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The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a
labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
for
farmworkers A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...
in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) led by
César Chávez 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), ...
, Dolores Huerta, and Gilbert Padilla and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) led by organizer
Larry Itliong Modesto "Larry" Dulay Itliong (October 25, 1913 – February 1977), also known as "Seven Fingers", was a Filipino-American union organizer. He organized West Coast agricultural workers starting in the 1930s, and rose to national prominence in ...
. They allied and transformed from workers' rights organizations into a union as a result of a series of strikes in 1965, when the Filipino-American and
Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...
farmworkers of the AWOC 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 ...
, initiated a grape strike, and the NFWA went on strike in support. As a result of the commonality in goals and methods, the NFWA and the AWOC formed the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee on August 22, 1966. This organization was accepted into 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 ...
in 1972 and changed its name to the United Farm Workers Union.


History


Founding of the UFW

In 1952,
César Chávez 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), ...
met Fred Ross, who was a community organizer working on behalf of the Community Service Organization. During Chávez's participation in the Community Service Organization, Fred Ross trained César Chávez in the grassroots, door-to-door, house meeting tactic of organization, a tactic crucial to the UFW's recruiting methods. The house meeting tactic successfully established a broad base of local
Community Service Organization The Community Service Organization (founded 1947) was an important California Latino civil rights organization, most famous for training Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Founding and Early Success The Community Service Organization (CSO) was ...
chapters during Ross's era, and Chávez used this technique to extend the UFW's reach as well as to find up and coming organizers. During the 1950s, Chávez and Ross developed 22 new Community Service Organization chapters in the Mexican-American neighborhoods of San Jose.Levy, Jacques E. ''Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa''. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1975. Print. In 1959, Chávez achieved the rank of executive director in the Community Service Organization. He established professional relationships with local community organizations that aimed to empower the working class population by encouraging them to become more politically active. One of these was the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA). Dolores Huerta created the AWA in 1960.
Larry Itliong Modesto "Larry" Dulay Itliong (October 25, 1913 – February 1977), also known as "Seven Fingers", was a Filipino-American union organizer. He organized West Coast agricultural workers starting in the 1930s, and rose to national prominence in ...
was a Filipino American labor organizer who forefronted the grape strike in Coachella Valley that led to the Delano Grape Strike of 1965. He became assistant director of the UFW. Chávez was the leader and also a gifted public speaker. Huerta was a skilled organizer and negotiator. Chávez's ultimate goal in participating with the Community Service Organization and the
Industrial Areas Foundation The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) is a national community organizing network established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky, Roman Catholic Bishop Bernard James Sheil and businessman and founder of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' Marshall Field III. The IA ...
was to organize a union for farm workers. In March 1962, at the Community Service Organization convention, Chávez proposed a pilot project for organizing farm workers, which the organization's members rejected. Saul Alinsky did not share Chávez's sympathy for the farm workers struggle, claiming that organizing farm workers, "was like fighting on a constantly disintegrating bed of sand." (Alinsky, 1967) Chávez responded by resigning to create the farm workers union that later became known as the National Farm Workers Association. By 1965, the National Farm Workers Association had acquired twelve hundred members through Chávez's person-to-person recruitment efforts, which he had learned from Fred Ross a decade earlier. Out of those twelve hundred, only about two hundred paid dues. Also in 1962,
Richard Chavez Richard Estrada Chavez (November 12, 1929 – July 27, 2011) was an American labor leader, organizer and activist. Chavez was the younger brother of labor leader César Chávez, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, now known as t ...
, the brother of César Chávez, designed the black
Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...
eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
insignia that became the symbol of the NFW and the UFW. César Chávez chose the red and black colors used by the organization. A variety of services were offered to union members during this early period, such as local medical clinics. During the grape strike of 1965 in Delano California, medical volunteers and UFW leadership began establishing medical clinics for workers due to a noticeable lack of affordable and accessible medical facilities in the area. The first clinics were established within local homes after the strike began. Wanting to expand the clinics, the UFW began sending letters to potential donors and supporters, which resulted in them receiving needed medical supplies and a trailer to act as an additional building for the clinic. These trailers served as the UFW's main clinic in Delano until 1972 when they were closed down in favor of opening the Terronez Clinic. Although still in its infant stages, the organization lent its support to a strike by workers in the rose industry in 1965. This initial protest by the young organization resulted in a failed attempt to strike against the rose industry. That same year the farm workers who worked in the Delano fields of California wanted to strike against the growers in response to the grower's refusal to raise wages from $1.20 to $1.40 an hour, and they sought out Chávez and the National Farm Workers Association for support. The Delano agricultural workers were mostly Filipino workers affiliated with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, a charter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. The unification of these two organizations, in an attempt to boycott table grapes grown in the Delano fields, resulted in the creation of the United Farm Workers of America. The AFL–CIO chartered the United Farm Workers, officially combining the AWOC and the NFWA, in August 1966. During the early years of the UFW, one of their most prominent allies was Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In March 1966, Kennedy visited and spoke with union members participating in the Delano grape strike and later conducted a hearing on migrant farm workers with senators George Murphy and Harrison Williams. One year later, Kennedy attended a UFW fundraiser where he felt threatened by a man in the crowd; in response, union members protected Kennedy so he could safely leave the event. Kennedy's connection to and support of the UFW helped to give national momentum to the grape strike. When Kennedy began to campaign in the Democratic primary, the UFW suspended all strikes to campaign alongside him, leading to high turnout amongst them and their allies. The assassination of Kennedy greatly affected UFW members and their communities. Farm workers in Delano held a mass in his honor.


Historic complications in organizing farm workers prior to UFW formation

In the early history of American agriculture, farmworkers experienced many failed attempts to organize agricultural laborers. In 1903, Japanese and Mexican farm workers attempted to come together to fight for better wages and better working conditions. This attempt to organize agricultural laborers was ignored and disbanded when organizations, such as the American Federation of Labor, neglected to support their efforts, often withholding assistance on the basis of race.Shaw, Randy. ''Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. Print. In 1913, the
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
organized a rally of two thousand farm workers at a large ranch in a rural area of Northern California. This resulted in an attack by National Guardsmen against participants. As a result of the violence, the two lead organizers for the Industrial Workers of the World were arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Some believe the two people arrested were wrongly convicted. In the later 1910s and the 1920s in the United States, further attempts to organize farm laborers were undertaken by spontaneous local efforts, and some by communist unions. These attempts also failed because, at that time, the law did not require employers to negotiate with workers. Employers at the time could legally fire employees for union activity. In 1936, the
National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, an ...
took effect. This legislation provided most American workers the right to join unions and bargain collectively. Agricultural workers were exempt from the protection of this law. Some believe that this labor category was excluded as a result of a political tactic to gain the support of Southern politicians in the passing of this law. In 1941, the United States Government and the Mexican Government enacted the
Bracero Program The Bracero Program (from the Spanish term ''bracero'' , meaning " manual laborer" or "one who works using his arms") was a temporary labor initiative between the United States and Mexico that allowed Mexican workers to be employed in the U.S. ...
. Initially, the two governments established this joint project to address Second World War labor shortages by allowing "guest workers" from Mexico to work in the American agricultural industry until the end of the crop harvest. Thousands of Mexican citizens came north to work in American fields, and growers used the opportunity to undercut domestic wages. They also used the Braceros to break strikes by resident farmworkers. This program was extended until 1964.


Community organizing and divisions of labor in the UFW

Before UFW was an official trade union associated with 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 ...
, the National Farm Workers Association was formed as a social movement organization more akin to a mutual-aid society inspired by the '' mutualistas'', rather than a trade union. However, when they joined the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), led by Larry Itliong, in a grape-strike in 1965, the group soon took on the characteristics of a trade union and gained official union status with the AFL–CIO. Many Mexican women in California who joined the UFW in the 1960s had been previously involved in community-based activism in the 1950s through the
Community Service Organization The Community Service Organization (founded 1947) was an important California Latino civil rights organization, most famous for training Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Founding and Early Success The Community Service Organization (CSO) was ...
for Latino civil rights. The racial discrimination and economic disadvantages they faced from a young age made it necessary to form networks of support like the CSO to empower Latinos in America with voter registration drives, citizenship classes, lawsuits and legislative campaigns, and political protests against police brutality and immigration policies. While male activists held leadership roles and more authority, the women activists participated in volunteering and teaching valuable skills to individuals of the Latino community. By the 1960s, Dolores Huerta and others began to shift their attention to the labor exploitation of Latino farm workers in California and began to strike, demonstrate, and organize to fight for a myriad of issues that Mexican laborers faced. While many of the male leaders of the movement had the role of being dynamic, powerful speakers that inspired others to join the movement, the women devoted their efforts to negotiating better working contracts with companies, organizing boycotts, rallying for changes in immigration policies, registering Latinos to vote with Spanish language ballots, and increasing pressure on legislation to improve labor relations. Among the women who engaged in activism for labor rights, traditional and non traditional patterns of activism existed. Mexican-American women like Dolores Huerta used their education and resources arrange programs at the grassroots level, sustaining and leading members it into the labor movement. As the sister-in-law of César Chávez, Huerta had great influence over the direction that it took. Between 1964 and 1965, Gilbert Padilla and Huerta organized wine and liquor boycotts throughout California. Later, in 1968, Huerta led the boycotts of grapes within the east coast, successfully convincing other unions, such as the seafarer union, to join their cause while also getting multiple pro-union neighborhoods in New York to join the boycotting of stores that sold from grapes striking farms. By 1973, Huerta began to act as a lobbyist for the UFW in the California State congress. During this period, she testified in favor of both Latino and Latina voting rights as well as further protections for farm workers. However, it was most common for Chicana activists and female labor union members to be involved in administrative tasks for the early stages of UFW. Women like Helen Chávez were important in responsibilities such as credit union bookkeeping and behind the scenes advising. Still, both women along with other Chicana activists participated in picketing with their families in the face of police intimidation and racial abuse. Keeping track of union services and membership were traditionally responsibilities given to female organizers and it was integral to the institutional survival of the UFW, but it has gone much less recognized throughout history due to the male led strikes receiving majority public attention.


Texas strike

In May 1966, California farm worker activist Eugene Nelson traveled to Texas and organized local farmworkers into the Independent Workers' Association. At the time, some melon workers lacked access to freshwater while working in the fields, some lacked sanitary facilities for human waste, and some were present in the fields as crop dusters dropped pesticides on the crops. On June 1, Nelson led workers to strike to protest poor working conditions and demanded $1.25 as a minimum hourly wage. Workers picketed and were arrested by Texas Rangers and local police. Day laborers arrived from Mexico to harvest the crop, and by the end of June the strike had failed. On July 4, members of UFWOC, strikers, and members of the clergy set out on a march to
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
to demand the $1.25 minimum wage and other improvements for farm workers. Press coverage intensified as the marchers made their way north in the summer heat. Politicians, members of the AFL–CIO, and the Texas Council of Churches accompanied the protestors. Gov. John Connally, who had refused to meet them in Austin, traveled to New Braunfels with then House Speaker Ben Barnes and Attorney General Waggoner Carr to intercept the march and inform strikers that their efforts would have no effect. Protestors arrived in Austin in time for a
Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
rally, but no changes in law resulted. Strikes and arrests continued in Rio Grande City through 1966 into 1967. Violence increased as the spring melon crop ripened and time neared for the May harvest. In June, when beatings of two UFWOC supporters by Texas rangers surfaced, tempers flared. At the end of June as the harvest was ending, members of the Senate Subcommittee on Migratory Labor, including Senators Harrison Williams and
Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
, arrived in the lower Rio Grande Valley to hold hearings in Rio Grande City and
Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 100,243 at the 2020 census, and in 2022, its estimated population was 104,294, making it the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and th ...
. The senators took their findings back to Washington as a report on pending legislation. Subsequently, the rangers left the area and the picketing ended. On September 20, Hurricane Beulah's devastations ruined the farming industry in the Valley for the following year. One major outcome of the strikes came in the form of a 1974 Supreme Court victory in ''Medrano v. Allee,'' limiting jurisdiction of Texas Rangers in labor disputes. Farm workers continued to organize through the 1970s on a smaller scale, under new leadership in San Juan, Texas, independent of
César Chávez 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), ...
.


Texas campaign

By mid-1971 the Texas campaign was well underway. In Sept. 1971, Thomas John Wakely, recent discharge from the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
joined the
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 ...
office of the Texas campaign. His pay was room and board, $5.00 a week plus all of the menudo he could eat. The menudo was provided to the UFOC staff by the families of migrant workers working the Texas fields. TJ worked for UFOC for about 2 years and his responsibilities included organizing the Grape Boycott in San Antonio. His primary target was the
H-E-B H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held company, privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, with more than 435 stores throughout Texas and Mexico. The company also operates Central Market (Texas) ...
grocery store chain. In addition, he attempted to organize Hispanic farm workers working the farmers market in San Antonio—an institution at that time controlled by the corporate farms. Among his many organizing activities included an early 1972 episode where he and several other UFOC staff members who were attempting to organize warehouse workers in San Antonio were fired upon by security agents of the corporate farm owners. In mid-1973 the San Antonio office of the UFOC was taken over by the Brown Berets. This radicalization of the San Antonio UFOC office led to the eventual collapse of the San Antonio UFOC organizing campaign.


1970s

In 1970, Chávez decided to move the union's headquarters from Delano to La Paz, California, into a former sanatorium in the
Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...
. Whereas Chávez thought this change would help create "a national union of the poor ... serving the needs of all who suffer", other union members objected to this distancing of the leadership away from the farmworkers. The union was poised to launch its next major campaign in the lettuce fields in 1970 when a deal between the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse members ...
and the growers nearly destroyed it. Initially, the Teamsters signed contracts with lettuce growers in the
Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Salinas'') is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and ...
, who wanted to avoid recognizing the UFW. Then in 1973, when the three-year UFW grape contracts expired, the grape growers signed contracts giving the Teamsters the right to represent the workers who had been members of the UFW. The UFW responded with strikes, lawsuits and boycotts, including secondary boycotts in the retail grocery industry. The union struggled to regain the members it had lost in the lettuce fields; it never fully recovered its strength in grapes, due in some part to incompetent management of the hiring halls it had established that seemed to favor some workers over others. In 1972 the UFW opened the Terronez Clinic in Delano, California. The clinic was primarily staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses who recently graduated medical school along with and administrative staff made of local supporters. By the end of their first year, the clinic had served an estimated 23,000 farm workers and their families. Due to its success, the UFW opened other clinics in Calexico and Salinas. By 1978, UFW Executive Board decided to end the programs due to dwindling resources. The battles in the fields became violent, with a number of UFW members killed on the picket line. The violence led the state in 1975 to enact the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, creating an administrative agency, the ALRB, that oversaw secret ballot elections and resolved charges of unfair labor practices, like failing to bargain in good faith, or discrimination against activists. The UFW won the majority of secret ballot elections in which it participated. In the late 1970s, the leadership of the UFW was wracked by a series of conflicts, as differences emerged between Chávez and some of his former colleagues. Trying to maintain union membership and strength, the UFW began to control the activities of local chapters which resulted in some longtime staffers resigning. Prominent Filipino activist Philip Vera Cruz also left the UFW in 1977 after Chavez accepted a invitation to visit the Philippines from the then dictator Ferdinand Marcos. In 1977, the Teamsters signed an agreement with the UFW promising to end their efforts to represent farm workers.


1980s

In the 1980s, the membership of the UFW shrank, as did its national prominence. After taking office in the 1980s, California Governor
George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. ( ; June 6, 1928May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent. B ...
stopped enforcement of the state's farm labor laws, resulting in farm workers losing their UFW contracts, being fired, and blacklisted. Due to internal squabbles, most of the union's original leadership left or were forced out, except for Chávez and Huerta. By 1986, the union had been reduced to 75 contracts and had stopped organizing. In the 1980s, the UFW joined with the AFL–CIO and other organizations for the national Wrath of Grapes campaign, reinstituting the grape boycott. In the early 1980s, Tomas Villanueva, a well-known organizer who had a reputation for his activism for farm workers, agreed to help the UFW when they were in need of a leader for their march in Washington state. Villanueva joined César Chávez in organizing the boycotts and strikes that occurred in Washington state. On September 21, 1986, Villanueva became the first president of the Washington state UFW. He was a great leader for the UFW activists in Washington since he led many strikes and influenced people to join the United Farm Workers movement. People who were against the movement started threatening leaders of the group such as Villanueva, but he continued organizing rallies. Even though there was some success in Washington state, the overall UFW membership started decreasing towards the end of the 1980s. Additionally, there was a major scare over pesticides in California at the time; watermelons would make the farm workers and consumers very ill. The UFW was outraged to hear about the use of illegal pesticides, and Chávez decided to fast for 36 days to protest the dangers pesticides had on farm workers and their community. This influenced the legislature in California to create more food testing programs, resulting in pesticide-free produce, and to encourage organic farming.


Recent developments

In July 2008, farm worker Ramiro Carrillo Rodriguez, 48, died of a
heat stroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstro ...
. According to United Farm Workers, he was the "13th farm worker heat death since CA Governor
Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
took office" in 2003. In 2006 California's first permanent heat regulations were enacted but these regulations were not strictly enforced, the union contended. In 2013, farm workers working at a Fresno facility, for California's largest peach producer, voted to de-certify the United Farm Workers. News of this decertification was released to the public in 2018. ''
César Chávez 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), ...
'' is a film released in March 2014, directed by
Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer, best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in ''Rogue One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016) and the Disney+ series ''Andor (TV series), ...
about the life of the Mexican-American
labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
leader who co-founded the United Farm Workers. The film stars
Michael Peña Michael Peña (; ; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including '' Crash'' (2004), '' World Trade Center'' (2006), '' Shooter'' (2007), '' Observe and Report'' (2009), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), '' Battle: L ...
as Chávez. Co-producer
John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...
also co-stars in the role of an owner of a large industrial grape farm who leads the sometimes violent opposition to Chávez's organizing efforts. The United Farm Workers of America's work is dedicated to helping farm workers have the proper conditions in the work field and stand with them in the fight for equality. One of the issues that the UFW is constantly fighting for is the ongoing abuse that dairy workers at Darigold farms are facing. Darigold farms workers are known to have dealt with issues such as sexual harassment and wage theft. The UFW has taken an active role in a particular case called the "Darigold Dozen". The Darigold Dozen are 12 dairy farm workers from Washington who filed a lawsuit against Ruby Ridge Dairy in Pasco where they are employed, for wage theft. The UFW held a five-day fast on September 20, 2018, outside the Darigold headquarters to protest the poor work condition and treatments the Darigold farmers face and to bring attention to the Darigold Dozen. On May 8, 2019, the employers of the Darigold Dozen dropped their countersuit against their former employees and dropped a lawsuit that they had filed against the UFW. The UFW continues to raise awareness on the treatment of Darigold farm workers and speaks out against Starbucks who buy their milk from the Darigold company. On the UFW website, they have flyers and videos about the conditions dairy farmers face, which they encourage people to share with others. Lastly, they have also emailed the CEO of Starbucks asking him to cut ties with Darigold company.


Geography

The grape strike officially began in Delano in September 1965. In December, union representatives traveled from California to New York, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and other large cities to encourage a boycott of grapes grown at ranches without UFW contracts. In the summer of 1966, unions and religious groups from Seattle and Portland endorsed the boycott. Supporters formed a boycott committee in Vancouver, prompting an outpouring of support from Canadians that continued throughout the following years. In 1967, UFW supporters in Oregon began picketing stores in Eugene, Salem, and Portland. After melon workers went on strike in Texas, growers held the first union representation elections in the region, and the UFW became the first union to ever sign a contract with a grower in Texas. National support for the UFW continued to grow in 1968, and hundreds of UFW members and supporters were arrested. Picketing continued throughout the country, including in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Florida. The mayors of New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Detroit, and other cities pledged their support, and many of them altered their cities' grape purchases to support the boycott. In 1969, support for farm workers increased throughout North America. The grape boycott spread into the South as civil rights groups pressured grocery stores in Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Nashville, and Louisville to remove non-union grapes. Student groups in New York protested the Department of Defense and accused them of deliberately purchasing boycotted grapes. On May 10, UFW supporters picketed Safeway stores throughout the US and Canada in celebration of International Grape Boycott Day. César Chávez also went on a speaking tour along the East Coast to ask for support from labor groups, religious groups, and universities. There were over 1,000 UFW strikes, boycotts, protests, and other farm worker actions between 1965 and 1975, as collected by ''El Macriado'', ''Los Angeles Times'', ''New York Times'', and ''Seattle Times''. Between 1965 and 1975 the United Farm Workers activism throughout the United States saw a tremendous increase. UFW started with the 7 states of California, New York, Washington, DC, Mississippi, Arizona, Illinois, and Texas. The movement and fight for change expanded to a total of 42 states in the span of 10 years. Other organizations that followed in the United Farm Workers fight to empower and seek justice for farm workers are Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) (1967), Treeplanters & Farmworkers United of the Northwest (PCUN) (1985), and
Coalition of Immokalee Workers The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization focusing on social responsibility in corporate supply chains, human trafficking, sexual violence at work and occupational health and safety. Starting in 1993 ...
(CIW) (1993).


Immigration

The UFW during Chávez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration. Chávez and other like-minded individuals advocated for enforcement of laws such as the Alien Contract Labor Act of 1885 to fight the influx of people that could hurt their cause. Chávez and Dolores Huerta, co-founder and president of the UFW, fought the
Bracero Program The Bracero Program (from the Spanish term ''bracero'' , meaning " manual laborer" or "one who works using his arms") was a temporary labor initiative between the United States and Mexico that allowed Mexican workers to be employed in the U.S. ...
that existed from 1942 to 1964. Their opposition was due to their belief that the program undermined US workers and exploited the migrant workers. Since the Bracero Program ensured a constant supply of cheap immigrant labor for growers, immigrants could not protest any infringement of their rights, lest they be fired and replaced. Their efforts contributed to Congress ending the Bracero Program in 1964. On a few occasions, concerns that illegal immigrant labor would undermine UFW strike campaigns led to controversial events. The UFW describes these as anti-strikebreaking events, but some have also interpreted them as anti-immigrant. In 1969, Chávez and members of the UFW marched through the Imperial and
Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...
s to the border of Mexico to protest growers' use of illegal immigrants as strikebreakers. The UFW and Chávez reported illegal immigrants who served as strikebreaking replacement workers (as well as those who refused to unionize) to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a United States federal government agency under the United States Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and under the United States Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Refe ...
. In 1973, the United Farm Workers set up a "wet line" along the
United States-Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
to prevent Mexican immigrants from entering the United States illegally and undermining the UFW's unionization efforts. During one such event, in which Chávez was not involved, some UFW members, under the guidance of Chávez's cousin Manuel, physically attacked the strikebreakers after peaceful attempts to persuade them not to cross the border failed. In 1979, Chávez denounced the US Immigration and Naturalization Service in a US Senate hearing for the former's refusal to arrest illegal Mexican immigrants whom Chávez said were being used as
strikebreakers A strikebreaker (sometimes pejoratively called a scab, blackleg, bootlicker, blackguard or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers may be current employees ( union members or not), or new hires to keep the org ...
. After the passing of Chávez, the United Farm Workers shifted their stance towards immigration and began advocating for undocumented immigrants and campaign against Proposition 187.


Roles

The role of César Chávez, a co-founder of UFW, was to frame his campaigns in terms of consumer safety and involving social justice, bringing benefits to the farmworker unions. One of UFW's, along with Chávez's, important aspects that has been overlooked is building coalitions. The United Farm Workers allows farmworkers to help improve their working conditions and wages. The UFW embraces nonviolence in its attempt to cultivate members on political and social issues. The union publicly adopted the principles of non-violence championed by
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
and
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
On July 22, 2005, the UFW announced that it was joining the Change to Win Federation (now known as the Strategic Organizing Center), a coalition of labor unions functioning as an alternative to 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 ...
. On January 13, 2006, the union officially disaffiliated from the AFL–CIO. In contrast to other Change to Win-affiliated unions, the AFL–CIO neglected to offer the right of affiliation to regional bodies to the UFW.


Presidents

:1963:
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), ...
:1993: Arturo Rodriguez :2018: Teresa Romero


Historic sites

* National Farm Workers Association Headquarters, Delano, California, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) *
The Forty Acres The Forty Acres, located in Delano, California, Delano, California, was the first headquarters of the United Farm Workers labor union. The union acquired the site of the compound in 1966, and the buildings were built in the ensuing years. The fir ...
, Delano, California, NRHP-listed


See also

* Rebecca Flores Harrington * Timeline of Latino civil rights in the United States


Notes


References


Further reading

* Araiza, Lauren. ''To March for Others: The Black Freedom Struggle and the United Farm Workers''. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014. * Bardacke, Frank. "Cesar's Ghost: Rise and Fall of the UFW." ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
''. July 26, 1993

* Bardacke, Frank. ''Trampling Out the Vintage: Cesar Chavez and the Two Souls of the United Farm Workers''. London and New York: Verso, 2011. * Ferriss, Susan; Sandoval, Ricardo; and Hembree, Diana. ''The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement''. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998. * Flores, Lori A. ''Grounds for Dreaming: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the California Farmworker Movement'' (Yale University Press, 2016). xvi, 288 pp. * Marshall Ganz, Ganz, Marshall. ''Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization, and Strategy in the California Farm Worker Movement''. Oxford University Press, 2009. * Gutierrez, David G. ''Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. * Nelson, Eugene. ''Huelga! The First One Hundred Days of the Delano Grape Strike.'' Delano, Calif.: Farm Worker Press, 1966. * Pawel, Miriam. "Farmworkers Reap Little as Union Strays From Its Roots." ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. January 8, 2006

* Pawel, Miriam. ''The Union of Tbeir Dreams: Power, Hope, and Struggle in Cesar Chavez's Farm Worker Movement''. Bloomsbury Press, 2009. * Pawel, Miriam. ''The Crusades of Cesar Chavez: A Biography''. Bloomsbury Press, 2014. * Shaw, Randy. ''Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.


Archival collections

* The Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...
is the official repository of the United Farm Workers Union. Collections include the papers of
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), ...
and Dolores Huerta as well as numerous administrative records and personal papers. Visit th
United Farm Workers Collections at the Reuther Library

Jerry Cohen (AC 1963) Papers
in the Archives & Special Collections at Amherst College. Cohen was General Counsel of the United Farm Workers of America and personal attorney of César Chávez from 1967–1979.
United Farm Workers Printed Matter Collection
at the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
United Farm Workers Records
1968–1976. circa 0.1 Cubic Ft. At th
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections

King County Labor Council of Washington Records
1889–2008. 41.26 cubic ft. (61 boxes). At th
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections

Guide to the United Farm Workers Information Fair Collection.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Rosalinda Guillen and Joseph Moore Papers.
– Court Case Documents, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Picket, Joseph Moore Speeding Ticket


External links

*


General


Mapping UFW Strikes, Boycotts, and Farm Worker Actions 1965–1975
A map with over 1,000 farm worker strikes, boycotts, and other actions, as well as an even
timeline
an
essay

United Farm Workers Union
1965 Grape Boycott Case Study – University of California, Berkeley
United Farm Workers Union entry, Encyclopedia of Texas Online Edition


a multimedia section of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project on UFW and pre-UFW farm worker organizing, including interviews with organizers, historical photographs, digitized newspaper articles and a ten-part essay on farm worker struggles in the State.
The Rise and Fall of the United Farm Workers
by Michael D. Yates, ''
Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...
''
''Cesar Chavez''
The biographical movie, released in 2014 and featuring archival footage and chronicle of the first decade of the UFW.
Lucas Benitez


Archives and documentation


Collected papers
of the UFW and related organizations are held at the Walter Reuther Library, Wayne State University. The website also has a
image gallery
with 400 photographs.
California UFW collective bargaining agreements
– A searchable and browseable collection from the UC Davis Library.
United Farm Workers publications
University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...

University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Vietnam War Era Ephemera
This collection contains leaflets and newspapers that were distributed on the University of Washington campus during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. Includes ephemera from the United Farm Workers.


Image of United Farm Worker's strike in Delano, 1965.
''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...
,
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
. * Jacques E. Levy Research Collection on Cesar Chavez. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. * Jon Lewis Photographs of the United Farm Workers Movement. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{Authority control Change to Win Federation Trade unions in the United States History of labor relations in the United States Labor relations in California Organizations based in California Agriculture in California San Joaquin Valley 1962 establishments in the United States Mexican-American organizations Boycott organizers Agriculture and forestry trade unions in the United States Trade unions established in 1962 Cesar Chavez Dolores Huerta