The Forty Acres, located in Delano,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, was the first headquarters of 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 ...

labor union. The union acquired the site of the compound in 1966, and the buildings were built in the ensuing years. The first building constructed on the property was a service station built in 1967, and several smaller service buildings were built soon afterward. The main building on the property, the

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

styled Reuther Hall, was built from 1968 to 1969; the hall was named for

United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

organizer Roy Reuther. A health care clinic and a retirement village were added to the property in the early 1970s.

Background

The Forty Acres is best known as the workplace of labor activist

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), ...

during the

Delano grape strike The Delano grape strike was a labor strike organized by the United Farm Workers, Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a predominantly Filipino and AFL-CIO-sponsored labor organization, against table grape growers in Delano, Californ ...

of the 1960s. Chavez first drew national attention to the complex in 1968, when he conducted a public

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at the site. In 1970, union leaders and grape growers signed labor contracts ending the grape strike at Reuther Hall; the contracts unionized over 70,000 farmworkers working in the grape industry. After the strike, Chavez moved the union headquarters to a new complex; The Forty Acres continued to function as a service center for farmworkers and a local office for the union. The Forty Acres was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on October 6, 2008. In October 2013, the site was identified as one of several to be part of a proposed new

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) and National Historical Park (NHP) are designations for officially recognized areas of nationally historic significance in the United States. They are usually owned and managed by the federal government. An NHS usually ...

to commemorate the life and work of Chavez and the farm worker movement. Other sites for the proposed new park—which requires Congressional approval—include the Filipino Community Hall in

Delano, California Delano ( ) is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Delano is located about north-northwest of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield at an elevation of . The population was 51,428 in 2020, down from 53,041 in 2010. It is Kern Count ...

(headquarters of the

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(in Keene, Kern County, California), McDonnell Hall in San Jose, and the Santa Rita Center in

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forty Acres United Farm Workers Labor movement in California Buildings and structures in Kern County, California National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in Kern County, California History of labor relations in the United States Mission Revival architecture in California Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures completed in 1969 Cesar Chavez Trade union buildings in the United States

Background

See also

References