Statement by Arturo Rodriguez,
UFW President/UFW Foundation Board Chair
LA Federation of Labor Press Conference
February 8, 2007
Good morning.
First and foremost, the UFW Foundation and the UFW would like to thank the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor’s efforts to help citrus freeze farm workers and their families when they truly need it most.
As many of you know, last month’s freezing temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley devastated our farm-working communities there.
With every fruit that froze, so did the life of a farm worker.
The citrus freeze will leave approximately 28,000 workers jobless in the San Joaquin Valley alone.
For us, this year’s freeze is a flashback of the freeze that devastated citrus workers there in 1998.
Back then though, it was even harder – we had to fight just to have farm workers recognized as part of those suffering from the impacts of the freeze.
Our hard work in 1998 paid off – for the first time in history farm workers were able to receive government relief after a natural disaster.
We also distributed food and helped workers receive financial aid from various public agencies.
We know our fight to help citrus freeze farm workers in 1998 set the tone for how things would be done this time around.
And tremendous strides have happened already, including ….
Instead of taking months to achieve (like in 1998), Governor Schwarzenegger issued a state of emergency—including for farm workers—within the first two weeks of the freeze.
His office also declared the UFW Foundation, the UFW’s sister organization, a “leading organization for citrus freeze efforts.”
And most recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared 18 counties federal disaster areas in need of federal relief as a result of the freeze.
As I told nearly 500 farm workers and their families who attended an organizing meeting on the citrus freeze in Tulare County last night, we are proud of the progress made so far … but there is much work still to be done.
We know our workers’ reality — that with or without a job — their bills still need to be paid. Rent or mortgages and utilities…
There are also thousands in need of financial assistance to be able to put food on their tables. That’s why this morning’s event is so important.
Our citrus freeze farm working brothers and sisters in the San Joaquin Valley thank the LA County Federation of Labor for working to improve their situation. They are eagerly awaiting this truck’s arrival and Saturday afternoon’s distribution.
The UFW Foundation and the UFW applaud the LA County Federation of Labor for taking the lead in helping citrus freeze farm workers and their families. We truly hope others decide to follow in their lead.
Thank You.