2053
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/2967
http://www.vegetablegrowersnews.com/newsroom.html?ns=2568

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMWTHBkUuHk

Watch the video and read the materials found under my username under the more info section. The only facts uttered by by the Executive Director of RMM during this piece that are true is that the road is busy and the boy died. The rest is all a lie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUH-YTSobS8

Watch the video and read my comments on the more info section to see the details regarding their actions and how it conflicts with the tax code for organizations that file as a 501(c)3.

Go to this link to learn a bit more about the organizations pushing this legislation. My article starts on page 10:

http://www.turnpagepro.com/doc/Columbia-Publishing/OWJulyAug09/2009070101/?lang=en

“Diggin” says:

“Espada’s right. Kerry Kennedy’s right. The Church is right.”

Amen brother. Then let’s start with the myriad of exemptions that the religious non-profit world or what I term the “Amen Industry” benefit from, including various labor laws and tax laws. Let’s eliminate all of those exemptions too. Then you can point the finger at my industry and dictate what I should be doing, hypocrite. In the meantime I urge all to read up on this issue. The blatant hypocrisy of these religious and quasi-religious organizations, that want to impose rules and laws on other industries they don’t often want applied to themselves and who benefit from a number of labor law and tax “exclusions” is fully detailed in the excellent 5 part series “In God’s Name” by Diana B. Henriques that ran in October of 2006 in the New York Times:

IN GOD’S NAME: As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/business/08relig ious.html?pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Where Faith Abides, Employees Have Few Rights http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/business/09relig ious.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Religious Programs Expand, So Do Tax Breaks http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/business/10relig ious.html?pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Religion-Based Tax Breaks: Housing to Paychecks to Books http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/business/11relig ious.html?pagewanted=all

IN GOD’S NAME: Ministry’s Medical Program Is Not Regulated http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/business/20relig ion.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all

These articles are quite illuminating and the hypocrisy they expose are equal parts nauseating and appalling.

Back a few years ago I contacted the various religious orgs that fund Rural and Migrant Ministry (the organization driving this faux movement) and asked them where they stood on their workers being allowed to collectively bargain.

Check out this link for more details: http://rochester.indymedia.org/newswire/display/23 93/index.php

Two years ago the PBS program “Religion and Ethics Newsweekly” aired the following segment:

Catholic Church and Labor————————————————————————————-
The Church has had a long history of defending the rights of workers dating back 100 years to Pope Leo XIII. But recently, Catholic Bishops and Catholic school teachers across the nation have been fighting over union representation. In the Diocese of Scranton, Bishop Joseph Martino refused to recognize a Catholic teachers union representing one-third of its teachers for more than 30 years. Instead, he formed one of his own designed to serve teachers and Diocesan employees. The Bishop’s decision caused an uproar in Scranton’s heavily unionized Catholic community and reignited the national debate over union protection under state law for teachers in religious schools of all faiths.

Lucky Severson travels to Scranton for a closer look at this controversy. According to Michael Milz, president of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers, “We’re not used to those kind of tactics coming from the Catholic Church. How can you not say it’s hypocrisy when . . . they urge other employers to allow their workers to have the right to organize, yet deny it to your own workers?” However, Professor Brian Benestad, who teaches theology at the University of Scranton, argues “If the Catholic schools are required to recognize the union, then you’re going to have government . . . intervening in the school, making decisions about whether the bishops’ invocation of doctrine is really genuine.”

It seems to me that if you are going to aggressively lobby for certain laws or conditions for workers outside of your industry, then you should be leading by example for employees in your own industry. If religious institutions are so keen on unionizing workers why don’t they start by unionizing the workers that work for their various organizations and affiliated institutions (churches, schools, hospitals, etc…)? It should be emphasized that religious based institutions, including their private schools and hospitals, have a long, rich tradition of being anti-union. Or should I say, they are pro-union, unless it is people that happen to work for them, that is. From the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (NICWJ) website:

“Engages Religious Employers: Religiously-affiliated non-profit institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, should model the highest standard of employer-employee relations. Unfortunately some religious institutions hire union-busting ‘consultants’ and engage in unethical, and sometimes illegal behavior toward workers when they attempt to form a union. NICWJ has developed resources to educate people of faith about this issue.” (http://www.iwj.org/template/page.cfm?id=91)

To emphasize, religious organizations have a long rich history of being anti-union and employing union-busting tactics when those union workers happen to be their own employees. One example being the Roman Catholic Diocese of NY in connection with the local Catholic high school John S. Burke; see letter entitled “Union Breaking Tactics: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090222/OPINION/902220304 (for another example of Catholic intimidation regarding unionization of employees at a local hospital see: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081024/BIZ/810240363).

They are so big on removing the “exclusions” or exemptions found in our laws. Great. Then let them lead by example by removing theirs, including the overtime “exclusion” they benefit from. Or one of the biggest, most egregious exemptions found in our laws, the tax exclusions that these religious organizations benefit so greatly from.

Again, the hypocrisy of these people is so appalling it is disgusting. It is only matched by their smug self-righteousness. Spare me.

Feel sorry for Andrew? Wow, he’s the one that indoctrinated Kerry to begin with. If he becomes Gov. watch out, the real problems will really start. It won’t be only farmers in trouble!

All I know is that Kerry Kennedy for over a year now has appeared in all sorts of media outlets and has stated publicly over and over and over again that farmworkers are “repressed” and “abused” and exploited and have no rights and no protections and are raped, etc …. She has said this over and over and over again. She has presented not a stitch of credible evidence to back any of these, what amounts to, unsubstantiated and sweeping smears of an entire industry. It’s scurrilous and it’s disgusting. The guy she has been listening to, this “Rev.” Richard Witt has been doing it for over 15 years. I and my fellow farmers have been putting up with it for years and we have had enough of it. Enough.

I don’t know Cuomo from the man on the moon but I have yet to see him or read about him call me or insinuate I am a “slave owner” like Witt or Kennedy has. I would like Kerry Kennedy to come to my farm and look my my 13 year old and 8 year old boys in the eyes and tell them how their dad routinely abuses and exploits the men that live on the farm and work for them.

So I hope “IronMike” you understand my comments regarding Kennedy. You have someone say the sorts of things she has in public, with the kind of coverage she gets, with no evidence, about your industry, and let’s see how you react. And in the case of the turd that she is listening to, this clown Witt, he has been saying these sorts of outrageous things for over 15 years. That’s right, over 15 years. So, please understand that my patience no longer exists when it comes to these clowns.

Jackie, I wouldn’t put that on Andrew. Kerry Kennedy is you know who’s daughter. Remember the lettuce and grape boycotts circa 1968?
Andrew was 10 years old then.

Kerry Kennedy is a liar. She stated to the Senate Ag Committee that she has been to farms in every county of NY state. THAT IS A BIG LIE and everyone in the room saw through it.

She wants to close down farms. I have no idea why. Maybe she wants her food to come from another country.

These bills would hit the smallest farms the hardest. That is the worst thing about the bills. Plus they would have unions come onto the farms. Unions have chased off the auto and steel and need to make up that revenue somewhere.

Most farm workers enjoy their job. There is something about working with animals or crops that is very satisfying. I value my employees and pay them quite well. Even in years that I lose money, they are still paid well. They do not want to pay union dues.

I think Unions are one of the main drivers for these farm labor bills. Maybe they should unionize Senator Espada’s workers.