6 p.m. Monday, July 8, in Santa Rosa
Retired farm worker to get pension check for more than $17,000; UFW appeals to workers who may not know they qualify
can inquire online at: http://www.ufw.org/jdlc.htm or call: (800) 321-6607 or (888) 735-5352.
Retired farm worker to get pension check for more than $17,000; UFW appeals to workers who may not know they qualify
A
Sonoma County farm worker who didn’t realize he qualified for a United Farm Workers pension will receive a check for more than $17,000 during a ceremony Monday evening in Santa Rosa.One of UFW founder Cesar Chavez’s proudest achievements was creation in the 1970s of
America‘s first–and only–functioning pension plan for field laborers. Chavez’s successor, UFW President Arturo Rodriguez, will hand the check to retired vineyard laborer Jose Valdivia at the Monday event. Valdivia, 77, didn’t know he was eligible for pension benefits from the union’s Juan de la Cruz Farm Workers Pension Fund. In addition to the lump sum retroactive payment to Valdivia ($17,270.73 before taxes), he will receive $108.45 each month for the rest of his life from the joint union-management pension plan.The UFW and the pension fund also hope to spread the word to other retired farm workers who, like
Valdivia, aren’t aware they qualified for pensions when they worked under union contracts. Valdivia labored with a UFW agreement under which Reclaimed Island Co. contributed to the pension plan between 1976 and 1983.Since 1989, the pension plan–financed by contributions from growers for every hour worked by a union member under UFW contract–has provided cost-of-living increases and other adjustments and bonuses. The pension plan was named for Juan de la Cruz, a 60-year old grape striker shot to death on a
Kern County picketline in 1973. Chavez died on April 23, 1993.Who: UFW President Arturo Rodriguez, pension plan Administrator Douglas Blaylock, retired union member Jose Valdivia and more than 100
Sonoma County farm workers.What: Presenting a retired
Sonoma County farm worker a check for more than $17,000 from the union pension plan begun by Cesar Chavez.When:
6 p.m., Monday, July 8, 2002.Where: UFW office,
1700-D Corby Ave, Santa Rosa. – end – Retired farm workers who believe they may qualify or the Juan De La Cruz Pension Plancan inquire online at: http://www.ufw.org/jdlc.htm or call: (800) 321-6607 or (888) 735-5352.