Letters and Endorsements

Click an endorser’s name to see his/her letter of support for Fred Ross, Sr.

 

Former Recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom

Cesar Chavez, co-founder of UFW*
Dolores Huerta, co-founder, UFW
The Honorable Cruz Reynoso

*Posthumous

Labor

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich
Former Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO
Elizabeth Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO
Joe Hansen, President, UFCW & Change to Win
Lee Saunders, President, AFSCME
Paul Booth, Special Assistant to the President, AFSCME
Larry Cohen, President, CWA
Allan Clark, President, CSEA
Leo Gerard, President, United Steelworkers
James P. Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Mike Mowrey, Int’al Vice President, IBEW District 9
Robert McEllrath, President, ILWU
Terry O’Sullivan, President, Laborers
Mary Kay Henry, President, SEIU
John Stocks, Executive Director, National Education Association
Henry Tamarin, President of UNITE-HERE Local 1, Chicago
Rome Aloise, International Vice President at Large, Teamsters
Chuck Mack, Co-Chair Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund
Arturo Rodriguez, President, UFW
Bob King, President United Auto Workers
D. Taylor, President UNITE HERE
John W. Wilhelm, Retired President, UNITE HERE
Sherri Chiesa, Secretary Treasurer UNITE HERE
Tho Do, International VP UNITE HERE
Art Pulaski, Secretary Treasurer, CA Federation of Labor
George Nee, President, Rhode Island, AFL-CIO
Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary, LA County Federation of Labor
Michael Casey, President, Unite Here Local 2
Tom Dalzell, Business Manager, IBEW 1245
Jessie De La Cruz, Founding Member National Farmworkers Association (1962)
Alan D. Ekbald, Executive Secretary, Montana State AFL-CIO
Margo A.Feinberg, Esq. Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP
Hector Figueroa, SEIU Local 32BJ
Eric Gill, Financial Secretary-Treasurer, Unite Here Local 5
Bill Granfield, Unite Here Local 100
John M. Grant, Secretary-Treasurer, UFCW Local 770
Ricardo F. Icaza, President, UFCW Local 770
Bob Johnson, Field Operations Manager, CSEA
Douglas S. Mangione, Business Representative/Political Registrar, IBEW Local 441
Victor Uno, Business Manager, IBEW Local 595
Joshua Pechthalt, President, California Federation of Teachers
Pete Savino
Dean Vogel, President, California Teachers Association
Carolyn Doggett, Executive Director, California Teachers Association
Curt Williams, SEIU 1199 NW
David Bonior, Chair, American Rights at Work
Connie Leyva, President, California Labor Federation
Paul Schrade, Western Director, UAW (1962-1972)
Julie A. Su, CA Labor Commissioner
Tim Paulson, Executive Director, San Francisco Labor Council
Dick Meister, Former Labor Writer for San Francisco Chronicle
Alameda Labor Council
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
San Francisco Labor Council
IBEW 1245 Retirees’ Clubs of Nevada
Robert D. Purcell, Laborers International Union of NA
Hector E. Sanchez, Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement

Elected Leaders

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer
Senator Tammy Baldwin
Senator Michael Bennet
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Senator Barbara Boxer
Senator Sherrod Brown
Senator Chris Coons
Senator Diane Feinstein
Senator Tom Harkin
Senator Martin Heinrich
Senator Mazie Hirono
Senator Jeff Merkley
Senator Chris Murphy
Senator Patty Murray
Senator John Reed
Senator Brian Schatz
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Senator Mark Udall
Senator Tom Udall
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
Rep. George Miller
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard
Rep. Karen Bass
Rep. Xavier Becerra
Rep. Ami Bera
Rep. Julia Brownely
Rep. Lois Capps
Rep. Michael E. Capuano
Rep. Tony Cardenas
Rep. Joaquin Castro
Rep. Judy Chu
Rep. David Ciciline
Rep.William Lacy Clay
Rep. John Conyers
Rep. Susan Davis
Rep. Diana DeGette
Rep Rosa Delauro
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Sam  Farr
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
Rep. John Garamendi
Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham
Rep. Janice Hahn
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa
Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, Chair of Hispanic Caucus
Rep. Mike Honda
Rep. Jared Huffman
Rep. Joseph Kennedy III
Rep. Jim Langevin
Rep. John Larson
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Rep. Alan Lowenthal
Rep. Ben Ray Luján
Rep. Doris O. Matsui
Rep. Jim McDermott
Rep. James P. McGovern
Rep. Jerry McNerny
Rep. Grace F. Napolitano
Rep. Eleanor Norton
Rep. Ed Pastor
Rep. Ed Perlmutter
Rep. Scott Peters
Rep. Jared Polis
Rep. Charles B. Rangel
Rep. Raul Ruiz
Rep. Linda Sanchez
Rep. Loretta Sanchez
Rep. Jan Schakowsky
Rep. Adam B. Schiff
Rep. Jose Serrano
Rep. Albiro Sires
Rep. Louise Slaughter
Rep . Eric Swalwell
Rep. Mark Takano
Rep. Mike Thompson
Rep. Juan Vargas
Rep. Maxine Waters
Rep. Henry Waxman
Former House Democratic Majority Whip David Bonior
Former Rep. Howard Berman
Former Rep. David Bonior
Former Rep. Pat Williams
Former Colorado State Senator Polly Baca
Former Colorado State Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald, President
CA Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr.
CA Attorney General Kamala Harris
The Honorable John Burton
CA Senator Darryll Steinberg, President Pro Tempore
CA Senator William W. Monning
CA Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair, CA Legislative Caucus
CA Senator Ted Lieu, Chair Labor & Industrial Relations Committee
CA Senator Marty Block
CA Senator Hannah Beth Jackson
CA Senator Richard D. Roth
CA Senator Jerry Hill
CA Senator Mark De Saulnier
CA Senator Kevin De Leon
CA Senator Michael Rubio
CA Senator Fran Pavley
CA Senator Ron Calderon
CA Senator Lois Work
CA Senator Mark Leno
CA Senator Jim Beall
CA Senator Loni Hancock
CA Senator Ellen M. Corbett
CA Senator Cathleen Galgiani
CA Senator Alex Padilla
CA Senator Leland Yee
CA Senator Ed Hernandez
CA Senator Rodrick Wright
CA Senator Lou Correa
CA Assembly Member Luis Alejo
CA Assembly Member Tom Ammiano
CA Assembly Member Richard Bloom
CA Assembly Member Bob Blumenfield
CA Assembly Member Raul Bocanegra
CA Assembly Member Susan Bonilla
CA Assembly Member Rob Bonta
CA Assembly Member Steven Bradford
CA Assembly Member Cheryl Brown
CA Assembly Member Joan Buchanan
CA Assembly Member Ian Calderon
CA Assembly Member Nora Campos
CA Assembly Member Ed Chau
CA Assembly Member Wesley Chesbro
CA Assembly Member Ken Cooley
CA Assembly Member Roger Dickinson
CA Assembly Member Susan Eggman Talamantes
CA Assembly Member Paul Fong
CA Assembly Member Jim Frazier
CA Assembly Member Cristina Garcia
CA Assembly Member Mike Gatto
CA Assembly Member Jimmy Gomez
CA Assembly Member Richard Gordon
CA Assembly Member Adam Gray
CA Assembly Member Isadore Hall, III
CA Assembly Member Roger Hernández
CA Assembly Member Chris Holden
CA Assembly Member Ben Hueso
CA Assembly Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer
CA Assembly Member Marc Levine
CA Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal
CA Assembly Member Jose Median
CA Assembly Member Holly Mitchell
CA Assembly Member Kevin Mullin
CA Assembly Member Adrian Nazarian
CA Assembly Member Richard Pan
CA Assembly Member Henry Perea
CA Assembly Member Manuel Perez
CA Assembly Member Bill Quirk
CA Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva
CA Assembly Member Anthony Rendon
CA Assembly Member Rudy Salas
CA Assembly Member Nancy Skinner
CA Assembly Member Mark Stone
CA Assembly Member Philip Ting
CA Assembly Member Norma Torres
CA Assembly Member Shirley Weber
CA Assembly Member Bob Wieckowski
CA Assembly Member Das Williams
CA Assembly Member Mariko Yamada
New Hampshire Governor Neil Abercrombie
Hawaii Governor Margaret Wood Hassan
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper
New Mexico State Rep. Christine Trujillo, sponsor HM66
New Mexico Speaker of the House Ken Martinez
New Mexico House of Representatives (Unanimously Passed with 70 Votes)
The Honorable James C. Hormel, former US Ambassador to Luxembourg
The Honorable Art Torres
Michael Yaki, Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Houston Mayor Annise Parker
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson
Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates
Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock
SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi
SF Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Democratic Central Committee
Former SF Mayor Art Agnos
Former SF Mayor and Speaker of the CA State Assembly Willie L. Brown, Jr.
Former San Jose Mayor and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor Blanca Alvarado
Denver City Council Member Paul D. Lopez
Joe Simitian, Santa Clara County Supervisor, Former CA State Senator

Civil Rights & Advocacy

Amnesty International
Asian Law Caucus
Center for Community Change
Center for Justice & Accountability
Cecilia Barragon
Cesar Chavez Foundation
Anthony Chavez
Helen Chavez
Paul Chavez, Cesar Chavez Foundation
Community Service Organization (CSO) Voices
Japanese American Community Voices
Japanese American Citizens’ League (JACL)
Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education
Greg Akili
Jose Artiga, Executive Director, SHARE Foundation
Heather Booth, founder, Midwest Academy
Erin Callahan, Amnesty International
Mike Clements, Justice in Education
Jerry Cohen, JD, former UFW General Counsel
Ernie Cortez, Jr., IAF
Lokelani  Devone, Bd, Center for Justice & Accountability
Andrea Dehlendorf, Making Change at Walmart, UFCW
Sister Judy Donovan, IAF
Maria Echaveste, former Deputy Chief of Staff, Clinton White House
Herman Gallegos, NCLR
Margie Garcia, Co-founder, Guadalupe Organization (1964)
Michael Gecan, IAF
Alexis Gonzales
Jim Gonzalez, Latino Policy Coalition
Maria Gonzalez, Latino Policy Coalition
Arnie Graff, IAF
John Heffernan, JFK Center for Human Rights
Wade Henderson, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Daniel Hernandez, Author, They Call Me a Hero
Roger Hickey, Campaign for America’s Future
Hayat Imam, President & Chair, Grassroots International
Benjamin Jealous, President, CEO NAACP
Sharon Johnson
Cleve Jones, Founder, AIDS Quilt
Ron Kaye, Retired Editor, Los Angeles Daily News
Kerry Kennedy, Human Rights Activist and Writer
Carlos LeGerrette, Co-Founder, Cesar Chavez Service Clubs
Linda LeGerrette, Co-Founder, Cesar Chavez Service Clubs
Ling Woo Liu, Director, Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education
Ruben Martinez, MaCarthur Fellow
Diane Matsuda, John Burton Foundation
Greg Moore, Executive Director, NAACP National Voter Fund
Shelley Moskowitz, Manager of Public Policy and Mobilization, UUSC
Eva Patterson, President, Equal Justice Society
Gilbert Padilla, Former CSO Organizer and Former Secretary-Treasurer, UFW
Esther Padilla*
Hyeon-Ju Rho, Executive Director, Asian Law Caucus
Gary Smith
Sister Christine Stephens, IAF
Corey Timpson, CA Director, Pico
Ted Wang, Unbound Philanthropy
Consuelo Valdez, Home Boy Industries
Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, NALEO Educational Fund
Henry Weinstein, Former Labor Writer, Los Angeles Times
Michael Yaki, US Commission on Civil Rights
Andrew Zermeno, CSO and UFW

Environmental

Lindsey Allen, Rainforest Action Network
Ed Begley, Actor & Environmental Activist
Michael Brune, Sierra Club
Warner Chabot, former CEO, California League of Conservation Voters
Ellie Cohen, CEO, PRBO Conservation Science
Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch
Sarah Shanley Hope, Alliance for Climate Education
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Waterkeeper Alliance
Anna Lappé, Small Planet Institute
Frances Moore Lappé, Small Planet Institute
Peter Lehner, Natural Resources Defense Council
Alex Levinson, Pacific Environment
Felicia Marcus, Former Regional Administrator, USEPA Region IX
Bill McKibben, 350.org
Erich Pica, Friends of the Earth
Philip D. Radford, Green Peace USA
Larry Schweiger, Nat’al Wildlife Federation
Kierán Suckling, Center for Biological Diversity

Academic

Dr. Jeff Brand, Dean, USF Law School
Chris Benner, PhD UC Davis
Geoffrey F. Brown, PhD, former Dean of JFK Law School
Dr. Al Camarillo, Stanford University
Dr. Claybourne Carson, Stanford University/MLK Papers
Flavio Casoy, PhD, UC San Francisco
Dr. Peter Dreier, Occidental College
Barbara Dudley, J.D., Portland State University
Peter Edelman, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Christopher Edley, Dean, UC Berkeley Law School
Barry Eidlin, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ralph Fertig, PhD, University of Southern California
Eli Friedman, Cornell University
Dr. Marshall  Ganz, Harvard Kennedy School of Gov.
Gabriel Hetland, PhD, UC Berkeley
Shamus Khan, Columbia University
Gretchen Laue, Director UCSD UC Professional Development Institute
Nelson Lichtenstein, PhD, UC Santa Barbara
Steven Lopez, PhD, Ohio State University
Stephanie Luce, PhD, City University of New York
Beatrice Manz, PhD, UC Berkeley
Isaacs Martin, PhD, UC San Diego
Doug McAdam, PhD, Stanford University
Dr. Carlos Muñoz, Jr., Professor Emeritus and Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Scholar, UC Berkeley
Christopher Niedt, PhD, Hofstra University
Dr. Frances Fox Piven, City University of NY
Rev. Dr. Stephen Privett, sj, University of San Francisco
James M. Purcell, University of Santa Clara
Adam Reich, PhD, Colombia University
Rick Rodriguez, Southwest Borderlands Initiative professor at Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Daniel Schneider, PhD, UC Berkeley
Dr. Harley Shaiken, UC Berkeley
Eva Struble, PhD, San Diego State University
Sarah Swider, PhD, Wayne State University
Dr. Mary True, St. Mary’s College
Roberto G. Trujillo, Head and Field Curator, Stanford University Dept of Special Collections
Todd Vachon, University of Connecticut
Kim Voss, PhD, University of Berkeley
Henry Weinstein, University of California Irvine School of Law
Laura M. Westhoff, PhD, University of Missouri/St. Louis
Dr. Kent Wong, UCLA Labor Center
Richard Wood, PhD, University of New Mexico

Immigrant Rights Leaders

Ryan Bates, Alliance for Immigrant Rights (MI) and Michigan Organizing Project
Lawrence Benito, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Deepak Bhargava, Center for Community Change
Rea Carey, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Stephen Fotopulos, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Josh Hoyt, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Petra Falcon, Promise Arizona
Morna Ha, National Korean American Service and Education Consortium
Marielena Hincapie, National Immigration Law Center
Deepa Iyer, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Benjamin Johnson, American Immigration Council
Larry Kleinman, PCUN: Oregon’s Farmworker’s Union
Francisco Lopez, CAUSA Oregon
Megan Macaraeg, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Eliseo Medina, Service Employees International Union
Christine Neumann – Ortiz, Voces de la Frontera (WI)
Ali Noorani, National Immigration Forum
Priscilla Ouchida, Japanese American Citizens League
Ramon Ramirez, PCUN: Oregon’s Farmworker’s Union
Angelica Salas, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Frank Sharry, America’s Voice
Rich Stolz, OneAmerica
Gustavo Torres, Casa de Maryland
Javier Valdes, Make the Road NY
Son Ah Yun, National Korean American Service and Education Consortium

Religious

Right Reverend  Marc Andrus, Episcopal Bishop of CA
Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, General Minister & President, United Church of Christ
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Diocese of Stockton
Kim Bobo, National Interfaith Worker Justice
Monsignor Eugene Boyle , Diocese of San Jose
Father Greg Boyle, sj, Home Boy Ministries
Monsignor John Brenkle, Diocese of Santa Rosa
California Catholic Conference of Bishops (CCCB)
Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, NETWORK Ministries
Sister Pam Chiesa, pbvm
Bishop John Cummins, (ret’d) Catholic Diocese of Oakland
Suzanne Carhart Darweesh, Co-Chair, Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farm Workers
Rev. Raymond G. Decker, Archdiocese of San Francisco
Ned Dolejsi, Executive Director, CCCB
Sister Diane Donoghue, SSS, Sisters of Social Service
Bill Droel, National Center for the Laity
Joe Fahey, President, Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice
Bishop Richard Garcia, Catholic Diocese of Monterey
Sister Katherine Gray, sjo, Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
Bishop Thomas G. Gumbleton, Archdiocese of Detroit
Rev. Chris Hartmire, founder, National Farm Worker Ministry
Sister Kathleen Healy, pbvm
Reverend Jesse Jackson
Rabbi Stephen Jacobs
Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo, United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries
Father Clete Kiley, Nat’al Catholic Labor Network
Sister Maribeth Larkin, SSS, Sisters of Social Service
Sister Lucia Lodolo, PBVM
Father Anthony E. McGuire, Archdiocese of San Francisco
Rev. Robert Moran, Parochial Vicar, St. Joseph Parish – Mountain View
Sister Michele Anne Murphy, PBVM Principal, St. John Vianney School
Father Pat Murphy, Diocese of Kansas City
Virginia Nesmith, Executive Director, National Farm Worker Ministry
Sister Claude Power, PBVM Presentation Center
Edie Rasell, UCC Justice & Witness Ministries
Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, President, CEO Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Rita Semel, Interfaith Council of San Francisco
Sister Carmen Serrate, csj
Sister Felicia Serrate, csj
The Very Reverend Dr. Jane Shaw, Grace Cathedral, SF
Bishop Daniel Walsh, (ret’d) Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa
Mary Joe Wise, Administrative Asst., St. Brigid School – San Francisco

Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, CA Conf. of Bishop

Opinion-Makers

Frank Bardacke, Author, Trampling Out the Vintage: Cesar Chavez and the Two Souls of the United Farm Workers
Benjamin Bratt, Consulting Producer, Dolores Huerta Film Project
Peter Bratt, Producer-Director, Dolores Huerta Film Project
Robert Creamer
Lloyd Dean, CEO, Dignity Health
Elaine Ellinson, Writer/Editor
Rob Everts, Executive Director, Equal Exchange
Mike Farrell, Actor & Activist
Frank Fernandez, Attorney
Rick Tejada Flores, Film Maker “Fight in the Fields”
Quetzal Flores, 2013 Grammy winner
Louis Freedberg, Executive Director, EdSource
Lou Giraudo, Mediator & Philanthropist
Jim Gonzalez
Frank Greer, Partner, gmmb
Larry Grisolano, CEO of AKPD Message and Media
Reverend Jesse Jackson
Mike Lux, Progressive Strategies
Frank Mankiewicz, Hill & Knowlton
Bernita McTernan, Dignity Health
Jadine Nielson, President, CA Asian-American Small Business PAC
Christine Pelosi, Campaign Boot Camp 2.0 author
John Podesta, Chair of the Center for American Progress, Former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton
Clinton Reilly,  Philanthropist & Political Advisor
Howard Rifkin, Former COS for the State Treasurer, Connecticut
Julia Ross, Author, The Diet Cure and The Mood Cure
Margine Sako, Executive Director, St. Mary’s Medical
Danny Santillan
Martin Sheen, Actor & Activist
Randy Shaw, Executive Director, Tenderloin Housing Clinic
Dr. Mimi Silbert, President & CEO, Delancey St. Foundation
Ace Smith
Edward M. Smith, President & CEO,  Ullico Inc.
Rick Telles, Film Maker, “Fight in the Fields”
Gabriel Thompson
Larry Tramutola, UFW  Alumnus
Jim Wunderman, Bay Area Council
Rosalind Wyman, LA City Council (1953-65), California State Arts Commissioner, Democratic National Committeewoman

 

We are grateful to all who have participated in this effort. If you do not find your name on this list, please email us. Also, thanks to all of you for writing to President Obama. If you do not find your letter on our site, please resend it to us.