Support Farm Workers! They put food in our Grocery Stores and on our Tables Daily

This note was written by my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Teresa Carrillo, faculty at Cal State University San Francisco.  I re-post with her permission.

As we all sit at home thinking, if not worrying, about the "food situation," now that our lives have been upended—some more than others—she asks the simple question of whose work is more vital than our farm workers?  

Friends, let's do everything in our power to support and defend farm workers' rights to public health care, nutritious food, safe working conditions, permanent residence, good salaries, and overtime pay.

As renowned photojournalist, David Bacon, says in his article about farm workers titled, "Chronicling the Struggles of Migrant Agricultural Workers, in Words and Pictures," when their conditions improve, we all benefit as consumers.

At this very moment, as plans are developing for U.S. workers as a whole, let's please not forget our farm workers.  In the policy arena, please support Congressman Grijalva's bill (H.R.1080), the Fairness for Farm Workers Act, that seeks to end "‘racist exclusion’ of farm workers from overtime pay 81 years after nearly all other U.S. workers won it."

Reach out to whoever represents you and declare your support for H.R. 1080.  If you do not know who represents you, you can CLICK HERE to locate them.

Finally, also consider supporting the United Farm Workers.

Sí se puede!  Yes we can!

-Angela Valenzuela

Summary: H.R.1080 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)All Information (Except Text)

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There is one summary for H.R.1080. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.

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Introduced in House (02/07/2019)

Fairness for Farm Workers Act

This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 with respect to agricultural workers.

The bill requires employers, beginning in 2021, to compensate agricultural workers for hours worked in excess of their regular hours (i.e., 55 hours in 2021, 50 hours in 2022, 45 hours in 2023, and 40 hours in 2024) at not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate. For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the overtime pay requirements begin in 2024. These overtime pay requirements do not apply, as in current law, to employees who are the parent, spouse, child, or other member of the employer's immediate family.

The bill also repeals the exemption from overtime pay requirements for employers in various agriculture-related industries, including certain small farms, irrigation projects, sugar processing, and cotton ginning and compressing.

New Latino Diet Guide Doesn't Discount Cultural Roots to Eating Healthy

Though not related to educational equity, this is a potentially life-saving link to hold onto. As so many people eat Mexican food, this should have broad applicability. -Angela

New Latino Diet Guide Doesn't Discount Cultural Roots to Eating Healthy
By Marisa Trevino, http://latinalista.blogspot.com/
May 3, 2007

Among all the crisis that plague the well-being of Latinos, diet, or lack of it, is at the top.

A new nutritional guide scheduled for a national roll-out this month, titled Camino Mágico , released this week by the Latino Nutrition Coalition and a company named Oldways presents yet another guide to get Latinos back on a healthy track.

What's remarkable about this guide is that it doesn't discount Latino cultural roots when it comes to creating healthy food choices - but builds on them.

As tiresome as it has become to hear the old stats, they're worth repeating:

* Obesity rates in US Hispanics doubled between 1991 and 2001, rising from 11.6% to 23.7%. (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)

* 23% of Hispanic males are obese, while 27.5% of Hispanic females are obese. Rates for non-Hispanic whites are slightly lower, at 22 and 21% respectively. (CDC)

* On average, Hispanic Americans are 1.9 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of similar age. (National Diabetes Clearinghouse) 10.4% of men and 11.3% of women in the Hispanic population have diagnosed diabetes, compared to 7.2% of men and 6.3% of women in the general population. (CDC)

* Only 45.0% of Hispanic adults engage in at least some leisure-time physical activity, compared to 49.3% of non-Hispanic blacks and 65.7% of non-Hispanic whites. (CDC)

* Mexican-Americans have the highest age-adjusted rate of Metabolic Syndrome, at 31.9%. This compares to whites at 23.8%, African-Americans at 21.6% and “other” at 20.3%. Metabolic Syndrome is a combination of symptoms (waist size, blood pressure, fasting glucose, etc.) considered a precursor for diabetes and other chronic diseases. (CDC)

(Source: Latino Nutrition Coalition)

What is so unique about this guide in addition to building on centuries of healthy eating habits as first practiced by Indian ancestors is that it is very much a visual guide as well - and practical.


One of the most disappointing features of any diet plan is how the authors of the plan work in foods that aren't normally part of our shopping habits. From what we've seen, this guide doesn't do that.

In fact, in an effort to get Latinos to rediscover our "roots" when it comes to eating healthy, the Latino Nutrition Coalition provides a page defining Latino Ingredients, A to Z.

From the list, it's easy to see that the most basic ingredients have long been a part of our cultural diet. Somewhere along the way, they were forgotten.

As has been drilled in us all - it's never too late to start getting healthy, but it can be deadly if we don't do it at all.