3/31/20 Today we celebrate the birthday of the visionary labor leader and community activist, Cesar Chavez. His contribution to the fight for economic and social justice for California’s farmworkers underscores the fact that we still have much to accomplish to ensure fair and safe working conditions for these workers. As our state addresses the overwhelming task of combating the coronavirus, we must mitigate the impacts on workers, and in particular, our most vulnerable ones. We need to dedicate resources to protect the health of California’s farmworkers.
When a farmworker is diagnosed with the coronavirus, other farmworkers who were exposed to that worker should be paid to take the number of sick days recommended to self-quarantine. The $9.5 billion farmers are receiving in federal emergency assistance makes this possible.
