Bio

Antonio Salazar-Hobson was the eleventh of fourteen migrant farmworker children born in Phoenix, Arizona. His parents worked the national picking circuit for forty years. At age four, he was kidnapped by a childless, middle-aged white couple and was trafficked until the age of ten.

As a teenager, Antonio met Cesar Chavez and was taken under his wing, a miracle which helped define his life. Antonio worked with Cesar over the next two decades. Antonio got a masters from Stanford in Latin American Studies as a Danforth Fellow, and then went on to graduate law school from ​​UC Davis Law School, and became a labor lawyer, working with the United Farmworkers and large international unions for the past thirty years. Antonio has represented Native Americans from California to the Sioux Nation for  two decades, both Indian tribes and individuals, including Emmy award winning filmmakers, renowned authors and professors,

Antonio represented the Communications Workers of America for several years as the District 9 counsel (California, Nevada and Hawaii) and represented the CWA in national cases with much success. He has now spent 30 years representing labor coalitions for the United Farmworkers, and continues to be a leading force in any labor issues. Antonio was also Controller of the California Democratic Party for eight years, increasing their donation rate by millions of dollars.

He is the author of the memoir, Antonio, We Know You, which is titled after a key moment with Cesar Chavez as he confirmed his belief in Antonio’s  commitment to La Raza labor struggles.