Modesto Morales was only 18 years old when he left his ranch in the state of Guanajuato with the goal of working alone for a year in the United States after receiving an invitation from his brother.
At that time, Morales had already been working as an administrator in a tire shop for two years, but he wanted to take the opportunity to get to know another country.
“I’ll wait for you here in a year,” his boss told him. “With more salary and with the same job.”
“The boss has been waiting for me for 44 years,” says Morales. “That year has not yet come when I return there.”
A few days ago, Morales was recognized with the Mexican Pride of the Month award from the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles.
“We are very happy to be here today in the port of Long Beach to recognize him [Morales] as an emblematic person who represents so many other Mexicans who come here to work very hard and by doing so in a way that is so simple, so consistent, so simple, but at the same time so powerful,” said Carlos González Gutiérrez, the Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles.
According to the Consulate, the award aims to highlight Mexican men and women who, with their dedication and effort, have contributed significantly to the well-being of the community in Los Angeles, often in a discreet manner and with a spirit of exemplary perseverance.
Today, at 62 years old, Morales has more than 20 years as a longshoreman at the Port of Long Beach, which is one of the main points of trade between the United States and Asia.
But before his current job, the Mexican considered himself “a thousand uses” with the different jobs he had in various states such as Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and now California.
Every day, it operates specialized machinery to handle hundreds of containers, playing a crucial role in the flow of goods to the region.
“It’s intimidating, you get intimidated seeing that you’re doing a job and a container that weighs 75,000 pounds comes and seeing it coming towards you,” Morales said of his job. “It makes you want to run.”
Community contribution
But now, he helps other people not be afraid of work as a volunteer mentor in the “Child of the Deceased” program focused on providing training and support to the children of deceased port workers, contributing to the reduction of accidents and promoting safety in the work.
Before working at the Port of Long Beach Morales fished in the area and was fascinated when he saw the containers and large machines.
One day in 2003, a co-worker gave her two postcards. One for Morales and the other for someone they knew, so that both could enter their names in the lottery to be selected for a job at the Port.
Morales doubted that he would be the one chosen, but says that his name was one of the first to be selected.
On his first day on the job, Morales felt lost. Luckily, an American helped him out and showed him how to do the job, which he says was truly a blessing.
“Since October 2004, I have not seen that American again,” Morales says before pointing to the sky in a video from the consulate. “[Dios] “If you sent me someone to help me do my job.”
During Morales’ recognition, the president of the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Workers Union (ILWU), Bobby Olvera Jr., shared his gratitude for the work the Mexican has done.
“You as a man have shown so much dedication to your family, your ILWU family, where you volunteer, and you have never said a negative thing,” Olvera said. “You are the example
of what the ILWU represents.”
Morales is also the father of 8 children with most of them in college or high school and his oldest daughter recently won a Kent election where she will be county commissioner.
“I feel proud because my dad is such an altruistic person… wherever he is he is always happy and trying to motivate and support other people,” explained Efraín Morales, one of Modesto’s sons. “I know he doesn’t do it to be recognized but he does it because it is and that’s how he was raised.”
Efraín started working as a stevedore and is currently a class B stevedore with two and a half more years to be a class A like his father.
“Someone comes illegally, but if you decide to come, you can have the American dream, which is to have a blue-collar job… but that requires working, working, working and being honest,” Morales said.