United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez issued the following statement from the union’s Keene, Calif. Headquarters on Gov.-elect Jerry Brown’s election victory after an intense two-week drive by hundreds of farm workers among Latino voters in California’s agricultural communities, from Coachella Valley in the south to Sonoma Valley in the north.
The election of Jerry Brown should be the end of an era: the era of politicians trying to get elected by immigrant bashing and disrespecting the contributions of Latinos in California. In fact, Latino voters—farm workers, hotel workers, truck drivers, domestic workers and school teachers—helped supply Jerry Brown with his margin of victory. The United Farm Workers is confident that the end of one era will also mark the beginning of a new era.
We know Gov. Brown. We have had a longer and more productive relationship with him than almost anyone in California. Gov. Jerry Brown and Cesar Chavez shared a common belief: government programs can’t solve all our problems. They believed that if you give people tools to empower themselves, people will solve their own problems.
We look forward to a brighter future for farm workers in California.
###