Farmworkers are the backbone of California’s ag economy. Reports must recognize that | Opinion
Midway through his October 1996 solo concert at Fresno’s Saroyan Theatre, Bruce Springsteen stopped to encourage fans to feed a piggy bank that had been set up at the exit. Donations would go to help “the hardworking men and women in the fields.”
His set list borrowed heavily from his “Ghost of Tom Joad” album, which included “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos),” a song about the 1948 plane crash that claimed the lives of 28 braceros being deported to México.
The Boss — in a chat referenced in the 2019 book “The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California” — turned to author Mark Arax during a post-concert chat.
“Tell me, what kind of place is this?” Springsteen asked. “Not a single penny was put in that piggy bank.”
That shouldn’t be a shock to farmworkers who are just as important as water and soil in helping to create a multi-billion agricultural industry that is the envy of the world. Yet these important pieces of the ag cog remain mostly invisible.
So kudos to the Modesto-based Latino Community Roundtable for suggesting the worth of farmworkers be recognized and rewarded. Their comments were made on Tuesday when the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors received a 2023 crop report that came in at $3.37 billion.
Raising the importance of farm labor in the Valley’s agricultural riches is a worthy effort. In a region that feeds the country, the farmworkers’ role in planting, tending, milking cows and harvesting fruits and vegetables helps increase the value of those crops year after year.
Last month, Fresno County’s crops in 2023 were valued at a record $8.6 billion. Earlier this week, Stanislaus County reported a 10% decline in its crop value due to a lower price for milk, but still registered $3.37 billion.
Roundtable President Karlha Arias said field laborers face numerous hazards, from heat to pesticides, as reported in The Modesto Bee.
“The people who harvest our crops and maintain our orchards are paying with their health, and, in some cases, with their own lives,” said Arias, the daughter of farmworker parents in Hughson. “Yet these workers remain invisible, their health needs unmet and their own contributions unrecognized.”
Progress is being made
It should be noted that steps have been taken in recent years to provide more resources for a farmworker community that is estimated to be as many as 800,000 in California. Health care has been expanded to include the undocumented, new labor rights enforcement offices have been opened in the Central Valley and farmworkers can vote for a union under a process made easier under a 2023 state law.
There are other examples:
▪ In March, Stanislaus County became the third in the state to establish a farmworker resource center when it directed $1 million in COVID relief funds to the Central Valley Opportunity Center. Sadly, other ag-rich counties like Fresno didn’t bother to apply for the state funds.
▪ In 2020, the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, the Modesto Rotary Club and AgSafe launched a Farm Worker of the Year award (this year, it went to Salvador Anaya, an almond business worker).
▪ The California Farmworker Association, based in Delano, has held a vine pruning contest the last three years for area farmworkers. Cash prizes are given to the top performers, which includes a women’s division. It is modeled after a contest in Napa Valley that is now in its 22nd year.
▪ Gov. Gavin Newsom, at the bequest of the Legislature, declares each Aug. 26 as California Farmworker Day. “We owe a deep debt of gratitude to the farmworkers at the heart and soul of California who sacrifice and contribute so much to our state,” Newsom said in this year’s proclamation.
We believe county ag reports should include information about farmworkers and their work. Stanislaus County Supervisor Channce Condit, said he, too, would prefer to see more about the laborers in future reports.
We agree.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 6:00 AM.