Help Protect Field Workers in Watsonville, CA

Many of the agricultural workers within our community are at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, due to living circumstances like living in households with multiple families, carpooling to / from work, having chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. All of this puts them at an increased risk of contracting the virus and unfortunately, some don’t have medical insurance to provide them with the care they desperately need during this pandemic. Update: However, we recently learned that California has made changes due to the pandemic. The Families First Corona Virus Response Act requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions will occur from April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Thus, agricultural workers can get up two weeks of paid sick leave based on their higher regular rate of pay. While there is this benefit until the end of the year, our agricultural workers still face financial obstacles. Each picker is payed by their piece rate. So, for workers that are slower pickers due to various reasons, such as having a sore back, bad knee, or just struggling due to their external work conditions, they wouldn’t make as much money compared to others that pick faster. Yet, even if the workers are fast pickers, they still struggle financially to provide the essentials for their families. We cannot allow the system to oppress the very people who season after season put fresh fruits and healthy vegetables on our tables! We need to show our gente we SEE THEM and we HEAR THEM and most importantly, their valuable work hasnt gone unnoticed. Our field workers are the most hard working, dedicated and humble individuals yet, are hugely under appreciated and undervalued. They have continued to work throughout the pandemic and now are STILL working during the fires in the Bay Area. We need to SHOW UP and let them know we’re here to help them and we’re here to contribute to their daily fight! What better way to express our appreciation and gratitude, than provide them with *essential supplies* during these extenuating circumstances! Our goal is to raise money for supplies that the workers need such as N95s. Any additional money, we would like to purchase gift cards such as grocery cards. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, we appreciate you too! Now let’s raise this money! Como Cesar Chavez dijo, “SI SE PUEDE!!” ✊