By 9 p.m. on Tuesday, more than 100 farm workers were still standing or sitting on the hard marble floor under the watchful eyes of CHP officers outside Gov. Jerry Brown’s state Capitol office, waiting and hoping he would sign SB 104, the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Ac. This is harvest season in California valleys and many workers gave up a day’s pay–some of them many days–that they couldn’t afford. Later, legislators and their staff carried couches and chairs for the workers downstairs from their offices. The workers patiently waited in the nonviolent tradition of Cesar Chavez and the UFW. Many workers, who don’t have day care, brought small children with them, boarding buses in distant parts of California during the early morning hours to be in Sacramento for a full day of events; as the night drew on, the security officers commented on how well behaved the kids were.
When word came after 11 p.m. that the governor vetoed SB 104, we noted that what never changes in politics is power. Gov. Brown accepted the arguments made by the powerful agribusiness lobby and rejected the cause of powerless farm workers. Be assured farm workers will have another day–and another bill.
Arturo S. Rodriguez, President
United Farm Workers of America