In Modesto last week, Merced County’s director of workforce development laid out statistics on how his fellow Latinos have been held back in the job market. He also told of an ambitious plan to make the future better.
Erick Serrato spoke about the effort, which also involves Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, at Thursday’s meeting of the Latino Community Roundtable of Stanislaus County.
The plan, North Valley Thrive, aims for well-paying jobs for residents of all backgrounds. The report was compiled under a $5 million state grant.
Some of the plan is well under way, such as solar and biomass energy and making various products from crop waste. The documents also note the long-standing need for nurses, electricians, mechanics and other skills.
Parents Graciela and Rodolfo Serrato joined son Erick Serrato, center, when he spoke on Latino economic prospects in Modesto, Calif., on May 15, 2025.
Beyond farm and service jobs
Serrato knows Modesto well, having graduated from Davis High School in 1994. He urged training and business investments to get Latinos beyond the farm and service jobs they have long filled. He noted that this group suffers more than the overall workforce when downturns happen.
He said one measure, called labor force participation, highlights the eagerness of Latinos to work. It counts not just job-holders but people looking for work. The most recent report showed 67% of the total Latino population in this category, vs. 61% of all workers. The people not counted include children and retirees.
Serrato recalled a saying from his boyhood: “As long as there is work.” It was instilled by his parents, Rodolfo and Graciela Serrato, who attended his talk.
“What that means is that as long as there is work to do for us, everything else will kind of fall into place,” the son said.
Graciela Serrato was a teacher’s aide at Prescott Junior High School. Her husband worked farms and also commuted to his supervisor job at Pacific Steel in Berkeley. For a few years, the couple ran a Creole restaurant named Cafe Bravo on Kansas Avenue.
Erick Serrato earned an architecture degree at Woodbury University in Los Angeles. His thesis dealt with social goals in public housing design. He got into economic development with the city of Long Beach and joined Merced County in 2020.
North Valley Thrive is one of 13 regional plans around California. They can compete for $600 million to carry out the ideas.
Corigin Solutions hosted tours on Sept. 28, 2021, at the Merced CA plant where it turns almond shells into especially rich fertilizer.
Serrato said Latinos make up 95% of California farmworkers but only 12% of farm owners. He urged “advanced manufacturing” beyond the current food processing, selling goods made from agricultural waste to the world.
The region also could have high-tech niches, such as semiconductors, measuring devices and electric vehicles. Serrato suggested fabricating accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to ease the housing shortage.
The plan also envisions jobs in “climate smart flood management,” letting rivers spread across restored forests that store carbon. And it calls for “placemaking,” using the arts and other means to improve a community’s quality of life and attract companies.
Stanislaus 2030 has similar goals
North Valley Thrive overlaps with Stanislaus 2030 in its call for converting crop and livestock waste. The latter has spread to Merced and San Joaquin counties. The ventures could include earth-friendly fuels, building materials, plastics and more.
Both efforts also seek to expand child care so parents can get to these jobs, along with growing small businesses of many types.
The bioindustry push drew a protest from Bianca Lopez, a leader with both the Latino Roundtable and Valley Improvement Projects. She urged a focus instead on local agriculture — “take care of our soil, be good stewards of the land, grow food that we’re actually going to eat, not almonds that go to China.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom applauds as Erick Serrato, executive director of the Merced County Department of Workforce Investment, presents a strategic plan booklet at a press conference at California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock where he previewed budget toplines on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.
Gov. Gavin Newsom received the North Valley Thrive report during a Jan. 6 news conference at Stanislaus State University. It mainly was about his proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
Serrato was on hand in Turlock, as noted Thursday by Roundtable President Karlha Arias. “You are bringing state attention to our area,” she said. “No one ever thinks about us, so that’s a lot of work.”
Praise went to Serrato’s parents from Marian Kaanon, president and CEO of the Stanislaus Community Foundation. “You did such a great job with this guy, incredible. Thank you.”
