During the searing heat of the Central Valley summer, farm workers begin a 150-mile, 10-day march Thursday from Merced to Sacramento seeking Gov. Gray Davis' signature on a bill granting them mediation and arbitration to win their first union contracts with growers. Meanwhile, on the same day other farm workers start daily fasts at the site of a vigil on the state Capitol grounds.

Called the "March for the Governor's Signature" and led by United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez, it will culminate in a Capitol rally with thousands of farm workers and supporters on Sunday, Aug. 25.

"Thirty-six years ago, Cesar Chavez led the first march to Sacramento to take the farm workers' plight before then-Gov. Pat Brown," the UFW's Rodriguez says. "In 2002, farm workers are marching for Gov. Davis' signature on legislation to help them win union contracts, finally fulfilling the promise of the 1975 law establishing their right to organize."

Each day of the march will begin with a Catholic mass and end with a rally. Marchers will stay in the homes of farm workers and community supporters in the towns they pass.

SB 1736, which passed the Assembly 49-22 and the Senate 22-10, is the most important farm labor bill since 1975. Twenty-seven years after California's law granting them organizing rights was passed, 75% of state farm workers earn less than $10,000 per year and 90% have no health coverage, according to government figures. "This bill is about basic fairness for the poorest workers in California," Rodriguez says. The UFW is asking the governor for the same mediation and arbitration rights he granted last year for "backstretch" workers at race tracks.

Who: Farm workers led by UFW President Arturo Rodriguez, Cesar Chavez's son Paul and other Chavez family members.

What: Kicking off the March for the Governor's Signature from Merced to Sacramento.

When: 9 a.m. mass, 9:30 a.m. march starts, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2002.

Where: Courthouse Park, corner of "M" and 21st streets in Merced.

- end -