United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero issued the following statement from the union’s Keene, Calif. headquarters after presumptive Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden Jr. announced U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential choice:
The United Farm Workers applauds Joe Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate. We have been moved by her vision of a just and inclusive America, her personal story and the confidence and strength she has shown in the face of attacks from Donald Trump. Now both candidates at the top of the Democratic ticket have unequivocally endorsed overtime pay for all U.S. farm workers plus agricultural immigration reform letting undocumented farm workers earn permanent legal status by continuing to work in agriculture.
Kamala Harris has a long history of working directly with the UFW. She led the fight for equal treatment and protection of America’s farm workers as a US senator by authoring the current federal bill providing overtime pay after eight hours a day for agricultural workers. As California’s attorney general she lobbied the governor to sign California’s landmark law in 2016 providing phased-in overtime and to strengthen state rules preventing worker deaths and illnesses from extreme heat. She has joined farm worker marches and the 2016 UFW convention.
Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris support genuine immigration reform such as the blue cards included in the Agricultural Worker Program Act.
Joe Biden has already announced he would reverse any attempts by Trump to cut farm worker pay under the federal H-2A agricultural guest worker program. Senator Harris joined the UFW in leading a national petition drive that organized 100,000 public comments opposing Trump’s attempts to reduce farm worker wages.
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