California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared Aug. 26, 2024, as “California Farmworker Day,” highlighting the vital role farmworkers play in ensuring a steady supply of fresh and nutritious food throughout the nation.
“California’s farmworkers serve one of our most vital roles by ensuring our grocery stores, food banks and tables across the nation are supplied with fresh and nutritious food. From Siskiyou County to the Imperial Valley, the hard work of these dedicated men and women helps make California the largest agricultural state and provides a stable and secure food supply year-round,” Newsom said in a proclamation.
The document also praised farmworkers for their resilience, dedication and deep-rooted commitment to their families and communities.
Newsom said farmworkers are not just crucial to California’s agricultural industry, but also are integral to the state’s prosperity and vitality.
“Today we also reflect on the hard-won progress achieved by farmworkers and leaders like César Chávez, Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong who fought tirelessly for workers’ rights,” he said in the proclamation. “Their efforts to secure better working and living conditions, the right to organize for fair pay and other protections contributed to the wider civil rights and labor movements and inspired a lasting legacy of advocacy that continues to this day.”
The governor noted recent state initiatives that have expanded opportunities for farmworker homeownership, established new resource centers, advanced workplace protections and improved access to health care and immigration legal assistance. These efforts are part of a broader collaboration with the state legislature, community organizations and stakeholders to uplift and support farmworkers across the state, he said.
“We owe a deep debt of gratitude to the farmworkers at the heart and soul of California who sacrifice and contribute so much to our state,” Newsom said in the proclamation. “Today and every day, let us celebrate and acknowledge the lives and contributions of California’s farmworkers and rededicate ourselves to extending the dream of prosperity, equity and progress to all.”
