FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Several protesters brought the Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting to a standstill Tuesday morning.
Eight people were detained, including activist and founder of the National Farmworkers Association Dolores Huerta.
The issue is Fresno County caregivers are demanding more money. Dozens of union members attended Tuesday's board of supervisors meeting, but as it wrapped up, protesters blocked the exit. They then began to fill the hallway and protested the 10 cents proposed raise by the County.
The County caregivers are asking for a dollar raise and are calling the County's proposal an insult and racially motivated. Caregivers say they've gone ten years without a raise and current negotiations have gone on for about a year.
In a statement Dolores said:
“In-home caregivers haven’t received a decent wage increase in over 10 years. Meanwhile, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors have given themselves a hefty salary increase. I decided to get arrested when I saw the way the sheriffs were mistreating Arnulfo De La Cruz, Executive Vice President of SEIU Local 2015. He was standing there peacefully when they grabbed him by the neck. The sheriffs were behaving in a brutish and aggressive manner in response to our peaceful protest. I am proud to stand with the over 17,000 support caregivers and their care recipients. These workers save the county upwards of $50,000 a year in providing services to the county’s elderly and differently-abled. They deserve a living wage! Si Se Puede!”
Fresno County Sheriff's Office released a statement stating "that it many deputies there to ensure that this was a peaceful protest and it did not disrupt business being conducted by citizens at nearby offices."
Officials also said deputies made a total of eight arrests where six people were issued an arrest citation for a misdemeanor charge of failing to disperse after being issued an order to do so.
"Once given a ticket, each of the six people were released. Two other people were arrested for obstructing a doorway of a public business establishment, a misdemeanor, and resisting arrest, also a misdemeanor charge. These two were booked into the Fresno County Jail and are expected to be cited out and released this afternoon."
