The Santa Maria Strawberry Festival wrapped up another celebration of the annual harvest over the weekend. But for some in the community, it was a time to unite and advocate for a living wage for people who work the fields and pick the strawberries.
About 70 to 80 people joined a May Day Rally and March for Farmworker Justice on Sunday, carrying signs reading “Farmworkers deserve a living wage” and chanting “Sí se puede,” or “Yes, we can.”
Advocates are calling for strawberry and other field workers to earn $26 an hour.
“Right now the minimum wage is $16.50 an hour,” said Gabriela Vivar, a farmworker and advocate with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, or CAUSE. “But if you're working in the strawberries, the box is approximately like $2.35 a box, which is hardly enough.”
Vivar, who has worked in the fields since she was 15, said many laborers are paid either hourly or by contract — earning minimum wage or about $2.35 per box of strawberries picked — but neither method provides a living wage.
CAUSE Senior Policy Advocate Erika Diaz-Cervantes said the organization has taken the issue to Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and asked them to create a “farmworker living wage ordinance.”
“There was a special hearing last year in November where the County Board of Supervisors was able to hear about more than 300 workers come out and see the need for a livable wage,” Diaz-Cervantes said.
Although the first attempt for higher wages was unsuccessful, Diaz-Cervantes says they’ll continue to push for a livable wage for farmworkers.
According to the California Strawberry Commission, strawberry farming brought in just over $3 million in profits in 2021.
