Voice of the WBC
WFWA Members Take Action Against Attacks on Workers
Membership delegates representing fellow members from the same occupation, worksite or neighborhood attend meetings of the Sacramento Valley Workers Benefit Council (WBC) to discuss and determine the practical actions necessary to advance their economic and political betterment. The programs listed below are examples of actions begun and led by the WBC.
Water
Campaign for water and sustainable development to save the future of agriculture in the Sacramento Valley
When growers are forced to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres of fields and orchards for lack of water, WFWA members have reported seeing their working hours in local agriculture cut by up to 40%. WFWA and the Sacramento Valley Workers Benefit Council (WBC) delegates are working with local farmers, elected officials and concerned residents to fight for water and development policies that combat climate change and ensure farms and farm workers have sustainable and affordable access to water.
In addition, WFWA organizes the delivery of pallets of bottled water to WFWA members living on migrant labor camps and in local neighborhoods, as well as other supplies that protect farm workers in dryer and hotter conditions that threaten their survival.
Farmers and farm workers unite!
Growers join WFWA in historic, mutually beneficial relationship
In 2012, a local family farmer joined the efforts of WFWA members to build ties with other local agricultural growers interested in addressing the chronic hunger experienced by farm workers and other seasonal workers over the fall and winter months, when their incomes drop. The alliance of nearly one dozen local farmers supports WFWA’s annual Pre-Harvest Food Distribution, reaching thousands of workers and their families throughout the Sacramento Valley at private farm labor camps and state-run migrant centers. Local businesses, community service groups and dozens of volunteers collect thousands of pounds of fruits, vegetables, dairy and other staple, high-protein foods for thousands of agricultural workers.
The event has built long-lasting relationships, bridging the gap between the farmer and farm worker in a united cause to fight hunger and safeguard agriculture in the Sacramento Valley for generations to come.
Illustration by Roberto Parada
Taking ownership of our future
Building leadership at state-run migrant farm labor camps
For four decades, WFWA has built leadership amongst the lowest-paid workers in the Sacramento Valley through the Sacramento Valley Workers Benefit Council (WBC), resulting in historic farm worker victories. Members of the WBC led a successful class action lawsuit after rents on government-subsidized migrant camps were doubled illegally by the State of California in the late 1990s. At state-run migrant camps, the WBC has led campaigns that have won sanitation demands, clean potable water and other important worker-led demands inspired through WBC action. In 2024, the WBC declared a qualified victory after spearheading a successful campaign to oppose AB 2240, thereby stopping the conversion of migrant farm worker housing into year-round housing that would have pitted migrants against seasonal farm workers in a competition for limited subsidized units.
The WBC members living at state-run camps have won numerous other victories, but the struggle wages on, because no one is safe until the lowest-paid workers in our community have what they need to survive.
Illustration by Roberto Parada