August 6, 2001

Thousands Fill Yakima Streets

Published in the Yakima Herald-Republic on Monday, August 6, 2001

By MARK MOREY

YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

YAKIMA -- Shouting "It can be done," an estimated 4,000 farm workers and

union supporters marched through Yakima to promote their campaign for

immigrant amnesty and better working conditions.

"On this day all of you made history because this is the biggest march

ever in the state of Washington," said Arturo Rodriguez, national

president of the United Farm Workers of America and the son-in-law of

legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez.

The crowd -- estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000 marchers -- followed a

three-mile route from Miller Park, down Yakima Avenue and back to the

park. Along the way, a chorus of cheers arose in support of union

solidarity. A truckload of injured workers led the procession.

After the march, speakers at a rally in the park voiced their backing

for legislation introduced Thursday in both chambers of Congress to

allow widespread amnesty for undocumented workers and their families in

the United States.

For too long, speakers said, politicians have ignored working conditions

and the reality that illegal immigrants perform much of the field labor

in the country.

"It can't stay that way. We want change in the futures of our children,"

said Tereso Ramirez, a fruit packer from George in Grant County.

Hundreds of other workers traveled by bus, van and car to join the rally

from throughout Washington and Oregon. Labor leaders also attended from

Mexico, Canada and Brazil.

Rodriguez encouraged the workers to obtain associate memberships in the

United Farmworkers. Applications would give lawmakers a solid indication

of support for the amnesty bill, he said.

"They need to see your interest," Rodriguez said.

Mexico ranks as the No. 1 importer of Washington apples. Marketers

expect retailers there to buy 10 million boxes this year.

For that reason, Mexican unions plan to launch an information campaign

asking shoppers in that country to avoid U.S.-grown apples "so that they

don't buy apples that are grown in unfairness," said Marco Torres of

Mexico's Confederation of Democratic Workers.

Two leaders in the state Democratic party, Reps. Frank Chopp and Phyllis

Gutierrez Kenney, also recalled their connections to immigration and the

fields.

Chopp told the crowd in an interpreted speech that his uncle was an

undocumented coal miner in Roslyn, part of that town's early Croatian

community. Instead of resisting immigrants, lawmakers of the era changed

laws to accommodate the influx, Chopp noted.

Kenney recounted her childhood as a farm worker and mentioned that the

state Legislature had made $16 million available for improvements in

farm worker housing.

But that's not enough, Kenney said.

"It's been a long time and the struggle is the same. We can't go

backward anymore," she said.

The crowd kept a positive view of the chances for general amnesty. The

proposed law would allow workers in the country for at least 90 days

since 2000 to apply for residency and keep working. Their direct

families would also be eligible.

"I have a lot of hope that it will happen," Sunnyside resident Martin

Rios said. Rios is general secretary for the union that represents about

250 workers at the Chateau Ste. Michelle wineries in Central Washington.

It is the only United Farmworkers unit in Washington, Rodriguez said.

Organization radically improved wages and benefits at the wineries after

workers signed a contract following a contentious boycott, Rios said.

Both workers and the company wanted to keep themselves in business, Rios

said.

"I think it will happen this year, because so many people need it," said

Ramirez, the George worker.

Ignacia Diaz, another Yakima fruit worker, said she also thinks the bill

will pass soon. It would guarantee more job security for many whom she

knows, Diaz said.

But Antonio Balderas -- an announcer for Granger's KDNA-AM, "The Voice

of the Farmworker" -- offered a more moderate opinion of the amnesty

legislation's prospects in Congress.

"Immigration politics are a mess," Balderas said in a brief radio

interview at the park. He warned that some form of partial amnesty seems

more likely.

March organizers first estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 would

attend. But they were pleased with the somewhat lower turnout, said

Guadalupe Gamboa, the United Farmworkers' regional leader in Sunnyside.

The rally only begins an effort to pass the legislation and improve

labor conditions, speakers said.

"We have to keep fighting for justice," Rodriguez said.