Maria is picking blueberries near Arvin CA. She earns by how many pounds and buckets she can pick in a day. Sometimes the field quality is good but other times she barely makes enough to cover her expenses. #WeFeedYou
Teresa in a 50 year old mother of 3. She is working harvesting blueberries in Bakersfield CA earning 16.$50 an hour. It was 97° when this photo was taken on Friday and this week the temps are supposed to pass 100°. #WeFeedYou
Juanito lives in Oxnard CA where he has been a farm worker for several years. He is currently harvesting celery.He uses a sharp tool to cut the stalks before they are placed on the conveyer belt for packaging.He works up to 9 hours a day depending on the orders. #WeFeedYou
Gaby shared this photo from the Visalia CA area where she was hard at work climbing up and down a ladder picking oranges. When the sack she wears is full, it weighs more that 50 lbs. She wears long sleeves and thick gloves to protect herself from thorny branches. #WeFeedYou
Martin is working in the leeks in Moorpark CA. He picks then uses a sharp blade to cut the leeks to fit in the boxes that will be loaded and taken to the packing house. Each box can weight 80 pounds and a good field can yield 1500 boxes. #WeFeedYou
Many of us are we enjoying #MemorialDay with family at picnics and barbecues, but many farm workers are laboring hard to put food on our tables. Let's give a big shout out to these hard-working people. #WeFeedYou
Strawberries are a favorite snack on #MemorialDay. When you eat this sweet treat remember workers like Amadeo, who spend their day bent over harvesting this popular fruit. #WeFeedYou
Rosa has been laboring in the wine grapes on CAs Central Coast for 23 years at Scheid Vineyard s. She shares "the reason I have been at this company so long is we have a union contract under Cesar Chavez' UFW. Their representation makes a huge difference." #WeFeedYou
Gaby sent us this photo from where she worked in Tulare County's lemon orchards. This work takes strength and endurance. Gaby spent her workday filling a 65 lb bag with lemons and depositing them into a 900 lb bin. #WeFeedYou
Juanita's worked at Scheid Vineyards for 17 yrs. Here she's thinning grape vines to ensure a good crop. She's pleased w/her UFW contract provides her family medical, dental & vision insurance 100% paid by company, 8 paid holidays, retirement plan, good pay & bonuses. #WeFeedYou
Mayra shared this photo from Lindsey CA where she is picking Mandarin oranges. She wears long sleeves and thick gloves to protect herself from thorny branches and covers her mouth with a bandana to avoid breathing in dust. #WeFeedYou
Santiago's 69 years and works at Swanton Berry in Santa Cruz CA under a UFW contract. He shares: I'm happy today because I just applied to receive a pension from the UFWs pension plan. Cesar Chavez planned ahead so farm workers are taken care of when we get old. #WeFeedYou
Herminio is harvesting strawberries in Santa María, CA. He gets paid $2.35 per box. The number of boxes he picks depends on how quickly he harvests and much fruit there is. "I leave very tired because I have to make many boxes to earn enough to pay my rent." #WeFeedYou
Manuel has spent the last 11 years picking strawberries in Watsonville CA . He works by piece rate so has to hurry to pick and earn more. The weather has been unstable lately so he wears his rain gear to keep himself dry as best he can. #WeFeedYou
Luis works 9 hours a day , Monday – Saturday prepping the fields for the plantings of lettuce and broccoli in Salinas CA. The pipes used for irrigation easily weigh 20 pounds each and the pipes are moved dozens of times per day. #WeFeedYou
Gaby shared this photo from Woodlake CA where she works in the blueberries. She rapidly hand picks this small fruit into buckets while skillfully avoiding picking overripe and green berries. #WeFeedYou
Luis is finishing up the orange harvest in Fowler CA. He listens to music to make his day go by faster as he tries to make ends meet earning just $55 for each crate of oranges he fills. #WeFeedYou
Tasty wine comes to our table thanks to workers like Juana. She has been working for 17 years and is very experienced. She is carefully selecting and thinning the leaves on the grapevines to allow for a better crop. #WeFeedYou
May 14, 2008: Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, 17, collapses after laboring 9+ hours w/o accessible shade or water at wine grape vineyard near Stockton. The farm labor contractor never calls 911 & tells Maria Isabel’s fiancé to lie about the events. She dies 2 days later.
Her death and the deaths of other farm workers from extreme heat leads the United Farm Workers to help strengthen California’s pioneering rules to prevent heat deaths and illnesses and beef up enforcement. #WeFeedYou#CALOR
Rosa is thinning wine grape vines in San Lucas CA. She leaves just enough leaves for filtered light without drawing water or nutrients away from the grapes. This skilled work ensures the flavor and quality of the harvest. #WeFeedYou
Angel shared this pic of the cherry harvest in Arvin CA. He drives just over two hours one way to earn $5.50 for each bucket of cherries he can fill. Depending on the size and quality of the fruit for his wages makes it hard to plan and he wishes for a steady income. #WeFeedYou
On #MothersDay let's toast farm workers like Daisy who is a mother of 3 with 3 grandkids. Daisy works under a UFW contract at @balettowine tending to the wine grape vineyards. To toast your mom w/wine produced under UFW contract go to ufw.org/ul. #WeFeedYou
5/11/72: Cesar Chavez starts his 2nd long fast in Phoenix after AZ passes a law basically outlawing the right of farmworkers to organize. Coretta Scott King, widow of #MartinLutherKingJr, links arms w Cesar & sings “We Shall Overcome" during 24-day fast at the Santa Rita Center.
