A storm is brewing as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels into the Gulf of Mexico. Three years after Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast, the people of South Mississippi are bracing themselves again by loading up on emergency supplies and tuning in to storm advisories.

But another emergency already hit Mississippi earlier this week - this time it was the force of the I.C.E., not wind and rain. On Monday, August 25, hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the Howard Industries plant in Laurel, Miss. Almost 600 workers were detained, including a dozen minors and several pregnant women. It's reported that about 186 children were not picked up from school on Monday because their parents were in detention. Hundreds of small children have been left without their mothers.

As one of the only community-based workers' rights institutions in the state of Mississippi, UUSC Economic Justice partner MPOWER is on the scene, supporting families to connect with their loved ones in detention, helping make arrangements to ensure children are cared for, and working with local organizations and churches to address the humanitarian needs.

MPOWER (Mississippi Poultry Workers for Equality and Respect), based in Morton, Miss., is focused on building the capacity of poultry-processing workers to combat abusive labor practices in the industry, with particular attention to building solidarity between Latino immigrant and African American workers. As a "worker center," MPOWER also provides labor rights education to workers in other industries all over Mississippi, and through advocacy and organizing, responds to urgent needs faced by workers as they arise. This week, the staff of MPOWER has been actively providing assistance and support to the workers and families who have been most affected by the raid.

So much uncertainty looms on the horizon, as workers and their families affected by the raid also await the impending tropical storm, the path and strength of which is, naturally, unpredictable. MPOWER reports that Mississippi workers' minds are brimming over — a swirl of memories awakened by the anniversaries of Katrina and Rita, anticipation of the equally unpredictable ICE — first Postville, now Laurel, and "where will they go next?"

Just last month, I was in Mississippi to provide technical support to MPOWER. During the course of the days that we were working together on long-term planning, developing their board of directors, and connecting with other UUSC partners, we were called to action as we learned of an arrest of a poultry worker at the Koch Foods chicken plant, just a block from the MPOWER office. The worker who was arrested was a young, single mother of a two-year-old girl. MPOWER helped to find a temporary guardian for the little girl while her mother awaits trial, but you can only imagine the ripple effect of this same trauma happening to hundreds of children.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome."

Fortunately, the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA) — a partner of the Rights in Humanitarian Crises program that was supported by UUSC to work with immigrants in Mississippi to claim and defend their rights in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita — is working to provide legal representation for the detained workers. But I can't help but wonder if the workers will truly have access to the due process that is promised by this country. Will they be sufficiently informed of their legal rights? Will they be provided meaningful access to legal representation? The connections between workers' rights, civil liberties, rights in humanitarian crises, and immigration in this country are inextricable.

As we celebrate Labor Day this weekend — and as we strive every day to uphold the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and to promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations — let us remember the workers and their families in Mississippi who are weathering the storms.

The following blog was written by Richard C. Bozian, M.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio, who participated in a JustJourney in Mexico exploring economic justice.

For most of the first four days of our JustJourney, we were somewhat weighed down by the negative impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and globalization on everyday life in Mexico -- both for city folks and small farmers. It is no wonder that thousands seek economic survival by migrating to the United States.

Our experience at the ejido (commune or collective) of Vicente Guerrero (a town of 850 people), and its autonomous subunit, El Proyecto de Desarrollo Rural Integral Vicente Guerrero, A.C. (or, more commonly, el grupo Vicente Guerrero), was like a cold beer on a hot summer day.

Some 25 or so years before, an intrepid leader introduced farming techniques borrowed from abroad. Objectives were: developing sustainable agricultural techniques, preservation of the identity and independence of the farmer, increasing productivity of its farms, and, more recently, blocking the introduction of hybrid or genetically modified farm seeds.

They wished to avoid the dependency fostered by single-crop farming by rotating crops. They began using terracing and grading to avoid soil erosion and recycling organic waste to eliminate chemical fertilizers. They started planting trees with repellent properties, thereby avoiding insecticides. The goal has been to move beyond mere subsistence farming to diversification and direct marketing. This model program did not arise by chance; it is the product of openness and experimentation. It's eco-friendly and avoids the dependency that leads to migration to the big city, where there aren't enough jobs.

That evening, we walked to a nearby farm where my fellow JustJourney-ers Bob Alpern, Suzanne Skaer, Ariel Jacobson and I spent the night with a delightful local host family. Mother Patricia and her two daughters, Erica and Barbara Ann, escorted us around their 100-acre farm, which incorporates all of the features I mentioned above. It was impressive.

The husband's family has owned the farm for 14 years, and on the surface it was a thriving enterprise. They had sheep, lambs, rabbits, horses, mules, and chickens, each providing labor or food. Saddening, though, was the fact that the husband/father had been spending April to November in Houston working as a gardener for the past seven years. Patricia said that his wages, though not great, were reasonable and vital to their survival. They could not manage without this extra income because of the low price of corn and soybeans, the result of dumping by agribusinesses that are subsidized by our government.

Fortunately for them, unlike folks in the city, they produce their own food. Food prices in Mexico have risen mercilessly because of the monopoly of imports allowed under the rules of NAFTA.

Encouraging was the fact that Barbara Ann was considering going on to high school after middle school -- unusual for a girl in a rural community. The mother was cute when we asked about her expertise in the kitchen. She flip-flopped her hands with a so-so gesture. Little Erica played hide-and-seek with us the whole night and morning.

I would like to close with a commentary on a sign in front of their elementary/middle school. The sign reads, “Our schools will have to become places where human beings are valued for their humanity, and not only for their intelligence”. Would that we could adopt such a philosophy in our technologized society. They've respected and used science, but have not forgotten the very same principles that we, Unitarian Universalists, so value.

The following blog was written by Nancy Bennett, of Santa Fe, N.M., who participated in a JustJourney in Mexico exploring economic justice.

It’s been over a week now since I returned home from our JustJourney to Mexico – but I’m still not feeling quite at home. I’m coming to realize that I probably won’t ever feel at home in the same way I had before the trip. Home has a different meaning for me now – a larger meaning, and a less comfortable meaning.

Before experiencing this JustJourney, I had thought about international trade in terms of how it affects people in my country (the United States) and, separately, how it affects people in other countries, such as Mexico. I now realize that it is incumbent on me – on us – to develop as full an understanding as possible of the interrelated effects of trade and free-trade agreements on all parties. This is painfully clear in the case of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Although I’d had from the time of its proposal some concern about NAFTA’s possible impact on U.S. industrial workers, I’d had fewer worries about its impact on Mexican workers. However, not long after NAFTA went into effect, some very disturbing stories arose...stories about Mexicans having to leave their small farms because they were unable to compete with the burgeoning inflow of government-subsidized U.S. corn, stories about extremely low wages being paid to assembly workers in maquilas (foreign-owned factories), and stories about some of those maquilas being shut down after workers organized to demand higher wages.

Still, it seemed to me that there must be more to these stories. I couldn’t believe that the United States would be party to a trade agreement that fostered such great inequity and caused such hardship to the people of our trading nation, in this case, Mexico. I couldn’t believe that the United States would be party to a trade agreement that undermined the economy and culture of Mexico and virtually guaranteed a massive increase in Mexican migration to the United States.

Our JustJourney included visits to Mexico City, Puebla, Atlixco, and Vicente Guerrero. From our formal and informal meetings with members of these communities, I learned that, yes, there was more to the stories – but that “more” made evident the very irrational realities behind U.S. economic policies in Mexico. I realized

1) NAFTA has, indeed, wreaked havoc on the lives of many Mexicans, and

2) The governments of Mexico and the United States have allowed the interests of international corporations to take precedence over the well-being of people.

The real story is about corporate profit, corporate greed.

Corporate greed is to blame for the profound economic deprivation in Mexico that compels thousands upon thousands of Mexicans to leave their families, friends, and social traditions and risk their freedom, safety, and even their lives in order to migrate to the United States to find work. For most migrants, immigration represents the only chance of being able to support themselves and their families back in Mexico.

This reality is not well known in the United States. Instead, we hear outcries against immigrants who are stealing our jobs and the high cost incurred by our trying to keep these desperate people out of our country.

I would submit that were NAFTA to be renegotiated to include protections for Mexican agriculture and Mexican workers, the problem of immigration from our south would be greatly diminished. If the United States were to approach future U.S.-Mexico trade agreements so that the well-being of people in both countries take precedence over the profits of multinational corporations, undocumented migration to the United States would cease to be a significant problem at all.

If those who negotiate international trade agreements were to experience a JustJourney, a journey that opened their eyes, ears, minds, and hearts to the realities of life in Mexico under NAFTA, could they ever again put forth such a destructive policy? I don’t think they could. For when one knows and feels harsh realities, those realities become part of one’s own reality. “Their” home becomes as one’s own home – and a more just reality becomes an imperative.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I witnessed some changes in the greater Boston area, where I have worked and lived for over two decades. Several companies suddenly closed their doors and let their assembly workers go, in some cases dismissing over 400 people at the same time. A very simple reason was given to these workers: their company had decided to move to Mexico, with the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Business owners had beautiful visions and grand expectations, in particular of the enormous benefits that NAFTA would bring to people in North America.

Laid-off employees, however, were confused and reluctant to accept these explanations. Who benefits when workers no longer have a job or a salary to take care of themselves or their families? How beautiful is it after spending ten or twenty years working for the same company to suddenly not have anything to secure the financial future of one's family? People had many questions about the benefits of NAFTA, but they only found empty promises!

Around this same time, I also saw that the Spanish-speaking population around me was growing rapidly. Through some community leaders, I discovered that these were new immigrants who had come with the hope of finding employment to support their families. These migrant workers moved to the United States from Mexico and other countries in Central or South America because they couldn’t find a job with a decent salary in their country of origin.

Something isn’t right with this picture! If the implementation of NAFTA had worked well in Mexico, as stated in official reports, these migrant workers could have found employment quite easily in Mexico. Why do they have to sacrifice, living a life far away from their families, in order to find a job? On the other hand, with the loss of jobs in the United States, how will we help laid-off employees find a new source of employment?

The benefits of NAFTA for people in Canada, Mexico, and the United States are questionable. The agreement and its consequences for workers deserve further study and research in order to find the truth. We have to analyze the impact of NAFTA on people’s lives by discussing it directly with workers. We won’t be able to get the truth by reading official reports from the governments or transnational business owners.

UUSC, in partnership with Witness for Peace and UUs for a Just Economic Community, gave the 14 members of our JustJourney delegation a wonderful opportunity to find out the truth about the impact of NAFTA during our visit to Mexico from May 24 to June 1, 2008.

I strongly encourage everyone to review the facts our delegation uncovered through this trip and provide feedback or further information to us so that we can raise awareness among the general public about the effects of NAFTA. Your input will help other concerned citizens to learn more about current NAFTA regulations and to advocate for fairer labor laws, human rights, and social justice in Mexico and the larger region.

Nobody can enjoy global security and prosperity unless we have an effective system in place that supports the needs and wellbeing of all working families.

The following post was written by Carol Wilsey, of Lakewood, Colo., who is in Mexico participating in a JustJourney exploring economic justice.

Lucía and I both got tears in our eyes when she told me that her son had migrated to New York with his wife and her grandchild. Her pain of being separated from them was palpable.

We were eating lunch together after meeting in Lucía’s home with a group of workers and union delegates from the maquila where she works. (Her maquila produces t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other apparel for export.) She has a good job, with benefits, and holds a position in her union. For now, she is fairly secure, with a nice little house and stable employment; but it was not so for her son.

When I asked Lucía why her son immigrated she said it was because there was no work for him. This is a familiar story for so many families in Mexico. They don’t want to be apart, but are forced by economic circumstances to migrate.

Lucía’s son is doing fairly well in New York, despite being “sin papeles” — undocumented. He is an appliance store manager, and his wife works in a laundry, while a sister cares for their child.

I could see in Lucía’s face how much she worries for him. She says he is very concerned about the possibility of being deported. It isn't possible for him to come home for a visit because of the difficulty he would face in returning to the United States. This young man is a productive member of U.S. society, although marginalized by his lack of lawful status. He had no choice but to leave his family and home — and the pain of his absence is very deep for his mother.

After just an hour of talking with Lucía I felt a special bond with her. We hugged goodbye, and I sent love to her son, which brought tears to both of our eyes again. I wish I could wave a magic wand to change things for her son ... for all of the Mexican fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters who have journeyed north at great risk and financial and emotional cost to them and their families.

Pay attention to the effects of U.S. economic policies on Mexico! The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has established trade relationships that highly advantage large transnational companies to the disadvantage of small farmers, traders, and other workers. Since NAFTA's implementation, so many people have migrated from Mexico out of economic necessity that money sent home in the form of remittances is the second highest source of income for Mexico, second only to oil.

Clinton and Obama have both said that they would work to renegotiate NAFTA. This would be a very important place in which the economic disadvantages suffered by Mexican families could be remedied. Let it be so.

Many of us in the human-rights movement are label checkers. We check t-shirts, sweaters, and pants for the label that tells us what country that piece of apparel was made in -- Made in Madagascar, Made in China, Made in Vietnam, Made in Mexico.

Before coming to Mexico as part of a UUSC JustJourney exploring economic justice, I didn't know the implications of the "MADE IN MEXICO/HECHO EN MEXICO" label. I believed that, because of regulations imposed by NAFTA, its status as a developing country, and its close proximity to the United States, MADE IN MEXICO would always be a better option.

Listening to the stories of maquila workers, who labor in foreign-owned factories that produce goods for sale abroad, my eyes have been opened to the woeful situation of labor rights in Mexico. Firstly, fifty percent of Mexican workers earn the minimum wage, which in Mexico is is approximately 6 pesos per hours(or $0.60 USD) based on an eight-hour work day. In order to maximize profits, maquilas turn up the speed and demands on workers, so that men and women on the assembly line are forced to produce more and more -- without any bonuses or increased salary.

There are signs of hope, however. Yesterday, we met with members of an independent union, which represents the true interests of workers. Like an island in a stream, they are surrounded by dozens -- perhaps hundreds -- of maquilas where workers labor under abusive conditions for minimum wage. But if independent unions could spread awareness among other workers and maquilas about their labor rights -- both under Mexican law and international law -- we could perhaps see an emergence of fairer maquilas and greater numbers of Mexican workers who are paid a living wage.

The following blog was written by Sue Gross, of Wooster, Ohio, who is in Mexico participating in a JustJourney exploring economic justice.

We heard from Guadeloupe, who was fired from Johnson Controls when she asked to see a copy of the contract she had signed as a member of the protectionist union. [Protectionist unions historically have been linked with the government and represent corporate interests rather than worker interests.] With this simple question, her bosses knew that she was educating herself in regards to her rights as a worker. She had received some training from CAT.


Several former workers of Johnson Controls went to see their counterparts in Detroit. Imagine their shock to find out that U.S. workers are paid $19 per hour -- instead of $9 per day!

The following blog was written by Holly Williams, of Lancaster, Penn., who is in Mexico participating in a JustJourney exploring economic justice.
After meeting with influential people in the Mexican human-rights and labor movement, I am humbled and energized. So many well-qualified people are dedicating their lives to creating a more just Mexico. I am humbled because there is so much I don't know -- but also energized, recognizing that lots of work has been accomplished and it's my job to continue in the struggle.

One example is the citizens of San Salvador Atenco, who organized to protest the construction of another airport serving Mexico City. They were successful! They protested because they had no say in the matter, and their land would have been expropriated from them. But about two years ago [May 2006], there was a clash between the villagers and the federal, state, and municipal police force, whereby ordinary people were arrested and mistreated -- a reminder from the government as to who really calls the shots.

I see it as an ongoing process, part of the human-rights condition. What impress me is the action that people are taking to fight for people's rights. There are so many people who truly are working so that ordinary people can live dignified, full lives.

In the last few years, there have been lots of changes in the dairy and meat sections of my local grocery store. Now, I have the choice of buying “cage free” eggs, "cruelty-free" eggs, “free range” chickens, and “pastured" chicken. These new labels and products reflect the public’s growing concern and alarm over the deplorable living conditions of chickens in factory farms, the tiny wire cages, the lack of sunlight, the overuse of antibiotics, and even the debeaking of chickens as a way to prevent injuries from aggressive behavior.

After spending my lunch hour on Monday listening to Rachel Townsend of Northwest Arkansas Workers’ Justice Center (NWAWJC) talk about the working conditions inside poultry factories in northwest Arkansas, I’m starting to think that we need some more labels for these products. We need labels such as “wage-theft free,” “abuse-free workplace,” and “safe working conditions.”

The northwest corner of Arkansas is home to Tyson Foods, which is the largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork; the second-largest food-production company in the Fortune 500; and a member of the S&P 500. According to USA Today, Richard Bond, the Tyson Foods CEO, made $24.6 million in 2007. By contrast, the average Latina full-time poultry worker earns just $17,700 per year.

Townsend told us that after a worker was killed on the job at a construction site, the workers were given an ultimatum: sign a workers’ compensation-claim waiver or you don't get your paycheck. We heard about one man who refused to sign the waiver for three weeks, until he was told that he would be fired unless he signed. With three children at home to feed, he reluctantly signed the waiver. But only weeks later, while working on a faulty scaffolding rig in the plant, he fell and was paralyzed. Predictably, the company refused to compensate him for his on-the-job injury.

One in five workers in the poultry-processing industry is injured on the job. And because many are undocumented workers, they are hesitant to report abuses to authorities. They fear facing criminal charges on immigration violations and deportation. These threats are part of what fuels abuses in U.S. meat and poultry plants.

For three years now, UUSC’s Economic Justice Program has worked closely with NWAWJC, providing not just financial grants, but also strategic thinking and networking opportunities to help them expand their work. Townsend is also here in Massachusetts meeting with regional worker centers with organizing and movement building focuses to share best practices and develop ways to achieve safe working conditions.

In the meantime, I advocate a new human-rights-centric labeling system for meat and poultry products so that I can know as much about the degrading working conditions inside poultry-processing plants as I do about the living conditions facing factory-farmed chickens.