The United Farm Workers issued the following statement about grower-sponsored march planned in Mendota:
“We don’t oppose farmers getting access to more water, but that access should be tied to farm workers’ access to clean drinking water in the fields. The State of California continues to fail at protecting that basic right for farm workers while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to oppose farm workers winning the right to protect that right themselves. . The union is focusing its efforts on immigration reform, the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers and better working conditions for the men and women who pick our fruits and vegetables.”