Catastrophic freeze puts thousands out of work. You can help...

[Omaha Steve]

Catastrophic freeze puts thousands out of work. You can help...

Please donate to help us fight for the suffering workers affected by this disaster.



Growers can apply for relief under emergency declarations and many have insurance to cover some of their losses. There is little or no aid for the farm workers who pick the crops. These farm workers are devastated. No crops to pick, means no money for rent or utility bills, no warm coats for their children and no food for their tables. Workers are worried. These are their stories:

"I had never seen the things that are happening right now. All the fruits and vegetables are freezing and dying and affecting all of us...The economy is very hard right now because everything is very expensive and if we do not have work we are not having any earning."--Daniel Navarrete, strawberry worker

"The temperatures drop to the mid 20s at night but we can't afford to turn on the heater because it is too expensive....I don't know how we are going to be able to get by."--Graciela Ramirez, Citrus worker, mother of six

"I'm getting worried now. Both my mother-in-law and I work in the citrus industry...I've started to look for work but there aren't any jobs, all we know is field work and there aren't any oranges to pick, sort or pack. I can get $118 every two weeks from unemployment benefits but it is not nearly enough to cover my $742 mortgage and the $250 in monthly gas and electric bills. I'm considering moving out to Las Vegas, NV to find work...I'll have to leave my children behind; I don't want to take them from the only home they know. I haven't told my children that I may have to go to Las Vegas because of the citrus freeze, I know that they will cry non-stop and I don't think I could take that. I'll have to make a decision next week." -- Guadalupe Florez, citrus worker, widow, mother of three, lives with mother-in-law

"During the last citrus freeze my family and I received a lot of help from the UFW. They assisted us in getting help to make four months of our mortgage payments. We also got help with our utility bills. During the months of the freeze the UFW helped me find employment and my family received periodic food donations. I am confident that the UFW will help us get through this freeze once again."--Mirna Vazquez, Citrus worker, mother of three



We need your help to respond to this dire situation and make a difference for Daniel, Graciela, Guadalupe, Mirna and thousands of other farm workers. Your donation can help us lobby for legislative solutions to help the workers both on a California and federal level. It can help us to do worker outreach—including possibly going door to door to assess the situation. Your donation can help us organize communities to get more resources for these suffering workers, including from private organizations. It can help us hold press conferences and get the worker voices and stories out to the media.

Please fund our efforts to win badly needed assistance for these workers. We’d very much appreciate your sending a gift of $25, $35, $50, $100, or even $250 to help us meet this unanticipated need. Thank you.

Please make your donation today!


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