Tell your State MoC's to support the California Farmworker COVID-19 Relief Package

State Assemblyman Phil Ting (CA Assembly District 19)

Sacramento Office(916) 319-2019

SF Office(415) 557-2312

Email: Contact Form

State Assemblymember David Chiu (CA Assembly District 17)

Sacramento Office(916) 319-2017

SF Office(415) 557-3013

Email: Contact Form

State Senator Scott Wiener

Sacramento Office: (916) 651-4011

SF Office: (415) 557-1300

Email: https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/contact

Note: Due to shelter-in-place orders during the Covid-19 emergency, it may be more effective to use email or Resistbot to contact the MoC’s office. It is important to use your own words in emails to elected officials, but feel free to use our sample script below as a guide.

 

My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.

Our farm workers are some of the most important people in our state. Much more must be done to help keep them, healthy, safe and protected, especially during the COVID-19 emergency. I want you to support and vote for the California Farmworker COVID-19 Relief Package that was just introduced by Assemblyman Rivas.

This package of bills treats farm workers with the societal respect they deserve, and provides a safety net which will help California keep our state's and nation's food supply going strong. Farm workers need your help, and your vote, so please support the California Farmworker COVID-19 Relief Package.


Background

California's farmworkers are some of the most important people in our state, doing some of the most essential work, with some of the very least pay, least healthcare access, least support, and fewest protections. Many are undocumented workers just trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, doing the jobs that much of America won't do.

At the very least, we owe them our absolute support and do what we can to help keep them and their families safe, and in effect, helping protect our food supply. Assemblymember Rivas (D-Hollister) has introduced a package of bills that do just that.

The following bills are contained in the California Farmworker COVID-19 Relief Package:

AB 2915: Farmworker COVID-19 Health and Safety Act (to be amended)

  • Expands paid sick leave for farmworkers from 3 days to 2 weeks

  • Provides for supplemental hazard pay, to compensate farmworkers for increased health and child care costs

  • Directs subsidies to county, employer, and private child care providers, who provide care to farmworker children

  • Codifies comprehensive Cal/OSHA guidance on how agricultural businesses should protect and train agricultural workers vis-a-vis COVID-19, including providing them face masks and gloves -- Funds an outreach campaign of public service announcements and workplace signs, in both English and Spanish, to educate farmworkers on Cal/OSHA guidance

  • Provides temporary housing for agricultural workers, to mitigate overcrowding and allow for appropriate social distancing

  • Authorizes a comprehensive survey of farmworker housing conditions, including labor camps and H-2A housing, resulting in statewide recommendations to ensure the health and safety of farmworkers

AB 2956: Agriculture Labor Shortage and Overtime Act

  • Provides an agricultural overtime tax credit, to mitigate the industry labor shortage by subsidizing the cost of businesses paying overtime to existing workers

AB 2164: Telehealth and e-Consult Services Act

  • Deploys telehealth and e-consult services for rural and community hospitals

AB 3155: Moderate Income Housing Act

  • Streamlines the approval process for smaller unit housing developments, to benefit farm workers as well as other low-to-moderate income residents

AB 2165: Access to Justice and Electronic Court Filings Act

  • Expands the availability of electronic filing to all state trial courts, since access to courthouses is a serious problem in many farmworker communities