Latest news with #CésarChávezDay
NBC News
01-04-2025
- General
- NBC News
Thousands march in honor of César Chávez Day
Thousands rallied in Delano, California, in honor of César Chávez Day, marching to the forty-acre site where Chávez held his first public fast.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thousands march across Delano in honor of civil rights icon César Chávez's 98th birthday
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Each March 31 — the day civil rights icon Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona, in 1927 — Americans celebrate César Chávez Day. California is one of few states to recognize the day as an official holiday. The name César Chávez is extra special to Kern County, as the years-long grape strike, for which Chávez is often remembered, happened right here in Delano. 'The work began here in Delano. It was here in Delano that voice, that message was sent out to the country that if you stand up and you fight hard, you can make social change,' said Paul Chávez, son of César Chávez. All of Monday, agricultural workers and supporters marched through Delano. The crowd amassed to several thousand, as workers from all around the state rallied to protest what they describe as an extra difficult time under the Trump Administration and its plans for mass deportations. 'We need to remember that immigrants, especially farmworkers, do a very, very important job, and we need to respect them for that,' said Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers. 'He's been honored in many communities in different ways,' said Paul Chávez. 'They've named different streets after him, parks after him, there's libraries and holidays… but we know the best way to honor his legacy is to get out and keep that fight for justice going.' Bakersfield man identified in riverbed homicide case Chávez, for decades, stood at the vanguard of the farm workers' rights movement. In 1962, he co-founded the United Farm Workers union — then known as the National Farm Workers Association — with Dolores Huerta, another name embedded into Kern County history. 'We're still there for farmworkers,' added Romero. Chávez famously was part of the 1965 grape strike in Delano, initiated by Filipino American grape workers protesting poor pay. For this steadfast believer in nonviolence, the movement included leading a 300-mile march from Delano to Sacramento, fasting, as well as a grape boycott — which farmworkers and consumers nationwide participated in. All this led to the first-of-its-kind union contracts, granting workers better pay and benefits. Chávez leaves behind the UFW and the Cesar Chavez Foundation. 'We're talking about people who produce the greatest bounty of food this country has ever seen, people who makes hotel rooms, beds, they build the houses we all live in,' said Paul Chávez. 'Today, we're here to honor farmworkers and workers in general.' Romero also noted it's not just fruits and vegetables that come at the hands of these workers, many of whom call Kern County home. 'Milk, eggs, chicken. Every that is, is because of our farmworkers and agricultural workers,' she said. She also emphasized while farm work is often looked down upon as 'manual labor,' it too is considered a profession, and the field workers are 'professionals' at their jobs. Meantime, local efforts to celebrate César Chávez daily are underway by renaming a street after him in Bakersfield. City Councilmember Eric Arias told 17 News the latest update is that the City is leaning towards H Street. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Farmworkers march against ICE raids on César Chávez Day at historic Delano grape strike site
DELANO, Calif. — Carolina Sanchez joined the United Farm Workers union in 2016 after the blueberry farm where she worked changed the daily rate for each pound she picked. 'They said if you don't like what you're paid, you can go home,' Sanchez said. She organized the 500 workers at the Delano farm to strike with the UFW's support. Eventually, they won a union contract, and Sanchez was elected as the union representative at her workplace. This month, Sanchez began mobilizing her fellow workers to attend a march she was leading Monday, César Chávez Day. Sixty years after the historic Delano grape strike, which launched Chávez's 280-mile march to Sacramento with Filipino American and Mexican American farmworkers, over 5,000 United Farm Worker members and other union members gathered Monday in Delano for a march to the Forty Acres site where Chávez held his first public fast. This year's march focused on the Trump administration's recent immigration policies, in the hope that the rally, called 'con estas manos,' or 'with these hands,' reminds people about the workers who grow and pick their food. Farmworkers in California, who grow one-third of the country's vegetables and three-fourths of its fruits and nuts, have reported growing fear and anxiety over a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and deportations in the Central Valley. Around half of California's farmworkers are undocumented, according to a study by the University of California, Irvine, and according to the U.S. Agriculture Department, about 42% nationwide lack legal immigration status. UFW Secretary Treasurer Armando Elenes said those numbers tend to be underreported. 'We estimate it's closer to 60 or 70 percent undocumented farmworkers" in California, he said. Elenes said ICE has detained and deported around 200 farmworkers in Kern County. He said that calling for more temporary work visas isn't enough and that there's a need for broader labor protections for workers who fear being rounded up and separated from their families. 'We need to push back on the federal government. We need state and local laws that give our workers sick days, heat protection and health care,' he said. At the march, representatives from other labor organizations, like the California Federation of Labor Unions and SEIU California, addressed the crowd, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta shared his family's story. 'Being here is like coming home for me — I grew up with my parents working for United Farm Workers, and I know the fight is not about the grapes or the lettuce, but it's about the people,' said Bonta, who was born in the Philippines and whose mother helped organize Filipino and Mexican farmworkers. The march allowed farmworkers like Gabriel Leal, who picks grapes and cherries, to feel supported by the turnout. ICE rounded up a few of his friends during the January raids. 'They were stationed along the roads, stopping anyone,' he said. 'Even if we're afraid, we have to go into work — without us, who's going to feed our families? Who's going to feed our country?' But not everyone in the region is unhappy about the Trump administration's immigration policies and deportation measures. Alex Dominguez, a Kern County resident who identifies as a Republican and comes from generations of field workers, said he and his family members are cautiously optimistic about the ICE arrests. 'A part of me understands the worries and concerns from the larger community around increased police presence,' said Dominguez, a water and agriculture attorney. 'But from what I've seen, it's the bad guys that are being taken, and that makes our Latino families safer.' Dominguez, who is also the vice president of the Kern County Farm Bureau, said he's listening to growers, ranchers and farmworkers but doesn't believe the immigration measures have stopped any of them from being able to do their jobs. 'These workers have to make money, so not going to work is not an option,' Dominguez said. During the march, César Chávez's son Paul Chavez said the point of the mobilization isn't to change people's minds. 'We're gathering people who want to stand up to racism and xenophobia to show that there are people who are on their side,' he said. Sanchez was hopeful that the march sends a message that immigrant workers everywhere are supported. 'All of us workers understand what Chávez accomplished and will never forget his legacy,' she said. This article was originally published on
CBS News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
California legislators propose national park honoring César Chávez and farm worker movement
Two California legislators on Monday introduced a bill that would create the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park, preserving multiple sites associated with the civil rights icon and the movement he led. Presented by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.-25), the bicameral legislation would establish the national park, incorporating the existing Cesar E. Chávez National Monument in Keene, Calif., as well as additional sites in California (Forty Acres in Delano and McDonnell Hall in San Jose) and Arizona (the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix). The announcement was made to coincide with the César Chávez Day national holiday. U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is the legislation's co-sponsor. Chávez is an iconic Latino labor leader and community organizer with a legacy that is intertwined with modern California history and the history of the farm worker movement. Chávez led the fight for farm workers to demand fair wages, health care coverage, pension benefits, and housing improvements along with other rights and protections. ""Establishing the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park would pay proper homage to César Chávez's tireless work for the dignity, respect, and equal treatment of workers — priorities facing immense threats under the Trump Administration," Padilla said in the press release issued by his office . "Our National Park system should memorialize the diverse legacy and culture of all Americans and give farm workers the recognition they deserve." "It's vital that we amplify the voices of communities whose stories are too often left unheard," Rep. Ruiz added. "The César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act, aims to empower the National Park Service to honor and share these important stories, celebrating the diverse and vibrant history of our country." In addition to establishing the national park sites at the locations outlined, the bill would also conduct a National Historic Trail Study for the "Farmworker Peregrinación National Historic Trail," the 300-mile march route taken by farm workers between Delano and Sacramento in 1966. A map of the proposed park can be found online .
Axios
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
CA lawmakers work to create César Chávez national historical park
California congressmen are again trying to create the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park. Driving the news: U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz introduced the bicameral legislation on Monday which was also César Chávez Day. Sen. Adam Schiff is a cosponsor. Why it matters: The bill seeks to preserve the state's fading Latino history through nationally significant sites associated with the civil rights leader and labor movement that secured higher wages and safer conditions for farm workers. Zoom in: The park would include the national monument in Keene, California, and three other landmarks — The Forty Acres in Delano; the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix; and McDonnell Hall in San Jose.
