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Strawberries are not among the traditional Passover symbols. However, for Rabbi Melanie Aron, the sweet red fruit represents oppression not unlike Pharaoh's.

Last week, Aron, spiritual leader of Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos, spent a day in the strawberry fields of Watsonville, just south of Santa Cruz She joined about 30 religious leaders of various faiths in an ongoing effort to monitor the working conditions of fruit pickers. The project is sponsored by the United Farm Workers and the National Strawberry Commission for Workers' Rights of the AFL-CIO.

Workers' complaints include inadequate drinking water, a lack of toilets, sexual harassment and even rape in the fields. Local issues are not related to the controversy over tainted strawberries.

Although Aron did not observe any of these abuses during her day in Watsonville, she said, "The work is hard. The pickers have to stoop. They're watched over. It reminded me of the taskmasters in Egypt.

"The workers don't get paid much. When they get old, they get fired. They have no pension, no insurance. It's hard to unionize."

In addition, pay rates are below minimum wage. Migrant workers usually earn about $4 an hour plus 75 cents per box of berries, equaling about $6 an hour. Ten years ago, when workers were better organized, they earned higher wages.

Hoping to change these conditions, the National Strawberry Commission for Workers' Rights is sponsoring a march in Watsonville Sunday, April 13.

About 20,000 are expected to join the two-mile march, beginning at 10 a.m. at Watsonville High School, located at the corner of Lincoln and Maple streets. Buses will transport marchers from both San Francisco and San Jose. For more information, call (408) 761-9977.

Among those planning to attend the march are Aron and representatives of the Jewish Labor Committee.

Amy Dean, vice president of the JLC national executive board and a resident of San Jose, said the JLC's role is to "join a massive interfaith effort on behalf of low-wage immigrant workers.

"We're seeing a renewed relationship between communities of faith and the labor movement — one we haven't seen since the 1930s," Dean said. "I would think the Jewish community would play a major role in this.

"The history and past of the Jewish community and the labor community interweave. Our stories overlap. It's the same actors and actresses. Historically, this is a natural fit."

Jews aren't the only soldiers in this battle. Leaders from local Catholic, United Church of Christ and Presbyterian churches, as well as from environmental organizations, will join the march. Some will also serve as "witnesses."

Witnesses stand alongside workers in the field and meet with strawberry-firm owners. They work on legislation and join coalitions to put pressure on grocery stores — encouraging them to only buy from employers paying a fair wage.

"There are abuses taking place. Witnesses make owners behave differently," Aron explained. "One owner asked us why we were there. You could feel the fear and tension [of the workers]. There's a definite feeling of concern.

"Workers don't want to get on the wrong side of a foreman or they may never work again."

According to Dean, the convening of religious, labor and environmental forces "represents the beginning of a renaissance in the labor movement.

"This is not about just organizing one field after another. We're starting to see an industry-based campaign within a geographical region," Dean said. "In the past, every time a field organized, the company closed, moved and reopened under a different name.

"These guys can't move this time. They have the best soil in the country for growing strawberries. They can't run and hide when we unionize."

Aron added, "Eighty percent of the strawberry workers are in California. They may not be Jews, but we have a responsibility to know what's happening in our own backyard."