LA County Farmworkers Day highlights demanding labor and workers who do it

Tomorrow, LA County celebrates the newly established Farmworkers Day, formerly known as Cesar Chavez Day. In light of recent allegations, the holiday now pays tribute to generations of workers whose hard labor too often goes unseen.

But for those in the fields, this day is more than just a symbolic gesture; it's a moment of visibility, a chance for people to understand the reality behind what goes on so they can make a living.

At a kale crop in Ventura County, workers were in the fields before the sun rose.

"It's really difficult to do what they do, and they still do it," Jesus Marmolejo, supervisor of King Produce, said. "Bending over all day. Extreme weather, and too cold in the morning, too hot around mid-day."

Bent over rows of crops, farm workers move with quiet determination, hands weathered, backs aching, pushing through long hours, sometimes in unforgiving conditions.

"You have to move, move, move because you have to try to get as much as you can, so it is very difficult," Marmolejo said.

Many are immigrants, carrying not just the weight of the harvest, but also the weight of responsibility, of sacrifice, of hope for something better.

They say the work is honest, but it takes a toll. That's why this new designation, Farmworkers Day, they say, feels deeply personal. A recognition, not just of labor, but of humanity.

"It was long overdue. I've been dreaming about that. We deserve it, we need that respect," Marmolejo said.

The farmworkers' rights movement has always been powered by courage, by people willing to endure, to speak out, to demand dignity in the face of injustice.

"In California, half are legal residents, and half are non-legal residents that come and go. But all of them have one thing in common. They want to feed their families," Marmolejo said.

He said they continue to fight for farm workers, for wages, and programs to assist.