Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers union, requested a meeting with Newsom on Cesar Chavez Day, March 31. “But the lasting image was of a governor relaxing in Palm Springs while the pilgrims rallied outside his office in the Capitol.”įast-forward 56 years to another Easter period. “The victory in the first secret-ballot election for farmworkers was an enormous boost for Chavez and the union’s credibility,” Pawel wrote. The governor appointed a special mediator to create ground rules. The union had been urging consumers to boycott the grower’s table grapes.

She also wrote a Chavez biography: “The Crusades of Cesar Chavez.”īrown later atoned by persuading a large San Joaquin Valley grower to allow a union representation election.

Chavez thrived on having a good enemy, and the governor’s absence only made the rally stronger,” journalist Miriam Pawel wrote in her book, “The Browns of California.” “He would meet on his terms or not at all. Newsom and the union are at an impasse over provisions in the bill.īrown offered to meet with Chavez on Saturday or Monday - just not on Easter Sunday - but the labor leader refused. Members of the United Farm Workers marched hundreds of miles in support of a bill to help them organize.

California Column: Farmworkers didn’t get what they wanted from Newsom - this time

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