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90_HR0017
LRB9001303CBcb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, 20,000 strawberry workers are employed in
3 California's central coast and suffer the worst working
4 conditions in agriculture; and
5 WHEREAS, Strawberry workers lack a voice on the job to
6 end the extreme cases of sexual harassment and child labor;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, Strawberry workers lack medical insurance to
9 seek treatment for back injuries incurred while stooping to
10 pick berries 10 to 12 hours a day, and lack job security from
11 one day to the next and from season to season; and
12 WHEREAS, Strawberry workers lack clean and accessible
13 bathrooms and cold, clean drinking water in the field; and
14 WHEREAS, The strawberry industry reaps annual profits of
15 $650 million, while strawberry workers earn an annual average
16 income of $8,000; and
17 WHEREAS, Strawberry workers have approached the United
18 Farm Workers of America to support their efforts; and
19 WHEREAS, The industry has responded with anti-union
20 tactics to organizing efforts of farm workers; and
21 WHEREAS, The Illinois AFL-CIO supports its brothers and
22 sisters who work in the fields and will work with the United
23 Farm Workers to represent the strawberry workers; and
24 WHEREAS, Eighty percent of the strawberries sold in the
25 United States are grown in California, and Illinois is one of
26 the largest consumers of California strawberries; and
27 WHEREAS, The National Baptist Convention, USA NAACP, and
28 the Consumer Federation of America are a few of the many
29 supporters of the campaign to improve working conditions for
-2- LRB9001303CBcb
1 strawberry workers; therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
4 endorse the United Farm Workers' campaign to win justice and
5 dignity for strawberry workers; and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7 forwarded to the President of the United Farm Workers.