The Crush - February 2020 - 3

[ FROM THE PRESIDENT ]

Promising Farmworker Group Has Big Goals

THE CALIFORNIA FARMWORKER FOUNDATION HAS A DIFFERENT VISION, AGENDA THAN UFW
By John Aguirre
Later this month, as many as 400 Central Valley farmworkers will
arrive for a rally at the state Capitol. Their message? Farm jobs
are important to many Central Valley families and communities,
and the state's agricultural overtime law is hurting those same
families and communities. These farmworkers know that AB
1066, signed into law in 2016, will require them to expend greater
effort to make up for lost work opportunities.
Farm work is governed by the demands of the growing season
and weather, and most vineyard workers are eager for the
opportunity to plump up their paychecks by working long days
during peak periods in the growing cycle when their labor is in
high demand: pruning, shoot thinning, leaf pulling and harvest.
With the minimum wage climbing toward $15 per hour by
January 2022, thin profit margins and inflexible multi-year grower
contracts, winegrape growers can't afford to pay 50 percent more
in labor costs.
Many farmworkers are frustrated by the imminent 40-hour work
week, eight-hour workday limits demanded by California's ag
overtime rules. That is part of why the California Farmworker
Foundation (CFF) is organizing a rally at the Capitol on Feb.
26. Based in Delano, CFF is a community-based not-for-profit
foundation laser focused on serving farmworker's interests.

CFF has more than 1,500 people, mostly
women, participating in health and wellness
activities such as Zumba classes, which
encourage people to get fit through danceexercise moves choreographed to Latinthemed dance music. CFF has provided
health education classes to more than 10,000
people and, all combined, the foundation's
programs have touched more than 35,000
farmworkers.
As CFF grows and matures, it is pursuing even bigger goals.
Recently, CFF partnered with Bakersfield College to launch
a pilot project in Kern County that will provide educational
and professional development for farmworkers. This is a key
initiative. California laws and regulations are accelerating the
trend toward greater mechanization and automation on farms
and vineyards, and it's vitally important that groups like CFF help
farmworkers gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed
in a highly mechanized work environment.

CFF is led by Hernan Hernandez, who grew up in Richgrove,
Calif. Hernan, who has a master's degree in public administration
from California State University, Bakersfield, is firmly rooted in
agriculture. His parents were farmworkers and he spent most
of his summers harvesting table grapes while going to school.
Hernan could have easily fled his agricultural past, but his pursuit
of the American dream propelled him to become executive
director of the California Farmworker Foundation, where he
works to serve and uplift his community.

The practical, tangible programs and benefits offered by CFF
stand in stark contrast to the efforts of United Farm Workers
(UFW). While CFF develops and delivers programs desired
by farmworkers, the UFW uses farmworkers to advance a
policy agenda favored by liberal elites. The UFW seeks to pass
federal legislation to eliminate the ag overtime exemption in
the Fair Labor Standards Act for all other states. In the state of
Washington, the UFW is pushing for passage of the Transparency
in Agricultural Supply Act, claiming it is needed "...to address
slavery and forced labor..." in agricultural supply chains. And,
the UFW is waging a public smear campaign of Starbucks in
an effort to enlist the coffee company's help in forcing the dairy
farmer members of the Darigold cooperative to accept UFW
representation for dairy workers.

CFF asks every individual it seeks to serve to answer a needs
assessment questionnaire. Based on data collected, CFF has
crafted an agenda focused on four key program areas: 1) personal
development (classes to aid competency in English, adult
literacy, personal finance, health and well-being, and female
empowerment); 2) professional development (training job skills,
resume and job interview workshops, public speaking and
leadership training); 3) citizenship and immigration (applying for
citizenship, know your rights, and Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals); and 4) civic engagement (voter registration and voter
education).

The UFW's activism doesn't come from the grassroots - i.e., the
farmworkers whom they purport to serve. Instead, the UFW's
policy agenda is inspired by the Ivory Tower progressivism
promoted by their leadership, which includes Erik Nicholson,
Duke University graduate; Giev Kashkooli, Brown University
graduate; and Irv Hershenbaum, with degrees from State
University of New York and Cornell University. Never mind what
farmworkers want...Erik, Giev and Irv know best, or so the UFW
would have you believe. I think otherwise. Hernan Hernandez
and the California Farmworker Foundation have a better sense of
how to improve the lives of farmworkers and their families.
FEBRUARY 2020 / 3

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1066 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1066

The Crush - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Crush - February 2020