UFW Rallies to Organize Strawberry Workers
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WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Thousands of United Farm Workers union members and supporters from all over the nation prayed and marched Sunday to demand better pay and working condition for California’s strawberry pickers.
Marchers carried signs and flags with the red, white and black UFW emblem through this farm town 70 miles south of San Francisco. The event kicked off the second year of the union’s ambitious attempt to organize the state’s entire strawberry industry.
UFW President Arturo Rodriguez told a rally that some longtime strawberry workers weren’t being hired back this season because they demanded clean bathrooms, drinking water, pay increases and health insurance.
“Decent people of good conscience cannot tolerate these injustices. The times demand action. We must all become angry and hungry for justice,” he said. “Unless you take a stand, unless you become involved, these conditions will live on and on for strawberry workers.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney joined Rodriguez near the head of the 2 1/2-mile march just before noon.
The union claimed 30,000 participants and said it was the biggest march ever for farm workers. Watsonville officials said up to 17,000 marched.
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