She invites lawmakers to work in the fields

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Apr 08, 2022 View in browser   By Ximena Bustillo With help from Brakkton Booker, Ella Creamer, Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz POLITICO illustration/Photo by MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images What up Recast family! The Senate confirms Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. While that is indeed huge news, it actually came on the heels (literally) of some other developments on Capitol Hill this week. A rabid fox on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol was captured and euthanized after biting several people – including a California congressman and our guest host for this edition of The Recast, Ximena Bustillo. Our intrepid food and agriculture reporter is fine and filed this while being treated for nibble wounds at the ER.  It's been said that women farmworkers are the essential part of the labor force that very few think about. That's because they don't know Teresa Romero. She's the head of the United Farm Workers Union, which has been elevating the hardships and calling for better working conditions for the pickers, harvesters, weeders and plowers responsible for bringing food from America's farmlands to kitchens. Romero is the first Latina and first immigrant woman to become president of a national labor union. UFW dates back 50 years to when it was founded by civil rights icons Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, when it was then called the National Farm Workers Association. She tells me she never anticipated this would be a career for her. In the past, she managed a construction company and a law firm that represented farmworkers with immigration and compensation claims. But after meeting farmworkers in California's San Joaquin Valley, her life's direction pivoted. Seeing how the grueling work battered their bodies, Romero says, "just hit me very hard." Last month, first lady Jill Biden presented Romero with the Outstanding American by Choice award, an honor given to naturalized citizens for their exceptional contributions to their community and adoptive homeland. Her mission as an activist and union organizer isn't complete though. These days, she's pushing Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would give farmworkers the right to vote in California union elections by mail – a bill passed by the Legislature last year but vetoed by Newsom. On the federal level, she is pushing for lawmakers to take up a bill named after Asunción Valdivia , a grape picker who died of heat stroke in 2004. The legislation aims to boost protections for both indoor and outdoor workers against occupational excessive heat exposure. She is also advocating for the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bill that passed the House with bipartisan support and is stalled in the Senate. The bill would provide a pathway to legalization for farmworkers. On the eve of Dolores Huerta Day , we discuss what led Romero to her activism, how lawmakers react when she invites them to work in the fields and the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. ◆◆◆ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. THE RECAST: Can you talk a little bit just about your personal background? What brought you to UFW? ROMERO:  I was born in Mexico. I'm an immigrant to this country. Initially, when I started working with the UFW, I honestly thought it would be a short-lived career. But when I started going to the field, talking to the workers, seeing the men and women who put food on our table, working so hard under such difficult conditions — after I got experience I thought, "I'm not going anywhere. This is where I'm going to retire from."   Every week, we sit down with diverse and influential characters who are shaking up politics. Who should we profile next? Let us know. Email us at therecast@politico.com.   "It just hit me very hard. These men and women are not seen by many consumers," says Romero. | Courtesy of United Farm Workers THE RECAST: What was the moment when you decided this is not something that 'I'm going to do for a short time?' ROMERO: We went to meet with workers in the San Joaquin Valley. I remember seeing their hands, they were just coming out of the fields. I saw how sweaty they were and I saw how they were approaching us and just to shake my hand they were trying to clean their hands on their pants. It just hit me very hard. THE RECAST: A lot of the farmworkers are Latino. A lot of them are either undocumented or unauthorized. What would you say to the average person that might not know that this is the population that takes care of the food that they eat every day? ROMERO: We have invited senators, all 100 senators, to join us in work one day in the field. Because we want them to experience what it's like. Out of the 100 senators, two of them responded, Sen. Padilla and Sen. Booker. So we're going to schedule some time for them to work in the fields. THE RECAST: What do you think is the most under discussed topic when it comes to ag workers, particularly your members?  ROMERO: When the administration deemed some workers essential they, of course, went to work every day. And if you remember how we panicked when we couldn't find toilet paper, just imagine how we would panic if we couldn't find in our markets the food that we need. But I remember this worker saying, 'I work very hard. I have kids. I do this and I've been doing it for 30 years…the problem is that we are treated as if we're disposable.' [This] is just something that we can not accept and we cannot look the other way in this country of ours. So we need to make sure that people understand, that these consumers understand, that these men and women truly suffer a lot. Sometimes they don't even have enough money to put [food] on their own tables. Romero listens as Vice President Kamala Harris leads a meeting with women leaders of the labor community to commemorate Women's History Month and the passage of the American Rescue Plan in Washington, DC, in March 2021. | Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images THE RECAST: In terms of moving forward, how much longer do you see yourself in this role? ROMERO: Oh my goodness. I haven't even thought about that. My focus right now is on getting these California bills passed. My focus right now is on getting an immigration bill passed [in Congress]. We continue to work with Congress on this, even though there is not a good appetite from Republicans to get this done. But I am not even asking myself that question. THE RECAST: What does being the first immigrant woman in your role mean to you? ROMERO: Oh my god. When I talk to people and even farmworkers about how I learned English when I came to this country, they said, "You know what? I never thought of doing that. I'm going to do that if you were able to do it." And if I can motivate an immigrant woman that feels that because she's an immigrant or because she doesn't speak English perfectly, she doesn't have the opportunity. If I can motivate one young girl, one woman to be able to dream and work hard for it. It would be amazing. It would be amazing. THE RECAST: The Supreme Court will have its first Black woman on this panel, which is also a very historic milestone for it. Do you reflect on that? ROMERO: Like you have no idea. Unfortunately, after the previous administration, we know that we're racist people in our country. Many of these people are very proud of expressing their views. And when I saw the hearings and I saw the questions that they were being asked, it was upsetting. It was unfair. It was inappropriate, and it makes me very proud that she was so professional. And she's going to be the first African American woman in the highest court of the land. It is very good, very positive. WATCH: Biden, Harris and Jackson deliver remarks THE RECAST: Who would you encourage to get involved in some of these issues? Is there any particular kind of person or demographic that you think needs to be more involved? ROMERO: We need to get young people engaged. Cesar [Chavez] would say that we cannot just do work ourselves. We need to do it for our communities. We need to do it for the people that need us. I've been meeting with young people in different places, in different areas, in different scenarios. I want them to understand that involvement right now doesn't mean that's what you're going to do for the rest of your life. Get involved in your political, local political campaigns. Who do you support? Make sure you vote. Who is the one that represents you? Educate yourself and take it from there. But to me, the most important thing is really to engage our young men and women of this country to take over when the time comes. Romero is the first immigrant woman to be president of any national union. | Courtesy of United Farm Workers THE RECAST: What else should people know about farmworkers and the work that you've been doing? ROMERO: Our previous administration said that the people of color – the brown people like me – [that] we are murderers, rapists, drug dealers. But I want people to truly understand that without us immigrants, there are many areas in this country that would not survive. Agriculture is one of them. And just think about it, this is where we get all of our food. ◆◆◆ It's been a week, Recast fam! We're planning to recover by camping out on the couch and indulging in some weekend to-dos:  Former New York Times cultural critic Margo Jefferson has a new memoir, "Constructing a Nervous System." Meanwhile, in her new novel, "Memphis," poet and former attorney Tara M. Stringfellow explores the lives of a matrilineal clan over nearly 70 years. And we're looking forward to digging into Bangladeshi British novelist Monica Ali's new novel, "Love Marriage." Margo Jefferson's new memoir is set to be released Apr. 12. | Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The New Yorker We'll soon be able to binge season two of the most excellent "Russian Doll" starring Natasha Lyonne in a trippy time travel dramedy. Classical musicians of color are doing it for themselves. The documentary "La Mami," directed by Laura Herrero Garvín, takes us into the lives of women who work at a Mexico City cabaret, where they're paid to dance and drink with men. "Ambulance," Michael Bey's latest effort, stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as bank robbers who commandeer an ambulance. As can be expected with a Bey vehicle, all sorts of pyrotechnic chaos ensues. BIA loves "London." So do we, BIA, so do we. There are times – tough times – when it's hard not to feel like a "Psychofreak." Camila Cabello and Willow break it down for us. TikTok of the day: If only he could take it back.   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz   Follow us

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