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With DOL Support, AFOP Brings Peer Best Practices Sharing
Rural Employment Opportunities (REO), a statewide non-profit in Helena Montana, participated in the AFOP Peer Best Practices Sharing Program in April. Individuals from the NFJP programs in Texas and Arkansas flew into Helena along with AFOP Workforce Development Director Katy Nelson from AFOP headquarters in Washington, DC. In the last two years, REO has had […]
Persistence Pays Off For NFJP Client
Previously published in the Proteus May 2016 Newsletter After a series of referrals and one phone call, Tylar H. contacted the Proteus Inc. office in Kokomo, Indiana. He was unsure if Proteus could help him, but was willing to take the chance. He had graduated from Ivy Tech Community College with a degree in Criminal Justice […]
New OT Rule Raises Question: Why Not Farmworkers?
From the Desk of the Executive Director Daniel J. Sheehan AFOP Executive Director The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently praised the Obama Administration’s new rule making millions of workers eligible for overtime pay as the president’s “most significant action on behalf of middle-class paychecks.” The rule boosts the threshold salary level under […]
2016 Annual Art & Essay Contest Now Open!
The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs’ (AFOP) Children in the Fields Campaign is proud to announce that we are now accepting submissions for the 2016 Migrant & Seasonal Farmworker Children Essay & Art Contests. The theme selected for this year’s contests is Cultivating Roots of Opportunities and the contest flyer and guidelines have been posted […]
Closing the Loopholes, Opening Opportunities
By Amber James, Program Analyst for Workforce Development In recognition of National Farmworker Awareness Week, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) would like to raise awareness about the scourge of child labor in U.S. agriculture. Around the world, agriculture remains the most important sector where 98 million, or 59%, of child laborers (ages […]
A Personal Reflection: Honoring the Legacy of Cesar Chavez
In recognition of National Farmworker Awareness Week and in honor of the birthday of the great farmworker and civil rights advocate, the late Cesar Chavez, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs is reposting a New American Media commentary by Elva Yañez. Her very personal remembrance of Chavez and the everlasting impact his work on laborers […]
Lifting Others Out of Poverty
By: Kathleen Nelson, Director of Workforce Development March 30, 2016 Many farmworkers cherish the role they play in bringing fresh food to tables in homes across the country. It’s not surprising that many of the farmworkers who qualify for National Farmworker Jobs Programs (NFJP) across the country, choose to pursue careers in the agricultural sector. […]
A Small Act of Kindness Can Save A Farmworker’s Life
By: Melanie Forti, Director of Health & Safety Programs Our lives are so busy now days that we forget to sit back, think, and be grateful for those hard working hands that harvest our food. Unfortunately, agricultural workers are one of the most forgotten and unacknowledged workers in the United States. Every day over 2.5 […]
17th Annual National Farmworker Awareness Week
Washington, DC – Each year, it is estimated that over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied to farms, forests, lawns, parks and golf courses in the United States. With eighty percent of all U.S. pesticide use being in agriculture, farmworkers who pick the fruits and vegetables that end up on tables across America are […]