On the first anniversary of Chavez’s death, in 1994, marchers took the same route to kick off a new field organizing and contract negotiating campaign. In 1966, Cesar Chavez led strikers on a similar path to call for better working conditions and higher wages. It isn’t the first time farmworkers have embarked on this route. They’ll be marching an average of 14 miles a day under the Central Valley sun. “There's a lot of coercion, a lot of power and intimidation, used against workers.” “There's a lot of barriers that stand in the way when farmworkers are looking to organize,” says Andres Chavez, the grandson of UFW co-founder Cesar E. Some were marching the whole month-long route, and others were only joining for the day. They carried brightly colored signs that read “Support Farm Workers!” in English and Spanish. Hundreds of Californians gathered at The Forty Acres - the United Farm Workers’ first headquarters - in Delano last week to kick off the “March for the Governor’s Signature.” They wore light layers, sun hats and lots of sunscreen. Farmworkers from across the state have set off on a 335-mile trek to Sacramento to show support for a voting rights bill.
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