On César Chávez Day, workers march for immigrant rights and safety

“With these hands, we feed America,” California labor leaders and activists said Monday, during a march on César Chávez Day.

Thousands of workers across the state joined in marches and rallies to honor the late Latino labor leader, who fought for the rights of farmworkers to unionize. Local events also called for the protection of immigrants, which these union members and laborers say are under attack.

A statewide march was held in Delano, themed “Con Estas Manos / With These Hands,” and organized by the United Farm Workers (UFW), the California Federation of Labor Unions and SEIU California. Laborers from different industries — from health care and construction workers, to janitors and gig drivers — joined with farmworkers from the Central Valley to highlight the role of immigrant workers “as the backbone of American society,” organizers said.

Union members from across the state — including a group from SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles — gathered to board buses caravanning for Delano early Monday morning. They said the march not only honors immigrants but calls for their rights and safety, in a time when undocumented communities are vulnerable from the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies — including promises to enforce mass deportations.

UFW President Teresa Romero denounced these policies, promising that activists and immigrants “will respond with solidarity and defiance.”

“When any worker is afraid of deportation, it pushes down wages and working conditions down for all workers. We reject the Trump administration’s campaign of terror, hate, and division — and we will (defend) each and every worker in America, whether against a boss who seeks to exploit them, or a President who seeks to deport them,” Romero said in a statement. “Farm workers feed America — and we will claim our rightful share of the bounty our hands harvest.”

“Our labor is our power. An attack on immigrant workers is an attack on all workers – and an attack on our nation’s ability to feed, house, and care for our people,” said SEIU California President David Huerta. “The people behind these attacks have one goal: consolidating and keeping power. Today, working people are coming together to send a message that we will not be divided.”

The event “recognizes how much we all share in common with families seeking safety in our state, and parents willing to endure deep sacrifice to ensure their children don’t grow up with fear or hunger,” labor leaders said.

Organizers said that Monday’s march echoed Chávez’s historic journey from Delano to Sacramento in 1966, which is widely credited with awakening America to the plight of farmworkers. They also reflected on the 60th anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike of 1965.

The 26th annual Cesar E. Chávez Memorial Breakfast is set for Friday, April 4, at the Riverside Marriott, hosted by the Riverside Latino Network. Speakers include Andres Chávez, executive director of the National Chávez Center, and César Chávez’s grandson, César Luis Chávez.

Angelenos also celebrated the late Chávez — born on March 31 — before the state holiday. The leader would have been 98 years old.

An East L.A. car cruise honoring the Delano Grape Strike — featuring a lineup of lowrider cars and more — took place Sunday.

And in the San Fernando Valley, a large crowd participated in the annual César Chávez March for Justice at Pacoima Charter Elementary School. They gathered for a two-mile march rally and a festival on Sunday. Speakers included L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Rep. Luz Rivas (D-North Hollywood), Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City), Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando), L.A. City Council members Imelda Padilla and Monica Rodriguez, and LAUSD trustee Kelly Gonez.

“We had a lot of youth that’s becoming aware of the social injustice in our communities,” said rally organizer Ruben Rodriguez.

Also on Sunday, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels hosted a Spanish Mass to honor Chávez’s memory and legacy, celebrated by L.A. Archbishop José H. Gomez.

“César was one of the great initiators in working for civil rights in our nation, a great defender of the dignity of our (Latino) people, especially the poor and all those who work in the fields,” Gomez said during the service. “We ask God for the strength and courage to follow the example of sacrificial love and rejection of violence that our brother César Chávez gave us.”

Farmworkers and members of the United Farm Workers — which Chávez, alongside Dolores Huerta and other labor leaders, co-founded in 1962 — participated. Manuel Bernal, president and CEO of the César Chávez Foundation, encouraged Mass attendees to remember the struggle of farmworkers and working families.

“This Mass is not only an event to remember but also a call to action, an invitation to continue the work that began so many years ago,” said Bernal. “We also honor (immigrants’) courage and resilience in the face of adversity. It is not just about better wages or working conditions but also dignity, respect and the recognition of humanity.”

“César Chávez spoke often of the power of nonviolence, inspired by his Catholic faith,” Bernal said. “He reminds us that no matter how difficult the road ahead, the spirit of justice and love will sustain us (and) help us to love even those who hate us, so that we can change the world.”

City News Service contributed to this report.