UFW is working around the clock to assist farm workers already dealing with repercussions from the pandemic and a dangerous heat wave. Now with the recent wildfires, the danger is escalating. Cal/OSHA is supposed to be protecting the workers, but according to what we are hearing, many workers just aren’t protected. Legislation passed last year mandates the grower provide N95 or equivalent masks if the Air Quality Index is over 150. Sadly, we are hearing again and again of cases where this just isn’t happening. According to a poll of farm workers the UFW conducted three days ago, 84% of farm workers have not been given N95 masks from their employers. A KPIX story from earlier this week said, shared the story of Antonia, a Watsonville strawberry picker, who said her employers “do not provide any of the workers with masks, gloves or other protective equipment, which is a violation of California law, according to Cal/OSHA officials.” The UFW is reaching out to our union growers to ensure they are acting to protect union members—even if it means going above and beyond legal requirements. At contract companies, we are hearing reports of N95 masks being distributed or work being halted. We also regularly communicate with tens of thousands of farm workers, most of them non-union, and enlisting the help of workers and supporters to find and report the locations of violations. We’ve secured 50,000 N95 masks and will be distributing them -- through our organizers and local groups in fire-affected areas -- to the workers who need them most. We should NOT have to be doing this. It’s the employers’ obligation, and it’s OSHA’s job to make sure they do it. Cal/OSHA is publicizing what the law is -- but that’s not enough. They need to be proactively in the fields making sure that the necessary protective gear makes it to the workers. Cal/OSHA’s inaction is putting the workers in grave danger. Sign the petition TODAY. Tell Cal/OSHA they need to be in the fields right now to ensure the people who labor so hard to feed us are kept safe.

Privatized ICE detention exacerbates the mass incarceration crisis created by the U.S. prison-industrial complex. Mass incarceration allows those in power to continue to exploit, forcibly displace, abuse and profit from people who are marginalized, disenfranchised, criminalized, and silenced. As one particularly brutal wing of this privatized system, ICA-Farmville has a history of failing inspections, failing to prevent and contain disease outbreaks, and failing to treat our immigrant friends, family, and neighbors with basic human dignity. Their profit-focused management has resulted in maggot-infested food, mumps and COVID outbreaks, and repeated inappropriate and unnecessary uses of force. Join our call to tell the investors who made this operation possible that profit from pain is inhumane.

Every year at the “Border Security” Expo in San Antonio, HUNDREDS of companies feature the “hottest gear” — THOUSANDS of military-grade weapons and surveillance products. And it’s all for sale. Lucky for these vendors, the Trump administration is willing to pay with dollars AND our civil liberties. Trump’s secret police in Portland included Department of Homeland Security agents, who beat and arrested Black Lives Matter protestors with impunity and without cause. This has got to be the LAST straw. Expos like these are one place militarization thrives and we need to shut them down— the arms dealers, the surveillance companies, and the dehumanizing us vs. them rhetoric. All of it. Planning is ALREADY underway for the 2021 Expo. But just like any big industry conference, the Expo is built on corporate sponsorships. So we’ve got to get LOUD and to tell last year’s lead sponsor — Verizon Wireless — if they support this event again, they’re only doubling down on hate and militarism. Tell Verizon Wireless: Stop fueling CBP’s hate and abuse! Make 2020 the last year you sponsor this Expo.

The Black Lives Matter movement means more than just stopping police-related death of people of color at the hands of law enforcement. It means looking at how racism plays into every aspect of American life. It is time that as Americans, we take a hard look at our racist institutions and ask ourselves if we’re willing to fight for long-lasting, systemic changes or if we are willing to continue with reformism and business as usual. Defunding the police does not mean less public safety. It means that instead of spending exorbitant amounts of money on policing the ailments of society, which solve nothing, we should be investing in programs that directly benefit over-policed, POC, and marginalized communities. Please sign our petition to show the Santa Cruz City Council that they need to do more than performative gestures!

We've told you about the dire situation happening at Primex Farms, a nut company in Wasco CA. The situation is escalating. According to a July 26 CNBC article, 150 of the 400 workers have now tested positive. In addition, a UFW census shows 49 of their adult family members and 34 children have tested positive for COVID-19. Sadly, one Primex worker has since died. A second worker, who tested positive, was removed from life support and sent home for palliative care; she is not expected to survive. Protesting Primex's flawed response to the virus, employees walked out on strike and formed a picket line. Workers were requesting safety measures, including social distancing procedures, company provision of personal protective equipment such as face masks and payment of sick leave for infected or exposed employees. The company promised improvements, but when they did not happen, workers -- including those in quarantine with the virus -- defied the company and held a virtual press conference. Now the major pistachio and almond processing company is retaliating against key groups of outspoken workers. This company uses several staffing agencies to supplement their direct hire workforce. Many of the workers who spoke out worked through USA Staffing. On July 22, Primex told the dozens of workers employed by USA Staffing that they were terminated because “production had dropped” -- but then they brought in new workers the same day! Brisdey Nieto is one of these fired workers. She tells us, “The company's anti-union consultant told us that due to the union taking the actions it had taken the clients had heard and therefore production had dropped. They were firing us. I could not believe that. I saw that same day they hired new workers and that they had started working. If production had dropped; why hire new workers?” The UFW immediately filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board for the company illegally retaliating against the workers for union activities and joining together to improve conditions. Workers don't want to wait; they want their jobs back now and they want to be protected on the jobsite. They're asking you to sign their petition telling the company to rehire them, with appropriate coronavirus protections in place. Workers are hoping to turn in thousands of signatures in the next few weeks. Will you add your signature today?

It’s important that one of the most influential people in modern day politics, especially a Democrat, to speak at the Democratic National Convention. We all need to hear what she has to say. And giving just 60 seconds is not enough. At the very least give her 2 minutes. Obviously we would love for her to have even more time than that since she is such a champion for fair wages, corporate accountability, environmental justice, and so many other important issues. Please sign and share!

because trump is a racist, sexist, homophobe , transphobe , rapist and hes an ignorant piece of shit.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a rogue and secretive federal agency that systematically violates the legal and human rights of immigrants and asylum-seekers. Now, they are secretly detaining children, families, and asylum-seekers at hotels across the U.S. without a paper trail or any due process before disappearing them from the country. Without a paper trail, there is no way for anyone to ensure the safety and rights of the people DHS is secretly detaining.

This is important because across the world, we're seeing the rise of right-wing governments that continue to use hateful rhetoric and especially from the Trump Administration, we're seeing the impact of what happens when people like Stephen Miller have unchecked power to create exclusionary and destructive domestic policy as it pertains to immigration. We need to take action and demand Mr. Singh's release. Read about what happened with Mr. Singh here: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/immigration-case-new-hyde-park-1.47257516

Donald Trump is the antithesis of every value upon which the New York Yankees community is based, and has gone out of his way many times over to offend, dehumanize, and harm the very people upon whom the organization depends, both players and fans. He has no business stepping foot through the stadium doors, let alone onto the mound in a position of honor.

Americans agree: American businesses, our military and our economy depend on legal immigration. But Washington insiders are threatening to slam the door on businesses and international workers who are following the rules. Over 13,000 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services employees are slated to be furloughed on August 3rd. That means 13,400 hard-working Americans will be out of work, and legal immigrants helping American businesses and generating millions in revenue will not be able to enter or stay in the U.S. 84% of Americans agree that legal immigration is a good thing for this country. We need a well-functioning legal immigration system now more than ever. There is bipartisan support for funding the USCIS – we need your voice to make it happen. Tell Congress: Fund legal immigration through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It’s something we can ALL agree on. Protect hard-working Americans from furlough. Keep our businesses, our economy, and our military strong. Let Congress know you support funding for USCIS before the August 3rd deadline.

Right now, unidentified federal agents are on Portland’s streets targeting, tear-gassing, beating, and illegally arresting protestors in an OUTRAGEOUS overreach of federal authority. These forces are cobbled together from a number of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies, acting with impunity and without cause. The last three years have shown how far Trump is willing to go to maintain and increase his hold on power — and how DHS can be used to achieve those ends. What’s happening in Portland, and what’s being threatened in other cities, is nothing less than the post-9/11 national security state being turned on regular people exercising their constitutional human rights. Luckily, you can’t wage a war that you can’t pay for. And Trump’s timing couldn’t be worse: the House may vote on a DHS appropriations bill next week. Add your name now to demand Congress refuse to pass this bill without a COMPLETE withdrawal of these agents and a bar on ANY funding that would support Trump’s secret police force.