AB 2156 passed the Assembly with a 70-0 vote. Designed by Freepik

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - On Monday, March 23, every member of the California State Assembly on both sides of the political aisle voted to designate Farmworkers Day as a state holiday.

Speaker Robert Rivas previously announced the legislation, Assembly Bill 2156, last week during remarks on the Assembly floor, when he honored the farmworker movement, courageous survivors who helped shape it and labor leader Dolores Huerta.

“The farmworker movement was never about one man,” Speaker Rivas said last week. “It was built by thousands — tens of thousands — of workers. People like my grandfather. People who labored in the fields. People who organized, who sacrificed, who stood up when it was hard. Their legacy is not defined by one individual. It is defined by a movement — a movement for dignity, a movement for justice, a movement that still lives on today.” 

Generations of farmworkers across California have organized for safer working conditions, fair wages, and basic human dignity, efforts that have transformed labor standards and inspired movements for justice across the country.

AB 2156, which Rivas authored with Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón and was co-authored by all 80 lawmakers in the Assembly, passed the Assembly with a 70-0 vote. It will now head to the Senate.