"Chavez protested against poor pay and often-miserable work conditions. There were no toilets in the fields for workers, who weeded fields with short-handled hoes that forced them to bend over for hours at a time. Bosses frequently ignored the health and wages of their workers, many of whom were Spanish-speakers in the country temporarily or illegally and had little political or legal clout to prevent abuses."
"In 1962, Chavez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers of America. Chavez is known nationally for his early organizing in the fields, a hunger strike, a grape boycott and eventual victory in getting growers to negotiate with farmworkers for better wages and working conditions."
Cesar Chavez, born in Yuma, Arizona, grew up in a Mexican-American family working California's agricultural fields. He co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Dolores Huerta in 1962, which evolved into the United Farm Workers of America. Chavez led organizing efforts, hunger strikes, and boycotts to combat exploitative conditions farmworkers faced, including lack of sanitation facilities, physically demanding labor with short-handled hoes, and wage suppression. Many workers were Spanish-speaking immigrants with limited legal protections. His advocacy achieved significant victories in securing grower negotiations for improved wages and conditions. California established March 31 as Chavez Day in his honor, followed by President Obama's 2014 national proclamation. Chavez died in California in 1993 at age 66.
Read at Kqed
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]