Cesar Chavez march centers on immigrants’ rights

By Elsa Swanson

Hundreds of union members and allies joined together in late March to celebrate the 23rd Annual Cesar Chavez Day celebration in Sacramento.

Those in attendance said this year holds special significance because across the country, immigrants are under attack and facing threats of deportation.

“Let’s be clear,” Sacramento Central Labor Council executive director Fabrizio Sasso told the crowd. “The Trump administration and their billionaire backers have waged war on workers. They gutted labor protections. They’ve attacked our unions. They tried to strip healthcare from millions of people, and they demonized immigrants, all the while lining the pockets of the very rich. Cesar Chavez knew this game. He knew the bosses and the politicians would try to divide us by race, language and fear, but he knew something even more powerful. When workers stand together, we win.”

Armando Elenes, Secretary Treasurer of the United Farm Workers, also addressed the crowd.

“The UFW has been fighting for farm workers and for workers’ rights for over 62 years, and that fight still continues today,” Elenes said. “We have been fighting for the right to organize for farm workers, we have been fighting for decent pay and benefits. We have been fighting for the right to overtime for farm workers. We have been fighting for the right for farm workers not to die from the heat.”

Elenes told the crowd that a recent law that went into effect in 2023 after a long fight to pass has helped California farmworkers to organize into unions. Elenes said farm workers have filed more than 10 petitions to unionize workplaces since that law went into effect and have won the right to unions for more than 2,500 workers.

“Farm workers that now have improved wages, the right to come back every season,” he said. “For some of them, paid vacations for the first time. For some of them, paid holidays for the first time. For some of them, retirement benefits. These are things every other worker sometimes takes for granted. We’re going to continue that fight.”

Kim Evon, the executive vice president of SEIU 2015 also spoke, explaining that her union is mostly women of color and, similar to UFW, composed mainly of immigrants who share many issues in common with farm workers.

“They were oppressed by racist policies that told them they were less than and like the farm workers, we said we’re going to rewrite those rules,” Evon said. “Those rules don’t apply to us. We know our value. We’re going to fight for our value.”

Those in the crowd said that under the Trump administration, immigrants are facing new pressures and dangers, making this event more important.

“It’s important that people have an event to sustain solidarity and see each other,” said Alyssa Delarose, a member of the United Auto Workers.

Jeff Peck, a retired longshoreman, said he has attended every Chavez march for 10 years.

“I am just so glad to see young people,” he said. “The mess my generation made you have to clean up.”

Despite the challenging conditions currently for immigrants, Sasso gave the crowd reason to hope.

“Let me tell you, the people in power today, they are terrified by us,” Sasso said. “They are terrified of working people rising up. They’re terrified of Latinos, Black, white, Asian, indigenous, immigrant union workers standing together. They’re terrified because they know when we organize, when we vote, when we fight, we take back what is ours. So I ask you, are we going to let Trump and his billionaires break us? Are we going to let them divide us? Are we ready to fight for our families? Are we ready to fight for our jobs? Are we ready to fight for our future? Then let’s do what Cesar taught us. Let’s do what Dolores Huerta taught us. Let’s do what Larry Itliong taught us, and let’s fight and let’s organize and never back down. So say it with me, Si se puede.”