Hundreds of people listened to live music, enjoyed food and heard speeches Monday at the annual Labor Day picnic at Romo Park in downtown Watsonville.
Put on by the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, the event showcased the essence of Labor Day—a tribute to the efforts and achievements of American workers.
Created by the labor movement in the late 19th century, Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894.
“There’s a sector of workers in this country that are taken advantage of, overworked, underpaid, just like everybody else,” said coffee shop worker Sasha Pavy of Verve Workers Unite. “And I’m really excited that we’re all starting to stand up for what we’re worth.”
Pavy pointed to the recent unionization of workers at Cat & Cloud Coffee.
“So that shows you the power of what unions can do and what unions are doing for workers in all sectors,” she said.
The free, four-hour event included information tables from Santa Cruz METRO, Safe Ag/Safe Schools, Friends of the Rail Trail, Santa Cruz Democrats and SEIU. Guest speakers highlighted issues facing workers in health care, short-staffed hospitals, agriculture, hospitality, education and other fields.
“I’ve got love in my heart for my child care workers out here today, because you make it possible for us to go to work in the first place,” said Assemblymember Gail Pellerin.
Pellerin also urged attendees to vote no on Proposition 39, which would amend the California Constitution to require voters to provide government-issued identification each time they vote.
“California already has some of the most strict protections for voters, and the rhetoric that’s being spread through Congress, this administration and the SAVE Act and trying to bring a mini version of it to California, we will not stand for it, and we’re going to beat Prop 39,” she said.
Sen. John Laird led the gathering through a list of recent achievements in the state Legislature, including new equipment for Watsonville Community Hospital, a new radio system for Santa Cruz METRO and improvements planned for the Pajaro Valley, including union-friendly contracting.
“We’ve got land for affordable housing in Santa Cruz,” Laird continued. “We have more money for a UCSC medical school that will bring doctors here; we have more money for the city library.”
Laird also highlighted recent efforts to require large corporations whose employees rely on Medi-Cal to help fund the program, “so that you and I won’t pay our taxes for health insurance.”
Laird urged the crowd to support Proposition 1, an $11.25 billion housing bond that would fund affordable housing, homeownership assistance and infrastructure projects throughout California. The measure would provide subsidies for up to 40,000 multifamily rental units, as well as housing for farmworkers and university students.
