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PRESS RELEASE Date: Wednesday, October 4, 2000 re: Farmworker Press Conference in Capitol contact: Immokalee: , Lucas Benitez (941) 657-8311
FARMWORKER REPRESENTATIVES, SUPPORTERS, TO HOLD JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE IN CAPITOL THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, AT 11:00 AM Workers to announce “month of protest” following Governor’s silence on proposal for series of regional talks with growers on labor problems in fields Tallahassee, FL — On Monday, September 25, four of the state’s leading farmworker organizations (United Farm Workers, Dade City Farm Worker Self-Help, Farm Worker Association of Florida, and the ), delivered a unified proposal to Governor Jeb Bush, calling on the Governor to convene and facilitate a series of regional “summits” between agricultural industry leaders and farmworker representatives on the issues of “labor relations, wages, and other working conditions” (see copy of proposal attached). The four groups requested that the Governor review the proposal and respond by Tuesday, October 3. In the absence of any response from the Governor’s office, representatives of the four organizations will be joined by religious, labor, and community supporters in a press conference at the Capitol on Thursday, October 5, at 11:00, where they will announce their plans for “a month of protest” intended to bring public attention to the Governor’s refusal to adequately address the long-standing problems of the state’s majority-Hispanic farmworker population. “This is Hispanic Heritage month, but the majority of Florida’s Hispanic community has nothing to celebrate,” said Frank Curiel of the United Farm Workers. “As farmworkers, we are the foundation of this state’s oldest and most important industry, yet we continue to live in poverty, we get no benefits or security in our jobs, and as a result we have to struggle every day just to survive.” “All we are asking for is a little democracy,” said Tirso Moreno of the Farm Worker Association Florida. “Democracy at work, where we are simply asking to be heard and treated with respect in return for the difficult and dangerous work we do, and democracy here in Tallahassee, where though we don’t have millions of dollars to contribute to campaign funds, we contribute every day through our hard work and taxes and deserve to have a voice in state government as well.” “We believe that the Governor of Florida should be the Governor of all of Florida, not just the wealthy and powerful,” added Lucas Benitez of the . “As always, we made our initial proposal privately and without fanfare, giving Governor Bush ample opportunity to respond to this modest request. His silence, however, spoke volumes. Now it is time for us to break that silence and demand progress, as a unified farmworker community, on the most important civil rights issues facing the Hispanic community of Florida today — the right to a living wage and basic fairness at our jobs.” ## end ##
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