Gray Davis Vows to Help Improve Life for Laborers

Gov. Gray Davis told a group of labor union retirees and their families Saturday that, if reelected, he would work to improve education and job opportunities and to raise the standard of living for California’s immigrant population and working class.

A mariachi band played as Davis entered the Pasadena Hilton Hotel ballroom, where 400 people were dining as part of the annual retirees luncheon of the Laborers International Union of North America Local 300. Davis was greeted with a standing ovation, and audience members chanted, “Four more years!”

“We have done an awful lot to make being a member of a working class family an enjoyable experience,” Davis said, stressing his administration’s efforts to provide more college grants and scholarships to immigrant youths and to increase unemployment and disability insurance and to improve the trade relationship with Mexico.

“I need your help, my friends, to be able to serve four more years,” said Davis, who will face Republican Bill Simon Jr. in the Nov. 5 election.

The union, which has endorsed Davis, has nearly 7,500 members. It represents construction workers, custodians, shipbuilders, hazardous-waste removal workers and other laborers. Nationwide, there are 650 locals and 800,000 members in the organization, which will be 100 years old next year. Local 300 was established 29 years ago, said Sergio Rascon, business manager for the union.

“We need someone in government who understands the issues we represent,” such as workers’ compensation and prevailing wages and benefits, Rascon said.