What is it like to work on a farm today?

On the next Your Call, we'll mark Cesar Chavez's birthday by talking about the realities facing small farmers and farmworkers in the United States. A new report based on data from the Department of Labor has found that despite decades of struggle, California's farmworkers continue to live in poverty without adequate access to education and health care. Since 1990, socio-economic factors have barely budged. So what can be done to improve the lives of farm workers? Join us at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Al Rojas, farm labor activist

Guilebaldo Nunez, owner of Nunez Farms

Judith Redmond, co-owner of Full Belly Farm and secretary on the board of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers

Gerardo Reyes, farmworker and staff member of the Coalition of Imokalee Workers

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Your Call 031609 Will EFCA help the economy?

Will the Employee Free Choice Act help bring the economy back to life? On the next Your Call, we'll discuss the law that would make it easier for unions to organize. The battle over the act is expected to be fierce. The Chamber of Commerce and business groups plan to spend $200 million to defeat the bill, while SEIU is spending $50 million to ensure its passage. If it passes, would you join a union? You can join us by phone or email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Are unions one of the answers to the economic downturn? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Chris Chafe
Executive director of Change to Win, a coalition created in 2005 of seven unions including the Teamsters, SEIU and the United Farm Workers of America

Jason Oxman in Northern Virginia
Senior Vice President for Industry Affairs at the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade association promoting growth in the consumer electronics industry

Russell Roberts in Fairfax, VA
Professor of Economics and J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, research fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of the blog econtalk.org, winner of the 2008 Weblog Award for Best Podcast. His latest book is The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity.

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Your Call 011409 On the Record: Hilda Solis

How will the Labor Department change if California Representative Hilda Solis is confirmed to run it? On the next Your Call, we're starting a new On the Record series by looking at the people President-elect Barack Obama has nominated to run the federal agencies that most directly affect our lives, including Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Housing and Urban Development. We'll kick off the series by focusing on the Department of Labor. Representative Solis is the child of two union members. Will she transform workplace policy to put workers first? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Kellie Lunney in Washington DC
Reporter for the People section of National Journal and Congress Daily. Previously she was the managing editor of Government Executive, also a publication of the National Journal.

Dan Morain in Sacramento
Sacramento Reporter for the Los Angeles Times

Click to Listen: On the Record: Hilda Solis