Reclaiming Cesar Chavez Day and Fighting for Labor’s Future

March is a time of many worthy celebrations. This month is designated as Red Cross Month, Women’s History Month, and Irish-American Heritage Month. But we also ought to take some time in March to recognize a significant labor leader who we traditionally honor at this time of year: Cesar Chavez.

Cesar Chavez was more than just a labor organizer. He was a movement unto himself. His fight for farmworkers’ rights, his leadership of the 1965–’70 Delano grape strike and boycott, and his deep concern for the environment through the study of the pesticide DDT’s effects on workers and nature shaped my own activism. As a child, I honored the grape strike and learned firsthand the power of nonviolent resistance by joining my father in protests and demonstrations.

The Chavez-led farmworkers’ movement became a training ground for a generation of union leaders, from the IBEW’s Fred Ross Jr. to current SF Labor Council President Mike Casey of Unite Here. Former President Barack Obama recognized this legacy in 2014 by designating March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day, declaring it a federal holiday. Now it’s time for us as workers to reclaim this holiday as our own: a day of remembrance, action, and inspiration for the next generation of labor leaders.

Chavez’s influence, along with that of other legendary farmworker organizers such as Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong, lives on in today’s labor movement. We see it in leaders like Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of SEIU Local 2015, and California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. These are people whose lives and careers were shaped by the movement. Their leadership is proof that Chavez’s vision is not just history, but a living force to be reckoned with.

Now, let’s talk about the present. President Donald Trump has turned on us yet again. What does resistance look like this time? Should we get militant and march? Picket and boycott? Flood social media? Keep our heads down and cower in silence? Just tune out until this all blows over?

“We can’t sit by quietly. We must fight back, not just in words but in action.”

What the hell are we supposed to be doing to counter these attacks on our work and our people? As we struggle to figure that out, one thing becomes crystal-clear: Silence and complicity are not options. Look at the feckless response so far from Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer if you want an example of how to completely fumble the moment.

I propose that as unionists, we need to get back to basics and do what we do best: calling the balls and strikes. Trump and his billionaire cronies are gutting our democracy and instituting fascist, bigoted policies while lining their pockets all along the way. Massive tax breaks for the rich; dehumanizing attacks on veterans, immigrants, and minority groups; and a direct assault on the National Labor Relations Board all make it painfully obvious that this administration has declared war on working people.

Union members are already facing total bombardment. Trump has ripped up the Transportation Security Administration contract covering 45,000 unionized workers who protect our airports. He’s undermining federal workers; slashing public-sector budgets; and starving cities, counties, and schools of much-needed funding — all while our communities continue paying a disproportionate share of federal taxes. It’s an insulting move to take money out of our pockets and transfer even more wealth into the hands of the 1%.

And for those of us in the building trades who thought we could wait this out, the direct attack on our work is now underway, too. Trump has reversed policies requiring project labor agreements on federal projects over $35 million. He’s ordered federal agencies to halt payments from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, initiatives that were supposed to fuel job growth and opportunity for working people.

So, it’s happening. We can’t sit by quietly. We must fight back, not just in words but in action. Chavez and the movement he built have taught us that labor’s strength lies in solidarity, persistence, and an unrelenting demand for justice. Now more than ever, we must honor his legacy by not only remembering his work but by continuing it.