LEGISLATOR PROFILE U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal The Farmworker, The Public Servant
By Chardae Heim Editor’s note: Congressman Salud Carbajal represents the 24 th Congressional District of California. The 24 th Congressional District includes the entirety of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, and a portion of Ventura County. C ongressman Salud Carbajal’s father was a part of the Bracero Program, which brought millions of Mexican guest workers to the United States, primarily on agricultural labor contracts, during the 1950s and 1960s. Carbajal’s family migrated from Mexico to Arizona where his father first worked in an underground copper mine. During Carbajal’s sixth grade school year, the copper mine closed down and prompted the family to relocate to Oxnard, Calif. While in Oxnard, his father worked as a farmworker. Carbajal vividly remembers working alongside his father in the fields during his summer vacations, which transformed his perspective on the agriculture industry. “That was when I first understood, from the farmworker’s perspective, the hard work that farm work entails,” the congressman observed while reminiscing about his childhood. Following high school graduation, Carbajal attended the University of California Santa Barbara where he joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve. From there, he served as the Chief of Staff for Santa Barbara County Supervisor Naomi Schwartz
before deciding to run for a seat himself, which he won in 2004. As his professional path evolved, public service became a noticeable trend within his career choices. Having served in the Marine Corps and in local office, the foundation of his commitment to public service was formed. In 2016, Carbajal won the
race for California’s 24th Congressional District. Now entering his fourth year in Congress, he has has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to addressing agriculture’s most pressing issues. “My background is unique in that I understand what the farmworker experience is like, but then became a county supervisor later on in life, which has allowed me to go full circle in understanding the public policy issues facing agriculture in our local communities, our state and our nation,” he noted. During his time in Congress, the congressman has focused on addressing the workforce shortage in agriculture, and was one of the bipartisan co-sponsors of the FarmWorkforce Modernization Act, which passed the House in December of 2019. In supporting the bill, Carbajal stated, “I have heard countless times from producers about the devastating labor shortage that stems from our broken immigration system. This groundbreaking bipartisan bill creates a lasting solution by providing earned legal status for our existing agricultural workforce, and modernizing the guest worker program to ensure long term industry sustainability that supports farmworkers and growers alike.”
22 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com MARCH | APRIL 2020
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