LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
A Voice for the Low-Wage Workers and Families in the State Capitol
It was the late 1970s and the school start was continually postponed so the farmworker children could be in the fields for the harvest instead of being in class. A group of advocates took the school district to court arguing the practice was illegal. They won.
What happened next is the reason why CRLAF exists -- instead of complying with the law the school board, made up of politically powerful business owners, changed the law to protect their business interests.
From that moment CRLAF was born. Our advocates represent farm workers and low-wage laborers throughout California.
Our legislative advocates engage in policy-oriented research and farm worker field surveys; conduct legislative and administrative advocacy in the wage & hour, unemployment insurance, and farm worker law areas, both at the state and federal levels, and provides training, technical assistance and advocacy support to California legal services programs.
The project’s chief objectives are:
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To expand state labor laws affecting the rights of farm workers and other low-wage workers
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To improve and reform state labor law enforcement efforts, particularly in the underground economy
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To take a leadership role in opposing legislative or regulatory efforts to weaken new or existing labor rights that impact low-wage workers, and especially farm workers and their families
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To undertake related legal and public policy research, education and media efforts
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To initiate training of advocates, attorneys and agency staff about CRLA Foundation-sponsored labor laws
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To monitor guest worker admissions into California under the federal H-2A program
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To participate in national advocacy efforts around guest worker programs and farm worker legalization
The project’s non-lobbying activities are, and have been for many years, generously supported by the Rosenberg Foundation.
The Labor and Employment Law Project is directed by CRLAF’s Deputy Director and Legislative Director, Mark Schacht. A 25 year veteran of Capitol Hill and Sacramento with a long track record of successful legislative and regulatory advocacy on behalf of low-wage immigrant workers, and particularly farm workers.
email@markschacht.com or 510-812-5399