Stanislaus farmworkers rally calls for California bill, referencing Cesar Chavez’s legacy
Farmworkers and supporters on Thursday held a Ceres rally urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to support a state bill designed to increase voting options for farm laborers in union elections.
About 40 people rallied for the Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act, which supporters say continues the legacy of late labor leader Cesar Chavez.
Secili Perez Lopez, a Madera farmworker who harvests cherries, lettuce, peaches and tomatoes, waved a United Farm Workers flag on East Hatch Road near Highway 99. While the union has backed her up, Perez Lopez said farmworkers have told her their supervisors intimidated them during union elections.
“Thanks to (Cesar Chavez), we have a voice and a vote, but we still have a way to go,” Perez Lopez said. “There’s always improvement to do.”
The proposed state bill, AB 2183, would allow farmworkers to vote in union elections by mail. Farmworkers must currently vote at polling places, usually workplaces, designated by the Agriculture Labor Relations Board.
United Farm Workers and the UFW Foundation organized 13 rallies for the bill, including the one in Ceres, on Cesar Chavez Day. Instead of a day off, UFW Secretary Treasurer Armando Elenes said the holiday calls for continuing to improve the conditions of farmworkers. Elenes said he often hears of supervisors pressuring farmworkers to vote against unionization.
“The fear, the harassment they endure is terrible,” Elenes said. “This bill would give them more comfort to be able to vote for a union and select their representatives from the comfort of their own home. It’s just like we vote for (government officials) in our own homes.”
Gov. Newsom urged to support workers
Elenes, who grew up in Hilmar and attended Modesto Junior College, referenced how Newsom vetoed a previous version of the bill in September. In his veto letter, Newsom said the bill included procedural issues regarding collecting and reviewing ballot cards. Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, introduced both the previous and current bills.
Farmworkers knocked on doors to urge people to vote against Newsom’s recall last year, so Merced resident Diane Mejia said the governor needs to support them. She joined the Ceres rally Thursday as a UFW supporter, noting her farmworker father marched with the union in the 1970s.
“It’s time that people realize that we put certain people in office and they need to support the people themselves,” Mejia said.
Sebastian Cervantes also came to the rally from Atwater to show solidarity and appreciation for farmworkers who feed society. Holding a sign saying “we feed you” and chanting “sí, se puede” as drivers honked, Cervantes said he hoped to raise awareness of Cesar Chavez’s work to organize the UFW. Other activists credited for creating the UFW include Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong.
The UFW also started an online petition urging Newsom to sign the Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act.
“Farm workers will make it clear to CA’s Gov. Newsom that a living legacy to Cesar is not just proclamations and holidays,” the petition says. “It’s meeting with those most impacted when making public policy decisions. It’s taking decisive steps to make real change.”
