Arturo Rodriguez (born June 23, 1949) is a former American labor union leader. Born in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Rodriguez was educated at

St. Mary's University, Texas St. Mary's University is a private Catholic university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Founded by the Society of Mary (Marianists) in 1852, St. Mary's is the oldest Catholic university in Texas and the American Southwest. With a student p ...

and the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. While at college, he became involved in the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the National Farm Workers Associatio ...

' grape boycott. After graduating, he worked for the union full-time. He met and married Linda Chavez, daughter of the union's president,

Cesar Chavez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...

. In 1981, he was elected to the union's executive board, and in 1992 he became first vice-president. In 1993, Rodriguez became president of the union. In the post, he led a major organizing and contract negotiating drive, which increased the union's membership. In 1994, he led a 343-mile march to highlight the union's campaigns. As leader, he was paid only a low wage, similar to that of the union's members. In later years, the union spent more time focusing on securing positive legislation, and while attempts to organize strawberry workers failed, it continued to win some other recognition votes. Rodriguez served as a vice-president of the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

, but in 2005 he led the union out of the federation and into the new Change to Win Coalition. He retired in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Arturo 1949 births Living people American trade union leaders Activists from San Antonio Trade unionists from Texas United Farm Workers people Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO