While the affect of the regulation stays unclear, it has buoyed the spirits of some farmworkers.
Asuncion Ponce began harvesting grapes alongside the rolling inexperienced hills of the Central Valley in the overdue Nineteen Eighties. Through the many years, Mr. Ponce has labored on a number of farms with U.F.W. contracts. Bosses on the ones farms, he mentioned, appeared conscious that in the event that they pressured or mistreated employees, the union would step in.
“They don’t mess with you any more,” he mentioned, “because they think there could be problems.”
Even so, he has observed his monetary safety decline. He averaged $20,000 a 12 months in the Nineties and 2000s, he mentioned, however at the present time he brings in round $10,000 a 12 months selecting grapes and pruning pistachio bushes. His eight-hour shifts are not supplemented through extra time, as growers have lower hours — partially consequently of the extra time invoice U.F.W. leaders supported.
Occasionally, Mr. Ponce mentioned, he trusted third-party contractors, who growers occasionally make use of, to seek out him to be had paintings. But he mentioned he was once positive that with the new law he would land a full-time activity on a union farm.
On a up to date night, the 66-year-old sipped espresso and decompressed after a shift at a farm out of doors of Fresno. His ft ached and his flannel blouse was once stained with fertilizer, however he’s satisfied that his activity shall we him spend all day outside — a zeal born in his native land in the Mexican state of Puebla, the place he harvested corn and anise.
He smiled softly below his white mustache as he spoke about the legacy of Mr. Chavez, which galvanized him to sign up for for a number of legs of the pilgrimage final summer season.
“I marched for many reasons,” he mentioned in Spanish. “So we are not as harassed and mistreated as we are now in the fields, so benefits and better treatment come our way.”