Q&A: A Conversation with the Women of Líderes Campesinas
| Alta JournalNovelist Helena María Viramontes deftly captures farmworking conditions of the mid-20th century in the August California Book Club selection, Under the Feet of Jesus. In carefully drawn descriptions and scenes, the book reveals the grueling circumstances workers are forced to toil under: constant exposure to the sun and toxic chemicals, minimal breaks, a lack of safe drinking water, and the push to always keep working faster and faster.
California Farmworkers Stand on Uneven Ground
| Zócalo Public SquareI’ve worked in the fields of the Salinas Valley since I was 18, tending grapes and picking broccoli.
Agricultural work has many contradictions. It is both steady and uncertain. I work constantly but don’t have one job. Instead, I work different jobs for different contractors during the picking season.
I could not have survived without doing this work, but sometimes I wonder how much longer I can survive doing it. Farmwork is getting easier in some ways, and harder in others.
Farmworker Leaders from Across the State Advocate for Change in Sacramento
| CalCAN | California Climate & Agriculture NetworkLíderes Campesinas aims to strengthen the leadership of farmworker women and youth so that they can be agents of economic, social and political change and ensure their human rights. For over 35 years, Líderes Campesinas has used outreach, organizing, and activism to improve the lives of farmworker communities.
Extreme Heat Threatens Agricultural Workers
| ABC 23 | BakersfieldARVIN, Calif. (KERO) — With the temperatures well into the triple digits, Líderes Campesinas of South Kern say they are facing an environmental and economic crisis.
Tres Hijas Berry Farms to Pay $200,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
| U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionCAMARILLO, Calif. – Tres Hijas Berry Farms, LLC, will pay $200,000 and furnish injunctive relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. The EEOC brought the lawsuit on behalf of a class of agricultural workers, whose primary language is Spanish.
Campaign for Healthier Solutions Testing Dollar Store Products as Dollar Stores Lag on Chemical Safety
| Coming CleanOn May 29, 2024, representatives of the Campaign for Healthier Solutions attended Dollar General’s annual shareholders meeting in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, urging the company to commit to eliminating chemicals of concern from its supply chain. After the company failed to make any new commitments to strengthen its chemical policy or expand its restricted substance list, representatives from the campaign delivered a letter to company executives urging additional action, and announced that they were actively testing Dollar General products for chemicals linked to health conditions like cancer, learning disabilities, and reproductive harm.