By Estephania Baez 
Respect for the rights of California farm workers has moved a step closer to reality. This past Monday, the California Senate passed the Bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez – aimed at putting an end to the labor exploitation of California farm workers – by a 21-14 vote.
AB 1066 would establish a 40-hour work week, with a maximum of 8 hours per day. Should the farm worker be compelled to or asked if they want to work beyond said number of hours, by law they would be entitled to overtime pay at one-and-a-half the regular rate.
While the Bill is not approved yet, the fact that it moved through the Senate is a significant achievement, particularly for the Hispanic community since most farm workers are immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries. The Bill will move to the State Assembly next week and, if approved, would then go to the desk of California Governor Jerry Brown.
Those who voted against the Bill or oppose it have said in the Senate that these changes could impact the way the agricultural industry operates, on top of the drought that has gripped the state in the past five years, adding that it would generate additional costs both in products and labor.
Senate President pro tem Kevin de Leon, on the other hand, feels that the measure is strictly a matter of human rights developed to protect the health and well-being of thousands of families who spend hours picking under the hot sun.
“You, the men and women who plant, sow, and work hard to bring the best for this country spend hours under the sun without being paid for them; You will now earn what you deserve. That is a promise,” stated de Leon at the end of the session during which the bill was passed.
Thousands of members of the Latino community have been involved in the cause. In fact, more than a hundred of them took part in a collective hunger strike earlier this year to draw attention to the bill.
In an effort to raise awareness, a study was cited showing that, in the past decade, 28 field workers have died due to heatstroke, particularly during the hotter months. Furthermore, many do not report abuses and mistreatments by their employers out of fear of losing their jobs.
According to studies by immigrant rights advocacy groups, most of the fields are overseen by foremen who get upset when workers complain, and respond by threatening to fire them unless they keep working as long as they are told. Noontime temperatures can reach 105 degrees during the summer, making overexposure to the sun potentially fatal.