WASHINGTON, DC – US Representatives Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) and Andrea Salinas (OR-06), as well as U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) recently introduced the bicameral Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act.
This legislation would provide compensation for farmworkers who lose out on wages due to extreme weather, public health emergencies, and other disasters beyond their control.
“When extreme weather occurs, farmworkers across the United States continue to help feed the nation. And yet, these essential workers and their families face great uncertainty when unexpected disasters cause them to lose work and income. In my congressional district, after severe flooding in early 2023, hundreds of farmworkers in the Pajaro community faced displacement and lost wages. They and all farmworkers deserve better. That’s why I’m proud to be co-leading the Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act with Rep. Salinas and Sens. Padilla and Bennet. Our bill ensures America’s indispensable farmworkers can receive disaster relief funding they need and have earned,” said Rep. Lofgren.
“California’s farm workers labor under extreme conditions to help put food on the table for hundreds of millions of Americans,” said Padilla. “But as farm workers in Pajaro learned last year after extreme flooding, and those across the country know too well, natural disasters can devastate agricultural communities. We must protect the beating heart of our nation’s food supply by providing critical emergency assistance to these essential workers.”
California is home to up to 800,000 farmworkers who help power the state’s $59 billion agricultural economy. Yet, despite their contributions to their regional, state, and national economies, there are few protections for the farm workforce. Lofgren has shepherded the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act through the US House of Representatives twice, and Lofgren and Padilla are continuing to fight to make needed improvements for ag workers and growers alike.
The Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act would address this problem by providing direct relief funding for farmworkers. Specifically, this bill would:
- Make grants available to eligible farmworker organizations to provide emergency relief to farm workers affected by a disaster.
- Ensure USDA develops and executes a promotional plan prior to and throughout the distribution of the relief grants to increase awareness of the assistance available.
- Require USDA to work with eligible farmworker organizations.
The legislation is endorsed by the following organizations, in alphabetical order: Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Alianza Nacional de Capesinas, Inc., Alianza Poder, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), Bienestar, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Campesinos Sin Fronteras, CIERTO, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Columbia Legal Services, Earthjustice, Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC), Farmworker Justice, Farm Worker Ministry Northwest, Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP), Food Empowerment Project, Hispanic Affairs Project, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Mano a Mano, Migrant Clinicians Network, National Employment Law Project, National Farm Worker Ministry, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC UNITED), Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership, Student Action with Farmworkers, The Foundation for Farmworkers, The Guatemalan Maya Center, TODEC Legal Center, Unidos Yamhill County, United Farm Workers, UFW Foundation, United Migrant Opportunity Services, and Voces Unidas de las Montañas.“Farm workers have long been excluded from federal disaster relief programs, even as they have been disproportionately impacted by extreme weather such as fires, flooding, and other natural disasters,” said UFW President Teresa Romero. “The same way the federal government provides support to farm owners who lose crops, the federal government should provide support to farm workers who lose work. The Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act will ensure that farm workers and their families can put food on the table when they are unable to work due to conditions beyond their control.”
