HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/15/2020 - 09/15/2020 Farm Workers Rights Initiative Proclamation - Proclamations
P R O C L A M A T I O N
Farmworker’s Rights Initiative
WHEREAS, Farmworkers have been deemed some of the most essential workers within our communities,
especially now during a global pandemic. Despite their importance, farmworkers have yet to receive proper
safety measures during these uncertain times. In Washington State, there have been numerous deaths of farm
workers due to the lack of resources during this pandemic. According to the California Institute for Rural
Studies, farmworkers are more than three times as likely to contract COVID-19 than all other industries,
“due to working and living conditions that make it nearly impossible to maintain physical distance from
others;” and
WHEREAS, Farmworkers across Washington State are dying from COVID-19, while providing their
agricultural labor to our community and state. Our community grieves with the families of those who have
passed away or suffered due to COVID-19 or COVID-19 complications while serving our state as agricultural
workers; and
WHEREAS, Our communities depend on farmworkers and value the contributions and sacrifices they make
to our valley and productive economy. As with any industry, farmworkers should receive humane working
conditions, and proper safety equipment; and
WHEREAS, The need for proper resources and protections for Washington’s agricultural workers during this
public health crisis has been identified; and an expectation to uphold these standards for our farmworkers
past the current global pandemic.
NOW, THEREFORE, I Jerrilea Crawford, Mayor of East Wenatchee, do hereby ask our community to
support farmworkers’ rights and advocate for emergency protections for all Washington farmworkers and to
support policies that will curtail these preventable tragedies in Washington State.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of East
Wenatchee, on this 15th day of September 2020.
Jerrilea Crawford, Mayor
City of East Wenatchee
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
271 9TH STREET NE * EAST WENATCHEE, WA 98802
PHONE (509) 884-9515 * FAX (509) 884-6233