By KATHERINE PETERSEN
Watching his parents and grandparents pick produce in the fields, Sunnyvale resident Poncho Guevara first realized that many farm workers got a raw deal.
As community services liaison for the South Bay AFL-CIO, Guevara was one of the key organizers for an Aug. 14 demonstration on behalf of strawberry workers at the federal building in San Jose.
"We're trying to raise community support for the workers in the fields to become organized and have improved working conditions," he said, adding that people who aren't close to the berry picking don't realize the difficult conditions these workers face.
Between 300 and 400 people, including religious leaders, civil rights groups and labor representatives, attended the demonstration on behalf of the 20,000 strawberry pickers who work in Salinas and Watsonville, where 40 percent of the nation's strawberries are grown.
The AFL-CIO wants to build community support to give strawberry workers five basic rights, including a living wage, clean drinking water and toilet facilities in the field, job security, health insurance, and an end to sexual harassment and other abuses. The average strawberry worker makes $8,000 per year, Guevara said.
He works to get union members involved in community causes, such as the letter carriers' annual food drive, and to assist laborers in finding housing and other needs.
It's not new that laborers have to battle to improve their working conditions, Guevara said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 21, 1996.
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