NCL Mourns the Passing of Rep. Raúl Grijalva
Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829
Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) mourns the passing of Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who died on March 13 from complications of cancer. Grijalva, 77, a 12-term legislator in the U. S. House of Representatives, represented Arizona as a Democrat. He was born in Tucson in 1948.
NCL celebrates his long congressional career and his championing of child labor protections, including two vitally needed child labor bills that NCL and the Child Labor Coalition (CLC)—which NCL founded and chairs—helped draft and nurture for several congressional sessions.
“Grijalva’s father came to the U.S. in the bracero-guest-worker program,” noted Reid Maki, NCL’s Director of Child Labor Advocacy. “Raúl never forgot his farmworker roots, and we could always count on his staunch support for legislation to protect vulnerable child farmworkers in the U.S. from the dangers of exploitative child labor.”
Grijalva was a co-sponsor of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety, legislation to raise the minimum age for working on farms from the current 12 to 14. The bill would also raise the minimum age of hazardous work on farms from 16 to 18—all other sectors require workers to be 18 to conduct work identified as hazardous. Grijalva also co–sponsored the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act, legislation to ban teens from hazardous child labor in U.S. tobacco fields, where teen workers become ill from nicotine exposure.
“Rep. Grijalva worked diligently to protect immigrant rights, unions, tribal rights, and environmental protections,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL CEO. “He was an impassioned voice for the underrepresented. His passing saddens us.”
Grijalva served on the House Education and Labor Committee and the Natural Resources Committee. He was a long-standing member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
