California’s labor movement has been championed by Latinos. Here is a notable example

Roberto Bustos’ first thought was that Cesar Chavez had gone crazy.

It was the winter of 1965, and the two men were in a meeting with about 20 others to discuss pursuit of farmworkers’ rights. The meetings were held every night in secret to organize the following day’s activities, including strikes and boycotts.

But that night, Chavez broached the farmworkers with his radical idea: a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento. The group couldn’t believe the distance that Chavez envisioned them covering on foot.

“I thought all the pesticides in the fields were affecting his brain,” Bustos recalls.

Chavez ultimately convinced the group, and a few months later, on March 17, 1966, they began the iconic trek to Sacramento.

Bustos was named “El Capitan” and led the group that started with 77 farmworkers. For 25 days, he called out instructions and directed marchers through dozens of Central Valley communities. Along the way, they picked up supporters and, on their final day, were greeted by nearly 10,000 people at the Capitol.

Now 81, Bustos reminisces fondly on those difficult days and subsequent years with the United Farm Workers union. He is among the Latino labor leaders who have helped push forward some of California’s most significant workers’ rights advancements.

“We made history,” Bustos said. “We’re in the history books and people are reading about us now.”

An activists beginnings: Meeting Cesar Chavez

Bustos grew up in Eloy, Arizona, where he began picking cotton at the age of 10. His family eventually moved to California to work in the strawberry and tomato fields.

It was in California that then-23-year-old Bustos met Chavez, a young Mexican-American who had been traveling across the Central Valley to meet with farmworkers and encourage them to push for more rights.

Bustos said he was encouraged to attend one of the meetings by his brother, who was also a farmworker. Together, they crammed into the home of an organizer and heard Chavez talk about poor pay and working conditions. Both men immediately related to then-38-year-old Chavez’s message, Bustos said.

“He was talking about my dad and mom, he was talking about my brothers and sisters,” Bustos said. “He knew what he was talking about.”

The brother introduced themselves to Chavez after the meeting, and the next day they left their jobs and were assigned to the picket line. They faced immediate backlash from their boss.

“He said you guys are gonna starve to death,” Bustos said.

His bosses’ warning didn’t prove true, Bustos said, but the two brothers suffered in the months that followed. Bustos had to sell his car and he mostly got by through the food, clothing and monetary donations of supporters.

Instead of working, Bustos would head to the fields each day hoping to convince more workers to join their strike. He often had to follow up with a visit their homes at night where they could discuss the movement in private, out of sight from employers.

“We suffered at times but we had to do what we had to do,” Bustos said.

The march goes on

Three days before the march began, Chavez shocked Bustos again. The civil rights leader handpicked Bustos to figure out the march’s logistics — the route, sleeping and eating locations — on the way to Sacramento.

So, St. Patrick’s Day, Bustos stood in front of the 77 marchers.

“I don’t remember St. Patrick’s Day from that day,” Bustos said. “All I remember is down on one knee tying my shoes ready to start the march.”

The march got off to a rough start, he said. The group was blocked by police in the city of Delano for two hours. Eventually, they were allowed to continue.

The marchers covered 340 miles over the next 25 days, often sleeping in sleeping bags in city parks and receiving medical care for their blisters and swollen ankles. They reached Sacramento on April 10.

The march earned Chavez and the farm workers media attention, and ended with union victories over the next few years.

“After all the suffering, it paid off,” Bustos said.

Bustos worked for Chavez and UFW for another 10 years following the march. Then, he returned to the fields to “make a life.” In his later years, he transitioned to working with Tulare County and its farmworker programs.

Even today, Bustos has not strayed away from the farmworker movement. He envisions a day when the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 is modified, so all farmworkers have the right to unionize without retaliation.

He leads an annual Cesar Chavez march and fair in Visalia to celebrate the civil rights leader’s birthday. Last year, he joined the UFW’s march to persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to vote for union representation. As he walked 50 miles, Bustos carried a black and white photo of him leading the 1966 march.

“I’m here again. I’m still marching,” Bustos told the group.