Analysis: Plight of the worker memorialized at fairgrounds
Representatives of local labor unions and the OC Fair & Event Center on Monday celebrated at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa the unveiling of a new monument that recognizes the plight of farm workers.
“Table of Dignity,” by Costa Mesa native Ricardo Mendoza and Josh Sarantitis, a New York-based artist, features a 14-ton boulder. Embedded in the boulder is a wooden table, symbolizing a place where all sit as equals and celebrate Orange County’s historical bounty of agriculture.
A few feet away, with the boulder sitting between them, are two portals. Organizers noted that the portals — made of rammed earth, a technique for building walls or foundations using tightly packed soil — echo the look and style of early California Spanish missions.
Former state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) said Table of Dignity celebrates labor.
“It’s going to be heard loud, long and forever here in Orange County,” he said.
Nick Berardino, an Orange County Fair Board director and recently retired Orange County union leader, noted the significance of the monument lacking shade.
“Because those workers,” he told the crowd of about 200, “never had shade.”
Berardino called Table of Dignity a controversial project in a county that has been hostile to organized labor. He rejoiced in the expectation that the artwork, erected near Centennial Farm, will be seen by tens of thousands of schoolchildren.
“I’m still a little bit in shock that something commemorating orange pickers and agricultural pickers is happening here in Orange County, one of the most racist, insane places in America,” said Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly editor. “This really is a magnificent victory for everyone — all workers, all of them.”
Arellano said Table of Dignity pays homage to Citrus War of 1936, when farm workers went on strike in the name of higher wages, the right to unionize and better working conditions. He read part of his 2006 piece, “Gunkist Oranges,” on the subject.
Other attendees noted that Table of Dignity is within view of Costa Mesa City Hall, where, while claiming financial insolvency, the City Council majority in 2011 initiated an attempt to lay off many unionized city workers. The layoffs were subsequently rescinded by the city.
Table of Dignity is still a work in progress. The portals, both 12 feet tall, will eventually contain small boxes holding crops.
Monday’s Labor Day ceremony included performances by Santa Ana High School students and Banda de Guerra Mexico of Orange County. Members of the Orange County Employees Assn. and other groups marched to the ceremony carrying a banner declaring “solidarity” and signs that read, in English and Spanish, “Working. For a better life.”
