Governor Newsom declares California Farmworkers Day

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring August 26, 2024, as California Farmworker Day.

The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below:

PROCLAMATION

California’s farmworkers perform one of our most important jobs by ensuring that fresh, nutritious food reaches our grocery stores, food banks and tables across the country. From Siskiyou County to the Imperial Valley, the hard work of these dedicated men and women helps make California the largest agricultural state and ensures a stable, secure food supply year-round.

Farmworkers represent the best of California, embodying resilience, drive, and deep love for their families and communities. Farmworkers are not only the backbone of our state, they strengthen our communities through wide-ranging contributions to society and our state’s diverse heritage. From groundbreaking social movements to food, music, and art, this community is fundamental to the prosperity and vitality of California as we know it.

Today, we also remember the hard-won gains made by farmworkers and leaders like César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and Larry Itliong, who fought tirelessly for workers’ rights. Their efforts to secure better working and living conditions, the right to organize for fair pay, and other protections contributed to the broader civil rights and labor movement and inspired an enduring tradition of activism that continues today.

California is committed to supporting and promoting our agricultural communities. The state has in recent years expanded opportunities for farmworkers to own homes, created new farmworker information centers, improved workplace protections and worker outreach, opened new employment law offices in the Central Valley, expanded legal assistance and job training for immigrants, and expanded access to health care for low-income Californians of all ages regardless of their immigration status. These and other efforts will continue in partnership with the Legislature, community-based organizations, and stakeholders to better support our farmworkers.

We owe a deep debt of gratitude to the farmworkers who are the heart and soul of California and who sacrifice and contribute so much to our state. Today and every day, we celebrate and honor the lives and contributions of California’s farmworkers and rededicate ourselves to extending the dream of prosperity, justice and progress to all.

THEREFORE, I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, hereby proclaim August 26, 2024, as “California Farmworker Day.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby signed and affixed the Great Seal of the State of California this 26th day of August, 2024.

GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California

TESTIFY:

SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Foreign Minister