Kelly Rohrs' article "On Top of Mt. Olive?" strongly implies that migrant housing is adequate, just not so attractive aesthetically. At best this interpretation is equivalent to saying that third-world living standards are okay in the United States, as long as we bring in third-world people to endure them. Is this really what we want for our country? A deeper look would find that housing, including its location, presents severe health problems, physical and mental.
As to the question of whether the boycott will help in the formation of a union, the answer is that boycotts are virtually the only way it could happen, and that is how it happened with Campbell's soup and other cases. Anyone who thinks that legislatures or employers are going to spontaneously move to improve workers' conditions has simply not been paying attention to what is actually going on. Every lever which can possibly be used to limit worker power is being used. The boycott may be a long shot, but it is the only shot. The alternative is to accept the status quo. The powder-puff pressure on Mt. Olive by Duke must be a source of merriment in the iron-tough circles of N.C. agri-business. It simply lacks any weight at all.
John Olson
Farmworker Support Action Team
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