Rep. Schiff Announces United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero as His State of the Union Guest
Washington, D.C.— Today, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) announced United Farm Workers (UFW) President Teresa Romero will be his guest at President Joseph R. Biden’s State of the Union address.
Romero is an immigrant from Mexico, and the first Latina and first immigrant woman to become president of a national union in the United States. Prior to ascending to her role as President, she served as secretary-treasurer of UFW and raised $1 million to build the UFW’s new state-of-the-art 10,294-square foot facility in Salinas serving the largest concentration of unionized farm workers in the nation. Before joining UFW, she managed a construction company and a law firm that helped workers with immigration and workers compensation claims.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to bring UFW President Teresa Romero as my guest to the State of the Union and honor her trailblazing leadership,” said Rep. Schiff. “Teresa's remarkable journey – from her own immigrant roots to leading a major American union – embodies the promise of America: that through hard work and perseverance, anyone can achieve their dreams. Her presence at the State of the Union will serve as a powerful testament to the strength and diversity of our nation – and a reminder of our ongoing commitment to fighting for the dignity and respect of every worker."
“It is a great honor to attend this year’s State of the Union as a guest of Congressman Schiff representing the United Farm Workers of America, the nation’s largest and oldest agricultural labor union,” said UFW President Teresa Romero. “Across California and America, farm workers continue to be essential while too often being treated as disposable. It is a sad reality that very often the very workers who harvest the food for our tables can’t afford to put food on the table for their own families. Over half of the nation’s farm workers remain excluded from the right to citizenship, and thus to political participation and to access to the nation’s already limited social safety net.
“Yet despite these injustices, the state of the farm worker union is determined, hopeful, and growing with new organizing in multiple states. The Biden-Harris administration has made significant progress in protecting the labor rights of immigrant workers, while grower-backed efforts to roll back farm worker wage gains have been defeated in Congress. It is of the utmost importance for farm worker voices to continue to be heard in the halls of Congress, and that is why I am honored to be present today. Together with our allies in elected office and our siblings across the labor movement, we will build an agricultural economy in America that works for its workers. Si Se Puede.” Romero concluded.
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