Alex Padilla: “the first thing you need to know about picking radishes is that it is hard work. You have to work literally on your…”

“the first thing you need to know about picking radishes is that it is hard work. You have to work literally on your knees, and you pick each radish out of the ground by hand--no machines, no tools. I learned how to pick radishes and parsley about 3 weeks ago when I received an invitation from the United Farm Workers and the UFW Foundation to spend a day working alongside them in California. Now, I have said countless times that, day in and day out, farmworkers show up to some of the hardest jobs in America. I have always believed that farmworkers are essential, but not until that day did I appreciate the physical demands of long hours on one's knees under the Sun. Many of the workers picking radishes are older than I am and have worked in the fields for decades. They have labored through heat waves, through storms, wildfire smoke, and more. They have labored through a global health pandemic, and they are the backbone of our economy in helping to keep food on our tables. Yet the majority of farmworkers don't have legal status to live and work in the United States of America. That includes those I worked alongside who were picking radishes--people like Efren, who has worked on American farms for more than 40 years, and Patricia, who has raised her children here.…”