SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

February 2, 2012

March to honor labor leader César Chávez

Written by Elizabeth Aguilera

Five decades since a soft-spoken but determined farmworker kicked off a crusade for better wages and improved working conditions in the golden fields of California, he has come to symbolize more than just a voice for farm laborers.

The late César Chávez has been described as a civil-rights hero, an advocate for the disenfranchised and a peaceful negotiator. The organization he started, now known as United Farm Workers, continues to fight for field hands on many of the same issues Chávez championed.

In honor of his legacy, a group of about 30 people will leave from César Chávez Park on Thursday for a nine-day march-caravan led by the San Diego-based organization Border Angels. Organizers expect the number of participants to reach 150 along the way to Sacramento.

The seventh annual Marcha Migrante, titled “Walking With César,” also is meant to highlight what supporters see as a need for comprehensive immigration reform and the plight of migrants, many who have died trying to enter the United States.

Each year’s march has a different focus. Last year it was the “Trail of Tears,” with marchers traveling on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border from San Diego to Mexicali.

“César Chávez is a hero to me and many of us,” said Enrique Morones, founder of Border Angels. “His 10 principles are more important than ever. We are going to focus on one every day of the Marcha.”

Those principles include acceptance, celebrating community, respect for life and the environment, nonviolence, innovation and determination.

Chávez started out with a hunger to help farmworkers. That motivation led to his creation of the union and, eventually, a foundation that provides affordable housing, educational tutoring and other assistance, said Ricardo Griswold del Castillo, a professor at San Diego State University who co-wrote the book “César Chávez: Triumph of the Spirit.”

The labor leader is best known for organizing California’s Central Valley farmworkers. His movement began in 1962, but it was the strike of 1965 that brought some change to the region’s agricultural industry. By 1970, Chávez and United Farm Workers had managed to negotiate with some grape producers for better labor conditions.

Chávez became a nationally known figure, traveling from San Diego to New York City to raise public awareness for his cause. He died in 1993.

United Farm Workers now has tens of thousands of members across the West, but that remains a fraction of all field laborers in the nation.

“It’s an ongoing battle,” del Castillo said about the current state of the movement. “They still have boycotts, they still have protests, they are lobbying for legislation and they have a membership and contracts with different growers.”

The union has pushed for laws and regulations that boosted quality of life for laborers, including those requiring improved sanitation, access to clean drinking water, protection from pesticides and adequate rest during the hot season.

In 2005, after a spate of heat-related deaths, United Farm Workers successfully spearheaded a law to safeguard field hands from the elements, said Marc Grossman, spokesman for the César Chávez Foundation and once Chávez’s speech writer.

Last year Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 126, which amended the 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act to make it harder for employers to interfere with a union-certification vote. And efforts continue for a national agricultural jobs bill that would help long-time field workers gain legal U.S. residency status.

“The work is far from done,” said Grossman, adding that enforcement of various labor laws remains spotty.

He said Border Angels is “championing a group that has no voice, that is often cynically scapegoated because they are defenseless. Those are the same people that César spent his life championing.”

Marcha Migrante will concentrate on the pioneer’s message of solidarity and voting to support positive change, Morones said. “We encourage everyone to pick up the mantle and continue. It’s the only thing you can do.”