Sen. Feinstein visits Monterey Mushrooms
LAS LOMAS — A small cadre of farmworkers, union officials and politicians gathered at Monterey Mushrooms in Las Lomas Friday to welcome U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was there to discuss farmworker rights and agricultural issues.
Joining the senator for the roundtable discussion was Congressman Jimmy Panetta and United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez.
Feinstein, who is running for her fifth six-year term in the November election against Democratic rival Kevin de León, has earned endorsements from both the UFW and the Western Growers Association, organizations that often find themselves on opposite sides of the ideological divide.
"We don't agree on hardly anything," said UFW spokesman Marc Grossman.
That support was forged when Feinstein helped author provisions of the 2013 immigration reform bill, which would have helped undocumented farmworkers attain residency, Grossman said. The bill passed the Senate with no amendments, but was knocked down in the Republican controlled House, he said.
Feinstein also sponsored the Agricultural Worker Protection Act of 2017, also known as the Blue Card Bill, which would give farmworkers permanent residency when they work a certain amount of hours.
That bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee in May 2017, but is almost certainly dead on arrival in the House and Senate, both of which are now firmly controlled by Republicans.
"Everywhere I travel in California, I hear from farmers, growers and producers from all industries — wine, citrus, fruit and tree nuts, dairy — that there aren't enough workers," Feinstein said of her reasoning for the bill. "Farm labor is performed almost exclusively by undocumented immigrants — a fact that should surprise no one. By protecting farmworkers from deportation, our bill achieves two goals — ensuring that hardworking immigrants don't live in fear and California's agriculture industry has the workforce it needs to thrive."