POPLAR – David Santos teared up when talking about what the free legal services to protect workers rights that are now available means to him.
“We have now the power to fight,” said Santos as he fought back tears.
Santos spoked during a press conference held at Nagi Daifallah Unity Park to announce free legal services that will now be available to workers across the Central Valley.
The Central Valley Empowerment Alliance based in Poplar stated thanks to a substantial two-year grant it has been awarded by the California Department of Industrial Relations The free legal services program has been made possible through the California Workplace Outreach Project. The free legal services will be available to those particularly in the agriculture, service and other essential industries regardless of immigration status. California Center for Movement Legal Services, Movement Legal, will provide the legal services.
“It's no coincidence we are here today in Poplar, ground zero where the farmworker movement started where Larry Itliong, Nagi Daifallah, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta led the first successful farmworker labor movement through unity and non-violence,” said CVEA's Arturo Rodriguez in a released statement.
At the press conference Rodriguez said, “too many workers in the Central Valley are being exploited, underpaid and mistreated and that must change.”
He said in the fields, the factories, the restaurants and the warehouses, “Central Valley workers have built this state with their labor, sweat and sacrifice. But too often their contributions are overlooked, undervalued and outright abused.”
He and others at the press conference talked about the wage theft, unsafe working condition,s intimidation, discrimination and retaliation workers have experienced.
Rodriguez also referenced UC Berkeley's Possibility Lab Empowering Vulnerable Workers, Improving Knowledge study. The study was done to provide for a “COVID-19 Workplace Outreach Project and Trusted Messenger Model” case study.
The UC Berkeley Possibility Lab stated it study showed worker outcomes improve when state agencies partner with community-based organizations and collaborations such as those strengthen worker protections. Rodriguez said the free legal services program is following the approach in which a state agency is partnering with a community organization.
CVEA executive director Mari Perez-Ruiz referenced what she said was happening during COVID when she stated workers were told they would lose their jobs if they sought to be vaccinated. She also referenced how workers have been charged a fee to be able to work.
Santos, who has worked as a farmworker and welder, said that was his experience as he said he was charged a $50 fee to work. He said this happened in a company he referred to as the “cream of the crop.” He talked about how his effort to fight against what happened to him led him to be laid off.
In a released statement, Margarat deMatteo, directing attorney for Movement Legal, said, “We are dedicated to providing on-site and remote legal services to farmworkers in the Central Valley and believe our partnership with CVEA will significantly benefit this vulnerable population and fill a critical gap in services. This partnership is about justice, empowerment and ensuring that every worker has access to the protections they are entitled to under the law.”
At the press conference she referenced the Trump administration and the raids that have been conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, and the border patrol. “This is a scary time,” she said. “This administration is having an impact on that level of fear people are experiencing.”
CWOP was launched in 2020 to address workplace concerns during the COVID pandemic and has evolved to focus on broader worker protections, including education on labor rights and workplace safety.
For more information on the new free legal services program visit CVEmpowermentAlliance.org or contact info@CVEmpowermentAlliance.org
