Sacramento, California - After mounting public pressure, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has finally signed a bill that will make it easier for farm workers in the state to form a union.

On Wednesday, Newsom signed AB 2183 into law. The legislation grants agricultural workers the right to vote by mail in union elections or simply through a card check process. Advocates say the provisions will help reduce employer intimidation and fear of deportation in the unionization process.

For weeks, advocates have been urging the governor to pick up his pen. United Farm Workers members and supporters embarked on a 24-day, 335-mile march from Delano to Sacramento in August to pressure Newsom to sign the bill, mirroring the path of a famous protest led by labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in 1966. Huerta, now 92, joined this year's rally in its final push to the State Capitol.

The action succeeded in drumming up widespread public support. Even President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came out in favor of the bill despite Newsom's apparent hesitance to act.

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Newsom, a multi-millionaire with financial interests in the wine industry, vetoed similar popular legislation in 2021, but now he has apparently had a change of heart.

"California's farmworkers are the lifeblood of our state, and they have the fundamental right to unionize and advocate for themselves in the workplace," the Democrat said in a statement. "Our state has been defined by the heroic activism of farmworkers, championed by American icons like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Larry Itliong. California is proud to stand with the next generation of leaders carrying on this movement."

The bill's signing has been hailed as a huge victory for the US labor movement.