Retired farm worker to get more than $42,000 in pension check; UFW appeals to workers who may not know they qualify

11 a.m. Tuesday, Jume 24, 2003, in Fresno
Retired farm worker to get more than $42,000 in pension check; UFW appeals to workers who may not know they qualify
    

A farm worker who didn’t realize he qualified for a United Farm Workers pension will receive a check for more than $42,000 during a ceremony Tuesday in Fresno.

One of UFW founder Cesar Chavez’s achievements was creation in the 1970s of America’s first–and only–functioning pension plan for field laborers. UFW President Arturo Rodriguez and pension plan Administrator Douglas L. Blaylock will hand a check to retired tomato picker Tolentino Martinez at the Tuesday event.

Martinez, 78, didn’t know he was eligible for pension benefits from the union’s Juan de la Cruz Farm Workers Pension Fund. In addition to the lump sum retroactive payment ($42,576.84 before taxes), Martinez will receive $247.48 each month for the rest of his life from the joint union-management pension plan. Martinez lives in Tamaulipas, Mexico and is currently visiting his family in Manteca.

The UFW and the pension fund also hope to spread the word to other retired farm workers who, like Martinez, aren’t aware they–or their spouse–qualified for pensions when they worked under union contracts. Martinez labored with a UFW agreement under which Reclaimed Island Ca., in Stockton, contributed to the pension plan between 1976 and 1983.
    
Since 1989, the pension plan–financed by contributions from growers for every hour worked by a union member under UFW contract–has provided cost-of-living increases and other adjustments and bonuses. The pension plan was named for Juan de la Cruz, a 60-year old grape striker shot to death on a Kern County picketline in 1973. Chavez died on April 23, 1993.

Who:  UFW President Arturo Rodriguez, pension plan Administrator Douglas L. Blaylock, retired union member Tolentino Martinez.
What: Presenting a retired farm worker a check totaling more than $42,000 from the union pension plan begun by Cesar Chavez.

When: 11 a.m., Tuesday, June 24, 2003.

Where: NFWSC Office, 2500 Merced St. (Corner of Merced and “O”) Fresno, CA 93721

Retired farm workers who believe they may qualify for the Juan De La Cruz Pension Plan can inquire online at: http://www.ufw.org/jdlc.htm or call: (800) 321-6607 or (888) 735-5352.