United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez issued the following statement today (Wednesday, Aug. 8) from the union's Keene, Calif. headquarters after Gov. Gray Davis signed two UFW-sponsored farm labor contractor reform bills--AB 423 by Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) to toughen penalties and boost enforcement against contractors or growers who cheat farm workers out of their pay, and SB 1125 by state Senate Leader John Burton (D-San Francisco) that would expand workers' rights to recover their financial losses when defrauded by contractors. It is the first time legislation sponsored by the United Farm Workers has ever been signed into law.

Arturo Rodriguez's statement:

We are delighted that Gov. Davis has signed these bills that make a real difference for farm workers. At long last it is time that the lowest paid, most exploited workers get some relief.

We are deeply grateful to our sponsors, Speaker Hertzberg and Senate leader Burton, and we thank Gov. Davis for approving this legislation.

AB 423 provides the most meaningful penalties to date for farm labor contractors or growers who cheat farm workers out of their wages.

It moves enforcement against violators from state bureaucrats in Sacramento to elected local district attorneys in many counties where the voices of farm workers and Latinos are increasingly being heard. AB 423 accomplishes this by escalating the size of misdemeanor fines so that they can only be imposed after a jury trial. Instead of an enforcement system relying on a small number of state inspectors, the bill allows farm workers or their advocates to file criminal complaints with the district attorneys' office.

Together with our co-sponsor, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, we are pleased lawmakers and the governor have taken these first, but important, steps towards progress.

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