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CALDWELL Last year brought a perfect storm of perils for farmworkers in the United States, with the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme heat and smoke from wildfires.

Teresa Romero, the third president in the history of the United Farm Workers since its inception in 1962, said in a speech Tuesday to University of Idaho students and staff, that the last year and beyond has revealed a need for immigration reform, wage reform and protections from employer abuse for farmworkers.

The universitys College Assistance Migrant Program brought Romero to speak in recognition of National Farmworker Awareness Week. Romero spoke to the group of attendees over Zoom.

{div class=page title=Page 1}{div class=layoutArea}{div class=column}Teresa Romero is the first immigrant woman to become president of a national union in the United States. She is the third president of United Farm Workers since its inception in 1962.{/div}{/div}{/div}

Field workers cannot shelter-in-place or work from home, Romero said. They are essential workers, they must go to their jobs to feed America, unfortunately they are still not treated as essential workers (by) the federal government.

Romero said the federal government has not done enough to hold agriculture employers accountable for their workers safety.

In April last year, the farmworker labor organization sued the state of Washington over what it claimed to be deficiencies in COVID-19 protections for domestic and seasonal workers. The lawsuit led the state to issue new guidelines for worker housing.

After a year of struggling to avoid COVID-19 while on crowded transportation systems, in multigenerational housing and trying to balance child care as working parents, Romero said there needs to be some relief for workers.

For Romero, this work is personal.

It is because I am a Latina and an immigrant, she said.

Romero is the first Latina and first immigrant woman to become president of a national union in the United States. She replaced Arturo Rodriguez as the organizations president in December 2018.

Romero is passionate about helping women immigrants in the agriculture industry, because she sees herself in them. She came to the United States from Mexico nearly 40 years ago while in her early 20s in search of a better life, she said. She didnt speak English, but pushed herself to learn seven new sentences per day in her first years in the United States.

As president of the labor organization, Romero has focused on making agriculture work equal between men and women. This equality is as a way to ensure women are no longer enduring verbal, mental and sexual abuse while at work, Romero said in her bio provided to the University of Idaho.

FARM WORKFORCE MODERNIZATION ACT

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The bill, that has yet to be introduced in the Senate, would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented agriculture workers and their families if they stayed in U.S. agriculture. It would also make changes to the H-2A program, which brings foreign workers to work in U.S. agriculture fields for part of the year.

It would free farmworker children from the fear of seeing their undocumented parents going to work in the morning and not knowing if they will return home at the end of the day because of the constant threat of deportation, Romero said.

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, was a co-sponsor of the bill that had support of over 30 Idaho agricultural groups. However, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said he would not support that version of the bill in the Senate. Hes working on a Senate version of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

Crapo has said in the past that he wont support amnesty nor giving advantage or benefit toward citizenship for anyone who crosses the border illegally, according to a March 24 email from Crapos office. Those entering must get in the end of the line and following the legal process by applying for a green card, permanent status or citizenship.

The Senate is out of session for more than a week, but a spokesperson from his office said Crapo wants to improve the situation with farm employers and workers. They said Crapo would be working on revising the path to citizenship component of the bill.

Rachel Spacek is the Latino Affairs and Canyon County reporter for the Idaho Press. You can reach her at rspacek@idahopress.com. Follow her on twitter @RachelSpacek.

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United Farm Workers leader calls for immigration, wage reform in University of Idaho speech - Idaho Press-Tribune