San Jose legislator pushes to protect farmworkers during COVID-19 crisis

4/2/20 The question of who qualifies as an “essential worker” during the coronavirus crisis is no longer limited to health care workers and first responders ” it now includes grocery store clerks, restaurant employees and truck drivers. Local legislators are now pushing to add farmworkers to that list, as they’re filling produce trucks and grocery store shelves.
San Jose Assemblymember Ash Kalra this week called for Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand protections for the roughly 500,000 to 800,000 farmworkers across California, including the ability to stay home and take care of their families amid the COVID-19 outbreak without worrying about the resulting financial strain.