- Valley View News
Farm Workers' Rights
Updated: May 21, 2022
By Natalie Sierra
LOS ANGELES, CA - The late Cesar Chavez’s fight for farm workers’ rights continues. For Cesar Chavez day Irv Hershenbaum, the first vice president of the Farm Workers Union organized a demonstration urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign Assembly Bill 21-83. The measure supports voting rights for farm workers.
“We try to ask Governor Newsome to sign a bill that would make it easier for farm workers to
express their opinion on whether they want to union, modernizing the voting procedure” Hershenbaum said.
The goal of the Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Act is to allow farm workers to vote from home. Last year Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill, despite the support from both state houses. The Farm Workers Union said the same voting rights they are asking for are the same rights Newsom benefited from when Republicans attempted to recall him in 2021.
Business groups say the bill could leave farm workers vulnerable to union pressure. The Chamber of Commerce calls it a job-killer. But supporters say the bill is needed to keep employers from using scare tactics against farm workers who want to vote for unions.
Protests took place throughout California supporting farm workers’ rights. The Southwest Carpenters Union joined the farm workers union at a Los Angeles protest. Farm Worker Flor Aldarado said she wants to vote freely in her own home.
City Council Member and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Kevin De Leon–joined in solidarity with the farm workers. He said farm workers put food on people’s tables, therefore deserve respect.
Meanwhile, Hershenbaum said if the bill isn’t signed they plan to march again in the summer.
Video credit: Natalie Sierra
By Natalie Sierra
Contributions from Farm Workers Union, ABC7
Video credit: Natalie Sierra
Photo credit: Natalie Sierra
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