Farmworker families remain in poverty

When you buy a head of lettuce or a bunch of grapes, chances are it was picked by a farmworker in California. Chances are, too, that this worker earned less than $10,000 a year -- working more than fulltime. And without any benefits.

One reason for such low wages is that most farmworkers are not covered under
minimum wage laws. Most aren't covered by other federal labor laws either (such as workers compensation).

Cesar Chavez spent much of his adult life trying to change that situation.
The son of farmworkers, he was an organizer of the United Farm Workers Union and president of the union until his death in 1993.

The UFW's finest hour came in 1975 when California adopted a landmark agricultural labor relations law. That came after a decade of organizing and lobbying, including nationwide boycotts of head lettuce and table grapes. It looked then as if it would be the beginning of a new era for farmworkers.

But in large part, the life of farmworkers hasn't changed in the last 30 years. A key reason is that many of the big growers in California simply refused to negotiate contracts with the UFW union. Farm workers have voted to unionize over 400 times in the past two decades, but growers have signed contracts in less than 200 of those cases.

California now has a law which strengthens the hand of the works. It calls for third-party arbitration when contract talks stall between growers and farm workers trying to organize. Such "binding arbitration" laws are common with teachers and public employee unions.

California's law has already helped settle some disputes between the UFW and growers. You can find out more about farmworkers in the US at the United Farm Workers website: www.ufw.org.