SALINAS, CA – Dozens of farm workers from the Central Coast join Sacramento-bound farm workers who are marching up the Central Valley demanding better salaries, enhanced working conditions and the right to overtime pay.
“The Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Now” march kicked off on August 23, in Merced. Marchers will reach Livingston tonight and will continue on Friday to Turlock. The pilgrims will make other stops in Modesto, Manteca, Stockton, and Galt and other cities. By the time the march culminates at the State Capitol on Sept. 4, during Labor Day Weekend, thousands of farm laborers and their supporters are expected to be part of it.
On Friday, Aug. 26, six farm workers from the Central Coast will be joining the 200-mile pilgrimage. The six will march the rest of the way with the peregrinos. But early Saturday morning, August 27, several buses will arrive at Ceres carrying farm workers from the Monterey-area Central Coast, from Sonoma and Napa counties. Some farm workers will arrive in their own vehicles.
The farm workers joining the pilgrimage "are very enthusiastic, but at the same time upset that the governor vetoed" the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act on June 28, said Sergio Guzman, United Farm Workers National Vice President.
"They are fighting for passage" of that law and other measures to help farm workers, including a bill that would entitle farm laborers to overtime pay after 8 hours, he said.
They will incorporate themselves into the march in Ceres, then march the rest of the day to Modesto.
The pilgrims want Gov. Jerry Brown to sign the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act next time it reaches his desk. On June 28, the governor vetoed the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act, the act’s legislative title, which would have made it easier for farm workers to join unions, the first step to higher wages and improved working conditions.
A modified Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act bill will soon be reintroduced in the Legislature. The main difference: The bill will contain a “sunset” provision, meaning its mandates would expire on January 1, 2015, when Gov. Brown’s current term ends. A companion bill will soon be before the Legislature, calling for overtime regulations to be extended to farm workers.