At the 2014 NFWM board meeting held in Bakersfield, California, NFWM board members joined a protest outside the Bakersville office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23). Now the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Congressman McCarthy had historically not supported legislation favoring workers. 

Suzanne Darweesh, Chair of the Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farmworkers, remembers the demonstration, recalling that the protest was related to legislation to provide overtime pay to workers. “He’s [Congressman McCarthy] getting paid by the taxpayers and he locks his door against us! We had 2,000 farm workers come to his office in Bakersfield and he wouldn’t see them. Virginia Nesmith [former director of NFWM] was sleeping in a tent out front.”

Hector Rodriguez, President of the National Farm Worker Ministry board, remembers that McCarthy’s office had covered the windows with trash bags. “He has a big glass office building and you couldn’t see a thing. We weren’t even able to get in the door,” said Hector. “He is part of the oppressive class who votes everything down that doesn’t support rich people. We had petitions to deliver and we couldn’t even get them to open the door.”

NFWM Vice President and representative of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Sharon Stanley-Rea “heard the lock click on his door as we were holding communion bread.”

“It may not have been a victory, but it wasn’t a defeat,” added Hector. “We had national organizations and mainline churches from all over the country represented asking him to do his job.”