Cesar Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 in
Arizona, just outside the town on Yuma. Cesar was "born into
a Chicano version of the American Dream, growing up on a rambling
eighty-acre farm". (1) His grandfather had brought the land
by working in the mines of Arizona. His grandparents and their
children worked hard to build their life on that property and
when they grew up, their children moved on except for Librado
who stayed on the farm, which was Cesar's father. When Lirado
grew up he married Juana Estrada and they brought some land about
a mile from his father's house. The couple not only worked on
their farm but also ran three small businesses which were a grocery
store, a garage and a pool hall. Cesar's parents were wonderful
people that took the time to care for their children and their
needs. As a growing boy Cesar was a stubborn yet strong willed
boy and these characteristics would come to play later on in his
life. Cesar was living a wonderful life up until 1929 when the
stock market crashed and the Great Depression began in New York
and spread through the country. Then by 1932 the depression had
touched their family and they were not able to hold on to what
they had. Since it was hard to keep the three businesses going
and paying bills at the same time, the family was forced to sell
it and move back to Mama Tella, Cesar's grandmother's house. Even
though they did not have much they still lived a decent life and
even helped others who needed food.
In 1933 the Chavez family felt a greater impact
from the depression that more serious action needed to be taken.
The family was falling behind on property and water taxes which
became a $3,600 debt so Librado decided to get a loan, but it
was difficult to obtain it because another person wanted the land
and they happen to be the president of the bank. Cesar's father
had no other choice then to look for a job elsewhere. Cesar's
father found a job in California so he sent word to his family
to join him so that they could pay off their debt. So Cesar and
his family packed up and left to join their father, knowing that
they would return. Working in California was not easy and when
they returned to Yuma they were penniless. His father did not
give up on paying the loan so the went to Phoenix but eventually
nothing worked and were forced to give up the land. As Cesar grew
up he was understanding and seeing the harsh treatment of the
migrant workers in the fields and later dedicated his life to
make a change in the system.
He experienced the worst that could possibly
happen in America. He started the movement in the 1906's and at
that time the farm workers had no rights that would protect them.
The farmers did not have the "legal right to organize and
to vote for collective bargaining. They didn't have the right
to have clean drinking water, access to portable toilets, lunch
breaks, or short rest breaks during workdays. And they were not
entitled to the minimum wage or unemployment insurance."
(2) Farm workers were against something that was impossible and
unrealistic. They were going up against a power that was so big
that it seemed impossible to ever be able to win, but there were
these few people that believed that farm workers should have the
right to live better and a safer life. This movement opened peoples
eyes to things that they would have never known like the food
that they were eating, the poverty, hard work and people that
were dying younger then any other class of people in the United
States. Farm workers that produced the vegetables and fruits for
most of America were protected the least of industrial employees.
Yet Mexican immigrants are the least cared of when it comes to
working conditions, but today in California they are making $24.5
billion a year working in the fields. (3) Many immigrant workers
have been working for eleven to eighteen years for the same company
and still had not seen any benefits so that they could support
their families. It was so bad that it became necessary for the
workers to join the union of Cesar Chavez.
In the summer of
1973 became a successful union strike when Cesar Chavez and his
farm workers joined with other Latino farm workers and Filipino
farm workers that were working in Coachella Valley, in a grape
growing county. Chavez had lived in a run-down camp with dirty
homes and with low pay. Through experience in his own life, Chavez
knew that it was time for a change and from the time his great
grandfather had been in the U.S. there still had been no change
for the farm workers. (4) Both Chavez and Delano came up with
the idea of making a union. Cesar Chavez created a newspaper called
"El Malcriado" for farm workers to read and from their
find out information of what was going on. This newspaper was
a good way to show the farm workers that a union was the way to
go and to show them that they have the right to fight back for
what is right. (5)
back to top
One of the great union's strikes was The Great
Delano Grape Strike. This was when the Mexican and the Filipinos
workers came together to make the largest strike that they had
seen in a while. This was significant because these were two different
races that were able to come together as farm workers that were
being mistreated. While the strike was going on the grapes started
to ripen so strikebreakers were brought in to pick the grapes.
Most of the strikebreakers were children, so children had to package
grapes while a cop would be looking over them. As weeks went by
the owners were getting frustrated and threatened the workers
that were protesting. The workers were fighting for a fair cause
and that was higher wages and insurance coverage, which they should
have been getting. "Grape pickers in Delano earned about
$2,400 a year more then many farm workers, but well below
the nation's poverty line in 1965 of $3, 223 per family of four."
(6) This stick got so big that they even had to bring the FBI.
The strike became a boycott. Now in July 1966, the farm workers
started to go to the public to ask them to support them in their
cause by not buying the gapes of companies that were not supporting
the farm workers. Cesar Chavez' newspaper was helpful when it
came to asking support in not buying the grapes because everyone
could read it and pass on the word.
Another example of injustice to farm workers
is the strawberry picking workers. Picking is hard and the hours
are long. Some migrant workers get paid reasonable well, while
others are not. When the people come in contact with the crops,
they are putting their lives in danger because of the pesticides
that have been sprayed on the crop and that come from near by
fields when pesticides are spayed by plane. "field workers
are exposed to hazardous chemicals and risk developing acute skin
and eye problems, chronic headaches, and cancer. Despite these
problems, field workers generally keep a positive attitude. The
pay is better then in Mexico, and obtaining work is uncertain,
so migrant workers want to ensure that they and their families
will be hired again." (7)
Jose Luis Rios is a 3rd grader who helps his parents pick strawberries
and raspberries in the fields. Sometimes he has to miss school
because he has to help out and he does not mind, but some times
he wants to be in school because he likes it and it is time for
him to relax. He helps out the most is in the summer when there
is a lot of work, he does not get paid directly, but his parents
get paid for what he does. It is sad to see that when he grows
up he wants to be just like his older brother, picking strawberries
because they will be there and because he can eat them. He has
not had the chance to be able to dream of better things because
of his education. He also understands that it is important because
if you don't have education then you have to work in the fields.
20% of all pickers are children under the age of 18 and that "agriculture
is the only industry in the U.S. that legally employs children
under sixteen" (8). Growers were taking advantage of the
workers who could not read and write and since their need was
so great, they could not fight back. Cesar believed in his cause
to protect the worker and to also show that they have a voice
and the power to protest even though people were threatening them.
It is not right to take advantage of a boy youth, like Jose who
need to make money to help his family instead of enjoying his
childhood. By working his is not able to get the education that
he needs in life so then people can take advantage of his lack
of education.
All workers no matter of they are immigrants
or not, have the right to form a union and to protest themselves
if unfair treatment falls upon them without being harassed. Sometimes
companies are so rapped up in making business that they forget
to treat the working class like people, so unions are necessary
to remind them that the workers have rights and should no be abused.
"The fight for equality must be fought on many fronts- in
the urban slum, in the sweat shops of the factories and fields.
Our separate struggles are really one- a struggle for freedom,
for dignity, for humanity. You and your valiant fellow workers
have demonstrated you commitment to fighting grievous wrongs forced
upon exploited people."
Telegram to Cesar Chavez from
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (9)
Fights of injustice to workers are constantly being fought even though they may not always be recognized as others, but their purpose is the same. Unions are necessary because they are a constant reminder to the businesses and employers that workers should not be abused of their rights as tempting as it is to make a profit. There must be a balance between the workers and their employers to keep the peace going or then strikes will occur. Cesar did not just speak out to the injustice of the workers but to show that the working class and minorities have the power to fight for their rights. Cesar's cause impacted the way others see Latino people and the working class and the way they are treated.
Under the leaderhsip of Cesar Chavez, the United
Farm Workers made historic achievements by
appealing to the best in people from all walks of like to help
farmworkers.
Here is a list of achievements:
*In carrying out his mission, Cesar Chavez
developed and lived a unique blend of values, philosophy and styles,
including dedication to: non-violence, volunteerism, public action,
"Si Se Puede," egalitarianism , education of heart,
solidarity/unity, respect for all cultures, religions and lifestyles.
*The first collective bargaining agreement between farmworkers
and growers in the continental United States was
signed in 1966. - The first union contracts requiring rest periods,
clean drinking water, hand-washing facilities,
protective clothing against pesticide spraying while workers are
in the fields and banning outright DDT and other
dangerous pesticides.
*The first union contracts replacing farm labor contractors with
union hiring halls to guarantee farmworkers seniority
rights and job security.
*Establishing the first comprehensive union health benefits for
farmworkers and their families through the UFW's
Robert F. Kennedy Medical Plan.
*The first and only performing pension plan for retired farmworkers.
*The first functioning credit union for farmworkers.
*The first union contracts - in the mid and late 1960s - restricting
use of dangerous pesticides, lenghtening pesticide
re-entry periods beyond state and federal standards and requiring
testing of farmworkers on a regular basis to
monitor for pesticide exposure.
*The first union contracts regulating safety and sanitary conditions
in farm labor camps, banning discrimination in
employment and sexual harrassment of female workers.
*Abolition of the infamous short-handled hoe that crippled generations
of farmworkers and extension of state
coverage for unemployment, disability and worker's compensation
benefits, as well as amnesty rights for immigrants
and public assistance for farmworkers.
*Establishing in 1966 the National Farm Worker Service Center,
a non-profit, tax-exempt organization separate from
the UFW. It operates three farmworker-run radio stations. It also
builds single-family homes and rental complexes
for low-income farmworkers and other rural residents.
*April 23, 1990: Chavez signed IMSS agreement with Mexican government,
allowing Mexican farmworkers in the U.S.
to provide medical benefits to their families in Mexico.
Rothenberg, Daniel. "With these Hands". San Diego: Harcourt Brace and Company:1998
Cesar E. Chavez Institute for Public Policy You can find articles, speeches, interviews, photo gallery, other documents and links.
Si
Se Puede! Cesar E. Chavez and His Legacy
You can find Exhibit | Chronology | Quotes | Museum | Honors
Biography | Bibliography | Themes | Resources
American Dreams, The Wisdom of Cesar Chavez You can find quotes
1)Farris, Susan and Ricardo Sadoval, "The Fight in the Field: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement". San Diego: Paradigm Productions, Inc, 1997. pg.12
2)Farris and Sandoval, pg.4
3) Farris and Sandoval, pg. 6
4) Farris and Sandoval, pg. 11
5) Farris and Sandoval, pg. 80
6) Farris and Sandoval, pg. 98
7) Taylor, B. Beacon, "Chavez and the Farm Workers"Boston.Beacon Press. 1975 pg.11
8) Taylor pg. 15, 16
9) pg. (on the back cover of the book)
1)Farris, Susan and Ricardo, Sandoval. "The Fight in the Field: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement". San Diego: Paradigm Productions, Inc, 1997.
2) Taylor, B. Beacon. "Chavez and the Farm Workers." Boston. Beacon Press. 1975
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