Labor Leaders March for Better Conditions for Produce Workers on Cesar Chavez Day

Labor leaders on Tuesday marched in Los Angeles to call for immigration reform and better conditions for hundreds of produce workers on Cesar Chavez Day.

Carrying signs reading, "Respect & Dignity," dozens of workers marched from the Teamsters Local 630 to the docks of the LA Produce Market.

"My parents were immigrants," said Ernest Lopez, who participated in the march. "They came from the farms. They educated themselves, got good jobs. I'd really like to see more organized companies and see the good for them. They're fighting hard."

The march took place on a holiday to remember the late labor leader credited with improving work and quality-of-life conditions for immigrant farmworkers in central California.

Chavez, an advocate of nonviolence, is remembered for spearheading a grape boycott in 1965 that went nationwide in 1968 and lasted until 1978, resulting in higher wages for farmworkers and focusing national attention on their plight.

In 2011, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 of each year as Cesar Chavez Day nationally, although it is not a federal holiday.

In this year's proclamation, Obama recalled that after Chavez "fought for higher wages, he pushed for fresh drinking water, workers' compensation, pension plans, and protection from pesticides.

He strove every day for the America he knew was possible."

Marchers on Tuesday were asking employers for higher wages, better health care and safety conditions and fair treatment.

Hector "Paco" Castrellon, the vice president of Tijuana’s Produce in LA, wasn’t aware of the march, but said he sympathized.

"We depend on them to get our jobs done," he said. "Of course they should be taken care of."