Begins at 9 a.m. Sunday, June 4, in Santa Rosa
UFW Pres. Rodriguez leads Sunday march
targeting drive to win contract at Gallo
A six-year battle by vineyard workers to win a union contract with Gallo of Sonoma will be the focus of the the United Farm Workers’ Sixth Annual March for Justice Sunday in Santa Rosa. UFW President Arturo
Rodriguez will lead the marchers in calling for a "fair contract" with the giant wine grape producer.
A mass to celebrate the "blessing of the tools" will be conducted beginning at 9 a.m. at Santa Rosa Junior College at Emeritus Plaza, at 1501 Mendocino Ave (Cross Street; Elliott Ave.). Then marchers will proceed down Mendocino Ave. to Burbank Elementary School on South A St. for food, theater, speakers and music provided by La Onda Bajita/Los Cruising Atzlanecos.
In July 1994, Gallo of Sonoma workers voted to be represented by the UFW in a secret ballot union election conducted by the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB). The UFW was certified by the ALRB as the
workers’ bargaining representative a year later. Negotiations continue between the company and the union, but Gallo of Sonoma has also stepped up its use of abusive farm labor contractors.
Sponsoring Sunday’s march are the UFW, the Peace and Justice Center, and Instituto Sanchez-Mendoza.
Meanwhile, on Saturday a nationwide campaign by America’s labor movement to win amnesty for undocumented workers was kicked off on the Central Coast by 1,000 workers–mostly from the fields–who attended a town hall meeting in Salinas with California’s top labor leaders, including Rodriguez. In a landmark move hailed across the country, the national AFL-CIO unanimously approved a new policy Feb. 16 calling for a blanket amnesty program. It would legalize the immigration status of workers already in the U.S. A similar event for the Central Valley takes place Tuesday in Fresno.
Who: UFW President Arturo Rodriguez, Sonoma County farm workers and supporters.
What: The union’s Sixth Annual March for Justice spotlighting the drive to win a UFW contract with Gallo of Sonoma.
When: 9 a.m. Sunday, June 4, 2000 (pre-march mass starts).
Where: Santa Rosa Junior College,at Emeritus Plaza, at 1501 Mendocino Ave (Cross Street; Elliott Ave.). Santa Rosa; march proceeds down Mendocino Ave. to Burbank Elementary School on South A St. for the rally.
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