Farmworkers trek through valley on way to Sacramento
By John Holland
The Modesto Bee
The Modesto Bee
Friday, Aug. 26, 2011
TURLOCK -- Erasto Teran wore out a pair of shoes in support of people who work hard in the fields of California.
The Tulare County resident and former farmworker is taking part in a 200-mile march from Madera to Sacramento in support of worker rights.
"It's very hard work," Teran said Friday as he walked on Vermont Street in south Turlock, his first pair of shoes tied around his neck. "They work long hours, and they don't get fair pay."
The Tulare County resident and former farmworker is taking part in a 200-mile march from Madera to Sacramento in support of worker rights.
"It's very hard work," Teran said Friday as he walked on Vermont Street in south Turlock, his first pair of shoes tied around his neck. "They work long hours, and they don't get fair pay."
About 15 marchers took part in the segment from Livingston to Turlock. They were greeted by dozens of supporters upon reaching Columbia Park in Turlock.
The march harkens back to the 1970s heyday of the United Farm Workers union, founded by the late César Chávez. It helped get laws passed on wages, working conditions and union organizing, but membership has plummeted since then.
The union continues to seek a simpler process for forming unions, a change in overtime rules and increased enforcement of rules that require drinking water, access to shade and other measures to prevent heat stress.
The march started in Madera on Tuesday and will reach the capital on Sept. 4. A small group is doing the entire route, but bigger crowds are expected for various segments.
The marchers planned to attend a 7 a.m. Mass at Columbia Park today, then march to Ceres by noon. They then will head up Crows Landing Road and hold a rally at César Chávez Park in west Modesto.
They will depart Sunday morning for Manteca.
The itinerary impressed Marcus Moreno of Merced, a union ironworker who came to the Turlock park.
"If anyone is going to walk in this heat just to have a better day at work, I support them," he said.
The march harkens back to the 1970s heyday of the United Farm Workers union, founded by the late César Chávez. It helped get laws passed on wages, working conditions and union organizing, but membership has plummeted since then.
The union continues to seek a simpler process for forming unions, a change in overtime rules and increased enforcement of rules that require drinking water, access to shade and other measures to prevent heat stress.
The march started in Madera on Tuesday and will reach the capital on Sept. 4. A small group is doing the entire route, but bigger crowds are expected for various segments.
The marchers planned to attend a 7 a.m. Mass at Columbia Park today, then march to Ceres by noon. They then will head up Crows Landing Road and hold a rally at César Chávez Park in west Modesto.
They will depart Sunday morning for Manteca.
The itinerary impressed Marcus Moreno of Merced, a union ironworker who came to the Turlock park.
"If anyone is going to walk in this heat just to have a better day at work, I support them," he said.
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