Left to Right: Julian Castro, Mayor of San Antonio, TX; Rigoberta Menchu , Nobel Peace Prize winner from Guatemala; Secretary Hilda Solis; Sam Sayyad; Actor Edward James Olmos
My Latino heritage has always been a source of pride for me. It is a major part of who I am, and enriches my every experience.
Every summer, when I was growing up in Southern California, my father -- who was born in the U.S. but moved to Mexico as a child -- would pack up our whole family, including my mother and my six brothers and sisters, and drive for several days to visit relatives in Veracruz and Mexico City.
So, I could not help but think about my father as I boarded the plane at Andrews Air Force Base to lead the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the Celebration of the Bicentennial of Mexico. Sure, I know my dad is proud of me and what I have accomplished. But I also know that, deep in his heart, leading a delegation to Mexico ranks as one of the most important things I've ever done. I know that he's feeling a great deal of satisfaction that his "all-American" daughter is returning "home" as the highest ranking Latina in President Barack Obama's cabinet.
To be honest, the significance of this trip is not just personal. The U.S. Department of Labor, which I head, has an important relationship with Mexico. We are actively engaged with Mexican labor authorities in a dialogue on improving the functioning of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), which is widely known as NAFTA's side agreement on labor. And something else, which is very close to my heart: eliminating the worst forms of child labor. Approximately 3.6 million Mexican children work, many of them in agriculture. While some travel with their families, others are left behind in their home communities with little protection as a result of parental migration. Many of these children come from indigenous communities. In 2009, my department funded a $5 million, four-year project to combat the worst forms of child labor in Mexican agriculture, a sector in which an estimated 1.1 million children work. The project aims to withdraw and prevent thousands of children from exploitive work in agriculture through education, vocational training, and social services. The project is also working with the Mexican government to strengthen policy and legislative frameworks, and improve data collection, monitoring and inspections.
I chose to keep a diary of my brief Mexican adventure (I would only be in the country for about 24 hours), because I wanted to remember all the special details of the trip -- not just for myself, but for my father, and for those across America who live both the challenges and benefits that come with the dynamic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.
Click below to read the rest of my diary on the Department of Labor Blog:
Follow Sec. Hilda Solis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HildaSolisDOL
Lost Decade for Family Income
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703440604575495670714069694.html
Hilda doesn't have to look very far in order if she really wants to correct labor abuses.
www.ufw.org/
Even I do really like your country I have to admit that the US isn´t a civilized nation as you may think, the US is the first arms and guns producer and exporter, it´s also responsable for the 25% of the worlds pollution, it´s the world´s biggest consumer of drugs and don´t forget that the US is the only country in the world which used the atomic bomb, which killed and injured thousands of people damaging the environment at the same time.
So I think both countries have a lot to do.
Greetings from Mexico!
BTW, I love Mexico. My 4 grandparents immigrated from Mexico prior to 1921. And I immigrated to Mexico (Mexico City) 44 1/2 years ago. It has been a very nice life as an English teacher (UNAM & IPN) and now as a free-lance Spanish to English translator specializing in accounting, finance, tax, and corporate law documents. Esa es la neta del planeta (según Brozo).
What country did Capone, Anastasia, Genovese, Gambino and the rest of the Organized Crime Families come from? Perhaps all of their countrymen should return to their motherland! (The ethnic origins card is a knife that cuts in many directions), Mr. Mazonni).
Thank you, Hilda, for your work on the child labor issue.
For those interested in the history of child labor in agriculture in our own country, many know something about the African American experience. particularly in Southern states. I also recommend looking up the history of raising the "white gold" of sugar beets and how first whole families of Germans from Russia and then whole families of Mexican and Hispanos labored under conditions where the compulsory education laws were flagrantly ignored and segregated classrooms were often utilized...
But, think it's just an issue of the past; the 1930's and the National Child Labor Committee? Here's a quote from 1996: http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/3-child-labor-in-the-us-is-worse-today-than-during-the-1930s/
"...'Child labor today is at a point where violations are greater than at any point during the 1930s,' said Jeffrey Newman of the National Child Labor Committee, an advocacy group founded in 1904.
Violations are occurring today on farms and businesses around the country. Farm owners beat the system by allowing their entire family, including the children, to work under one person’s social security number or by hiring a farm contractor who, on the books, counts as only one employee (while the contractors then hire whomever they wish).
Businesses aren’t worried about the child labor violations that they commit because the laws are rarely enforced..."