Migrant Labor Legislation in Oregon

• Author: Donald G. Balmer
• Published date: 01 September 1961
• Date: 01 September 1961
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/106591296101400374
• Subject Matter: Articles

77

need

for

political

philosophy

does

not

suffice

to

demonstrate

its

possibility.

I

would

suggest,

however,

in

the

face

of

our

growing

dilemma,

that

we

pause

to

reconsider

the

soundness

of

the

grounds

upon

which

we

despatched

political

philosophy.

Politics

MIGRANT

LABOR

LEGISLATION

IN

OREGON

DONALD

G.

BALMER

Lewis

and

Clark

College

The

1959

session

of

the

Oregon

legislature

enacted

five

laws

to

improve

the

conditions

of

migrant

farm

workers.

These

laws

provided

for

transportation

safety,

licensing

of

labor

contractors,

camp

and

field

sanitation,

a

pilot

program

of

summer

schools,

and

a

statutory

inter-agency

committee.

The

passage

of

these

laws

over

the

opposition

of

the

powerful

Oregon

Farm

Bureau

Federation

to

the

last

four

bills

was

a

significant

accomplishment.

Credit

for

this

accomplishment

can

be

attributed

to

organized

religious

groups,

skillful

political

leadership,

and

support

from

administrators

of

key

state

agencies.

A

not

unfairly

apportioned

legislature

was

also

a

factor.

Religious

groups

have

long

had

concern

for

migrant

workers.

The

Oregon

Council

of

Churches

has

sponsored

a

migrant

ministry

for

several

decades.

Unable

to

complete

a

substantial

study

of

migrants

with

its

own

resources

the

Council

of

Churches

induced

the

1957

legislature

to

establish

an

interim

committee

for

that

purpose.

Both

Protestant

and

Roman

Catholic

groups

united

to

support

the

report

and

recommendations

of

the

Interim

Committee.

This

was

done

by

appearing

before

committees

and

by

sending

letters

and

telegrams

to

legislators.

The

churches

supplied

the

initial

concern

and

much

of

the

grass-roots

support

for

the

enactment

of

the

five

laws.

The

political

skill

of

the

chairman

of

the

Interim

Committee

and

of

two

state

administrators

was

also

a

crucial

factor.

With

a

limited

budget

of

$6,000,

hearings

were

held

in

all

parts

of

the

state

and

the

readable

and

attractive

report

was

unanimously

adopted.

Each

hearing

was

fairly

conducted

and

well

pub-

licized.

The

report

spelled

out

its

recommendations

in

the

form

of

draft

bills.

The

fact

that

four

of

the

nine

on

the

committee

were

prominent

farmers

added

to

the

impact

of

the

unanimity

of

the

report.

The

chairman

and

others

had

created

statewide

interest

in

migrant

labor

over

a

two-year

period

by

careful

use

of

all

media

of

communication

and

by

close

contact

with

church,

P.T.A.,

and

other

interest

groups.

Little

was

left

to

chance.

Many

state

agencies

shared

in

gathering

data

upon

which

the

case

for

legis-

lation

was

built.

The

incumbent

governor,

Robert

Holmes,

had

personally

convened

an

Inter-Agency

Committee

and

directed

each

state

agency

repre-

sented

to

cooperate

with

the

legislature’s

Interim

Committee.

This

resulted

in

thousands

of

interviews

of

farmers

and

migrants

and

hundreds

of

inspections