7 p.m. July 7, 1998
Coastal Berry workers call for ‘peace in the fields’ with march & vigil at Watsonville cooler
United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez will lead Coastal Berry Co. strawberry workers in a 7 p.m. march to the company’s Watsonville cooling facility for a vigil Tuesday in an appeal for "peace in the fields." This evening’s demonstration is in response to the violent July 1 assault on pro-union workers and law enforcement officers in Coastal Berry fields that was orchestrated by anti-union foremen.
Three Coastal Berry workers required hospital treatment last week after what Rodriguez described as "lawbreaking goons" physically attacked pro-UFW workers at the company’s Riverside Ranch in Santa Cruz County and tried shutting down the company’s cooling facility in Watsonville. "This calculated and continuing violence was spearheaded by anti-union foremen at Coastal Berry–including brothers Joel and Augustine Lobato, and Enrique Leal–and others supported by an industry that still sternly resists progress for strawberry workers," the UFW president says.
He has placed "the responsibility for ending the violence and regaining control of the company" on Coastal Berry Co. owner David Gladstone.
Who: UFW President Arturo Rodriguez and Coastal Berry Co. strawberry workers.
What: A march and vigil calling for "peace in the fields."
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 7, 1998.
Where: March goes from UFW headquarters, 18 West Lake (behind Main St.) to Coastal Berry Co. cooling facility, 350 West Beach Ave. (at Rodriguez St.) in Watsonville.
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