FARM WORKERS ON STRIKE AGAINST WISH FARMS
GUADALUPE, CA - 13JUNE23 - Strawberry workers went on strike against Wish Farms, a large berry grower in Santa Maria and Lompoc, for two days. They demanded that the company stop cutting piece rates, and live up to promises of better pay.
The workers rallied in front of the company office in Guadalupe, a small farmworker town near Santa Maria on the central coast. After trying unsuccessfully to negotiate with the company manager on the phone, they went to a nearby strawberry field and called on the workers there to leave and join the strike. Some did, before the company called the sherriff.
Workers then went back to the company office where they continued meeting. The company eventually agreed to raise the wages, and workers went back to work the following day. They decided to keep organizing a union, which they called Freseros por la Justicia, or Strawberry Workers for Justice.
Most pickers are indigenous Mixtec migrants from Oaxaca and southern Mexico, but who now live in the U.S. The company also brings in contract H-2A contract workers from Mexico. The strike was supported by the Mixteco Indigenous Community Organizing Project. People who want to support the workers can contact Fernando Martinez, (805) 940-5528, fernando.martinez@mixteco.org
Photos copyright David Bacon. Additional photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/56646659@N05/albums/72177720309076488
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