Washington, D.C. – The United Farm Workers and UFW Foundation welcome the reintroduction of the Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act by Rep. Andrea Salinas, (D-OR), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Sen. Alex Padilla, (D-CA). This proposed legislation would expand disaster relief to include farm workers who lose their jobs or wages due to natural  disasters like hurricanes, flooding, and extreme heat. While significant federal support exists to support agricultural employers who lose harvests to natural disasters, few such programs exist to support agricultural workers impacted by these same disasters. The Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act would rectify that exclusion. 

Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers, said: 

“If the federal government can provide emergency support to farm owners who lose crops in natural disasters, then the federal government can provide support to farm workers who lose work in that same disaster. The Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act will ensure that farm workers who put food on all our tables can continue to put food on their own family’s table when disaster strikes.”

Erica Lomeli Corcoran, UFW Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, said: 

“Every year we see an alarming number of natural disasters that drastically and disproportionately impact the farm worker community. As climate change gets worse, these types of disasters will only worsen and farm workers are the ones who are affected the most by these calamities. Just last year, we saw heavy California rains flooding Ventura County farm areas and Hurricane Helen devastating Georgia’s farm worker communities, leading to organizations like ours stepping up to do what we can. But that is not enough. We must have a federal response to these kinds of disasters. From wildfires to tornadoes to hurricanes, farm workers have little to no safety net to help them recover from unexpected disasters.  

This is exactly why the UFW Foundation is supporting the Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act. It would provide resources and aid to those who truly need it and would ensure that those responsible for our nation’s food supplies are not overlooked, as they have been in the past. Farm workers have been largely ignored and neglected by the law, shut out from basic protections provided to all workers. It is time that Congress acts and ensures that our nation’s farm workers are given the support they need to overcome times of emergencies and to provide equity to all workers.” 

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