The union within the union: Filipinos,Mexicans, and the racial integration of the farm worker movement

Throughout the twentieth century, California farm workers endeavored to build viable farm labor unionism. In 1966, Filipino and Mexican farm workers merged their respective farm labor unions, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and the National Farm workers Association, which laid the foundational base for the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). The merger constituted a moment of interracial unity, which Filipinos and Mexicans had previously lacked; by 1970 the UFW would negotiate landmark collective bargaining agreements. This article demonstrates how Filipinos and Mexicans resolved deeply rooted racial division and that doing so built a path to successful farm labor mobilization. The study complements previous farm worker scholarship that concentrates on exogenous causal factors of success by drawing focus to endogenous causal factors, particularly racial identity within the movement.     

The development of alternative farm enterprises: A study of family labour farms in the northern Pennines of England

This paper offers an empirical test of a middle-order theorisation of business change on family labour farms. The concept of ‘paths of farm business development’ is examined in the northern Pennines of England using discriminant analysis and 34 variables drawn from the published literature on the dynamics of the family farm. Farm indebtedness is shown to be the dominant variable discriminating between farms in the different pathways, although the exact role of farm debt varies between pathways. Farm families selecting the alternative farm enterprise (AFE) pathway can be divided between those that display ‘accumulation’ (principal AFE) and ‘survival’ (marginal AFE) behaviours. The findings are contextualised to the U.K. and an era of historically high interest rates and farm indebtedness.     

Some economic effects of the California agricultural labor relations act

The California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (CALRA) evolved in the 1970s because the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) excluded agricultural workers. CALRA effectively placed the United Farm Workers Union in a stronger bargaining position vis-a-vis farmers than the NLRA had done for industrial unions vis-a-vis nonfarm business firms. Society has suffered a net economic loss from CALRA and the events preceding its enactment. Since passage of the act, at least three effects have been verified: Relative to conditions that would otherwise have been expected to exist, consumers are facing higher prices; agricultural workers are earning lower wages; and landowners have suffered losses in land values.     

Silent Partners: Women in Farm Magazine Success Stories, 1934–19911

Abstract Women's contributions to the farm and farm household have historically been undervalued. An analysis of farm magazine “success” stories through six decades indicates that these stories may be a vehicle for reproducing and transmitting a traditional domestic ideology that separates farm production from the rest of the farm household and that rarely portrays women as significant contributors to the economic well-being of either. Magazine stories depict women as spouses or farm helpers, but not as producers or decision-makers. Farm magazines thus offer few models of realistic gender relations for either farm women or farm men.     

Is where i sit,where i stand? The Ontario farm women's network,politics and difference

The objective of this paper is to trace how the Ontario Farm Women's Network (OFWN), a provincial association formed in 1988, has translated an ideological commitment to an explicitly feminist struggle and to an economic struggle to ensure the survival of the family farm in Canada into practical politics. This article argues that the effectiveness of OFWN's activism lies in its creation of a reverse discourse that iteratively negotiates what it means to be a farm woman with what it means to be a farmer in the Canadian political economy.     

Utilising a farm typology to identify potential adopters of alternative farming activities in Greek agriculture

Farm household survival strategies are acknowledged to determine the adoption of alternative farm enterprises as part of the farm household's production and reproduction pattern and are, thus, used to identify the potential adopters of such enterprises. The present work utilises an ideal typology of Greek farms in order to identify different types of farms as regards their mode of survival. Each survival strategy is linked to different motives for and constraints against the adoption of alternative farm enterprises. Results show that three types of farm households may be identified, namely subsistence, survivalist and productivist farm households. The potential adopters of alternative farm enterprises may be traced among farm households that pursue a survivalist mode of production. It is argued that the diversity of farm structures observed within this type of farm households cannot be regarded as the decisive factor as far as their mode of survival is concerned. Rather, it is considered to form a context of different motivations for and constraints against the adoption of alternative farming activities.     

The impact of remittances from Canada's seasonal workers programme on Mexican farms

Based on a survey of participants in Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, the authors’ three‐stage least squares estimation of a simultaneous equation model finds that migrants’ remittances enhance on‐farm investments in Mexico, which, in turn, increase farm income. Remittances are also found to have a positive influence on non‐farm income in Mexico, by giving respondents the possibility of starting a new business and diversifying their investments. These results support the hypothesis underlying the “new economics of labour migration” that remittances contribute to economic development by relaxing the credit constraint on the investment function of family farms.     

Farm labour in South Africa: A review article

Farm workers are among the lowest paid in the South African economy. Unprotected by statutory minimum wage fixings, denied access to collective bargaining processes or to elementary political rights, their conditions are often set by farmers whose only constraint is the need to keep enough workers on the land to farm comfortably. Regional shortages of labour do occur ‐ and provide upward pressure on wages ‐ but on the whole Black farm workers are prevented by lack of schooling, lack of skills and an apparently chronic shortage of urban housing from seeking alternative employment in the towns. In addition, the system of legislative controls over the movements of African workers operates to ‘trap’ them on the farms. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that wages and working conditions differ widely from region to region and even from farm to farm. At a recent conference on farm labour, in Cape Town, these regional differences (and some of the reasons for them) were described, the questions of general shortages or surpluses of labour were discussed and the historical development of capitalist agriculture was traced. This article is an attempt to summarise the main points in the 55 papers presented at the conference, by academics, farmers and others.     

Farm diversification, tenancy and CAP reform: Results from a survey of tenant farmers in England

Little work has considered explicitly the role of farm tenancy in influencing the uptake (or not) of diversification activities. The need to examine this link has been heightened because of the 2003 CAP reforms and the decision to tie Single Farm Payment (SFP) entitlement to the land rather than what is produced on that land. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine the nature of diversification activities on tenant farms in England, which includes a consideration of how the introduction of the SFP and other CAP reforms may influence such restructuring processes. Results from a national postal survey, supported by tenant farmer/landlord interviews and a workshop, reveal high rates of farm diversification on farms with tenanted land. However, if one takes away contract/hire services the rate of diversification on tenant farms is much less. Tenant farms appear to favour more ‘traditional’ diversification activities and the results also demonstrate an increasing need to move towards more ‘encultured’ definitions of farm diversification. The second key finding to emerge from the research relates to the high levels of uncertainty and negativity surrounding the potential impacts of the CAP reforms, and SFP in particular, on farm business behaviour. Tenant farmers were more concerned about levels of SFP and entitlement than future investment decisions, including diversification.     

The increasing flexibility of the farm and horticultural workforce in England and Wales

This article highlights some important structural changes that have been taking place in the agricultural and horticultural workforce over recent years. While acknowledging the industry's distinctive need for flexibility in labour inputs, it is argued that these structural changes need to be seen in the context of wider trends in the economy as a whole. A review of the empirical evidence suggests that Atkinson's generalised model of the flexible firm provides a sound basis for understanding recent changes in the agricultural workforce. It is concluded that these changes have important implications for the Agricultural Wages Board as well as for organisations such as the National Farmers Union, Transport and General Workers Union, and Agricultural Colleges that service the needs of farm businesses and the farm workforce.     

Farm diversification in England and Wales — what can we learn from the farm business survey?

Given the series of crises in agriculture, farm diversification is an increasingly relevant strategy for farmers. Trends in various types of diversification are described in England and Wales — as recorded in the Farm Business Survey. Although hirework is the most frequently reported diversification activity, renting out of farm buildings is the only activity considered here where there has been a substantial increase in participation over the last 10 years. Furthermore, for most types of diversification, the rate of exit is similar in magnitude to that of entry. When they are present, most types of diversification make a relatively small contribution to average business income. The probability of observing diversification is strongly related to farm size and type. A particular concern is that most types of diversification activities considered here may be more difficult to pursue on small farms, especially within less favoured areas.     

After Farming: Emotional Health Trajectories of Farm,Nonfarm, and Displaced Farm Couples*

Abstract This study links macro social change to emotional health through continuity and change in farming. Families were divided into four groups, depending on whether they were full‐time farmers, part‐time farmers, displaced farm families who had left farming during the 1980s, or nonfarm families. Using four waves of panel data, we estimated initial levels and subsequent changes in per capita family income, stressful life events, and depressive symptoms of wives and husbands. Between 1989 and 1992, full‐time farm families' incomes decreased dramatically, while displaced farm families started 1989 with the lowest average per capita family income but saw the largest average increases in subsequent years. Farm status and changes in income predicted changes in stressful life events; changes in stressful life events, in turn, predicted changes in wives' and husbands' reports of depressive symptoms.     

Agricultural Journalists' Assessments of Print Coverage of Agricultural News1

Abstract Critics of agricultural news claim farm media and mass media coverage of agriculture is systematically distorted, a condition that could seriously affect the agricultural information system. A national survey used agricultural journalists as expert judges to assess how well three types of print journalists cover agricultural news. Their assessments indicated that mass media reporters who do not regularly cover agricultural news tend to write agriculture stories that are superficial and stereotyped but not biased toward agricultural interests. Farm magazine writers' stories are not superficial or stereotyped, but writers are uncritical of agriculture, biased toward agroindustry, and overlook important social and environmental issues. Newspaper farm beat reporters are closer to farm magazine writers in not trivializing agriculture and closer to general newspaper reporters in avoiding close ties with industry. Both farmers and public thus receive biased and fragmented reporting that may polarize their views on current agricultural issues. Even if reporters are aware of critical shortcomings in their coverage, improvement may require reduction in structural constraints on story choice.     

Spatial Analysis of Changes in the Number of Farms During the Farm Crisis*

Abstract This analysis reexamines factors affecting farm change during the Farm Crisis using spatial analysis techniques to identify important spatial factors and correct for spatial autocorrelation. Results indicate the importance of indicators of farm structure, percent of prime farmland, and state‐level processes in predicting changes in the number of farms. The findings also suggest a spatially‐dependent process: counties near each other in space experienced similar types and rates of change in the number of farms. Reasons for the effects of geographic proximity are explored.     

Conventionalization, civic engagement, and the sustainability of organic agriculture

It is often assumed that organic farming is synonymous with sustainable agriculture. The broad goals of sustainable agriculture include economic profitability, environmental stewardship, and community vitality. However, the “question of sustainability” (Ikerd, 2008) can be asked of any type of farming, including organic production. One way to assess sustainability is to consider farmers’ perceptions of the sustainability of their operations. I draw on data from a survey of certified organic producers in Washington State to broaden our understanding of the sustainability of organic agriculture. Specifically, I consider certified organic producers’ perceptions of the degree to which their operations contribute to broad sustainable agriculture goals. Moreover, I use multiple regression to investigate how these perceived contributions are influenced by farm conventionalization variables (e.g., organic acreage, non-organic sales, and specialization) and civic engagement variables (e.g., direct marketing, community group membership, and participation in sustainable/organic agriculture organizations) while controlling for farmer demographics and farm location. Farm conventionalization appears to have a significant negative effect on perceived contributions to environmental and social sustainability, but a significant positive effect on perceived contribution to economic sustainability. Civic engagement appears to have a significant positive effect on perceived contributions to environmental and social sustainability, but no effect on perceived contribution to economic sustainability.     

“It's Really Not Easy to Get Help”: Services to Drought-Affected Families

Abstract

The present paper details the results of research conducted with drought-affected farm families in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The study reveals the significant health and welfare stresses experienced by families and the lack of access to services and support. The research was conducted in three sites in rural and remote areas of NSW in 2003. Farm family members, service providers, and other community key informants were interviewed. The paper outlines ways that the social work profession can respond to significant natural disasters.     

Assessing change using psychoanalytic theory in children and families social work

ABSTRACT

This article focusses on psychoanalytic theory of change and how this can be used by Children and Families Social Workers. It firstly summarises change theory from a psychoanalytic perspective and provides a theoretical overview. The article then discusses the author’s experience of working with a family where domestic abuse and substance abuse were the presenting issues and where assessment work focussed on the child’s father. The article seeks to demonstrate how psychoanalytic theories of change can be utilised by Social Workers to understand and affect change when working with complex family dynamics.     

Rural Women and Decision Making: Women's Role in Resource Management During Rural Restructuring1

Abstract The intense, uneven, and often contradictory processes of agricultural restructuring impact upon the family farm in ways that are gendered. Those impacts may create, reproduce, or exacerbate contradictions within the farm family. We interviewed farm women about the decision making structure of families on Australian cereal properties and about land use and resource management strategies. Key informants working in government, agriculture, and management were asked about effects of restructuring on farm women and their role in resource management on the family farm. Different patterns were found: most decision making structures remain sex segregated, with women making more decisions about “inside” and men about “outside” resource management issues; shared decision responsibility was greater than expected. Farm women have views about farming, soil conservation, and the environment that have an influence on strategic planning in the sector whether they maintain their traditional family position or increase their agency and visibility.     

Benefits and Role Performance in Voluntary Organizations: An Exploration of Social Exchange*

This paper reports an exploration of the relationship between members' role performance and the benefits they receive from their organizations. The general relationship is interpreted in the context of a “social exchange model” for voluntary associations. Data for the analysis pertain to members of four voluntary farm organizations: Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, National Farmers Organization, and Grange. The data were obtained in a state-wide survey of Wisconsin farm operators in 1965. In general, the data show a moderate relationship, in a positive direction, between benefits and role performance. The benefits tend to differ in the magnitude and, in some instances, in the direction of their relationships to such performance. The findings indicate the importance of taking into account magnitude and direction of relationship, as well as interaction among the benefits and among costs, in order to devise a viable social exchange model of cost-benefit relations for voluntary associations.     

Migrant Workers Home and its practices on shaping the culture and community of ‘New Working Class’: a criticism on cultural-political activism in contemporary China

ABSTRACT

New Workers Home (Beijing, China) has been the most important site of activism and organizing of New Workers culture in Mainland China over the past 15 years. Beyond today’s intellectual atmosphere of liberal and ‘left-phobia’ in China, exploring the formation of a New Working Class can give us a new sense of class discourse and imagination of socialist China in the dimensions of both knowledge and activism. Based on my half-year fieldwork in New Workers Home and participant observation in knowledge and activism of New Workers culture, this paper aims at providing an in-depth analysis of the implications and tensions in the Migrant Workers Home’s imagination of New Workers culture and the organization’s energy and internal turbulence in their imagination of the community of the New Working Class, through reviewing their cultural actions focusing on the ‘cultural battlefield’ and community culture of Pi Cun (an urban fringe village in Beijing), their wider actions in social enterprise, ecological agriculture, organizational works among New Workers and their own organization’s internal situation. The outline of the problematics in this paper can be drawn by putting forward the following questions. How is the New Workers culture shaped by Migrant Workers Home? According to the situation of New Workers in contemporary China, what is its imagination of this forming class? How does it intervene the forming of a New Working Class with its cultural activism? By establishing a museum, college, social enterprises and ecological farms, how do these practices show its imagination of labours’ culture and politics? Located in Beijing and facing special political conditions, how does it arrange the guidelines and strategies of movements? What are the dilemmas of these practices, strategies and real politics?