RIPON, Calif. — Several dozen farmworkers, along with hundreds of supporters along the way, are on a 335-mile walk from Delano to the State Capitol.
The so-called "March for the Governor's Signature" started August 3 and will end Sacramento August 26.
The United Farmworkers Union (UFW) is behind the walk reminiscent of UFW protest marches with co-founders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta from decades ago.
The 24-day march is to draw attention to Assembly Bill 2183 or the "Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act of 1975."
Several amendments to the existing law have been proposed including allowing farmworkers to vote by mail or drop off a ballot card to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board office.
"Farmworkers right now to vote for union representation the only way to do it is in the premises of the employer which intimidates farmworkers. Farmworkers when they start organizing are fired. When they file a lawsuit the attorneys call immigration," said UFW President Teresa Romero, outside a reception for marchers in Modesto Thursday.
"I am marching because I am angry. As a farmworker we are not treated with dignity and respect," said farmworker Veronica Mota of Madera.
Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, she has worked as a farmworker for 22 years.
A wife and mother of two grown children, she picks a number of different fruits and vegetables, not only California but in Oregon and Washington too.
At a reception for the marchers in Modesto Thursday, the festive atmosphere turned quiet when Mota tearfully took to the stage and reminded the crowd the reason they were here.
"This isn't a party. This is a struggle, a protest," she said in native language, Spanish.
The UFW is not nearly as powerful as it once was in the days of its co-founders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in the 1960's and '70s.
It hopes with improved voting rights that it can increase its membership, shedding the fear of farmworkers to unionize.
A similar version of AB 2183 farmworkers was vetoed by the governor last fall.
The UFW hopes this time around they'll get the governor's signature.
Governor Newsom's office has not commented.
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