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The beginning to a union that would be the only successful union ever established to defend the rights of those who grow and harvest crops began September 8, 1964 with the grape strike in Delano, California.  Years before the creation of the UFW, there were many attempts to organize.  The [[Bracero Program]] ended in 1964, but a new program was created that still allowed the American government to import Mexican workers.  These workers were being paid more than domestic workers.  When domestic farm workers demand that their wages be increased, they were denied, and the workers struck.  Because coachella grapes, grown in southernmost California, ripen first in the state, growers realized that they needed their workers to pick the grapes in time, to save their profits.  After ten days the growers decided to pay everyone $1.25 per hour.  However, no union contract was signed, and in September of 1965 the Delano Grape Strike began.
The dominant force behind attempts to unionize much of the agricultural labor force concentrated in California and spinning off of smaller-scale efforts in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Washington, Ohio, and Michigan has been the UFW, headed since its inception in 1962 by Cesar Chavez until his death in April 1993. The UFW remains today to fight for the rights of farm workers.  Many of the issues that the union fought for 30 years ago are some of the same issues that they fight for today.  The UFW concerns itself with issues regarding the equal treatment of women in the field, fair wages, and improved working and living conditions.  Above all, farm workers ask that they be treated with and receive respect.  They deserve respect!  One thing is for sure, throughout history up to today, the union has not given up, and its dignity has not been weakened.


<center>[[Image:Image015.jpg|thumb|Description]]</center>
==Each worker fights for justice and with a certain mind-set...==


==Delano==
==='''Vision'''[[http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?menu=about&inc=about_vision.html]]===
 
To provide farm workers and other working people with the inspiration and tools to share in society's bounty.
 
 
'''Core Values''':
*Integrity
--Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
*Si Se Puede! (Yes we can!) Attitude
--The embodiment of a personal and organizational spirit that promotes confidence, courage, and risk taking.
*Innovation
--The active pursuit of new ideas.
*Non-Violence
--Enagaging in disciplined action.
*Empowerment
--A fundamental belief in and respect for people.
 
 
===The Flag===
 
 
<center>[[Image:Flag.jpg|thumb|Description]]</center>


"The strike began three years ahead of schedule. The fuse was lit in the Coachella Valley south of Delano, where in the spring of 1965, Filipino grape pickers, most of whom were members of the AFL-CIO's Agricultural Workers' Organizing Committee, balked at being paid less than the braceros who worked beside them in the fields. Under a US Department of Labor edict, the braceros were getting $1.40 an hour base pay, while domestic workers were receiving twenty to thirty cents an hour less, in spite of the Labor Department's stipulation that domestics were in no case to be paid less than the braceros. Joined by several hundred Mexican-American pickers, the Filipinos staged a walkout."[http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/calheritage/UFW/]


"A symbol is an important thing.  That is why we chose an Aztec eagle.  It gives
pride... When people see it they know it means dignity." Cesar Chavez [http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?menu=research&inc=history/07.html].


Begun by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), led by Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong, the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), led by Cesar Chavez, soon joined the strike.
"The black eagle signifies the dark situation of the farm worker.  The Aztec eagle is a historic symbol for the people of Mexico.  The UFW incorporated the Aztec eagle into its design in order to show the connection the union had to migrant workers of Mexican-American descent, though not all UFW workers were Mexican-American.  The white circle signified hope and aspirations.  The red background stood for the hard work and sacrifice that the union members would have to give.  The UFW also adopted an official motto, "Viva la Causa" (Long Live Our Cause)." [http://www.colapublib.org/chavez/flag.htm]


==Cesar Chavez==


"At a meeting on September 16, packed with hundreds of workers, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Delano, the NFWA voted unanimously, to shouts of 'Viva la Huelga!', to strike too.  Chavez was apprehensive.  Asked later when he felt his organization-which had $100 in its bank account, would have been ready to go out on a big strike, he replied, 'About 1968.'"[http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?menu=research&inc=history/03.html]


<center>[[Image:Aa_chavez_subj_e.jpg|thumb|Description]]</center>


By September 20 more than thirty farms were struck.  A nationwide boycott of nonunion grapes followed.  Roving pickets were formed, and workers were increasingly joining the strike.  Chavez encouraged  the public to refuse buying grapes that did not have a union label, and workers were sent out to cities, churches, schools, and businesses speaking on behalf of the boycott.  Eventually, millions of consumers were refusing to buy table grapes.  The boycott has the strength and potential to hurt the sale of other products produced by Delano growers as well.


<center>[[Image:Image016.gif|thumb|Description]]</center>
Cesar Chavez was the most important Latino leader in U.S. history, and he devoted his life to helping others.[http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/index.html].  He preached non-violence, and followed the words of Martin Luther King and Ghandi as he fought for the rights of thousands of farm workers.  He did not fight for the rights of a single race or gender, but instead, he fought for all of mankind that experiences injustice.
 
 
''"The whole idea of the union, it's not only the union, but it represents, together with you and me, all our brothers, Chicano and white and black and everything, represents an idea that poor people can get together and win."''  --Chavez[[http://www.ufw.org]]
 


<center>[[Image:Image020.jpg|thumb|Description]]</center>
Chavez was willing to sacrifice his own life so that the union would continue and that violence was not used. In order to get his message across, he would fast.  In the winter of 1968 Chavez went on a water only, 25 day fast.  He repeated the fast in 1972 for 24 days, and again in 1988, this time for 36 days.  Commenting on his fasting, he stated, "Farm workers everywhere are angry and worried that we cannot win without violence.  We have proved it before through persistence, hard work, faith and willingness to sacrifice.  We can win and keep our own self-respect and build a great union that will secure the spirit of all people if we do it through a rededication and recommitment to the struggle for justice through nonviolence."


In response to the boycott, striking workers were sprayed with agricultural poisons by Delano growers.  Led by Chavez, on March 17, 1966, seventy strikers marched 340 miles in 25 days, picketing and rallying along the way.  By the end of the pilgrimmage, Chavez was leading hundreds of people, and they cheered with thousands of people along the way.  As the days passed, growers realized that they were not winning the battle, even after they offered to raise wages to $1.25.  Workers refused to accept the concession, and growers realized that a union was the only answer.  Eventaully, the two largest growers in Delano, Schenley and DiGiorgio, were employers of union labor.
He also stated, "A fast is first and foremost personal.  It is a fast for the purification of my own body, mind, and soul.  The fast is also a heartfelt prayer for purification and strengthening for all those who work beside me in the farm worker movement.  The fast is also an act of penance for those in positions of moral authority and for all men and women activists who know what is right and just, who know that they could and should do more.  The fast is finally a declaration of non-cooperation with supermarkets who promote and sell and profit fromCalifornia table grapes.  During the past few years I have been studying the plague of pesticides on our land and our food.  The evil is far greater than even I had thought it to be, it threatens to choke out the life of our people and also the life system that supports us all.  This solution to this deadly crisis will not be found in the arrogance of the powerful, but in solidarity with the weak and helpless.  I pray to God that this fast will be a preparation for a multitude of simple deeds for justice.  Carried out by men and women whose hearts are focused on the suffering of the poor and who yearn, with us, for a better world.  Together, all things are possible." [http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?menu=research&inc=history/07.html]


The impact that Chavez had on the farm workers he led as well as the United States is evident in the acions taken after his death.  More than 40,000 people attended his funeral, and people grieved all throughout the U.S. [http://clnet.ucla.edu/research/chavez/bio/]  Chavez received the Aguila Azteca (The Aztec Eagle) in 1991.  This is Mexico's highest award presented to people of Mexican heritage who have made major contributions outside of Mexico.  Cesar is one of only two Mexican Americans to ever receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 8, 1994.  This is the highest civilian honor in the United States.  This award was presented by President Bill Clinton. [http://clnet.ucla.edu/research/chavez/bio/]  In 1994, Chavez's family organized the [http://chavezfoundation.org/ Cesar E. Chavez Foundation] to encourages others to continue the battle that Cesar fought for so many years and to promote his life, vision, and work.




The two organizations merged a year later in 1966 to form the United Farm Workers Union, AFL-CIO.  By 1970 most of the table grape growers were organized and the UFW had 50,000 dues paying members.




The dominant force behind attempts to unionize much of the agricultural labor force concentrated in California and spinning off of smaller-scale efforts in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Washington, Ohio, and Michigan has been the UFW, headed since its inception in 1962 by Cesar Chavez until his death in April 1993. Though its strength has diminished since the early 1980s, the UFW continues to be the largest agrictultural labor union in California (Cooper).
''"I had a dream that the only reasons the employers were so powerful was not because they in fact had that much power, in terms of dealing with the lives of their workers at will, but what makes them truly powerful was that we were weak.  And if we could somehow begin to develop some strength among ourselves, I felt that we could begin to equal that, balancing their power in agriculture."'' --Cesar Chavez[[http://www.ufw.org]]


==='''Vision'''[[http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?menu=about&inc=about_vision.html]]===




To provide farm workers and other working people with the inspiration and tools to share in society's bounty.


To learn more about Cesar Chavez, visit the sites listed below.


'''Core Values''':
[http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/cesarchavez.html "The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers' Struggle"]
*Integrity
--Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
*Si Se Puede! (Yes we can!) Attitude
--The embodiment of a personal and organizational spirit that promotes confidence, courage, and risk taking.
*Innovation
--The active pursuit of new ideas.
*Non-Violence
--Enagaging in disciplined action.
*Empowerment
--A fundamental belief in and respect for people.


[http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?menu=research&inc=research_history.html United Farm Workers Official Web Site]


''"I had a dream that the only resons the employers were so powerful was not because they in fact had that much power, in terms of dealing with the lives of their workers at will, but what makes them truly powerful was that we were weak.  And if we could somehow begin to develop some strength among ourselves, I felt that we could begin to equal that, balancing their power in agriculture."'' --Cesar Chavez[[http://www.ufw.org]]
[http://chavez.cde.ca.gov/ModelCurriculum/Teachers/Lessons/Resources/Biographies/Biographical_Sketch_4thGrd.aspx Cesar Chavez: A Biographical Sketch]




''"The whole idea of the union, it's not only the union, but it represents, together with you and me, all our brothers, Chicano and white and black and everything, represents an idea that poor people can get together and win."''  --Chavez[[http://www.ufw.org]]




Latest revision as of 02:38, 12 May 2006

The dominant force behind attempts to unionize much of the agricultural labor force concentrated in California and spinning off of smaller-scale efforts in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Washington, Ohio, and Michigan has been the UFW, headed since its inception in 1962 by Cesar Chavez until his death in April 1993. The UFW remains today to fight for the rights of farm workers. Many of the issues that the union fought for 30 years ago are some of the same issues that they fight for today. The UFW concerns itself with issues regarding the equal treatment of women in the field, fair wages, and improved working and living conditions. Above all, farm workers ask that they be treated with and receive respect. They deserve respect! One thing is for sure, throughout history up to today, the union has not given up, and its dignity has not been weakened.

Each worker fights for justice and with a certain mind-set...

Vision[[1]]

To provide farm workers and other working people with the inspiration and tools to share in society's bounty.


Core Values:

  • Integrity

--Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

  • Si Se Puede! (Yes we can!) Attitude

--The embodiment of a personal and organizational spirit that promotes confidence, courage, and risk taking.

  • Innovation

--The active pursuit of new ideas.

  • Non-Violence

--Enagaging in disciplined action.

  • Empowerment

--A fundamental belief in and respect for people.


The Flag

Description


"A symbol is an important thing. That is why we chose an Aztec eagle. It gives pride... When people see it they know it means dignity." Cesar Chavez [2].

"The black eagle signifies the dark situation of the farm worker. The Aztec eagle is a historic symbol for the people of Mexico. The UFW incorporated the Aztec eagle into its design in order to show the connection the union had to migrant workers of Mexican-American descent, though not all UFW workers were Mexican-American. The white circle signified hope and aspirations. The red background stood for the hard work and sacrifice that the union members would have to give. The UFW also adopted an official motto, "Viva la Causa" (Long Live Our Cause)." [3]

Cesar Chavez

Description


Cesar Chavez was the most important Latino leader in U.S. history, and he devoted his life to helping others.[4]. He preached non-violence, and followed the words of Martin Luther King and Ghandi as he fought for the rights of thousands of farm workers. He did not fight for the rights of a single race or gender, but instead, he fought for all of mankind that experiences injustice.


"The whole idea of the union, it's not only the union, but it represents, together with you and me, all our brothers, Chicano and white and black and everything, represents an idea that poor people can get together and win." --Chavez[[5]]


Chavez was willing to sacrifice his own life so that the union would continue and that violence was not used. In order to get his message across, he would fast. In the winter of 1968 Chavez went on a water only, 25 day fast. He repeated the fast in 1972 for 24 days, and again in 1988, this time for 36 days. Commenting on his fasting, he stated, "Farm workers everywhere are angry and worried that we cannot win without violence. We have proved it before through persistence, hard work, faith and willingness to sacrifice. We can win and keep our own self-respect and build a great union that will secure the spirit of all people if we do it through a rededication and recommitment to the struggle for justice through nonviolence."

He also stated, "A fast is first and foremost personal. It is a fast for the purification of my own body, mind, and soul. The fast is also a heartfelt prayer for purification and strengthening for all those who work beside me in the farm worker movement. The fast is also an act of penance for those in positions of moral authority and for all men and women activists who know what is right and just, who know that they could and should do more. The fast is finally a declaration of non-cooperation with supermarkets who promote and sell and profit fromCalifornia table grapes. During the past few years I have been studying the plague of pesticides on our land and our food. The evil is far greater than even I had thought it to be, it threatens to choke out the life of our people and also the life system that supports us all. This solution to this deadly crisis will not be found in the arrogance of the powerful, but in solidarity with the weak and helpless. I pray to God that this fast will be a preparation for a multitude of simple deeds for justice. Carried out by men and women whose hearts are focused on the suffering of the poor and who yearn, with us, for a better world. Together, all things are possible." [6]

The impact that Chavez had on the farm workers he led as well as the United States is evident in the acions taken after his death. More than 40,000 people attended his funeral, and people grieved all throughout the U.S. [7] Chavez received the Aguila Azteca (The Aztec Eagle) in 1991. This is Mexico's highest award presented to people of Mexican heritage who have made major contributions outside of Mexico. Cesar is one of only two Mexican Americans to ever receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 8, 1994. This is the highest civilian honor in the United States. This award was presented by President Bill Clinton. [8] In 1994, Chavez's family organized the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation to encourages others to continue the battle that Cesar fought for so many years and to promote his life, vision, and work.



"I had a dream that the only reasons the employers were so powerful was not because they in fact had that much power, in terms of dealing with the lives of their workers at will, but what makes them truly powerful was that we were weak. And if we could somehow begin to develop some strength among ourselves, I felt that we could begin to equal that, balancing their power in agriculture." --Cesar Chavez[[9]]



To learn more about Cesar Chavez, visit the sites listed below.

"The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers' Struggle"

United Farm Workers Official Web Site

Cesar Chavez: A Biographical Sketch




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