AMERICAN LABOUR:

THE TERMINATOR HASN'T COME TO END THIS SITUATION:

The following is an appeal from the United Farm Workers about a continuing situation in Conan's Kingdom of California. Read it and see how the families of farm workers in that State are put at risk by the continued failure of the state government to act. Sign the petition demanding clean water for farm worker families.

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Farm worker families put at risk while Governor Schwarzenegger's bureaucrats ignore the situation:
Back in early September we told you about the approximately 200 farm workers and their families who live in government housing in Los Banos CA, who don’t have access to safe drinking water. Their current water supply is contaminated with arsenic, copper and radionucleotides.

The Department of Fish and Game has a pipeline that could immediately provide safe water to these families, but they refuse to allow these families to use it.

More than 5,000 activists like you responded by contacting these bureaucrats, telling them to allow the community to connect to the city water supply. On Sept 11, Fish and Game responded they would commit to immediately start making the connection. However, nothing has happened.

Fish and Game is again inventing political roadblocks to stall the process.

These families continue to be put at risk by having no alternative but to use the contaminated water. Families do get a ration of bottled water. However, the amount is not enough to have clean water for household chores and practice good hygiene.

This toxic situation has to end. The migrant housing center is in the process of closing for the season, marking three years that the health of these farm worker families has been ignored by Gov. Schwarzenegger’s administration.

Sign the online petition today and tell the Governor that we won’t stand for this anymore. The Governor needs to tell his Department of Fish and Game to be a good neighbor and stop forcing kids and their families to use contaminated water. Ask him to assure the public and the farm workers that there will finally be safe water for the residents when this migrant camp opens for the season again in April 2009. Worker representatives will hand in this petition to the Governor’s office on December 1, right after the Thanksgiving holidays.

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Please go to THIS LINK to sign the following petition.

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The Petition
Send this petition to:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
cc: Department of Fish and Game
Governor,

It's time for action.

Two hundred farm workers and their families who live in government housing in Los Banos don't have access to safe drinking water. Your administration's Department of Fish and Game has a pipeline that could immediately provide safe water to these families, but they refuse to allow these families to use it.

Fish and Game has promised to take action on this situation. However, for the past three years nothing has happened, and families continue to be put at risk as they have no alternative but to use the contaminated water with its unacceptable amounts of arsenic, copper and radionuclide. The migrant housing center is in the process of closing for the season, marking three years that the health of these farm worker families has been ignored by your administration. .

The residents of the Rafael L. Silva Migrant Family Housing Center in Los Banos, the Housing Authority, and Merced County have been acting on good faith for the last three years. They have taken numerous measures to appease Fish and Game's concerns. They were told their efforts would result in safe drinking water for the residents of the Los Banos Migrant Camp.

However, for every step advocates took in the direction of solving the problem, the Department of Fish and Game took a step backwards and found another stumbling block.

Drinking bottled water only solves half the problem--given that arsenic, copper, and radionucleotides are actually absorbed into the skin when bathing. Children accidentally drink the water when bathing and at times drink the water when they are thirsty.

It is crucial that the residents have access to safe drinking water. In fact, it's a human right.

We the undersigned call upon you to make your Department of Fish and Game quit putting up political roadblocks and allow the Los Banos Migrant Camp to connect to their existing water line that receives City of Los Banos water.

Please get back to me and assure me that there will finally be safe water for the residents when this migrant camp opens for the season again in April 2009.