When Huerta began this journey in her 20s, farmworkers had no voice, and certainly no power.

The fate of that legislation aside, it was hard to be in that crowd without feeling the history - all that’s the same and all that has changed for the vulnerable workers in California fields. Gavin Newsom to sign legislation making it easier for the union to organize laborers. The UFW march to Sacramento is aimed at pressuring Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated he will veto, though insiders hint there’s still room for a last-minute miracle.Ĭalifornia Once struggling, United Farm Workers gains new clout in California, wants to use it The gathering on the Capitol steps was the end of a 335-mile march through the August heat of the Central Valley in support of a measure that would change the rules for how their union elections are held - Assembly Bill 2183 - but which Gov.

“This march is not in vain,” Huerta, now 92, told the crowd as she tried to keep the energy positive.

They came in roller skates and strollers, burning copal incense to cleanse weary spirits, chanting the “Sí se puedé” slogan Dolores Huerta coined and Cesar Chavez made famous.īut they also came Friday knowing they were unlikely to win what they are after: the governor’s signature on a controversial bill.

It was California Farm Worker Appreciation Day, and the farm laborers and their supporters arriving at the state Capitol were disappointed but not defeated - pretty much summing up 60 years of history for the struggling union that represents them.

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