Artist Ignacio Gomez hoped to stir emotions with his bronze sculpture depicting Cesar E. Chavez striding up a hill with farm workers toiling in the fields, head held high. Gomez fulfilled that goal as over 1,000 people applauded, sighed, grinned, reflected and then pushed in to get a closer look at the life-sized statue of the famed farm labor leader following Saturday's unveiling and dedication in downtown Riverside.

SEIU 721 Inland Area members expanded their knowledge of labor rights and procedures this week at an all day new steward orientation training and workshop.

The Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association (VCERA) board voted 4 - 5 on December 17, 2012 to accept Labor's position that pensionable compensation for new hires after January 1, 2013, includes those special skills pay and special pay items that are not expressly excluded by the Public Employees Pension Reform Act (PEPRA), in addition to base pay.

Marching side by side with mushroom, strawberry and grape pickers, SEIU 721 members joined nearly 3,000 farm worker supporters at the state capitol during Labor Day weekend.

SEIU 721 Members Walk a Mile in United Farm Worker's Shoes. In June, Gov. Brown vetoed the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act, a bill that would have made it easier for farm workers to join a union and speak up for their rights. During the 12 days the Governor was deliberating over the bill, farm workers told of being denied bathroom breaks, not receiving overtime pay, lack of safety in the fields, and continual violations of enforcement of heat regulations that have cost workers their lives.

In recognition of Labor Day on Sept. 5, SEIU 721 members in Southern California and across the country are mobilizing their communities to restore fairness to our economy and rebuild our communities.