L .A. & Sacramento prayer vigils count down final hours before Gov. Davis acts on historic farm worker rights legislation

Farm workers and supporters in Los Angeles and Sacramento will continue prayer vigils until midnight Monday, marking the final hours before Gov. Gray Davis must announce whether he is signing or vetoing historic legislation helping field laborers win union contracts when growers drag out negotiations. Both events began at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The United Farm Workers’ Los Angeles vigil is outside the governor’s office in downtown L.A. The Sacramento vigil has been up almost continuously on the Capitol’s north steps since Aug. 8. Farm workers vow to permanently maintain the Capitol observance until the Democratic governor signs what would be the most important farm worker rights legislation since the farm labor law was passed in 1975. In August farm workers trekked 165 miles in an 11-day "March for the Governor’s Signature," which ended at a Capitol rally with 5,000 people on Aug. 25.

Both vigils feature candles and other religious symbols–including the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint–as well as images of legendary union founder Cesar Chavez and the UFW’s distinctive red and black flags.

The first of three UFW-sponsored bills, SB 1736, by state Senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco), would impose binding arbitration when growers refuse to agree to union contracts. Two subsequent measures mirror a proposal presented by the governor. They are SB 1156, also by Sen. Burton, and AB 2596, by Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Los Angeles).

The two bills would replace binding arbitration with mediation. And AB 2596 includes a five-year "sunset" or expiration, another key concession to Gov. Davis the UFW had vigorously opposed. That measure also features a limit of 75 on the number of cases farm workers could bring through the measure’s mediation process during the five years–which would account for less than 1 1/1000th of 1% of the 86,000 farms in California.

Who:      Farm workers and supporters, UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta (she will be in LA after 11:30 a.m.), Actor Ed Begley Jr (he will be in LA from 11:30 to 12:30).

What:     Prayer vigils in L.A. and Sacramento urging Gov. Davis to sign historic farm worker rights legislation.

When:     Continuous until midnight, Monday, Sept. 30, 2002.

Where:    L.A. Governor’s Office, 300 So. Spring St., downtown Los Angeles; Sacramento: state Capitol north steps (11th & "L" Sts.)

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