Contingents of agricultural workers came from many cities and towns around Washington and Oregon. Signs identified groups of workers from Royal City, Othello, Connell, Yakima, and Moses Lake, among others. A group of students from Central Washington University marched behind a banner of the Chicano student group Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlán (MEChA). Others carried Mexican flags.

Workers marched behind banners from Teamsters Locals 556 and 760. Local 556, which organizes meat packers at Iowa Beef Processors (IBP) in Walula, Washington, went through a bitter strike last year. They chanted "Se ve, se siente, la unión está presente! (You can see it, you can feel it, the union is here!)

Recently workers at IBP held a press conference to denounce the company for its unsafe line speed. As a result of the speedup, some cows are being butchered while conscious instead of being completely knocked out beforehand. This degrading callousness has also led to injuries to workers who are kicked by the animals.

A number of carpenters union members from Seattle came to the march on a bus sponsored by their union. A second bus from Seattle was paid for by the Seattle Central Labor Council. Ten students from the University of Washington School of Social Work in Seattle also marched.

Key issues fueling the day's activities were the wages and working conditions for the 16,000 workers who are about to begin harvesting Washington State cherries. The cherry growers' earnings have tripled from $60 million in 1985 to $186 million in 1999. In the same 15-year period, workers picking cherries continue to be paid at the 1985 piece rate wage of $3.50 to $3.75 per 30-pound box. The UFW is demanding a raise to $6 per 30-pound box.

The other theme of the march--amnesty for undocumented workers--got a boost earlier this year when AFL-CIO officials changed their longstanding support for sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers--legislation that bosses have used as a club against immigrant workers. In February the AFL-CIO executive council decided to call for amnesty-- granting legal residence to all workers without papers who currently live in the country.

The harvest of fruits and vegetables is a big part of Washington State's economy, and farm workers are an important component of the working class here. Many move from crop to crop--asparagus, cherries, apples--as the seasons change. According to the Seattle Times, 70 percent of the 100,000 seasonal workers in Washington's agricultural industry are estimated to be undocumented. Many of the march participants insisted that farm workers must have the same rights as other workers.

One farm worker from Mattawa told the press she has to pay $2,000 out of the $10,000 she earns a year to a coyote to get her across the border to see her family. "Coyotes" are the smugglers who prey on Mexican workers forced into dangerous and expensive border crossings by the U.S. government's anti-immigrant policies.

Reynaldo Cruz, a farm worker for many years at Chateau Ste. Michelle Vineyard in Sunnyside and a veteran UFW activist, said he came to the march to "support the fight for respect, benefits and decent contracts." He explained that he had been part of the fight to unionize Chateau Ste. Michelle, where they won their first contract in 1995. "With the union we have more benefits, and I'm here for amnesty and better wages for everybody."  
 
'Need to broaden out struggles'
Steven Peak, a Steelworker locked out at Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane, Washington, for the past 20 months, was excited about being at the march. "I'm blown away by the turnout," he said. "It's an honor to participate. The struggles of the farm workers and the Steelworkers are great. We need to broaden them out even more." Referring to the thousands of locked-out Kaiser Steelworkers, he added. "We buy into justice for everyone and we're here to show our solidarity and support."

At least one marcher came from San Diego, California. Andre Thomas flew up and then drove from Seattle to join the march. A customer service representative and member of the International Association of Machinists at Alaska Airlines, Thomas has been fighting for months to win his job back after being unjustly fired.

Another group of fighters at the event was a contingent of mostly Mexican workers who have been on strike since August 1999 against Valley Manufactured Housing in Sunnyside, Washington. These unionists were facing a company-sponsored decertification election two days after the march. Rogelio Montes, a central organizer of the strike, explained that they were at the action to support the farm workers and to invite people to their picket line.

The marchers gathered for more than two hours afterward to listen to speakers and music. Cheers went up for Guadalupe Gamboa, executive director of the Washington State UFW, when he told the crowd that today's march was just the beginning.

Another protest is being planned for August 6 in Mattawa, Washington.  
 
 
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