On Tuesday, the United Farm Workers (UFW) stated that they will oppose the water bond since it will subsidize the agricultural industry for decades to come at the expense of education, health care and farmworkers’ safety. Most of all, they are appalled that the Governor and the Legislature’s expensive corporate agricultural water handout will be paid by California’s taxpayers and their children.

As reported in San Francisco Chronicle UFW stated, “The $800 million per year in annual bond payments required under the new water bond is more than California spends on health care for farmworkers and their children, more that the entire worker-safety budget, more than on farmworker housing, more than on pesticide regulations and food safety. In fact, it’s more than all those things added together.”

Ironically the Governor and the Legislature often cite farmworkers as the demographic to reap the greatest benefits from the November 2010 Water Bond. The United Farm Workers are the latest addition to a growing populace rallying against the bond. A poll released last week showed that the majority of California voters oppose the $11.1 billion bond.