useful resources to help protect and sustain California’s bee population. ACR 27 – Farm-to-Fork Corridor Honoring the efforts of Butte, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba counties in their efforts to provide fresh agricultural commodities and produce to generations of Californians and the greater United States, ACR 27 authorizes the designation of a portion of State Route 99 as the “Farm-to-Fork Corridor.” This designation also salutes the City of Sacramento, known as “America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital.” SB 721 – California Farmworker Day California’s agricultural sector makes up 2 percent of our state’s economy. As one of the top agricultural producing states in the nation, California produces over 400 different globally exported commodities (e.g., two thirds of all U.S. fruits and nuts and more than one-third of all U.S. vegetables). Farmworkers are vital to California, contributing skilled labor necessary
to feed Californians and those around the globe. SB 721 honors this tremendous contribution by declaring August 26 of each year as “California Farmworker Day.” AB 941 – Farmworker Assistance This bill authorizes the appropriation of funds to establish grant programs to enable California counties to establish farmworker resource centers to provide farmworkers and their families information and access to services related to such things as labor and employment rights, education, housing, immigration and health and human services. Western Growers Advocacy at Work AB 616 – Agricultural Labor Relations: Legal Representative Elections Western Growers spearheaded a collaborative effort of agricultural organizations and allied industry partners in a concerted opposition effort that lead to the veto of AB 616. One of
the most notable victories of the 2021-2022 legislative session, AB 616 would have denied farmworkers of the most basic democratic protections in union elections and shifted election oversight powers to the UFW. In his veto message, Gov. Newsom said the bill contained “various inconsistencies and procedural issues related to the collection and review of ballot cards…. Significant changes to California’s well-defined agricultural labor laws must be carefully crafted to ensure that both agricultural workers’ intent to be represented and the right to collectively bargain is protected, and the state can faithfully enforce those fundamental rights,” he said. He wrote that he would direct the Labor Agency to “work collaboratively with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and all relevant stakeholders to develop new policies for legislative consideration to address this issue.”
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Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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