“There is new energy, new legislation and attention from the public in terms of workers’ rights,” said Christian Paiz, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, who has researched farm labor in the state.

Backers say the ability to more freely organize will help them gain more influence. Newsom signed into law after the marchers arrived in Sacramento, has fueled a cautious optimism. “Where we do not have a union contract, there is no respect,” she said in Spanish on a recent morning from her ranch-style home in the farming town of Madera.īut the bill backed by Ms. Mota a “member leader,” and she has been on the union payroll in the past to compensate her for time taken from her farm work for union duties.) She said that on farms without union contracts, bosses sometimes make veiled threats about cutting hours, refuse to give workers breaks in 100-plus degree weather and turn a blind eye to dangerous conditions. She is now earning around $15,000 a year.

Mota, who has worked seasonal jobs around the state for two decades, has seen her wages drop by about $6,000 over the last several years. unionization vote succeeded, but the company refused to negotiate a contract and in 2020 announced plans to shut down and lay off more than 300 workers.

mounted an organizing drive and election petition in the state - at Premiere Raspberries in Watsonville. It has been more than five years since the U.F.W.

Ufw t shirt