Scarce Afl-Cio Kennedy Huerta Iliong Monterey Salinas Photo Marching Lettuce

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176278959779 SCARCE AFL-CIO KENNEDY HUERTA ILIONG MONTEREY SALINAS PHOTO MARCHING LETTUCE. AN EXREMELY RARE 8 1/2 X 11 INCH 1970 PHOTO OF LARRY ITLIONG, DOLORES HUERTA AND MRS. ROBERT KENNEDY MARCHING  TO THE MONTEREY COURTHOUSE IN SALINAS COUTY BOYCOTTING LETTUCE _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In the late 1960s, grapes grabbed national attention—and not in a good way. Newly organized farm workers, fronted by Mexican-American civil-rights activist Cesar Chavez, asked Americans to boycott the popular California fruit because of the paltry pay and poor work conditions agricultural laborers were forced to endure. Using nonviolent tactics like marches and hunger strikes, grape pickers made their plight a part of the national civil-rights conversation.  It took time, but their efforts paid off: In 1970, after five years of the so-called Delano grape strike, farm workers won a contract promising better pay and benefits. A few years later, their efforts led to the passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which established collective-bargaining power for farmworkers statewide. But while Chavez has been honored with a national monument, a postage stamp and three state holidays, he wasn’t the only catalyst for change. Or even the leading one. Rather, it was Larry Itliong, a Filipino-American organizer, who led a group of Filipino-American grape workers to first strike in September 1965. “The Filipinos were far more radical” than the Mexican-American farm workers, says Matt Garcia, a professor of history at Dartmouth College and the author of From the Jaws of Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement. “They were focused like a laser, and decided that they were going to force the issue.” Who Started the Delano Grape Strike? The farm workers of Central California’s San Joaquin Valley largely hailed from two groups: Mexican-Americans and Filipino-Americans. But while they performed the same jobs in the same fields, they had arrived into California’s agricultural industry via very different routes. The first big wave of Filipino migration to the U.S. came between the two world wars. According to the book Little Manila is in the Heart by Dawn Mabalon, more than 31,000 Filipinos came to California between 1920 and 1929, many in search of agricultural work. Most came from rural areas of the Philippines, having sold off farm animals, crops and small parcels of land in order fund the 7,000-plus-mile journey across the Pacific. As a group, they were more than 90 percent male. And because anti-miscegenation laws forbade interracial marriage in California, many Filipino men who settled in the U.S. remained single. Those laws were finally changed in 1948, but at the dawn of the Delano grape strike, many from that wave of Filipino-American immigrants (often called “Manongs,” which translates to “older brothers”) had failed to marry. They were aging into their 50s and 60s, still single and living together in communal farm barracks. Roger Gadiano, a 72-year-old Filipino American who grew up in Delano in the 1960s, says he was one of the only “pure-breed” Filipino children in the town. “There were less than a dozen,” Gadiano says. “I knew them all.” With so many unmarried male laborers geographically untethered to homes and families, Filipino migrant workers were able to cross a broad swath of territory every year, bouncing season to season from Alaskan salmon canneries to Washington apple orchards to the grape harvests of California. Their constant movement, Garcia says, gave Filipinos the chance to see their labor in different settings, and to witness the power of organized labor more than their comparably less-mobile Mexican counterparts.  “They saw the possibility of extracting themselves from the oppression of the workplace,” says Garcia. “They saw different paths.” By contrast, Garcia says, the more rooted Mexican-American farmworkers were “beaten down and fighting against structures of oppression that they were born into.” Larry Itliong GERALD L FRENCH/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES JULIO HERNANDEZ (LEFT), LARRY ITLIONG (CENTER), AND CEASAR CHAVEZ (RIGHT) AT THE HUELGA DAY MARCH IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1966. And because the Filipino population was aging, they were also less patient—they needed raises, retirement benefits and healthcare immediately. “When there was a strike, the Manongs willingly went along,” says Gadiano. “When you live in a room for 20 years or so and don’t see much of a future, a little bit of a raise and some benefits would help… The mentality of the Manongs is: Anything is better than what we have now.” And they possessed a visionary leader in Larry Itliong. In the 1930s and 40s, he’d helped organize a cannery workers’ union in Alaska, had led lettuce strikes in Salinas, California and organized asparagus strikes in Stockton. In September 1965, he sparked the movement in the vineyards of Delano. According to the documentary Delano Manongs, Cesar Chavez was caught unaware by the September 1965 strike. Itliong asked Chavez—who was leading a group of Mexican-American farmworkers—to direct his workers to strike as well. Chavez balked, telling Itliong he needed two to three more years to organize before his farm workers could go on strike. Itliong countered by telling Chavez that if the Mexican-American farm workers broke the Filipino-organized strike, the Filipino-American farm workers would deliver the same to the Mexican Americans later, in retribution. Chavez conceded, the two groups joined forces and the strike commenced. What Led to the Delano Grape Strike? According to Garcia, the Delano strike was inspired by the success of a similar Filipino-American farm worker strike—in May 1965, in the Coachella Valley. There, an Itliong-led group of Filipino-American migrant workers asked for a $0.15/hour raise. The strike lasted a week. The growers met the terms of the demand. “That was the first blush of success,” Garcia says. BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES PICKETS GATHERING AT EDGE OF A GRAPE FIELD URGING WORKERS TO JOIN STRIKE. THE WORD "HUELGA" IS SPANISH FOR STRIKE.  Only three months later, many of the same Filipino-American farm workers went to Delano, California for the autumn grape harvest. Encouraged by their success in Coachella, they struck again. But according to Gadiano, once the Delano grape strike was underway, the situation at the camps turned grim. “It was a gloomy situation,” he says. “Some of the camps were closing down. They [the growers] were beating them real bad, shutting off water.” Both sides threatened violence. Gadiano says that when a cousin tried to cross the picket line and work in the fields, striking laborers would throw rocks at him. “It was really ugly,” Gadiano says. What did workers gain as a result of the strike and boycott? The Delano grape strike ultimately succeeded. After five long years, the growers signed a contract that made significant concessions to the farm workers, including a pay raise, health-care benefits, and safety protections from pesticides. But many of the benefits disproportionately benefited Mexican-American laborers. Hiring halls—set up as a result of collective bargaining—disproportionately favored permanent residents (i.e. Mexicans) over seasonal workers (i.e. Filipinos). Fed up with the direction of the union, Itliong resigned from the UFW in 1971. “In the end, Larry probably should’ve been president” of the union, says Garcia. “There’s a pain,” says Gadiano. “Cesar is revered. And the sad part is Larry Itliong and the Manongs’ role has been diminished to a footnote in history. But we started a movement that was incredibly positive. It helped farm workers not only in California, but around the United States. And people forget.”  Larry Itliong (pronunciation: LEH-ree EET-lee-AW-ng) was a Filipino American labor organizer and civil rights activist who played a central role in the founding of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. Itliong is best known for his role in the 1965-1966 strike and boycott against California grape growers and the subsequent founding of the UFW union. However, Itliong’s activism was a lifelong endeavor that began much earlier. For more than four decades, he organized and advocated on behalf of farm and cannery workers, immigrants, and Asian Americans. Early Life Modesto “Larry” Dulay Itliong was born October 25, 1913, in the Pangasinan province of the Philippines, then a U.S. territory. He was one of six children of Artemio and Francesca Itliong. He had only a sixth-grade education when left his home in the San Nicolas municipality for the United States in 1929 at the age of fifteen. Itliong hoped to continue his education in the United States. However, he arrived during the dire economic conditions of the Great Depression and pervasive racial violence and rhetoric against Filipinos and other immigrants. These conditions prevented him from realizing his academic ambitions.  Although Filipinos were technically American nationals, they faced legal and social discrimination. Anti-miscegenation laws prevented Filipinos (who were overwhelmingly young men) from marrying white women. Police raided Filipino dancehalls and violent mobs targeted Filipino communities. The only work available to most Filipinos was low-paid agricultural, cannery, and domestic work. Itliong’s experience of racism and economic injustice gave rise to a lifetime of activism. Itliong’s Early Organizing at the Alaska Canneries Like many other Filipinos in America at the time, Itliong “followed the seasons.” He migrated up and down the West Coast to fill short-term labor needs, such as planting, tending, and harvesting different crops. Mostly young single men, Filipinos crowded into jalopies or hitched rides on boxcars to find the next job. Many Filipinos, including Itliong, made their way to Seattle each year. Here, they signed contracts to spend the summer working in Alaska’s salmon canneries, a critical site for Filipino labor organizing in the 1930s.  Itliong’s first experience with organizing came in 1930, shortly after he first arrived in the United States. He was among 1,500 farmworkers to walk out of the lettuce fields near Monroe, Washington, on strike. By 1933, he organized farmworkers in California’s Salinas Valley. This was one of many strikes that were part of a growing movement in Filipino farmworker organizing during the 1930s. Itliong also helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union, which later became Local 7 of the United Cannery, Agricultural and Packinghouse Workers of America (UCAPAWA). His efforts with the union fought for a contract that offered workers an eight-hour workday with overtime. Itliong emerged as a leader in the Filipino American community of “Manongs” – respected elder workers who were crucial in shaping the labor movement.  Itliong, Stockton, and the Farmworkers Movement  During World War II, Itliong served as a steward on a US Army transport ship. After the war, he settled in Stockton, California, where he started a family and resumed his activism. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Itliong continued to organize farmworkers as a member of UCAPAWA and later the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Itliong also became involved in Filipino community and civic organizations like the Legionarios del Trabajo (League of Workers) and the Filipino Voters League.  In 1948, Itliong, along with Philip Vera Cruz and other labor leaders, participated in the 1948 asparagus strike in Stockton. The asparagus strike was the first major U.S. agricultural strike after World War II. In 1956, Itliong continued his organizing work with the Filipino Farm Labor Union (FFLU) in Stockton. Itliong was asked to organize for the Agricultural Worker’s Organizing Committee (AWOC), a newly chartered union in the AFL-CIO in 1959. Though the union was largely Filipino, it included Mexican, Arab, Black, and white workers within its ranks. United Farm Workers and the Delano Farmworkers Grape Strike In 1965, Itliong and the AWOC led 1,500 Filipino farmworkers on a strike against the grape growers in and around Delano, California. But grape growers could easily replace the striking workers. A successful strike required the support of Mexican farmworkers, many of whom were represented by the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) organized by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta. Chavez was hesitant to join the strike as he believed that the Mexican farmworkers needed more time to be organized. However, Itliong convinced him  to bring the NFWA to join forces with the AWOC. Together, they commenced the massive 1965–1966 grape strike and boycott. In 1967, the two unions officially merged to become the United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO (UFW). Chavez was the director and Itliong was the assistant director. In the years that followed, the UFW drew national attention to the plight of farmworkers through highly publicized boycotts and marches. Through their efforts, the UFW won labor contracts that guaranteed farmworkers higher wages and safer working conditions. However, tensions and internal conflict emerged within UFW. Chavez and Itliong’s leadership styles and viewpoints were in conflict. Chavez saw the union as more of a social movement, while Itliong approached it as a more traditional trade union. In 1971, Itliong resigned from the union. Itliong’s Later Organizing Years Itliong continued to organize for workers’ rights. Itliong traveled to defend and organize farm workers in Brazil and Chile in solidarity with other labor movements across the world. In addition, he was an elected delegate at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida.  He helped to establish the Paulo Agbayani Retirement Village, a retirement community for aging Filipino farmworkers. Agbayani opened its doors in 1974. Itliong remained politically active as a member of the Filipino American Political Association. His community activism continued until his death in 1977 at the age of 63. He was laid to rest in North Kern Cemetery in Delano, California.  Legacy Larry Itliong is remembered as one of the “fathers of the West Coast labor movement” and a key figure within the Asian American movement. In 1995, the first mural honoring Filipino American farmworkers was completed in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown, which features Itliong. In 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill designating October 25 as Larry Itliong Day in California. Itliong’s story of labor and union organizing among migrant farm workers sheds light on the history of Filipino American activism within the civil rights era. Modesto "Larry" Dulay Itliong (October 25, 1913 – February 1977[a]), also known as "Seven Fingers",[3] was a Filipino American labor organizer. He organized West Coast agricultural workers starting in the 1930s, and rose to national prominence in 1965, when he, Philip Vera Cruz, Benjamin Gines and Pete Velasco, walked off the farms of area table-grape growers, demanding wages equal to the federal minimum wage, that became known as the Delano grape strike.[4][5][6] He has been described as "one of the fathers of the West Coast labor movement."[7] He is regarded as a key figure of the Asian American movement. Biography Itliong was a native of San Nicolas, Pangasinan, Philippines (then a territory of the United States).[2][8] One of six children of Artemio and Francesca Itliong, he only had a sixth grade education.[2] He immigrated to the United States in 1929 and joined his first strike in 1930;[9] Itliong was only 15 when he came to the United States.[10] Itliong was an excellent card player, and avid cigar smoker, who spoke multiple Filipino languages, Spanish, Cantonese, Japanese, and taught himself about law.[3] Itliong married six times,[3] had seven children,[11] and raised his family in the Delano area [2] and in the Little Manila community of Stockton, California.[12] As a farmworker, Itliong worked in Alaska; where he organized cannery and agricultural unions, Washington, and up and down California;[3] he also worked in Montana and South Dakota.[2] While living in Alaska, he helped found the Alaska Cannery Workers Union (which later became Local 7 of the United Cannery and Packing and Allied Workers Union, then Local 7 of the International Longshoreman's and Warehouse Workers Union). He lost three fingers in an accident in an Alaskan cannery, which earned him the nickname, "Seven Fingers."[12] Some of the labor organizers whom Itliong met in his early days had ties to the Communist Party.[13] Filipinos in California led the way in unionization efforts among farmworkers in the 1930s and 40s.[14] During World War II, Itliong served on a U.S. Army transport ship as a messman.[12] After the war, he settled in the city of Stockton in California's Central Valley.[12] In 1948, Itliong (along with Rudy Delvo, Chris Mensalvas, Philip Vera Cruz, and Ernesto Mangaoang) became involved in the 1948 asparagus strike,[15] which was the first major agriculture strike after World War II.[16] Itliong served as the first shop steward of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 37,[2] in Seattle,[17] and was elected its vice-president in 1953.[2] He served as secretary of the Filipino Community of Stockton from 1954 to 1956.[12] In 1956, Itliong founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union[1] in Stockton.[12] In 1957, he was elected president of the Filipino Voters League in Stockton.[12] By 1965, Itliong was leading the AFL–CIO union Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee;[18] the majority of members of the committee were Filipinos who had in the 1930s arrived in the United States.[19] A vote was held on May 3, 1965 in which the committee voted to strike against Coachella Valley grape growers. Although the strikers weren't able to negotiate a contract with the growers, they did succeed in winning higher wages.[18] Following the success in Southern California, on September 8, 1965 the Agriculture Workers Organizing Committee voted to strike against grape growers in Delano, California, where the grape season starts in September.[18] This strike became the first time Mexican workers, due to the decision of Cesar Chavez, did not break a strike of Filipinos;[3] later, on September 16, 1965, Chavez's National Farm Workers Association joined the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee on the picket lines.[20] These strikes occurred around the same time when younger Filipino Americans began a period of political self-reflection and awakening.[21] The Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and National Farm Workers Association merged to form the United Farm Workers;[22] Itliong was skeptical of the merger, as he believed that Mexicans would become dominant over the Filipinos when the organizations merged, and that improving work conditions would come at the expense of Filipino farmworkers, but Itliong kept those feelings to himself at the time.[23] In 1966, the California Rural Legal Assistance was founded as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty,[24] with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Itliong sitting on the founding board.[25] Itliong served as assistant director of the United Farm Workers under Cesar Chavez,[26] and in 1970 he was appointed the United Farm Workers' national boycott coordinator.[27] In 1971, Itliong resigned from the United Farm Workers because of disagreements about the governance of the union;[26] another reason for resigning from the United Farm Workers, was that Itliong felt that the union was not willing to support aging Filipinos.[28][29] Alex Fabros, a doctoral candidate at University of California, Santa Barbara, called the merger "devastating for the Filipinos who participated in the UFW.".[22] After leaving the United Farm Workers, Itliong assisted retired Filipino farmworkers in Delano, and was a delegate at the 1972 Democratic National Convention.[1] Together with Vera Cruz, Itliong worked towards building a retirement facility for UFW workers, known as Agbayani Village.[28][30] Although no longer in the United Farm Workers, Itliong continued to support others in the organized labor movement, such as helping others plan a strike against Safeway supermarkets in 1974.[31] Itliong also served as President of the Filipino American Political Association,[1] a bipartisan lobbying organization.[28] He died in Delano in February 1977,[a] aged 63, from Lou Gehrig's disease.[1][9] Legacy Most history books mention Chavez and the United Farm Workers, but do not include a mention of Itliong or other Filipinos.[32][33] Speaking about Chavez and his father, Johnny Itliong said, "Larry was militant. Cesar was non-violent. Cesar had handlers. Cesar had lawyers. Cesar was a dictator."[32] The first public art memorial honoring Filipino American farmworkers was unveiled on June 24, 1995 in LA's Historic Filipinotown with Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz as its most prominent historical figures.[34] Itliong was posthumously honored in 2010 by inclusion in a mural at California State University, Dominguez Hills.[35] In 2011, Los Angeles County recognized Itliong with Larry Itliong Day on October 25;[32] this follows the City of Carson which became the first city in the United States to recognize Larry Itliong Day in the United States in 2010.[36] In 2015 Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to establish Larry Itliong Day in the State of California.[37] It was proclaimed in 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom.[38] In mid-April 2013, the New Haven Unified School District renamed Alvarado Middle School as the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in honor of Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong; this school is the first school in the United States to be named for Filipino Americans.[39] There was a vocal opposition to the name change, some of whom waved Mexican flags, who said that the name changing disrupts the neighborhood's tradition.[40] The middle school was originally named for Juan Bautista Alvarado, and the name change did not take effect until 2015.[41] This occurred after a 13-year effort to rename a school for the Filipino American leaders, after several other schools had been named to reflect the city's diverse population, including Cesar Chavez Middle School, where 20% of the population is Filipino American.[42] In late April 2013, a Filipino business and a Filipino Community Center were targeted with graffiti vandalism; the graffiti was investigated as a hate crime.[43] In 2014, an overpass over the Filipino American Highway in south San Diego was designated as the "Itliong-Vera Cruz Memorial Bridge".[44] A documentary titled The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW was made to highlight the role of Filipinos in the farm labor movement, including Itliong;[45] the documentary was released in 2013. Itliong was portrayed by Darion Basco in the 2014 film about Cesar Chavez; the film will not include other Filipino American farm labor leaders such as Vera Cruz.[10][46] In 2018, a children's book was published which highlighted Itliong's life and his role in the agriculture labor movement.[47] The Filipino Hall in Delano, California houses a collection of memorabilia.[48] The Larry Itliong Papers are housed at the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University in Detroit.[49] A musical[50] is under development based on Itliong's life, with original compositions by Bryan Pangilinan. See also flag California portal icon Organized Labour portal Philip Vera Cruz Cesar Chavez Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the United Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers (UFW).[1] Huerta helped organize the Delano grape strike in 1965 in California and was the lead negotiator in the workers' contract that was created after the strike.[2] Huerta has received numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers', immigrants', and women's rights, including the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the United States Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights[3] and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[4] She was the first Latina inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, in 1993.[5][6] Huerta is the originator of the phrase "Sí, se puede".[7] As a role model to many in the Latino community, Huerta is the subject of many corridos (Mexican or Mexican-American ballads) and murals.[8] In California, April 10 is Dolores Huerta Day.[9] Early life Dolores Huerta was born on April 10, 1930, in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico. She is the second child and only daughter of Juan Fernández and Alicia Chávez. Juan Fernández was born in Dawson to a Mexican immigrant family and worked as a coal miner. Later, he joined the migrant labor force, and harvested beets in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. When Huerta was young, she would hear her father tell stories about union organizing.[10] After her parents divorced when she was three years old, she seldom saw her father. He stayed in New Mexico and served in the state legislature in 1938.[11] Chávez raised Huerta and her two brothers in the central California farmworker community of Stockton, California. Huerta's mother was known for her kindness and compassion towards others and was active in community affairs, numerous civic organizations, and the church. She encouraged the cultural diversity that was a natural part of Huerta's upbringing in Stockton. Alicia Chávez was a businesswoman who owned a restaurant and a 70-room hotel, where she welcomed low-wage workers and farmworker families at affordable prices and sometimes gave them free housing. Huerta was inspired by her mother to advocate for farmworkers later on in her life. In an interview, Huerta stated that "The dominant person in my life is my mother. She was a very intelligent woman and a very gentle woman".[12] This prompted Huerta to think about civil rights.[13] Her mother's generous actions during Dolores's childhood provided the foundation for her own non-violent, strongly spiritual stance. In the same interview she said, "When we talk about spiritual forces, I think that Hispanic women are more familiar with spiritual forces. We know what fasting is, and that it is part of the culture. We know what relationships are, and we know what sacrifice is".[14] Huerta's community activism began when she was a student at Stockton High School. Huerta was active in numerous school clubs and was a majorette and dedicated member of the Girl Scouts until the age of 18.[15] Dolores Huerta says a school teacher accusing her of stealing another student's work and, as a result, giving her an unfair grade, an act she considers to be rooted in racial bias.[citation needed] Having experienced marginalization during childhood because she was Hispanic, Huerta grew up with the belief that society needed to be changed. She attended college at the University of the Pacific's Stockton College (later to become San Joaquin Delta Community College), where she earned a provisional teaching credential.[16] After teaching elementary school, Huerta left her job and began her lifelong crusade to correct economic injustice:[3] "I couldn't tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children."[citation needed] — Dolores Huerta, year unknown Career as an activist Dolores Huerta in 2009 In 1955, Huerta along with Fred Ross co-founded and organized the Stockton Chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO), which fought for economic improvements for Latino/Mexican/Chicano migrant Farm workers. Due to her dedication and willingness to serve, Ross often delegated huge responsibilities to her. He knew she was capable of delivering the organization's message in Spanish and English and promoted the agenda from door to door field organizing.[17] "As she assumed responsibilities and stance that were traditionally held by white males, Huerta encountered criticism based on both gender and ethnic stereotypes".[18] In 1960, Huerta co-founded the Agricultural Workers Association, which set up voter registration drives and pressed local governments for barrio improvements.[19][20] In 1962, she co-founded, with César Chávez, the National Farm Workers Association, which would later become the United Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. Huerta was the only woman to ever sit on the board of the UFW, until 2018.[9] In 1966, she negotiated a contract between the UFWOC and Schenley Wine Company, marking the first time that farm workers were able to effectively bargain with an agricultural enterprise.[21] But Chavez and Huerta quickly realized that they shared a common goal of helping improve the lives and wages of farmworkers, so they co-founded the National Farm Workers Association. In 1962, after the CSO turned down Chávez's request, as their president, to organize farmworkers, Chávez and Huerta resigned from the CSO. She went to work for the National Farm Workers Association, which would later merge with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. "Dolores's organizing skills were essential to the growth of this budding organization."[20] The Original UFW house is located in the city of Los Angeles. At the age of only 25, Huerta was a lobbyist in Sacramento for the Stockton Community Service Organization and trained people to do grassroots organizing.[22] The foundation was later changed to an affiliated agricultural workers’ organization. In an interview, Huerta explained that she decided to join the organization after getting an inside look at the poverty farm workers lived in.[23] She cited that they were being paid little to nothing, had no rights, slept on the floors, had wooden boxes as furniture and unclean water, lacked access to bathrooms, and worked from sunrise to sundown without breaks. Many of these workers would migrate to where the crops were in season, meaning their children did not have a proper education and would often work in the fields alongside their parents. She explained that many women were often sexually assaulted by the landowners but were in fear to speak up because their family needed a job. She accused landowners of expecting free labor and justifying it as “doing the farmworkers and the public a favor by giving these people a job."[24] In 1965, Huerta directed the UFW's national boycott during the Delano grape strike, taking the plight of the farm workers to the consumers. She led the organization of boycotts advocating for consumer rights.[23] The boycott resulted in the entire California table grape industry signing a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the United Farm Workers in 1970.[19] In addition to organizing, Huerta has been active in lobbying for laws to improve the lives of farm workers. The laws that she supported included the following:[citation needed] 1960 bill to permit Spanish-speaking people to take the California driver's examination in Spanish 1962 legislation repealing the Bracero Program 1963 legislation to extend the federal program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), to California farmworkers The 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act As an advocate for farmworkers' rights, Huerta has been arrested twenty-two times for participating in non-violent civil disobedience activities and strikes.[citation needed] She remains active in progressive causes, and serves on the boards of People for the American Way, Consumer Federation of California, and Feminist Majority Foundation. On June 5, 1968, Huerta stood beside Robert F. Kennedy on the speaker's platform at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles as he delivered a victory statement to his political supporters shortly after winning the California Democratic presidential primary election.[25] Only moments after the candidate finished his speech, Kennedy and five other people were wounded by gunfire inside the hotel's kitchen pantry. Kennedy died from his gunshot wounds on June 6. In September 1988, in front of the St. Francis Hotel in Union Square, Huerta was severely beaten by San Francisco Police officer Frank Achim during a peaceful and lawful protest of the policies/platform of then-candidate for president George H. W. Bush. The baton-beating caused significant internal injuries to her torso, resulting in several broken ribs and requiring the removal of her spleen in emergency surgery. The beating was caught on videotape and broadcast widely on local television news. Later, Huerta won a large judgment against the SFPD and the City of San Francisco for the attack, the proceeds of which she used for the benefit of farm workers.[26] As a result of this assault and the suit, the SFPD was pressured to change its crowd control policies and its process of officer discipline.[27] Following a lengthy recovery, Huerta took a leave of absence from the union to focus on women's rights. She traversed the country for two years on behalf of the Feminist Majority's Feminization of Power: 50/50 by the year 2000 Campaign encouraging Latinas to run for office. The campaign resulted in a significant increase in the number of women representatives elected at the local, state and federal levels.[28][29] She also served as National Chair of the 21st Century Party, founded in 1992 on the principles that women make up 52% of the party's candidates and that officers must reflect the ethnic diversity of the nation.[citation needed] Dolores Huerta Foundation Huerta is president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which she founded in 2002.[30] It is a 501(c)(3) "community benefit organization that organizes at the grassroots level, engaging and developing natural leaders. DHF creates leadership opportunities for community organizing, leadership development, civic engagement, and policy advocacy in the following priority areas: health & environment, education & youth development, and economic development."[31] The foundation first got started when Huerta received the $100,000 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship in 2002, which she then used to create the DHF. Her youngest daughter, Camila Chavez, is the executive director at the foundation.[32] The primary purpose of the foundation is to weave in movements such as “women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, labor rights, and civil rights”[32] into an individual thread. The DHF has several programs.[32] The civic engagement program focuses on the voting rights of the people. They have protested, with petitions and signatures, to revise property tax loopholes in Proposition 13. Another part of their campaigns was to encourage voters to vote at the California primary elections, and to educate voters on federal issues such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the White House Budget.[32] They also created a Youth VOTE Campaign, where they were able to reach 1,055 contacts and 809 young voters. The organization has “secured millions of dollars for local infrastructures such as new sewer connections, street lights, sidewalks, and gutters in Lamont and Weedpatch from 2007–2015.”[32] The DHF was one of the plaintiffs in a suit against Kern High School District, alleging that African-American and Latino students were unfairly targeted for disciplinary actions; as part of the settlement, the district provides Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports training to staff members.[33] Awards and honors Dolores Huerta currently has about 15 honorary doctorates.[citation needed] On November 17, 2015, Dolores Huerta was bestowed the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest decoration a foreign national can receive from the Mexican government. Huerta was lauded for her years of service helping the Mexican community in the United States fighting for equal pay, dignity in the workplace, and fair employment practices in the farms of Northern California like Stockton, Salinas, and Delano.[34] Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama on May 29, 2012.[35] Huerta has served on the Board of Directors of Equality California.[36] Huerta was named one of the three most important women of the year in 1997 by Ms. magazine.[37] She was an inaugural recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights from President Bill Clinton in 1998. That same year, Ladies' Home Journal recognized her as one of the '100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century', along with such women leaders as Mother Teresa, Margaret Thatcher, Rosa Parks, and Indira Gandhi.[38] Speaking at a rally in Santa Barbara, California on September 24, 2006. She was awarded the Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship in 2002.[39] She was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from California State University, Northridge on May 29, 2002.[40][41] On September 30, 2005, she became an honorary sister of Kappa Delta Chi sorority (Alpha Alpha chapter – Wichita State University).[42] She received an honorary degree from Princeton University in recognition of her numerous achievements May 2006. She was lauded in the ceremony: "Through her insatiable hunger of justice—La Causa—and her tireless advocacy, she has devoted her life to creative, compassionate, and committed citizenship."[43] She was co-recipient (along with Virgilio Elizondo) of the 2007 Community of Christ International Peace Award .[44] On May 18, 2007, she announced her endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president,[45] and at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Huerta formally placed Clinton's name into nomination.[46] Also in 2008, Huerta received the "Maggie" Award, highest honor of the Planned Parenthood Federation, in tribute to their founder, Margaret Sanger.[47] She was recognized in 2008 by United Neighborhood Centers of America with its highest individual honor, the Jane Addams Distinguished Leadership Award at its National Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.[48] She was awarded the UCLA Medal, UCLA's highest honor, during the UCLA College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony on June 12, 2009.[49] In October 2010, Huerta was awarded an honorary degree by Mills College, who lauded her as "a lifetime champion of social justice whose courageous leadership garnered unprecedented national support from farmworkers, women, and underserved communities in a landmark quest for human and civil rights".[50] The same month, she was awarded an honorary doctorate [51] by University of the Pacific, which unveiled an official portrait of her for the Architects of Peace Project by artist Michael Collopy. Huerta was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Mount Holyoke College, where she delivered the commencement address, on May 21, 2017.[52] Huerta was honored by California State University, Los Angeles in October 2017 with its highest honor, the Presidential Medallion.[53] Four elementary schools in California and one in Tulsa, Oklahoma; one school in Fort Worth, Texas; and a high school in Pueblo, Colorado, are named after Huerta.[37] Pitzer College, in Claremont, California has a mural in front of Holden Hall dedicated to her.[54] A middle school in the major agricultural city of Salinas, California, which has a dense population of farm workers, was named in 2014 after her. She was a speaker at the first and tenth César Chávez Convocation.[55] In 2013, Huerta received the annual Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, given by Jefferson Awards.[56] Huerta also gave the keynote address at the Berkeley Law Class of 2018 graduation ceremony.[57] In July 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 2455, by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes, designating April 10 each year as Dolores Huerta Day.[58] In March 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a measure also designating April 10 each year as Dolores Huerta Day.[59] The intersection of East 1st and Chicago streets in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights is named Dolores Huerta Square.[60] In Fort Worth, Texas, a portion of State Highway 183 is named in honor of Huerta.[61] Asteroid 6849 Doloreshuerta, discovered by American astronomers Eleanor Helin and Schelte Bus at Palomar Observatory in 1979, was named in her honor.[62] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on August 27, 2019 (M.P.C. 115893).[63] Huerta received the Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in 2020.[64] In March 2021, the Governing Board of the Burbank Unified School District in Burbank voted to rename its David Starr Jordan Middle School as the Dolores Huerta Middle School.[65] Yale University awarded Huerta an Honorary Doctor of Laws in May 2021.[66] In August 2021, a brand new middle school in San Jose was dedicated in Huerta's honor.[67] Huerta also received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from University of Southern California, the highest honor conferred by the university, in May 2023.[68] She once served as Honorary Chair in the Democratic Socialists of America.[69] Representation in other media Huerta is one of the subjects of the Sylvia Morales film A Crushing Love (2009), the sequel to Chicana (1979).[70][71] She is portrayed by actress/activist Rosario Dawson in Diego Luna's César Chávez (2014).[72] She is the focus of a 2017 documentary called Dolores.[73] A middle school in Las Cruces, New Mexico is named after her. La Academia Dolores Huerta. The school specializes in bilingual studies, Latin dance and folk music.[74] Huerta appears with César Chávez in the graphic memoir Tata Rambo La Voz de M.A.Y.O, by Henry Barajas, Bernardo Brice and Gonzo[citation needed] Women's rights Dolores Huerta speaking at a campaign rally with former President Bill Clinton at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Huerta championed women's rights in feminist campaigns during her time off from union work. She also fought for ethnic diversity in her campaigns.[75] Huerta was an honorary co-chair of the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as president.[citation needed] Dolores, a new documentary about Huerta, talks a lot about her feminist approach to activism. She defines a feminist person as someone "who supports a woman's reproductive rights, who supports a woman's right to an abortion, who supports LGBT rights, who supports workers and labor unions, somebody who cares about the environment, who cares about civil rights and equality and equity in terms of our economic system."[76] Huerta goes on, in the documentary, to explain how she understands why many people think "feminism is for white women" and that is because middle-class women initially organized it. However, her stance is to show that women of color can be at the front of civil rights, labor, and feminist movements. When looking to the future of activism, Huerta believes that education is the way to go, stating: "We've got to include, from pre-K, the contributions of people of color in our schools today."[76] She says this is the only way to erase the ignorance we have in the world right now. Dolores Huerta and Gloria Steinem championed intersectionality in activism. In the 60's, when Huerta traveled to New York City for the Boycott of California Table Grapes, she was focused on bringing women to the fight. Said Huerta: “My mind was focused on getting those women at those conventions to support the farmworkers,". At the convention, Gloria Steinem voiced her support for Huerta's cause, which prompted Huerta to lend her support for the feminist movement. Huerta believes herself to be a “born again feminist”.[77] By consciously incorporating feminism into her fight for workers’ rights, Huerta had more of an impact on how female workers were treated. Additionally, Steinem expanded the feminist movement to include issues surrounding race and feminism to show it was no longer a movement just for white women. In the 1970s, Huerta's positions on women's rights were often moderated by the UFW's messaging strategy, which involved portraying its workers as what Ana Raquel Minion describes as “idealized figure[s] of the physically disciplined resident/ laborer deserving of rights.”[78] As a result, the union encouraged abstinence, discouraged homosexuality, and restricted the distribution of birth control to laborers. Huerta joined in criticizing workers for their perceived promiscuity; while she did not personally support the use of birth control, she kept this opinion to herself out of respect for other women's choices.[78] In 2014, Dolores Huerta organized people in Colorado to vote against Amendment 67, which would have extended the definition of “person” and “child” in the Colorado Criminal Code and the Colorado Wrongful Death Act to include "unborn human beings", which could have restricted reproductive rights.[77][79] Huerta spent three decades advocating for safer working conditions with the UFW. A key part of her platform was reducing use of harmful pesticides.[80] As her movement grew more feminist in nature, this became more important as such pesticides cause pregnancy complications such as: decreased fertilitity, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and developmental abnormalities.[81][better source needed] Personal life Huerta married Ralph Head in college after her graduation in 1948.[82] During their marriage, they had two daughters, Celeste and Lori. After divorcing Head, she married Ventura Huerta, with whom she bore five children. Their son Emilio Jesus Huerta entered politics and ran for Congress. Her second marriage ended in divorce as well, in part because of the significant amount of time that she spent away from the family while campaigning and organizing.[citation needed] Later, Huerta had a romantic relationship with Richard Chavez, the brother of César Chávez.[83] Huerta and Chávez never married, but the couple had four children during their relationship. Richard Chávez died on July 27, 2011.[83] Archival collection The Dolores Huerta Papers[84] are a part of the United Farm Workers Collections at the Walter P. Reuther Library. There is also significant material related to Huerta in the Cesar Chávez Papers at the Reuther Library.[85] See also icon Organized Labour portal icon Hispanic and Latino Americans portal icon Society portal Feminism portal flag United States portal History portal Cesar Chavez Larry Itliong Philip Vera Cruz Mily Treviño-Sauceda List of civil rights leaders History of Mexican Americans List of Mexican Americans List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients National Organization for Women Woman of Courage Award winners List of Mills College honorary degree recipients List of people from Stockton, California List of Scouts Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez /ˈtʃɑːvɛz/; Spanish: [ˈt͡ʃaβes]; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union. Ideologically, his world-view combined leftist politics with Catholic social teachings. Born in Yuma, Arizona to a Mexican American family, Chavez began his working life as a manual laborer before spending two years in the United States Navy. Relocating to California, where he married, he got involved in the Community Service Organization (CSO), through which he helped laborers register to vote. In 1959, he became the CSO's national director, a position based in Los Angeles. In 1962, he left the CSO to co-found the NFWA, based in Delano, California, through which he launched an insurance scheme, a credit union, and the El Malcriado newspaper for farmworkers. Later that decade he began organizing strikes among farmworkers, most notably the successful Delano grape strike of 1965–1970. Amid the grape strike his NFWA merged with Larry Itliong's AWOC to form the UFW in 1967. Influenced by the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, Chavez emphasized direct but nonviolent tactics, including pickets and boycotts, to pressure farm owners into granting strikers' demands. He imbued his campaigns with Roman Catholic symbolism, including public processions, masses, and fasts. He received much support from labor and leftist groups but was monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In the early 1970s, Chavez sought to expand the UFW's influence outside California by opening branches in other U.S. states. Viewing illegal immigrants as a major source of strike-breakers, he also pushed a campaign against illegal immigration into the U.S., which generated violence along the U.S.-Mexico border and caused schisms with many of the UFW's allies. Interested in co-operatives as a form of organization, he established a remote commune at Keene. His increased isolation and emphasis on unrelenting campaigning alienated many California farmworkers who had previously supported him and by 1973 the UFW had lost most of the contracts and membership it won during the late 1960s. His alliance with California Governor Jerry Brown helped ensure the passing of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, although the UFW's campaign to get its measures enshrined in California's constitution failed. Influenced by the Synanon religious organization, Chavez re-emphasized communal living and purged perceived opponents. Membership of the UFW dwindled in the 1980s, with Chavez refocusing on anti-pesticide campaigns and moving into real-estate development, generating controversy for his use of non-unionized laborers. A controversial figure, UFW critics raised concerns about Chavez's autocratic control of the union, the purges of those he deemed disloyal, and the personality cult built around him, while farm-owners considered him a communist subversive. He became an icon for organized labor and leftist groups in the U.S. and posthumously became a "folk saint" among Mexican Americans. His birthday is a federal commemorative holiday in several U.S. states, while many places are named after him, and in 1994 he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Early life Childhood: 1927–1945 Cesario Estrada Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona on March 31, 1927.[1][2] He was named for his paternal grandfather, Cesario Chavez, a Mexican who had crossed into Texas in 1898.[3] Cesario had established a successful wood haulage business near Yuma and in 1906 bought a farm in the Sonora Desert's North Gila Valley.[4] Cesario had brought his wife Dorotea and eight children with him from Mexico; the youngest, Librado, was Cesar's father.[3] Librado married Juana Estrada Chavez in the early 1920s.[5] Born in Ascensión, Chihuahua, she had crossed into the U.S. with her mother as a baby. They lived in Picacho, California before moving to Yuma, where Juana worked as a farm laborer and then an assistant to the chancellor of the University of Arizona.[6] Librado and Juana's first child, Rita, was born in August 1925, with their first son, Cesar, following nearly two years later.[7] In November 1925, Librado and Juana bought a series of buildings near to the family home which included a pool hall, store, and living quarters. They soon fell into debt and were forced to sell these assets, in April 1929 moving into the galera storeroom of Librado's parental home, then owned by the widowed Dorotea.[8] Chavez was raised in what his biographer Miriam Pawel called "a typical extended Mexican family";[3] she noted that they were "not well-off, but they were comfortable, well clothed, and never hungry".[9] The family spoke in Spanish,[10] and he was raised as a Roman Catholic, with his paternal grandmother Dorotea largely overseeing his religious instruction;[11] his mother Juana engaged in forms of folk Catholicism, being a devotee of Santa Eduviges.[12] As a child, Chavez was nicknamed "Manzi" in reference to his fondness for manzanilla tea.[7] To entertain himself, he played handball and listened to boxing matches on the radio.[13] One of six children, he had two sisters, Rita and Vicki, and two brothers, Richard and Librado.[14][15] Cesario began attending Laguna Dam School in 1933; there, the speaking of Spanish was forbidden and Cesario was expected to change his name to Cesar.[16] After Dorotea died in July 1937, the Yuma County local government auctioned off her farmstead to cover back taxes, and despite Librado's delaying tactics, the house and land were sold in 1939.[17] This was a seminal experience for Cesar, who regarded it as an injustice against his family, with the banks, lawyers, and Anglo-American power structure as the villains of the incident.[18] Influenced by his Roman Catholic beliefs, he increasingly came to see the poor as a source of moral goodness in society.[19] The Chavez family joined the growing number of American migrants who were moving to California amid the Great Depression.[20] First working as avocado pickers in Oxnard and then as pea pickers in Pescadero, the family made it to San Jose, where they first lived in a garage in the city's impoverished Mexican district.[21] They moved regularly, and on weekends and holidays, Cesar joined his family in working as an agricultural laborer.[22] In California, he moved schools many times, spending the longest time at Miguel Hidalgo Junior School; here, his grades were generally average, although he excelled at mathematics.[23] At school, he faced ridicule for his poverty,[21] while more broadly, he experienced anti-Latino prejudice from many European-Americans, with many establishments refusing to serve non-white customers.[24] He graduated from junior high in June 1942, after which he left formal education and became a full-time farm laborer.[23][25] Early adulthood: 1946–1953 In the early 1950s, Chavez was introduced to the ideas of nonviolent protest advocated by Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. In 1944, Chavez enlisted in the United States Navy,[26] and was sent to the Naval Training Center San Diego.[27] In July he was stationed at the U.S. base in Saipan, and six months later moved to Guam, where he was promoted to the rank of seaman first class.[28] He was then stationed to San Francisco, where he decided to leave the Navy, receiving an honorable discharge in 1946.[26][29] Relocating to Delano, California, where his family had settled, he returned to working as an agricultural laborer.[30] In 1947, Chavez joined the National Farm Labor Union (NFLU),[31] which, until its 1947 affiliation with the American Federation of Labor, was the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU). (Later, the NFLU became the National Agricultural Workers Union.)[32] That year, he was picketing cotton fields in Corcoran, near Delano, for the NFLU.[33] The union had called a strike against the DiGiorgio grape fields in 1947. As in the STFU's strikes against cotton plantations in Arkansas, strikers formed "caravans" and marched around the perimeter of the DiGiorgio property, asking its workers to join them. Chavez led one of those caravans.[34] Chavez entered a relationship with Helen Fabela, who soon became pregnant.[35] They married in Reno, Nevada in October 1948; it was a double wedding, with Chavez's sister Rita marrying her fiancé at the same ceremony.[36] By early 1949, Chavez and his new wife had settled in the Sal Si Puedes neighborhood of San Jose, where many of his other family members were now living.[37] Their first child, Fernando, was born there in February 1949; a second, Sylvia, followed in February 1950; and then a third, Linda, in January 1951.[36] The latter had been born shortly after they had relocated to Crescent City, where Chavez was employed in the lumber industry.[36] They then returned to San Jose, where Chavez worked as an apricot picker and then as a lumber handler for the General Box Company.[38] Here, he befriended two social justice activists, Fred Ross and Father Donald McDonnell, both European-Americans whose activism was primarily within the Mexican-American community.[39] Chavez helped Ross establish a chapter of his Community Service Organization (CSO) in San Jose, and joined him in voter registration drives.[40] He was soon voted vice president of the CSO chapter.[41] He also helped McDonnell construct the first purpose-built church in Sal Si Puedes, the Our Lady of Guadalupe church, which was opened in December 1953.[42] In turn, McDonnell lent Chavez books, encouraging the latter to develop a love of reading. Among the books were biographies of the saint Francis of Assisi, the U.S. labor organizers John L. Lewis and Eugene V. Debs, and the Indian independence activist Mahatma Gandhi, introducing Chavez to the ideas of non-violent protest.[43] Early activism Working for the Community Service Organization: 1953–1962 In late 1953, Chavez was laid off by the General Box Company.[44] Ross then secured funds so that the CSO could employ Chavez as an organizer, traveling around California setting up other chapters.[45] In this job, he traveled across Decoto, Salinas, Fresno, Brawley, San Bernardino, Madera, and Bakersfield.[46] Many of the CSO chapters fell apart after Ross or Chavez ceased running them, and to prevent this Saul Alinsky advised them to unite the chapters, of which there were over twenty, into a self-sustaining national organization.[47] In late 1955, Chavez returned to San Jose to rebuild the CSO chapter there so that it could sustain an employed full-time organizer. To raise funds, he opened a rummage store, organized a three-day carnival and sold Christmas trees, although often made a loss.[48] In early 1957 he moved to Brawley to rebuild the chapter there.[49] His repeated moving meant that his family were regularly uprooted;[50] he saw little of his wife and children, and was absent for the birth of his sixth child.[51] Chavez grew increasingly disillusioned with the CSO, believing that middle-class members were becoming increasingly dominant and were pushing its priorities and allocation of funds in directions he disapproved of; he for instance opposed the decision to hold the organization's 1957 convention in Fresco's Hacienda Hotel, arguing that its prices were prohibitive for poorer members.[52] Amid the wider context of the Cold War and McCarthyite suspicions that leftist activism was a front for Marxist-Leninist groups, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began monitoring Chavez and opened a file on him.[53] At Alinsky's instigation, the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA) paid $20,000 to the CSO for the latter to open a branch in Oxnard; Chavez became its organizer, working with the largely Mexican farm laborers.[54] In Oxnard, Chavez worked to encourage voter registration.[55] He repeatedly heard concerns from local Mexican-American laborers that they were being routinely passed over or fired so that employers could hire cheaper Mexican guest workers, or braceros, in violation of federal law.[56] To combat this practice, he established the CSO Employment Committee that launched a "registration campaign" through which unemployed farm-workers could sign their name to highlight their desire for work.[57] I guess the best thing is to keep organizing new groups until they become rotten with personalities, then just move over and begin another group. I really don't know. The only one suggestion I have is to make sure there is always one person who is in charge... I think this way the work of the group moves forward always. — Cesar Chavez, on avoiding the pitfalls of the CSO[58] The Committee targeted its criticism at Hector Zamora, the director of the Ventura County Farm Labor Association, who controlled the most jobs in the area.[59] It also used sit ins of workers to raise the profile of their cause, a tactic also being used by proponents of the civil rights movement in the southern United States at that time.[60] It had some success in getting companies to replace braceros with unemployed Americans.[61] Its campaign also ensured that federal officials began properly investigating complaints about the use of braceros and received assurances from the state farm placement service that they would seek out unemployed Americans rather than automatically hiring bracero labor.[62] In May, the Employment Committee was formerly transferred from the CSO to the UPWA.[63] In 1959, Chavez moved to Los Angeles to become the CSO's national director.[64] He, his wife, and (now) eight children settled into the largely Mexican neighborhood of Boyle Heights.[65] He found the CSO's financial situation was bad, with even his own salary in jeopardy.[65] He laid off several organizers to keep the organization afloat.[66] He tried to organize a life insurance scheme among CSO members to raise funds, but this project failed to materialize.[67] Under Chavez, the CSO secured financing from wealthier donors and organizations, usually to finance specific projects for a set period of time. The California American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) for instance paid it $12,000 to conduct voter registration schemes in six counties with high Mexican populations.[68] The wealthy benefactor Katy Peake then offered it $50,000 over three years to organize California's farm workers.[69] Under Chavez's leadership, the CSO assisted the successful campaign to get the government to extend the state pension to non-citizens who were permanent residents.[70] At the ninth annual CSO convention in March 1962, Chavez resigned.[71] Founding the National Farm Workers Association: 1962–1965 Dolores Huerta (pictured in 2016) was a key ally of Chavez's in his formation of the NFWA. In April 1962, Chavez and his family moved to Delano, California, an agricultural community in the southern San Joaquin Valley, where they rented a house on Kensington Street.[72] He was intent on forming a labor union for farm workers but, to conceal this aim, told people that he was simply conducting a census of farm workers to determine their needs.[73] He began devising the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), referring to it as a "movement" rather than a trade union.[74] He was aided in this project both by his wife and by Dolores Huerta;[75] according to Pawel, Huerta became his "indispensable, lifelong ally".[76] Other key supporters of his project were the Reverend Jim Drake and other members of the California Migrant Ministry; although as a Roman Catholic Chavez was initially suspicious of these Protestant preachers, he came to view them as key allies.[77] Chavez spent his days traveling around the San Joaquin Valley, meeting with workers and encouraging them to join his association.[78] At the time, he lived off a combination of unemployment benefit, his wife's wage as a farmworker, and donations from friends and sympathizers.[79] On September 30, 1962, he formalized the Association at a convention in Fresno.[80] There, delegates elected Chavez as the group's general-director.[81] They also agreed that, once the association had a life insurance policy up and running, members would start paying monthly dues of $3.50.[82] The group adopted the motto "viva la causa" ("long live the cause") and a flag featuring a black eagle on a red and white background.[83] At the organization's constitutional convention held in Fresno in January 1963, Chavez was elected president, with Huerta, Julio Hernandez, and Gilbert Padilla its vice presidents.[84] The flag adopted by the NFWA at its launch in 1962 Chavez wanted to control the NFWA's direction and to that end ensured that the role of the group's officers was largely ceremonial, with control of the group being primarily in the hands of the staff, headed by himself.[85] At the NFWA's second convention, held in Delano in 1963, Chavez was retained as its general director while the role of the presidency was scrapped.[85] That year, he began collecting membership dues, before establishing an insurance policy for FWA members.[86] Later in the year he launched a credit union for NFWA members, having gained a state charter after the federal government refused him one.[87] The NFWA attracted volunteers from other parts of the country. One of these, Bill Esher, became editor of the group's newspaper, El Malcriado, which soon after launching increased its print run from 1000 to 3000 to meet demand.[88] The NFWA was initially based out of Chavez's house although in September 1964 it moved its headquarters to an abandoned Pentecostal church in Albany Street, West Delano.[89] During its second full year in operation the association more than doubled both its income and its expenditures.[90] As it became more secure, it began to plan for its first strike.[90] In April 1965, rose grafters approached the organization and requested help in organizing their strike for better working conditions. The strike targeted two companies, Mount Arbor and Conklin. Aided by the NFWA, the workers struck on May 3, and after four days the growers agreed to raise wages, and which the strikers returned to work.[91] Following this success, Chavez's reputation began to filter through leftist activist circles across California.[92] The Delano Grape Strike Start of the Delano Grape Strike: 1965–1966 In September 1965, Filipino American farm workers, organized by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), initiated the Delano grape strike to protest for higher wages. Chavez and his largely Mexican American supporters voted to support them.[93] The strike covered an area of over 400 square miles;[94] Chavez divided the picketers among four quadrants, each with a mobile crew led by a captain.[95] As the picketers urged those who continued to work to join them on strike, the growers sought to provoke and threaten the strikers. Chavez insisted that the strikers must never respond with violence.[96] The picketers also protested outside strike-breakers' homes,[97] with the strike dividing many families and breaking friendships.[98] Police monitored the protests, photographing many of those involved;[99] they also arrested various strikers.[100] To raise support for those arrested, Chavez called for donations at a speech in Berkeley's Sproul Plaza in October; he received over $1000.[101] Many growers considered Chavez a communist,[102] and the FBI launched an investigation into both him and the NFWA.[103] Cesar Chavez (center) on march from Mexican border to Sacramento with United Farm Workers members in Redondo Beach, California. In December, the United Automobile Workers (UAW) president Walter Reuther joined Chavez in a pro-strike protest march through Delano.[104] This was the first time that the strike attracted national media attention.[105] Reuther then pledged that the UAW would donate $5000 a month to be shared between the AWOC and NFWA.[106] Chavez also met with representatives of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which became an important ally of the strikers.[98] Influenced by the civil rights movement's successful use of boycott campaigns, Chavez decided to launch his own, targeting companies which owned Delano vineyards or sold grapes grown there. The first target selected, in December 1965, was the Schenley liquor company, which owned one of the area's smaller vineyards.[107] Chavez organized pickets to take place in other cities where Schenley's grapes were being delivered for sale.[108] By 1965, Chavez was aware that the numbers joining the picket lines had declined; although hundreds of pickers had initially struck, some had returned to their jobs, found employment elsewhere, or moved away from Delano. To keep the pickets going, Chavez invited left-wing activists from elsewhere to join them; many, particularly university students, came from the San Francisco Bay Area.[109] Recruitment was fueled by coverage of the strike in the SNCC's newspaper, The Movement, and the Marxist People's World newspaper.[110] By late fall 1966, a protest camp had formed in Delano, opening its own medical clinic and children's nursery.[111] Protesters were entertained by Luis Valdez's El Teatro Campesino, which put on skits with a political message.[112] Within the protest movement there were some tensions between the striking farm-workers and the influx of student radicals.[111] Growing success: 1966–1967 WE SHALL OVERCOME. Across the San Joaquin Valley, across California, across the entire Southwest of the United States, wherever there are Mexican people, wherever there are farm workers, our movement is spreading like flames across [a] dry plain. Our PILGRIMAGE is the MATCH that will light our cause for all farm workers to see what is happening here, so that they may do as we have done. The time has come for the liberation of the poor farm worker. History is on our side. MAY THE STRUGGLE GO ON! VIVA LA CAUSA! — Luis Valdez's "Plan de Delano", read aloud at each stop along Chavez's march to Sacramento[113] In March 1966, the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare's Subcommittee on Migratory Labor held three hearings in California. The third, which took place in Delano, was attended by Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who toured a labor camp with Chavez and addressed a mass meeting.[114] As the strike began to flag in winter, Chavez decided on a march of 300 miles to the state capitol at Sacramento. This would pass through dozens of farmworker communities and attract attention for their cause.[115] In March, the procession started out with about fifty marchers who left Delano.[116] Chavez imbued the march with Roman Catholic significance. Marchers carried crucifixes and a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe and used the slogan "Peregrinación, Penitencia, Revolución" ("Pilgrimage, Penitence, Revolution").[117] Portraying the march as an act of penance, he argued that the image of his personal suffering—his feet became painful and for part of the journey he had to walk with a cane—would be useful for the movement.[118] At each stop, they read aloud a "Plan de Delano" written by Valdez, deliberately echoing the "Plan de Ayala" of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata.[119] At Easter, the marchers arrived in Sacramento, where over 8000 people amassed in front of the state capitol. Chavez briefly addressed the crowd.[120] During the march, Chavez had been approached by Schenley's lawyer, Sidney Korshak. They agreed to contract negotiations within 60 days. Chavez then declared an end to the Schenley boycott; instead, the movement would switch the boycott to the DiGiorgio Corporation, a major Delano land owner.[121] DiGiorgio then called an election among their vineyard workers, hoping to challenge the NFWA's influence.[122] A more conservative union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, were competing against the NFWA in the DiGiorgio workers' election.[123] After DiGiorgio altered the terms of the election to benefit a Teamster victory, Chavez removed the NFWA from the ballot and urged his supporters to abstain. When the vote took place in June 1966, nearly half of eligible workers abstained, allowing a Teamster victory.[124] Chavez then appealed to Pat Brown, the Governor of California, to intervene. Brown agreed, wanting the endorsement of the Mexican American Political Association. He declared the DiGiorgio election invalid and called for an August rerun to be supervised by the American Arbitration Association.[125] On September 1, Chavez's union was declared the victor in the second election.[126] DiGiorgio subsequently largely halted grape production in Delano.[127] The focus then shifted to Giumarra, the largest grape grower in the San Joaquin Valley.[128] In August 1967, Chavez announced a strike against them followed by a boycott of their grapes.[129] An agreement was reached that Chavez's NFWA would merge with the AWOC, resulting in a new United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC).[130] AWOC's Larry Itliong became the new group's assistant director,[131] although soon felt marginalized by Chavez.[132] UFWOC was also made an organizing committee of the AFL-CIO; this ensured that it would become a formal part of the U.S. labor movement and would receive a monthly subsidy.[130] Not all of Chavez's staff agreed with the merger; many of its more left-wing members mistrusted the growing links with organized labor, particularly due to the AFL-CIO's anti-communist views.[133] UFWOC was plagued by ethnic divisions between its Filipino and Mexican members,[134] although continued to attract new volunteers, the majority Anglos brought into the movement via left-wing and religious groups or as part of social service internships.[135] Chavez brought new people, such as LeRoy Chatfield, Marshall Ganz, and the lawyer Jerry Cohen, into his inner circle.[136] His old friend, Fred Ross, had also joined.[137] Soon, the secretary-treasurer Antonio Orendain was left as the only Mexican migrant in the union's senior ranks.[132] In June 1967, Chavez launched his first purge of the union to remove those he deemed disruptive or disloyal to his leadership. His cover story was that he wanted to eject members of the Communist Party and related far-left groups, although the FBI's report at the time found no evidence of communist infiltration of the union.[138] Some longstanding members, such as Esher, left because they disapproved of these purges.[139] Tensions between Chavez and the Teatro had been building for some time; the Teatro's members were among those highly critical of the union's new links with the AFL-CIO.[140] Chavez was concerned that the Teatro had become a rival to his prominent standing in the movement and was questioning his actions.[141] Chavez asked the Teatro to disband, at which it split from the union and went on a tour of the U.S.[142] Forty Acres and public fasts: 1967–1968 The Forty Acres complex in Delano, which Chavez established as his headquarters, was made a National Landmark in 2008. The union purchased land known as The Forty Acres for their new headquarters.[139] Chavez hoped for it to be a "spiritual" center where union members would relax; he designed it to have a swimming pool, a chapel, a market, and a gas station, as well as gardens with outdoor sculptures.[143] He wanted the main building to be decorated inside with Gandhi quotations in English and Spanish.[143] Meanwhile, Chavez was increasingly concerned that his supporters might turn to violence.[144] Members had engaged in the destruction of property, something they regarded as not breaching the movement's ethos on non-violence.[145] Chavez's cousin Manuel had tampered with refrigerator units on trains, so that grapes being shipped out of Delano spoiled before reaching their destination;[145] Chavez noted that "He's done all the dirty work for the union. There's a lot of fucking dirty work, and he did it all."[145] In February 1968, the Giumarra company obtained a contempt citation against the union, claiming that its members had used threatening and intimidating behavior against its employees and had placed roofing nails at the entrances to its ranches.[146] In February 1968, Chavez began a fast; he publicly stated that in doing so he was reaffirming his commitment to peaceful protest and presented it as a form of penance.[147] He stated that he would remain at Forty Acres for the duration of his fast, which at this point had only a gas station there.[148] Many members of the union were critical of what they saw as a stunt; Itliong was annoyed that Chavez had not consulted the union's board before making his declaration. The union introduced a motion urging Chavez to cancel his plan, although this failed.[148] Father Mark Day announced that a mass would he held every night at Forty Acres. These attracted many of Chavez's supporters, with the gas station decorated as an impromptu shrine.[149] Sympathetic Protestant clergy and Jewish rabbis also spoke at these masses.[150] After three weeks, Chavez's doctors urged him to end the fast. He agreed to do so at a public event on March 10.[151] He invited Robert Kennedy to be the guest of honor at this event. Kennedy arrived at the event, which was attended by thousands of observers as well as the national press, and there they shared bread.[152] You stand today as a living example of the Gandhian tradition with its great force for social progress and its healing spiritual powers. My colleagues and I commend you for your bravery, salute you for your indefatigable work against poverty and injustice, and pray for your health and your continuing service as one of the outstanding men of America. — Martin Luther King's telegram to Chavez after the latter announced his fast in February 1968[153] Not long after, Kennedy announced his candidacy to be the Democratic Party's next presidential candidate. He asked Chavez to run as a delegate in the California primary.[154] Throughout May, Chavez traveled across California, urging farmworkers and registered Democrats to back Kennedy.[155] His activism was a contributing factor to Kennedy's victory in that state.[156] It was at the victory celebration in Los Angeles, an event attended by Chavez, that Kennedy was assassinated on June 5.[157] Chavez then attended Kennedy's New York funeral as a pallbearer.[158] Kennedy's assassination came two months after that of Martin Luther King, generating growing concerns among the union that Chavez would also be targeted by those who opposed him.[159] In May, Chavez appeared on the Today television show and announced a boycott of all grapes produced in California.[160] The boycotters' message was that consumers should avoid buying California grapes so that farmworkers would get better wages and working conditions.[160] Supporters across the country picketed stores selling California grapes and disrupted annual meetings of several supermarket chains.[160] Chavez hoped that by putting pressure on the supermarkets, they in turn would pressure the grape growers to give in to strikers' demands.[160] The growers hired a public relations firm to counteract the boycott, warning stores that if they gave in to the boycott they would soon be faced with similar boycotts for many other products.[161] The growers also turned to the newly elected Governor of California, Ronald Reagan, who in turn sought the support of the Teamsters.[162] Chavez's back pain worsened and in September 1968 he was hospitalized at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose.[163] He followed this with a recuperation stay at St Anthony's Seminary in Santa Barbara.[164] He returned home, but finding it too crowded moved in to Forty Acres.[164] Due to a donation from the United Auto Workers, the union had erected an office and meeting hall here, with a trailer being used as a medical clinic; it was still far from Chavez's original vision.[165] He used his image of physical suffering as a tactic in his cause, although some of his inner circle thought his pain to be at least partially psychosomatic.[166] By 1968, Chavez was a national celebrity.[158] Journalists increasingly approached him for interviews; he granted particularly close access to Peter Matthiessen and Jacques E. Levy, both of whom wrote favorable books about him.[167] In July 1969, Chavez's portrait appeared on the front of Time magazine.[168] Within the union, personal loyalty to Chavez became increasingly important;[169] tensions between him and Itliong grew.[170] End of the Grape Strike: 1969–1970 In March 1969, the doctor Janet Travell visited Chavez and determined that fused vertebrae were the source of his back pain. She prescribed various exercises and other treatments which he found eased his pain.[171] Between September and December, Chavez traveled the country in a Winnebago speaking at dozens of fundraisers and rallies for the grape boycott.[172] At a speech in Washington D.C., he came out publicly against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, a topic he had previously avoided speaking on, because his son Fernando had been arrested as a conscientious objector.[173] In the late 1970s, Chavez also sought to advance his control over the California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), a group which advocated for farmworkers. Chavez demanded that the CRLA make its staff available for union work and that it would allow the union's attorneys to decide which cases the CRLA would pursue. Under the leadership of Cruz Reynoso, a former Chavez ally, the CRLA refused.[174] Pawel believed that these attempts reflected Chavez's desire to be seen as the only voice for farmworkers.[175] Chavez negotiated with Lionel Steinberg, a grape grower in the Coachella area. They signed contracts allowing Steinberg's products to be sold with a union logo on them, indicating that they would be exempt from the boycott.[176] Other Coachella growers regarded Steinberg as a traitor for negotiating with Chavez but ultimately followed suit, resulting in contracts being signed with the union.[176] In July 1969, the Delano growers agreed to negotiate.[177] Chavez insisted that their negotiations also cover issues at the Delano High School, where several pupils, including his own daughter Eloise, had been suspended or otherwise disciplined for protesting in support of the boycott.[178] On July 29, 1970, the Delano growers signed contracts with the union at the Forty Acres Hall, in front of press.[179] These contracts agreed to wage rises for pickers, the introduction of a health plan, and new safety measures regarding the use of pesticides on the crop.[180] Later activism Salinas Lettuce Strike: 1970–1971 National Farm Workers Association buttons advertising their campaigns In July 1970, the Grower-Shipper Association representing lettuce growing companies in California's Salinas Valley renegotiated its contracts with the Teamsters, allowing the latter union to represent their employees.[181] Chavez was angry at this, traveling to Salinas to talk with the lettuce cutters, many of whom were dissatisfied with the way that the Teamsters represented them.[182] In August, thousands of cutters marched into Salinas, converging at Hartnell College where Chavez addressed them.[183] Rallying against the Teamsters, he emphasized that their union was run by white people, in contrast to the largely non-white makeup of the lettuce cutters.[184] There, the cutters voted to go on strike.[183] Over the coming days, many of them joined the UFW.[183] Chavez decided that the strike should initially target the valley's largest lettuce grower, Interharvest, which was owned by the United Fruit Company.[183] Seeking to avoid industrial action, the Teamsters set up a meeting with Chavez, where they eventually reached an agreement. The Teamsters agreed to relinquish their contracts with the Grower-Shipper Association, opening the way for the Salinas lettuce cutters to choose the UFW as their representative.[185] The Salinas lettuce growers secured a temporary restraining order preventing a strike, at which Chavez initiated another protest fast.[185] Amid a ten-day truce, he reached an agreement with Interharvest but not the other Salinas growers.[186] Thus, the strike against them began on August 24, when cutters started picketing the lettuce fields.[187] Lettuce production slumped by three quarters and prices of lettuces doubled.[187] Various restraining orders were issued against the picketers, and when they broke them they were fined; the UFW paid many of these, as well as financially supporting the strikers in other ways.[188] This proved expensive for the union, and Chavez decided that the pickets could not be maintained. Instead he decided to switch towards a boycott of Salinas lettuce.[188] Chavez selected the Bud Antle company as the first target of the boycott campaign.[189] Bud Antle secured an injunction legally preventing a boycott against them, but Chavez continued regardless.[190] Due to this, Chavez was charged, found guilty of contempt of court, and sentenced to ten days imprisonment in the Monterey County jail.[191] During Chavez's imprisonment, supporters held a round-the-clock vigil outside the jail.[192] Among those who visited him were Martin Luther King's widow Coretta Scott King,[193] and Robert Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy. She took part in a rally which included a Roman Catholic mass; it was opposed by a group of local counter-protesters who opposed the concentration of leftist activism in their community.[194] These events attracted national media attention.[195] Soon after, the California Supreme Court voted to dissolve key aspects of Bud Antle's injunction and ordered Chavez's release.[196] Chavez wanted a more remote base for his movement than Forty Acres, especially one where he could experiment with his ideas about communal living.[197] To this end, the Hollywood movie producer Edward Lewis, a wealthy supporter of Chavez's, fronted the purchase of an old tuberculosis sanatorium in Keene, along the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains, for the union.[198] Chavez named this new base Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz ("Our Lady Queen of Peace"), although it became commonly known just as "La Paz".[199] Renovating the existing buildings,[200] he invited various families to come and live there.[201] In creating this commune, he drew on Gandhi's experiments with ashrams in India;[201] he envisioned it as a retreat center where workers could come for three day retreats modeled on the Roman Catholic cursillo.[200] La Paz became the union's new headquarters, something that various backers and funders were critical of due to its remote location;[202] Chavez said that this was necessary for his security, particularly following allegations of a plot against his life.[203] At night, the perimeter of the commune was patrolled by armed guards.[204] The organization at La Paz was often chaotic, with frustrated detractors in the movement referring to it as "Magic Mountain".[205] Amid his growing frustrations with Chavez's leadership, Itliong resigned in October 1971.[206] Expanding beyond California: 1972 The Santa Rita Hall was used as a meeting place for a local Chicano group; Chavez undertook his Arizona fast there. Arizona became the first state to pass a bill that was designed to keep the UFW out of their state; this would criminalize boycotts and make union elections among farm-workers almost impossible.[207] In response, Chavez drove to Arizona and demanded a meeting with Governor Jack Williams, who refused.[208] They subsequently launched a campaign to gain a recall election to remove Williams from office.[209] This started the UFW's first major farm-worker campaign outside California.[210] Farmworkers rallied outside Williams' office while Chavez embarked on a fast in the Santa Rita Center, a hall used by a local Chicano group.[211][212] On the nineteenth day of his fast, Chavez was hospitalized.[213] He then broke the fast at a memorial mass on the anniversary of Robert Kennedy's death, where he was joined by the folk singer Joan Baez.[214] It was during the Arizona campaign that the UFW started using the slogan "Si Se Puede" ("It Can be Done"), which subsequently became closely associated with it.[215] Chavez increasingly pushed for the UFW to become a national organization, with a token presence being established in Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Texas, and Florida.[216] Parts of the union expressed concern that it was now overstretching its resources.[216] Chavez also pushed for the California Migrant Ministry, which supported the UFW, to transform into a National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM), insisting that the UFW should have the power to veto decisions made by the NFWM.[217] At the AFL-CIO's request, Chavez had suspended the Salinas lettuce boycott, but prepared to relaunch it eight months later as the growers had only conceded to one of their demands.[218] Tensions grew between the UFW and AFL-CIO, with the latter's president George Meany concerned that if the UFW broke the law by extending its boycott to cover supermarket chains then the AFL-CIO could be held liable.[219] As a result, Chavez formally requested a charter so that the UFW could become an independently chartered union separate from the AFL-CIO; he was loath to do so as it meant losing the AFL-CIO's subsidy.[219] While Chavez had been focusing on Salinas, his brother Richard had been tasked with overseeing the UFW's activities in Delano. In early 1972, Richard visited Chavez and confronted him about the problems in Delano, telling him that the union was losing support among farmworkers and that they were in danger of losing the contracts when they came up for renewal.[220] In Richard's opinion, Chavez was losing touch with the union's membership.[220] There was anger that members were expected to pay monthly dues to the union when their work was usually seasonal;[221] there was also frustration at the union's $1-a-week voluntary fund to support the Salinas strikers.[220] Part of the membership thought that Chavez's new isolation at La Paz was leading him to take decisions unpopular with the farmworkers.[220] There were concerns about the inept and inexperienced volunteers, mostly English-speaking European-Americans, who were running the UFW's hiring halls;[222] growers were complaining that these volunteers were often hostile and uncooperative.[223] Union branches had been ordering members to miss work to engage in political rallies and Salinas picket lines, further angering growers.[224] Chavez responded to these criticisms by reassigning his brother away from Delano.[225] In late 1972, Richard and Huerta, his partner at the time, briefly left the UFW in frustration with Chavez's leadership.[226] Other senior members continued to warn Chavez about the same issues that Richard did, but Chavez dismissed their concerns as grower propaganda.[225] Chavez photographed in 1972 California growers then organized a ballot on Proposition 22 for November 1972 which would ban boycott campaigns in the state.[219] Chavez tasked LeRoy Chatfield with running the campaign against it; at the ballot, Proposition 22 lost by 58 percent to 42 percent.[227] In April 1973, the UFW's contact with grape growers in the Delano area expired.[228] At this, Chavez called a strike in the Coachella Valley.[229] The Teamsters union saw this as an opportunity to replace the UFW in representing the region's farmworkers.[230] The Teamsters organized counter-protests; their picketers were often armed and violent clashes between members of the two unions broke out.[231] The UFW used these instances of Teamster violence to rally public support for their cause.[232] The AFL-CIO was concerned by this clash between unions, and Meany struck a deal with Chavez that they would provide the UFW with renewed financial support if it pushed for state legislation to govern the rights of farmworkers to organize. Chavez agreed; although he did not want such a law, he thought that Governor Reagan would never agree to it anyway.[233] The AFL-CIO gave the UFW $1.6 million, allowing the latter to pay Salinas picketers $75 and later $90 a week.[234] Amid the Delano strike, one of the UFW strikers, the Yemeni migrant Nagi Moshin Daifullah, died after an altercation with a police officer breaking up a bar-room fight. The UFW portrayed Daifullah as a martyr for the cause and over 5000 people marched at his funeral, with Chavez fasting for three days.[235] Chavez then called off the Denalo strike, stating that he would do so until the federal government guaranteed the safety of UFW protesters; the government believed that this was a cover to conceal the financial problems that the strike was causing the UFW.[236] By this point, the UFW had lost much of its membership, and most of its California contracts, to the Teamsters.[237] Many farmworkers found that while the Teamsters appeared less interested in workers' rights, they did not expect their employees to spend their weekends on political campaigns and boycotts as the UFW did.[220] Immigration and legislative campaigns: 1973–1975 Chavez speaking at a 1974 UFW rally in Delano, California In September 1973, the UFW's first constitutional convention was held in Fresno, representing the final step in the organization becoming a full union.[238] A new constitution was announced that gave the group's president, a post occupied by Chavez, significant powers; he feared that greater democracy would paralyze the group.[239] At the convention, the UFW agreed to scrap monthly membership fees in favor of charging members 2 percent of their annual income.[240] It also announced that volunteers who had worked for the UFW for more than six months could become members with voting rights. Previously, membership had been restricted primarily to farmworkers.[240] The new executive committee, which included Huerta and Richard Chavez, was racially mixed, although some members expressed dissatisfaction that it did not contain more Mexican Americans.[241] By 1974, the UFW was again broke and its boycott was floundering.[242] That year, The New York Times Magazine opened with a headline: "Is Chavez Beaten?".[243] Chavez flew to Europe to urge the unions there to block the imported goods that the UFW were sending there. He traveled through London, Oslo, Stockholm, Geneva, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Brussels, and Paris, although he found that the unions were cautious about joining his campaign.[244] In Rome, he met with Pope Paul VI, who commended his activism.[245] Chavez increasingly blamed the failure of the UFW strike on illegal immigrants who were brought in as strikebreakers.[246] He made the unsubstantiated claim that the CIA was involved in part of a conspiracy to bring illegal migrants into the country so that they could undermine his union.[247] He launched the "Illegals Campaign" to identify illegal migrants so that they could be deported, appointing Liza Hirsch to oversee the campaign.[246][248] In Chavez's view, "if we can get the illegals out of California, we will win the strike overnight."[249] This was a reiteration of an early view he expressed concerning the problems the UFW boycott faced in 1972; Chavez believed that illegal labor could undermine any strike undertaken by agricultural workers could be undermined by "wetbacks" and "illegal immigrants".[250] Huerta urged him not to refer to migrants who had come to the U.S. illegally as "illegals" but Chavez refused, stating: "a spade's a spade."[249] Some UFW field offices refused to collaborate with the campaign,[249] and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) refused to allow its interns to work on it, at which Chavez cut the UFW's links with the NLG.[249] Chavez pulled up to my Laurel Canyon house in an old car with a German shepherd dog named Huelga—Spanish for strike. We talked for several hours about whether the proposed state law or any labor law could actually help farm workers. Chavez repeatedly said that his boycott was a much better organizing tool because the law would always be corrupted by the powerful economic interests that control politics. I argued with him and said that a law would be his best protection. He finally agreed but remained skeptical. — Jerry Brown on his relationship with Chavez[251] While Chavez had been in Europe, his cousin Manuel Chavez had established a UFW patrol, or "wet line", along Arizona's border with Mexico to stop illegal migrants crossing into the United States.[252] There were rumors that this patrol was employing violence against these migrants, beating and robbing them and in one case castrating a man. These allegations soon appeared in the local press.[253] A Mexican investigation determined that the UFW had bribed San Luis city officials to prevent them from interfering in these activities along the border.[254] A Mexican union, the Confederation of Mexican Workers, broke its links with the UFW over the issue.[255] Chavez dismissed the reports of violence as the smears of paid provocateurs,[246] a claim which many of his supporters accepted.[256] Chavez protected Manuel,[257] while the executive board kept silent on his activities, regarding him as useful.[258] The Chicano activist Bert Corona staged a protest against the UFW wet line, at which Chavez directed Jerry Cohen to launch an investigation into the funding of Corona's group.[249] In 1974, Chavez proposed the idea of a Poor People's Union with which he could reach out to poor white communities in the San Joaquin Valley who were largely hostile to the UFW.[259] Meanwhile, the UFW announced that it would launch a boycott of the Gallo Wine company.[260] In February 1975, the UFW organized a four-day march from San Francisco to the Gallo headquarters in Modesto, where a crowd of around 10,000 protesters amassed.[261] The Modesto march had been a means of trying to rekindle the successes of the late 1960s and a public display of strength despite the setbacks that the UFW had experienced.[262] In November 1974, the Democratic Party's candidate, the modern liberal Jerry Brown, was elected governor of California.[263] At this point, farm-worker's rights took center stage in the state's political agenda.[264] Chavez met with Brown and together they developed a strategy: Brown would introduce a bill to improve farmworkers' rights, at which the UFW would support a more radical alternative. Brown would then negotiate a law with other stakeholders that included all the UFW's bottom lines.[265] The purpose of this law would be to guarantee farmworkers the right to a secret ballot in which they could decide which union, if any, should represent them in their negotiations with their employer.[266] Brown signed the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) into law in June 1975.[267] This was widely seen as a UFW victory, as California now had the most favorable labor bill in the country.[268] Chavez nevertheless worried that it would kill the movement's spirit, stating that the cause would now lose "the essential fight of recognition, which is the one that appeals to the human mind and the heart", instead focusing on more prosaic issues such as wages and benefits.[268] Proposition 14: 1976–1977 Chavez placing Jerry Brown's name for nomination during the roll call vote at the 1976 Democratic National Convention The ALRA law created a state agency, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), to oversee union elections among farmworkers.[269] Brown appointed a five-person board to lead the ALRB which was sympathetic to Chavez; it included the former UFW official LeRoy Chatfield.[269] As the UFW prepared for the elections in the fields, Chavez organized a "1000 mile march" from the San Diego border up the coast in July 1975.[270] During the march, he stopped to attend the second UFW convention.[271] For the campaign, the UFW hired 500 organizers, many of them farmworkers.[272] The UFW won more elections than it lost, although in instances where it went head-to-head with the Teamsters, the latter beat the UFW.[273] This indicated that the UFW's greatest strengths were among vegetable and citrus growers, rather than in their original heartlands of the Delano vineyards.[274] The Teamster victories in the Delano vineyards angered Chavez, who insisted that there had not been free elections there.[275] Chavez criticised the ALRB and launched a targeted campaign against Walter Kintz, the ALRB's general counsel, demanding his resignation. He also put pressure on Governor Brown to remove Kintz.[276] UFW organizers moved to follow their electoral victories by signing contracts with the growers;[274] the UFW needed these contracts to stabilize its finances.[277] Meanwhile, to develop the UFW's administration, Chavez hired the management consultant Crosby Milne, whose ideas led to a restructuring of the union. These reforms further centralized the union's powers among the executive committee.[278] The changes involved decision-making powers being delegated from Chavez to the department heads, although Chavez—who liked to oversee everything personally—found this difficult to adhere to in practice.[279] As part of these reforms, Chavez continued to call on the union's leaders to all relocate to La Paz, which many were reluctant to do.[280] In July 1976, Chavez traveled to New York to attend the Democratic Party's National Congress, at which he gave a speech nominating Brown as the party's presidential candidate. Brown would come third in the contest, which would be won by Jimmy Carter.[281] Carter went on to win the 1976 election, initiating an administration that was keen to fund UFW projects.[282] In 1976, the ALRB ran out of its budgeted money for the year. The California legislature refused to allocate more money, so the ALRB closed shop for the year.[283] Seeking to get the farmworkers' rights introduced by ALRA enshrined in California's constitution, in early 1976 UFW activists put forward the idea of Proposition 14, which would go forward to the electorate later that year.[284] Chavez thought that Proposition 14 had little chance of being passed by the electorate and was concerned that devoting its resources to the campaign would be financially costly for the UFW. [285] Brown also warned them not to, arguing that it would backfire on farmworkers by polarizing communities.[284] Despite these concerns, Fred Ross urged the union to take on the issue,[285] and after much debate, the UFW's executive board voted to involve itself in the 'vote yes' campaign on Proposition 14.[284] Growers responded with a well-funded multi-media campaign that emphasized the claim that the measure would give unions the right to trespass on private property.[286] When it went to the electorate in November 1976, Proposition 14 was defeated by a measure of two-to-one.[287] Although this defeat had little serious impact on the UFW, Chavez took it as a very public rejection of him personally.[288] Chavez blamed the defeat on the UFW's national boycott director, Nick Jones, who had been the only staff member to publicly voice disquiet over the Proposition 14 campaign. He claimed that Jones and the New York boycott director, Charlie March, had been part of a far-left conspiracy to undermine the UFW.[289] Under pressure, in November 1976, Jones resigned; in a letter to the executive board he stated that he was "deeply concerned" about the direction in which Chavez was taking the union.[290] Chavez also fired Joe Smith, the editor of El Macriado, after accusing him of deliberately undermining the newspaper.[291] He then ordered Ross and Ganz to interrogate everyone who worked on the campaign, ostensibly to decide on new assignments but also to route out alleged malcontents, agitators, and spies.[290] Many of those involved in running the UFW's boycott expressed concerns about a McCarthyite-style atmosphere developing within the union,[292] and Chavez's purge attracted press attention.[293] As the criticisms of his leadership intensified, Chavez responded with further purges, inspired by those in China's Cultural Revolution.[294] He became convinced that there was a far-left conspiracy, whose members he called the "assholes" or "them", who were trying to undermine the UFW.[295] At a La Paz meeting in April 1977, later called "the Monday Night Massacre," Chavez called together a range of individuals whom he denounced as malcontents or spies. They were verbally abused by members of the executive board and ejected from the community.[296] He later accused Philip Vera Cruz, the oldest member of the executive board, of also being part of the conspiracy, and forced him out.[297] Chavez reversed many of the changes he had implemented under Milne's guidance, with executive board members being reassigned to cover geographic areas rather than having union-wide responsibilities.[298] Milne, who had been living at La Paz, soon left, with Chavez later alleging he had been part of a conspiracy against the union.[298] UFW had also entered into a negotiation with the Teamsters union, a process led by Cohen. The two unions reached an agreement by which the UFW would cease bringing litigation against the Teamsters if the latter ceased operating among farm-workers altogether. This left the UFW as the only dominant union among the farmworkers.[299] The Teamsters agreed because farmworkers were a marginal group for them; their typically low incomes also meant that farmworkers did not generate sufficient funds for the union to warrant its ongoing and costly clashes with the UFW.[300] Links with Synanon and Ferdinand Marcos: 1977 I'm going to tell you something. It's not threatening, it's just plain fucking fact. If this union doesn't turn around and become a movement, I want no part of it. I'll help and everything, but I don't want to be in charge. I want to do something else. I tell you because that's the way I feel. — Chavez arguing with the executive board to reform the UFW in 1977[301] Chavez told the executive committee that radical change was necessary in the UFW; he stated that they could be either a union or a movement, but not both. If the former, they would have to start paying wages to their staff, rather than rely on volunteers, which at that time they were not in a financial position to do.[302] He instead urged them to become a movement, which he argued meant establishing communal settlements for members, drawing on a Californian religious organization, Synanon, as an exemplar.[302] Chavez had become increasingly interested in Synanon, a drug-treatment organization that had declared itself a religion in 1975 and which operated out of a compound east of Fresno. He admired Synanon's leader Charles Dederich, and the way that the latter controlled his planned community.[303] In Chavez's opinion, Dederich was "a genius in terms of people".[304] In February 1977, Chavez took the UFW's executive board on a visit to the Synanon compound.[305] There, they took part in a therapy system based on Dederich's own process, "the Game," as part of which each "player" was singled out in turn to receive harsh, profanity-laced criticism from the rest of the community.[306] Dederich had told Chavez that "the Game" was key to reshaping the UFW,[307] and the latter decided that he wanted everyone at La Paz to play it.[301] He received tacit agreement from the executive board although some of its members privately opposed the measure.[308] The Game took place at La Paz on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, and at its height about 100 people were taking part in it each week.[309] There it was used to shape behavior and punish nonconformity.[310] Many individuals dreaded the humiliation it involved, disliked the obscenities that were part of it, and found going through it to be a traumatic experience.[311] Chavez remained enthusiastic about the Game, calling it "a good tool to fine-tune the union".[311] Many of those close to Chavez, including his wife and Richard Chavez, refused to take part.[311] The farmworkers were not informed about the Game.[312] Various long-term supporters of the UFW, including various clerical figures, visited La Paz at this time and left alarmed by how it had changed.[313] Synanon provided the UFW with $100,000 worth of cars and materials;[314] building links with Chavez's movement burnished Dederich's reputation with rich liberals who were among Synanon's core constituency.[315] Dederich suggested that Synanon and the UFW establish a joint communal farm, and although the option was explored, it did not materialize.[316] Following Dederich's advice, Chavez began grooming young people who had grown up in the movement to remain committed to him and his ideals.[317] He created a curriculum for them to follow, which included the Game.[317] Whereas Chavez had previously refused to accept government money, he now applied for over $500,000 in grants for a school and other projects.[318] Formal celebrations and group rituals became an important part of life at La Paz,[319] while Chavez also declared that on Saturday mornings all residents of La Paz should work in the vegetable and flower gardens to improve sociability.[320] A rule was passed that everyone at La Paz had to wear a UFW button at all times on penalty of a fine.[321] After attending a course in Los Angeles, Chavez began claiming that he could heal people by laying on his hands.[322] Chavez's support for the Filipino government of Ferdinand Marcos (pictured) brought strong criticism. In the field elections, the UFW was largely rebuffed by Filipino-American workers. Seeking to remedy this, in 1977 Chavez traveled to the Philippines as the guest of its president, Ferdinand Marcos. There, he was treated as a high-ranking dignitary, and received both an award from Marcos and an honorary doctorate from the Far Eastern University in Manila.[323][324][325] He then spoke to a reporter from The Washington Post where he spoke positively about Marcos' introduction of martial law.[323] This generated outcry in the U.S., especially among religious groups, who argued that Chavez was overlooking the human rights abuses taking place under Marcos' administration.[326] Chavez then organized an event on Delano for five senior Filipino government officially to speak to an assembled audience.[326] The incident eroded support among religious organizations, a key constituency for Chavez and the UFW.[326] Time magazine published a story reporting on violence and child abuse at Synanon, which it termed a "kooky cult". Synanon launched a boycott of Time in response, with Chavez urging the UFW to support it, stating that they should assist their friends and help protect religious freedom.[314] Los Angeles police then raided Synanon's compound and revealed evidence that Dederich had sanctioned the use of violence against the group's critics and ex-members; several senior members were also found guilty of murdering a lawyer representing ex-Synanon members.[327] Shortly after, the Peoples Temple run by the civil rights activist Jim Jones, a group which had been closely linked with California's leftist movement, committed mass suicide at their Jonestown community.[328] A Democrat assemblyman soon issued a press release comparing the cult surrounding Chavez to the Peoples Temple.[328] The UFW stopped using the Game in response to these developments;[327] Chavez's calls for it to resume were rejected by other senior members.[329] The UFW continued to rely on voluntary labor, only paying a small number of employees, such as lawyers. When the union's lawyers, who were paid, asked for a raise, it generated a major debate among the executive committee. Chavez framed the issue along the lines of whether the UFW should start paying wages to everyone or instead continue to rely on volunteers. The executive committee split largely on generational lines, with older members backing Chavez's desire to remain a voluntary organization, and this attitude narrowly prevailed.[330] Medina, one of only two former farmworkers on the board, resigned over the issue.[331] Drake also resigned.[332] Half of the lawyers left straight away, and the others in the coming weeks as the UFW switched to a voluntary legal department; the new volunteers were largely inexperienced.[328] It was also in 1977 that the UFW declared that contributions to the union's political fund would become mandatory for members; this was then used to support political groups and candidates considered sympathetic to the UFW's interests.[333] Later life Growing schisms: 1978–1982 A photograph of Chavez taken in 1979 In June 1978, Chavez joined a picket in Yuma as part of his cousin Manuel's Arizona melon strike. This broke an injunction and Chavez was thrown into the county jail for a night.[334] By 1978, there was growing anger at the UFW among vegetable workers; they were frustrated by its incompetency, especially in the running of its medical plan.[335] In the 22 farmworker elections that took place between June and September 1978, the UFW lost two-thirds.[336] To stop the loss of its contracts and members, Chavez launched his Plan de Flote, an initiative to regain the trust of the vegetable pickers.[337] Chavez organized a new strike over wages, hoping that salary increases would stem the UFW's losses; the union made its wage demands in January 1979, days after its contracts had expired.[338] Eleven lettuce growers in the Salinas and Imperial Valleys were included in the strike,[339] which caused lettuce prices to soar.[340] During the strike, the picketers trespassed on the Mario Saikhon company fields and attempted to drive away those still working. The foreman and other employees opened fire and one picketer, Rufino Contreras, was killed.[341] Chavez urged the strikers not to resort to violence and with Contreras' father led a three-mile candlelit funerary procession, attended by 7000 people.[342] In June, Ganz and other strike organizers planned a show of strength whereby strikers rushed onto the Salinas field to cause disruption. This generated violent clashes; several people sustained stab wounds and 75 were arrested.[343] Vegetable growers accused Chavez of terrorism over the incident;[344] Chavez criticized Ganz for organizing this without his approval.[343] He then led a 12-day march from San Francisco to San Jose, beginning a fast on the sixth day.[345] Arriving in Salinas, he met with strike leaders at a UFW convention. He argued that the strike was proving too costly for the UFW—it cost the union between $300,000 and $400,000 a month—and that they should end the strike and switch to a boycott campaign. The strike leaders rejected these suggestions.[346] To end the strike, in August and September, several growers signed contracts with the UFW but many held out and the union was broke.[347] Chavez continued arguing for a boycott, suggesting that the union could use alcoholics from the cities to run the boycott campaign, an idea most of the executive board rejected.[348] Under the new contracts, the growers agreed to pay for paid workers' representatives whose job it would be to ensure a smooth relationship between the growers and the UFW. Chavez brought these paid representatives to La Paz for a five-day training session in May 1980.[349] Ganz, who was becoming increasingly distant from Chavez, helped tutor them.[350] Chavez called all staff to a meeting at La Paz in May 1981, where he again insisted that the UFW was being infiltrated by spies seeking to undermine it and overthrow him.[351] He arranged for more of his loyalists to be put on the executive board, which now had no farmworkers sitting on it.[351] At the UFW's Fresno convention in September 1981, the paid representatives nominated some of their own choices, rather than Chavez's, to go on the board.[352] Chavez's supporters responded with leaflets claiming that the paid representatives were puppets of "the two Jews", Ganz and Cohen, who were trying to undermine the union.[353] This brought allegations of antisemitism against Chavez.[354] Seeking to undermine the paid representatives, Chavez proposed a measure that if 8% of workers at a ranch signed a petition, the representatives of that ranch would be obliged to vote for Chavez's chosen candidates. The measure passed.[353] Now we come to this 1981 convention facing yet another assault on our beloved union. An assault even more menacing than the past conventions. More menacing because it is clandestinely organized by those forces whose every wish and desire is our destruction. Obstruction by those evil forces visible and invisible who work at every chance to destroy us—the growers, the teamsters, disaffected former staff, scoundrels, and God knows who, some unwittingly trying to each the same goal—that is to bury our beloved union. — Chavez at the 1981 convention[353] By October, all of those who had opposed Chavez's choices at the convention had been fired.[354] They responded by launching a fast in protest outside the UFW's Salinas office.[355] Nine of them then sued Chavez in a federal court, claiming that he had no right to fire them from positions that they had been elected to represent by their peers in the fields.[355] Chavez responded with a counter-suit, suing them for libel and slander.[356] He acknowledged to a reporter that in doing so, he was trying to intimidate the protester's lawyer, something which brought negative publicity for the UFW.[356] One of the protesters, Chava Bustamante, got work with the California Rural Legal Assistance group, at which the UFW began picketing their offices, trying to get Bustamante fired.[357] In court, Chavez denied that the paid representatives were ever elected, alleging that they were appointed by him personally, but produced no evidence to support this claim. The US District Court Judge William Ingram rejected Chavez's argument, ruling that the sacking of the paid representatives had been unlawful.[358] The UFW appealed the ruling, which dragged out for years, until the paid representatives ran out of funds to continue.[359] Opposition to Chavez's hostility to illegal migrants led senior UFW members in Texas and Arizona to break from the union and form their own groups, such as the Texas Farm Workers Union and the Maricopa County Organizing Project.[360] Chavez and his cousin Manuel went to Texas to try and rally opposition to the schism.[360] Manuel also went to Arizona, where he introduced a range of measures to undermine the new group.[361] This led to the investigative journalist Tom Barry looking into Manuel's activities. It was revealed that under a pseudonym he had become a melon grower in Mexico, and that he was initiating strikes among U.S. melon pickers as a means of improving the market for his own produce.[362] The UFW's reputation was further damaged after the magazine Reason exposed that the union had improperly spent nearly $1 million in federal funds. Federal and national investigations followed, confirming these allegations.[363] The government asked the UFW to return over $250,000 in funds while the Internal Revenue Service ruled that the union owed $390,000 in back social security and federal unemployment taxes.[364] In 1982, the UFW held a celebration of the twentieth anniversary of its first convention at San Jose.[365] It was in October that year that Chavez's father died, with the funeral being held in San Jose.[366] Chavez was also involving himself in a broader range of leftist events. He co-chaired Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda's fund-raising dinner for their Campaign for Economic Democracy.[365] In the summer of 1982 he also appeared at Peace Sunday, an anti-nuclear event.[365] The UFW had established itself as one of the largest political donors in California.[333] Its political donations were often concealed from the public, funneled through intermediary committees.[367] It donated thousands of dollars to Howard Berman's campaign to unseat Leo McCarthy as the Speaker of the California State Assembly because of McCarthy's role in defeating Proposition 14. Many Democrats feared that Berman would be beholden to Chavez and so backed Willie Brown, who won.[368] The UFW subsequently also donated to Willie Brown.[369] The Chicano Lobby and commercial activities: 1983–1989 The UFW's membership, and the subsequent membership dues they paid, continued to decline. In January 1983, UFW contracts covered 30,000 jobs but by January 1986 this had fallen to 15,000.[370] In 1982, the dues that membership brought in were $2.9 million although this had fallen to $1 million three years later.[371] By the early 1980s, there was a burgeoning Latino middle-class in the U.S. Although Chavez hated the aspirational approach that had encouraged working-class Latinos to become middle-class, he recognized that this offered the UFW a wider support base.[372] At the 1983 UFW convention, he announced the formation of a new non-profit organization, the Chicano Lobby.[372] At the Lobby's launch, addresses were given by the San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros and the newly elected president of the Mexican American Political Association, Chavez's eldest son Fernando.[373] To cope with its declining membership, the UFW sought to build its political influence.[374] In November 1984, Chavez gave a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California.[375] The UFW launched a print shop, with politicians who were eager to court the Latino vote increasingly used.[374] Chavez launched a boycott of grapes and Red Coach Lettuce because their parent company, Bruce Church, had refused to sign a contract with the UFW.[376] Chavez launched a boycott of Lucky, a California supermarket chain. His strategy was to convince the supermarket that the UFW could damage its patronage among Latinos.[377] Chavez had observed that the Christian Right was beginning to use new computer technologies to reach potential supporters and decided that the UFW should do the same.[378] Through this, they were better able to target specific groups whom they regarded as sympathetic to their cause: Hispanics, middle-class African Americans, and liberal professionals living in the major cities.[379] As part of its boycott, the UFW also bought television commercials, which it used to help raise money.[380] From the mid-1980s, Chavez increasingly focused the UFW's campaigns on opposing the use of pesticides in the fields, which he argued posed a danger both to farmworkers and to consumers.[381] The UFW raised over $100,000, as well as donated equipment, to launch its own pesticide research lab, but this never opened.[382] In his anti-pesticide campaigns he gained support from Ralph Nader.[383] Chavez linked this approach in with the ongoing boycott of Bruce Church, arguing that if consumers boycotted the company's products, the growers would stop using pesticides.[384] The UFW claimed that the high rates of childhood cancer in McFarland represented evidence of how pesticides impacted humans; they used footage of some of these children in a 17-minute video, The Wrath of Grapes. Many of the parents were angered and several sued the UFW, claiming that the union was exploiting their children for its own agenda.[385] UFW activists also turned up at the funereal procession of a 14-year old who had died from cancer, where they carried union flags; the child's furious mother demanded that they leave.[386] In 1982, Jerry Brown ceased to be governor of California.[387] He was replaced by the Republican George Deukmejian, who had the backing of the state's growers; under Deukmejian, the ALRB's influence eroded.[388] In 1987, the UFW was found liable for $1.7 million in damages to the Maggio company for the illegal actions that the union carried out against it during their 1979 strike.[387] As the UFW's boycott of Bruce Church products failed to gain traction, in July 1988 Chavez launched another public fast at Forty Acres.[389] Three of Robert Kennedy's children visited, generating media attention for the fast.[390] After 19 days, Chavez broke the fast at a ceremony attended by the Democratic politician Jesse Jackson.[390] The fast was followed by further purges at La Paz as Chavez accused more people of being saboteurs.[391] Hartmire was among those pushed out, resigning in January 1989.[392] Some of those at La Paz left before Chavez could target them, and the commune became increasingly depopulated.[393] Chavez meanwhile continued to receive awards and honors.[393] In November 1989, the Mexican government awarded him the Order of the Aztec Eagle, during which he had a private audience with Mexican President Carlos Salinas.[394] In October 1990, Coachella became the first district to name a school after Chavez; he attended the dedication ceremony.[394] With membership dues declining, the UFW increasingly turned to commercial activities as a means of raising funds.[371] It began marketing UFW branded merchandise through Ell Taller Grafico Speciality Advertising (ETG), which had Chavez as its chair.[395] Chavez also set himself up as a housing developer, working in partnership with the Fresno businessman Celestino Aguilar. Together they bought properties undergoing foreclosure, renovated them, before selling them on.[396] They ultimately moved from foreclosures to high-end custom built houses and subsidized apartment blocks.[396] To conceal the UFW's involvement in these projects, Chavez and Aguilar formed the company American Liberty Investments.[396] They also established the Ideal Minimart Corporation, which built two strip malls and operated a check-cashing store.[396] Richard's company, Bonita Construction, was hired for some of the work.[396] The Fresno Bee subsequently reported that most of the UFW's housing projects had been built by non-union contractors.[396] The trade unions representing the building unions expressed outrage at the news, highlighting that they had previously given financial support to the UFW.[397] The New Yorker later termed the incident an "embarrassment".[398] Final years: 1990–1993 The grave of César Chávez is located in the garden of the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, California. In the early 1990s, the UFW continued to market Chavez as a heroic figure, especially on university and college campuses.[399] In 1990, he appeared at 64 events, earning an average of $3,800 for each appearance.[399] In 1991, he launched a "Public Action Speaking Tour" of U.S. colleges and universities.[400] His standard speech at these events covered the problems facing farmworkers, the dangers of pesticides, the alliance of agribusiness and the Republican Party, and his view that boycotts and marches were a better means of achieving change than electoral politics.[401] Chavez's mother died in December 1991, aged 99.[402] The following year, in September 1992, Chavez's mentor Ross died. Chavez gave the eulogy at his funeral.[403] Chavez's final years saw the UFW's involvement in a legal battle with Bruce Church. The company had sued the union, claiming it libeled them and had illegally threatened supermarkets to stop them selling Red Coach lettuce.[404] In 1988, a jury returned a $5.4 million verdict against the UFW, but this verdict was thrown out in the appeals court.[405] The case was then remanded for trial on narrower grounds.[405] Chavez was called to testify in front of a Yuma court in 1993.[406] The stakes were high; a verdict against the UFW would have been financially devastating.[407] During the case, Chavez stayed at the home of a San Luis supporter. It was there that he died in bed on April 23.[408] He was aged 66.[409] Chavez's body was flown to Bakersfield aboard a chartered plane.[409] The autopsy proved inconclusive, with the family stating that he had died of natural causes.[410] Chavez had already stipulated that he wanted his brother Richard to build his coffin,[411] and that his funeral should take place at Forty Acres.[410] There, his body lay in state, where tens of thousands of people visited it.[411] A funeral procession took place in Delano, with 120 pallbearers taking turns to carry the coffin.[412] Chavez was then buried in a private ceremony at La Paz.[413] Personal life The union's survival, its very existence, sent out a signal to all Hispanics that we were fighting for our dignity. That we were challenging and overcoming injustice, that we were empowering the least educated among us, the poorest among us. The message was clear. If it could happen in the fields, it could happen anywhere: in the cities, in the courts, in the city councils, in the state legislatures. I didn't really appreciate it at the time, but the coming of our union signalled the start of great changes among Hispanics that are now only beginning to be seen. — Cesar Chavez, 1984[414] When Chavez returned home from his service in the military in 1948, he married his high school sweetheart, Helen Fabela. The couple moved to San Jose, California.[25] With his wife, he had eight children: Fernando (b.1949), Sylvia (b.1950), Linda (b.1951), Eloise (b.1952), Anna (b.1953), Paul (b.1957), Elizabeth (b.1958), and Anthony (b.1958).[415] Helen avoided the limelight, a trait which Chavez admired.[416] While he led the union, she focused on raising the children, cooking, and housekeeping.[417] During the latter part of the 1970s, his infidelity with a range of women became common knowledge among senior UFW figures, who kept this knowledge quiet so as not to damage his reputation as a devoted Catholic family man.[418] After Helen read a love letter written to Chavez by another woman, she temporarily left La Paz and lived with one of her daughters in Delano.[419] Chavez's children resented the union and displayed little interest in it,[246] although most ended up working for it.[420] Of these children, Chavez's eldest son, Fernando, was the only one to graduate college;[420] Chavez's relationship with Fernando was strained, as he was frustrated with what he saw as his son's interest in becoming middle-class.[421] Chavez expressed traditional views on gender roles and was little influenced by the second wave feminism that was contemporary with his activism.[416] In his movement, men took almost all the senior roles, with women largely being confined to background roles as secretaries, nurses, or in child-care; the main exception was Huerta.[416] Chavez had a close working relationship with Huerta. They became mutually dependent, and although she did not hesitate to raise complaints with him, she also usually deferred to him.[422] During their working relationship, they often argued,[226] something which intensified in the latter part of the 1970s.[423] Huerta stated that she was Chavez's "whipping girl" when he was under pressure.[343] He never had close friendships outside of his family, believing that friendships distracted from his political activism.[424] Physically, Chavez was short,[50] and had jet black hair.[425] He was quiet,[76] and Bruns described him as being "outwardly shy and unimposing".[426] Like many farm laborers, he experienced severe back pain throughout his life.[427] He could be self-conscious about his lack of formal education and was uncomfortable interacting with affluent people.[76] When speaking with reporters, he sometimes mythologized his own life story.[428] Chavez was not a great orator; according to Pawel, "his power lay not in words, but in actions".[429] She noted that he was "not an articulate speaker",[50] and similarly, Bruns observed that he "had no special talent as a public speaker".[430] He was soft-spoken,[431] and according to Pawel had an "informal, conversational style",[432] and was "good at reading people".[50] He was unwilling to delegate or trust others.[433] He preferred to tackle every task personally.[434] He was also capable of responding quickly and decisively to events.[435] Chavez visiting Colegio Cesar Chavez Bruns described Chavez as combining a "remarkable tenacity with a sense of serenity".[436] A tireless worker, he was known for often working 18 hours a day;[437] he used to start his working day at 3.30am and would often continue working until 10pm.[434] He stated that "I just sleep and eat and work. I do nothing else."[292] Pawel stated that as a leader, Chavez was both "charming, attentive, and humble" as well as being "single-minded, demanding, and ruthless".[438] When he wanted to criticize one of his volunteers or staff members he usually did so in private but on occasion could berate them in a public confrontation.[85] He described his own life's work as a crusade against injustice,[429] and displayed a commitment to self-sacrifice.[439] Pawel thought that "Chavez thrived on the power to help people and the way that made him feel".[50] Ross, who was a friend and colleague of Chavez's for many years, noted that "He would do in thirty minutes what it would take me or somebody else thirty days".[124] Pawel noted that Chavez was "openly ruthless" in his "drive to be the one and only farm labor leader".[440] He was stubborn and would rarely back down once he had taken a stance.[441] He would not accept criticism of himself, but would deflect it.[442] Chavez was a Catholic whose faith strongly influenced both his social activism and his personal outlook.[443] He rarely missed Mass and liked to open all of his meetings with either a Mass or a prayer.[444] Privately, he also liked to meditate.[445] In 1970, he became a vegetarian,[446] stating that "I wouldn't eat my dog, you know. Cows and dogs are about the same."[256] As part of this diet he also shunned most dairy products except cottage cheese.[256] He credited this diet with easing his chronic back pain.[256] He also avoided eating processed foods.[256] Among his favorite foods were traditional Mexican and Chinese cuisines.[447] Chavez had a love of the music of Duke Ellington and big band music;[27] he enjoyed dancing.[448] He was also an amateur photographer,[448] and a keen gardener, making his own compost and growing vegetables.[449] For much of his adult life he kept German shepherd dogs for personal protection;[450] two of those he kept at La Paz were named Boycott and Huelga.[451] Chavez preserved many of his notes, letters, the minutes of meetings, as well as tape recordings of many interviewers, and at the encouragement of Philip P. Mason donated these to the Walter P. Reuther Library, where they are kept.[452] He disliked telephone conversations, suspecting that his phone line was bugged.[453] He tended to see problems faced by his movement not as evidence of innocent mistakes but as deliberate sabotage.[290] Chavez was self-educated, with Pawel noting that he was "disinclined to analyze information".[454] Once Chavez accepted an idea, he could dedicate himself to it wholeheartedly.[454] Political views The men and women who have suffered and endured much and not only because of our abject poverty but because we have been kept poor. The color of our skins, the languages of our cultural and native origins, the lack of formal education, the exclusion from the democratic process, the numbers of our slain in recent wars — all these burdens generation after generation have sought to demoralize us, to break our human spirit. But God knows we are not beasts of burden, we are not agricultural implements or rented slaves, we are men. And mark this well [..] we are men locked in a death struggle against man's inhumanity to man in the industry you represent. And this struggle itself gives meaning to our life and ennobles our dying. — Cesar Chavez's open letter to the grape industry amid the Grape Strike[251] Chavez described his movement as promoting "a Christian radical philosophy".[143] According to Chavez biographer Roger Bruns, he "focused the movement on the ethnic identity of Mexican Americans" and on a "quest for justice rooted in Catholic social teaching".[455] Chavez saw his fight for farmworkers' rights as a symbol for the broader cultural and ethnic struggle for Mexican Americans in the United States.[447] Chavez utilized a range of tactics drawing on Roman Catholic religion, including vigils, public prayers, a shrine on the back of his station waggon, and references to dead farmworkers as "martyrs".[456] His point in doing so was not necessarily to proselytize, but to use the socio-political potential of Christianity for his own campaigns.[456] Most of the farmworkers his union represented shared his Roman Catholicism and were happy to incorporate its religious practices into their marches, strikes, and other UFW activities. [457] Chavez called on his fellow Roman Catholics to be more consistent in standing up for the religion's values.[456] He stated that "in a nutshell, what do we want the Church to do? We don't ask for more cathedrals. We don't ask for bigger churches or fine gifts. We ask for its presence with us, beside us, as Christ among us. We ask the Church to sacrifice with the people for social change, for justice, and for love of brother."[456] Ospino stated that "The combination of labor organizing strategies with explicit expressions of Catholic religiosity made Chavez's approach unique" within the U.S. labor movement,[458] although some of his associates, non-Catholics, and other parts of the labor movement were critical of his use of Catholic elements.[456] Chavez abhorred poverty,[459] regarding it as dehumanizing,[460] and wanted to ensure a better standard of living for the poor.[459] He was frustrated that most farmworkers appeared more interested in money and did not appreciate the values that he espoused.[423] He was concerned that, as he had seen with the CSO, individuals moving out of poverty often adopted middle-class values; he viewed the middle classes with contempt.[459] He recognized that union activity was not a long-term solution to poverty across society and suggested that forming co-operatives therefore might be the best solution.[459] In Chavez's view, workers' cooperatives offered a middle ground economic choice between the failed system of capitalism and the state socialism of Marxist-Leninist countries.[461] His son Paul recalls "My father's basic premise was that capitalism was not going to work because it was too harsh and always took advantage of those least able to defend themselves".[462] He also embraced ideals about communal living, and saw the La Paz commune he established in California as a model for others to follow.[463] Chavez kept a large portrait of Gandhi in his office,[464] alongside another of Martin Luther King and busts of both John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.[165] Influenced by the ideas of Gandhi and King, Chavez emphasized non-violent confrontation as a tactic.[465] He repeatedly referred to himself as the leader of the "non-violent Viet Cong", a reference to the Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist militia that the U.S. was combating in the Vietnam War.[228] He was interested not only in Gandhi's ideas on non-violence but also in the Indian's voluntary embrace of poverty, his use of fasting, and his ideas about community.[127] Fasting was important for Chavez.[466] He saw it not as a tactic to pressure his opponents, but rather to motivate his supporters, keeping them focused on the cause and on avoiding violence.[467] He also saw it as a sign of solidarity with the suffering of the people.[468] Chavez was also interested in Gandhi's ideas about sacrifice, noting that "I like the idea of sacrifice to do things. If they are done that way they are more lasting. If they cost more, then you will value them more."[127] Many of the UFW's protests have been interpreted as representing not only farmworkers but the Mexican-American community more broadly, making a statement that Anglo-Americans must recognize Mexican-Americans as "legitimate players in American life".[469] Chavez saw parallels in the way that African Americans were treated in the United States to the way that he and his fellow Mexican Americans were treated.[470] He absorbed many of the tactics that African American civil rights activists had employed throughout the 1960s, applying them to his own movement.[470] He was willing to take risks.[471] Chavez recognized the impact that his farm-worker campaigns had had on the Chicano Movement during the early 1970s, although he kept his distance from the latter movement and many of its leaders.[472] He condemned the violence that some figures in the Chicano Movement espoused.[472] On organization and leadership Chavez placed the success of the movement above all else;[258] Pawel described him as "the ultimate pragmatist".[169] He felt that he had to be both the leader and the organizer-in-chief of his movement because only he had the necessary commitment to the cause.[473] He was interested in power and how to use it; although his role model in this was Gandhi, he also studied the ideas about power by Niccolò Machiavelli, Adolf Hitler, and Mao Zedong, drawing ideas from each.[127] His use of purges to expel people from his movement was influenced by Mao's Cultural Revolution,[294] and he opened a June 1978 board meeting by reciting a poem by Mao.[334] Chavez repeatedly referred to himself as a community organizer rather than as a labor leader and underscored that distinction.[105] He wanted his organization to represent not just a union but a larger social movement.[474] He was ambivalent about the national labor movement.[105] He personally disliked many of the prominent figures within the American labor movement but, as a pragmatist, recognized the value of working with organized labor groups.[134] He opposed the idea of paying wages to those who worked for the union, believing that it would destroy the spirit of the movement.[475] He rarely fired people from their positions, but instead made their working situation uncomfortable so that they would resign.[476] Chavez's leadership style was authoritarian;[477] he stated that when he launched his movement, he initially had "total, absolute power" over it.[478] Bruns characterized the UFW under Chavez as an "autocratic regime".[474] Ex-members of the group, such as Bustamante and Padilla described Chavez as a dictator within the union.[479] Chavez felt unable to share the responsibilities of running his movement with others.[480] In 1968, Fred Hirsch noted that "one thing which characterizes Cesar's leadership is that he takes full responsibility for as much of the operation as he is physically capable of. All decisions are made by him."[481] Itliong noted that "Cesar is afraid that if he shares the authority with the people[...] they might run away from him."[481] Pawel noted that Chavez wanted "yes-men" around him.[482] He divided members of movements such as his into three groups: those that achieved what they set out to do, those that worked hard but failed what they set out to do, and those that were lazy. He thought that the latter needed to be expelled from the movement.[483] He highly valued individuals who were loyal, efficient, and took the initiative.[484] Explaining his attitudes toward activism, he told his volunteers that "nice guys throughout the ages have done very little for humanity. It isn't the nice guy who gets things done. It's the hardheaded guy."[483] He admitted that he could be "a real bastard" when dealing with movement members;[485] Chavez told UFW volunteers that "I'm a son of a bitch to work with".[292] He would play different people against each other to get what he wanted, particularly to break apart allies who might form an independent power bloc that would threaten his domination of the movement.[486] Reception and legacy Illustration of labor leader César Chávez by Acosta, was on the cover of Time', published July 4, 1969. Illustration of labor leader César Chávez by Manuel Gregorio Acosta, was on the cover of Time, published July 4, 1969 [Chavez's] dream was to found a labor union of farmworkers. He had no money, no political connections, and no experience. He was not a particularly dynamic personality and had no special talent as a public speaker. The dream, he knew, was almost fanciful. Nevertheless, through determination, grit, and a dogged will to win, he forged a movement that successfully challenged powerful entrenched economic and political interests and helped thousands of Mexican Americans to new cultural self-awareness. — Roger Bruns, 2005[430] In the popular imagination, Chavez and the movement he led became largely synonymous,[487] although throughout his career, Chavez prompted strong reactions from others.[437] Since his death, there has been a struggle to define his legacy.[488] During his lifetime, many of Chavez's supporters idolized him, engaging in a form of hero worship.[424] Bruns noted that many of his supporters "nearly worshipped him as a folk hero".[474] In 1982, the American country music singer Kris Kristofferson called Chavez "the only true hero we have walking on this Earth today".[365] These supporters were known as "Chavistas";[169] many of them, especially those living at the La Paz commune, emulated his vegetarian diet.[487] By the 1970s, he was increasingly referred to as a "saint" among those who supported him.[489] In response to these claims, Chavez insisted that "There is a big difference between being a saint and being an angel[...] Saints are known for being tough and stubborn."[489] In 1972, John Zerzan described Chavez as presenting himself as "a Christ-figure sacrificing all for his flock" through his fasts,[490] adding that Chavez took the form of a "messianic leader".[491] The scholar of Latino studies Lilia Soto called him and Huerta "freedom fighters".[492] He received a range of awards and accolades, which he claimed to hate.[489] For these supporters, his visions for the future were regarded as inspirational.[489] Bruns noted that he had "a mesmerizing effect on the lives of thousands. They saw in him nobility, sacrifice, and the grit of the underdog who refuses to give up."[493] Throughout his career as an activist, he received strong ecumenical support.[84] The UFW gained the support of mainline Protestant groups in a way that previous farmworker movements never had.[494] Chavez was despised by many growers.[495] John Giumarra Jr, of the Giumarra company, called Chavez a "New Left guerrilla", someone who wanted to topple "the established structure of American democracy".[452] The FBI monitored him and many other senior figures in his movement, concerned that they were subversive.[496] Having monitored him for over a decade, the FBI's dossier on Chavez grew to over 1,500 pages in length.[497] They ultimately found no evidence suggesting he had communist leanings.[498] During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he received a series of death threats,[499] and—according to Bruns—he often faced "spiteful mobs and scurrilous race-bating".[500] Within Chavez's movement itself, there was concern and criticism of his methods. It the early 1970s, for instance, Chavez-supporter George Higgins wrote a private memo arguing that Chavez "appealed very crassly" to feelings of guilt among many "Protestant social actionists" and threatened them "with the enmity of the poor" if they failed to meet with Chavez's demands.[472] Many ex-members of the UFW took the view that Chavez had been a poor administrator.[501] Other labor unions had long been wary of Chavez's movement, with the UFW gaining a reputation for always wanting money but doing little to assist others.[502] In the U.S. union movement, many skeptics believed that Chavez's idealism detracted from his effectiveness as a union leader.[489] Paul Hall of the Seafarers International Union of North America met him in Washington DC during the 1970s, at which he criticized Chavez for acting like a saint rather than a union leader, stating that he had become "a fad – the poor man others can support to expiate their sins".[487] Some Mexican-Americans were critical of Chavez, believing him an agitator and trouble-maker who was insufficiently patriotic in his views of the United States.[437] Some critics believed that Chavez's activism was mobilized largely by the desire for personal gain and ambition.[503] A campaigner for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign holding up a "Sí se puede" plaque. The slogan was first developed by Chavez's UFW in the early 1970s. Bruns noted that Chavez's movement was "part of the fervor of change [in the United States] of the late 1960s", alongside the civil rights movement and the campaign against the Vietnam War.[504] The historian Ronald A. Wells described Chavez as "one of the most important Christian activists in our time,"[488] while the theologian Hosffman Ospino called him "one of the most influential social leaders in the history of the United States".[505] Pawel referred to Chavez as "an improbable idol in an era of telegenic leaders and charismatic speakers".[429] The historian Nelson Lichtenstein commented that Chavez's UFW oversaw "the largest and most effective boycott [in the United States] since the colonists threw tea into Boston Harbor".[506] Lichtenstein also stated that Chavez had become "an iconic, foundational figure in the political, cultural, and moral history" of the Latino American community.[507] Many Latinos drew inspiration from his movement,[508] including student activists - for instance, UCSC's Cesar Chavez Convocation. He has been described as a "folk saint" of the Mexican-American community.[509] A poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times in 1983 found that Chavez was the Latino that the Latinos of California most admired.[508] The scholar Steven Lloyd-Moffett argued that after Chavez's death, the "liberal intelligentsia and Chicano activists" came to dominate attempts to define his legacy and that they downplayed his firm commitment to Christianity so as to portray him as being motivated by "a secular ideology of justice and non-violence".[510] When the Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama was campaigning for the presidency in 2008, he used Sí se puede—translated into English as "Yes we can"—as one of his main campaign slogans.[511] When Obama was seeking re-election in 2012, he visited Chavez's grave and placed a rose upon it, also declaring his Union Headquarters to be a national monument.[511] Chavez's work has continued to exert influence on later activists. For instance, in his 2012 article in the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, Kevin J. O'Brien argued that Chavez could be "a vital resource for contemporary Christian ecological ethics".[512] O'Brien argued that it was both Chavez's focus on "the moral centrality of human dignity" as well as his emphasis on sacrifice that could be of use by Christians wanting to engage in environmentalist activism.[513] The theologian Carlos R. Piar similarly stated that Hispanic people should look to Chavez as an exemplar for "a way of being Christian in the United States".[514] Orders, decorations, monuments, and honors Main article: List of places named after Cesar Chavez The César Chávez Memorial at San José State University by Judy Baca. Chavez received a range of awards, both during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1973, he received the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged,[515] and in 1992 the Pacem in Terris Award, a Catholic award meant to honor "achievements in peace and justice".[516] In August 1994, Chavez was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest honor for non-military personnel, by Democratic President Bill Clinton. Chavez's widow collected it from the White House.[517] Clinton stated that Chavez had been a "remarkable man" and that "he was for his own people a Moses figure".[517] In 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger inducted Chavez into the California Hall of Fame.[518] Asteroid 6982 Cesarchavez, discovered by Eleanor Helin at Palomar Observatory in 1993, was named in his memory;[519] the official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on August 27, 2019 (M.P.C. 115893).[520] In March 2013, Google celebrated his 86th birthday with a Google Doodle.[521] The Reuther-Chavez Award was created in 2002 by Americans for Democratic Action "to recognize important activist, scholarly and journalistic contributions on behalf of workers' rights, especially the right to unionize and bargain collectively".[522] Colegio Cesar Chavez, named after Chavez while he was still alive, was a four-year "college without walls" in Mount Angel, Oregon, intended for the education of Mexican-Americans, that ran from 1973 to 1983.[523] On May 18, 2011, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that the Navy would be naming the last of 14 Lewis and Clark-class cargo ships after Cesar Chavez.[524] The USNS Cesar Chavez was launched on May 5, 2012.[525] The National Chavez Center, Keene, California In 2004, the National Chavez Center was opened on the UFW national headquarters campus in Keene by the César E. Chávez Foundation. It currently consists of a visitor center, memorial garden and his grave site. When it is fully completed, the 187-acre (0.76 km2) site will include a museum and conference center to explore and share Chavez's work.[526] On September 14, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Interior added the 187 acres (76 ha) Nuestra Senora Reina de La Paz ranch to the National Register of Historic Places.[527] On October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama designated the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument within the National Park system.[528] California State University San Marcos's Chavez Plaza includes a statue to Chavez. In 2007, The University of Texas at Austin unveiled its own Cesar Chavez statue[529] on campus. The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 authorized the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study of sites that are significant to the life of Cesar Chavez and the farm labor movement in the western United States. The study evaluated the significance and suitability of sites significant to Cesar Chavez and the farm labor movement, and the feasibility and appropriateness of a National Park Service role in the management of any of these sites.[530] Cesar Chavez's birthday, March 31, is a holiday in California,[531] Denver (Colorado),[532] and Texas.[533] It is intended to promote community service in honor of Chavez's life and work. Many, but not all, state government offices, community colleges, and libraries are closed. Many public schools in the three states are also closed. Chavez Day is an optional holiday in Arizona. Although it is not a federal holiday, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 "Cesar Chavez Day" in the United States, with Americans being urged to "observe this day with appropriate service, community, and educational programs to honor César Chávez's enduring legacy".[534] The heavily Hispanic city of Laredo, Texas, observes "Cesar Chavez Month" during March. Organized by the local League of United Latin American Citizens, a citizens' march is held in downtown Laredo on the last Saturday morning of March to commemorate Chavez.[535] In the Mission District, San Francisco a "Cesar Chavez Holiday Parade" is held on the second weekend of April, in honor of Cesar Chavez.[536] Chavez was referenced by Stevie Wonder in the song "Black Man" from the 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life.[537] The 2014 American film César Chávez, starring Michael Peña as Chavez, covered Chavez's life in the 1960s and early 1970s.[538] That same year, a documentary film, titled Cesar's Last Fast, was released. He received belated full military honors from the US Navy at his graveside on April 23, 2015, the 22nd anniversary of his death.[539] In 2015, statues of Chavez and Huerta were erected above a pizzeria in Downtown Napa, financed by a wealthy private citizen, Michael Holcomb, rather than the city authorities.[540] There is a portrait of Chavez in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.[541] In 2003, the United States Postal Service honored Chavez with a postage stamp.[542] A three-dimensional mural by artist Johanna Poethig, Tiene la lumbre por dentro (He Has the Fire Within Him) (2000) at Sonoma State University, honors Chavez and the Farm Workers Movement.[543][544] The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) nominated him three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.[545] At the start of the presidency of Joe Biden, a bust of Chavez was placed on a table directly behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.[546] In the late 1970s, my family and I lived in an apartment on South San Joaquin Street in the Little Manila neighborhood of Stockton, California. My family wasn’t unique. The Central Valley city was once home to the largest population of Filipinos in the 20th century. If most Filipino-Americans did a little digging, they would likely find that their relatives and direct ancestors visited Stockton or called Little Manila home. Maybe they strolled through Little Manila along El Dorado Street and walked over to Cirilo Juanitas’s Candy Store and Pool Hall, or had their clothes tailored at Los Filipinos Tailoring shop. Maybe like my family, they ate at Emerald’s Restaurant, on the corner of Hunter and Lafayette Street, which was formerly the Filipino Recreation Center. AD Report this ad They could have bumped into the renowned writer Carlos Bulosan, author of America Is in the Heart, eating lunch at the Lafayette Lunch Counter, where the owner Pablo “Ambo” Mabalon usually gave the writer his meals for free. Perhaps they were friends with the Stockton resident and one of the most important Filipino American leaders of the 20th century, Larry Itliong. It’s possible. As the late and great Filipino-American historian Dawn Mabalon and author of Little Manila Is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipina/o American Community in Stockton, California, always said about her own research: “All roads lead to Stockton.” Sadly, Mabalon died on August 10, 2018. But her final project, a children’s book called Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong, which I co-authored, and is illustrated by Filipino-American artist Andre Sibayan, is based on her research and curated historical photographs. 1 / 2  In Delano on September 7, 1965, a small town four hours outside of Stockton, Itliong convinced the grape workers at Filipino Hall to strike. Andre Sibayan Preview thumbnail for 'Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong Filipino-American historian Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, writer Gayle Romasanta, and illustrator Andre Sibayan tell the story of the labor leader and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Larry Itliong and his lifelong fight for a farmworkers union. This is the first book written about Itliong and the first nonfiction illustrated Filipino-American history book for children. BUY Larry Itliong immigrated to the United States in 1929 when he was 15 years old and immediately began working as a farm laborer and in the salmon canneries of Alaska. His heart was set on becoming an attorney and seeking justice for the poor. But the poverty he lived through and violent racism he and Filipinos encountered all but barred him from getting the education he initially sought. He never became an attorney, but he became a storied Filipino-American labor leader and organizer, leading labor organizations in Alaska and throughout the West Coast. He called Stockton his hometown while he recruited more than a thousand new members to join the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). He was so good at what he did, union leaders asked him to leave for Delano to organize Filipino grape workers. It was there in Delano on September 7, 1965, a small town four hours outside of Stockton, that he convinced the grape workers at Filipino Hall to vote to go on strike. The next day, the Delano Grape Strike began, and more than 2,000 Filipino farmworkers, members of AWOC, marched off the vineyards, demanding $1.40 an hour, 25 cents a box, and the right to form a union. Report this ad AD Itliong soon contacted Cesar Chavez and asked Mexican farmworkers to join the strike. He understood that all workers had to stand together in their fight for justice. Chavez didn’t think his people were ready to go on strike. But he took Itliong’s request back to the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), and along with Dolores Huerta spoke to the nearly one thousand NFWA members. In a unanimous vote, the Mexicans joined the Filipinos. A year later, AWOC and NFWA merged to become the United Farm Workers (UFW). The Delano Grape Strike lasted for five years. As director of the UFW, recognition grew for Chavez, who took the limelight, but co-founder and former assistant director Larry Itliong has since been cast into the historical shadows. And significantly, while this strike was one of the most important social justice and economic movements in American history, many, including the Filipino-American community, are unaware of Itliong’s crucial efforts in organizing the strike and supporting the workers. Under Itliong's direction, Filipino Hall became the union hall and strike kitchen, Mexicans and Filipinos cooked for one another, and picketed together, eventually persuading grocery stores to stop carrying Delano grapes. Itliong also fiercely negotiated for the funding and construction of Agbayani Village, a senior home for retired farmworkers—the Manongs—the Filipino elderly who had no family, to be located at the UFW Headquarters at Forty Acres, which is now part of the National Park Service. Itliong negotiated with the growers that a percentage of each grape box picked would support the retirement facility. Over the course of five years, the strike garnered international recognition and was supported by major celebrities and politicians of the time, with people from across the U.S. donating money, food and clothing to the UFW. In the end, everyone won. In 1970, more than 30 Delano grape growers in Delano agreed to a pay increase for the workers, as well as medical insurance plan and established controls over toxic pesticides. But why is it important to remember this history? Teaching Filipino-Americans—specifically the youth—about our collective history is about “battling for the Filipino-American soul,” says Dillon Delvo, executive director of the advocacy group Little Manila Rising in Southside Stockton. Without understanding our history, Filipinos are content to just fill the economic and labor needs of its current oppressor, without critical analysis of who they are. “When we talk about the battle for our souls, it’s about standing together, despite this history, despite compounded generational trauma. [The battleground] is where you stand with your people and acknowledge this marginalized history. It’s only when we acknowledge this shared history, can we then stand together and fulfill our own needs and our own dreams.” Founded in 1999 by Delvo and Mabalon, Little Manila Rising’s original goal was to save Stockton’s Little Manila neighborhood and have it recognized as a historic site. “We told the powers that be, we live here. We have a right to say we don’t want these buildings destroyed,” Delvo says. “No one thought the children of the farmworkers would demand this right.” The nonprofit has grown into a hub of Filipino-American arts and culture led by youth educators, with an after-school program that introduces students to the history of their marginalized community. The nonprofit was able to save the last three remaining Little Manila buildings and earn the area a historic landmark designation. Report this ad AD Delvo’s passion for this cause likely comes from his father, labor organizer Rudy Delvo. It was the elder Delvo who met with Itliong and successfully recruited him to join the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. “We’re doing the work. We are on the battlefield with this book,” Delvo says about Journey for Justice. The book has made its way into curricula at UCLA, San Francisco State University, the University of Michigan, and school districts in California for the fall of 2020. Locally, Little Manila Rising has worked it into their after-school program and donated a copy to every school in Stockton. “If we don’t have the proper context of who we are as a people, in the same way the Mexican-American community understands Cesar Chavez and his legacy as a standard for youth to live up to, then what do Filipino-Americans live up to?” Delvo asks. “What is our standard?” “The proper response to Dawn and Larry Itliong’s legacy is to learn your history, tell your story, and empower your community,” he continues. “We as a community need to read this history together and then answer this question: how do we form Filipino-American communities for the future where our youth understand the legacies we need to live up to?” Report this ad AD The answer is quite clear for Little Manila Rising: focus on the youth and teach them their history to create the heart and soul of the community’s future. Delvo understands it’s a generational shift. It takes time. While the battle hasn’t been won yet, it all starts by reading about Larry Itliong and Filipinos in the farm labor movement. My own history of art, writing and politicism propels me forward on a Journey for Justice national book tour. I’ve made it to four cities so far: Delano, Seattle, New York and Washington, D.C. I have more than a dozen stops left, taking me to Texas, Alaska, up and down California, to the Midwest and back to the East Coast. At each stop, I talk about Itliong and why every Filipino-American should know who he is. National and local community leaders honor and celebrate both Itliong and Mabalon’s work and the legacy they leave behind at each tour stop. This wasn’t the plan when I started this work. There were no books that my children could read specifically about Filipino-American leaders. In 2016, I asked Mabalon if she would collaborate with me on the children’s book about Larry Itliong. She was the only researcher I knew who could write this book. She was working on her own Itliong project for college students. I told her that this book was not just for my children, but for other Filipino families and teachers as well. She agreed. With illustrator Sibayan, we began a fundraising campaign to get the book done, along with jump-starting an eight-book series about Filipino-American leaders for young students in fourth through ninth grades. After more than 500 contributors donated to an online fundraising campaign, we set to work, and, in less than two years, the book was done. On the day I mailed the final edits to the printer, Mabalon died. I had just gotten off the phone with her, our last celebratory meeting. She was vacationing in Kauai; she went snorkeling and had an asthma attack. Mabalon’s legacy in our community is still felt. Bridge and Delta Publishing (the publishing house I created) worked closely with many organizations to bring the national book tour to life. One main organization was the Filipino American National Historical Society, which was more than willing to assist, as Mabalon was a FANHS National Trustee and served as the organization’s National Scholar for more than a decade. Other key local nonprofit Filipino-American and Asian-American organizations have supported and sponsored the tour at every stop throughout the U.S. We have a public relations agency, Filipina-owned Papalodown Agency, which has given many hours to our cause. A free comprehensive Journey for Justice teachers’ guide, created by Pin@y Educational Partnerships San Francisco, is provided to each community. Pinay rapper Ruby Ibarra, an artist and performer at the 2019 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, features the Journey for Justice book in her live session video for the song “Here.” Through these collaborations, we unite to spread the history of Larry Itliong. In the early stages of drafting the book, Mabalon and I joked it was a movement we were creating. It is true about her research and this movement too, that all roads lead to Stockton. And it is through Mabalon that I also came to understand that our collective memory must always hold the story of Larry Itliong. I know she would want me to say to the communities I visit, remember our history, know and understand who Itliong was, and tell your own story. Know history, know self. Larry Itliong was a Filipino American labor leader who organized West Coast farm workers, starting in the 1930s. He became well-known in the 1960s for spearheading the Delano grape strike and teaming with labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to demand farm workers' rights. The five-year strike won better pay and benefits for agricultural workers and led to the eventual formation of the United Farm Workers.  "I feel we are just as good as any of them. I feel we have the same rights as any of them,” Itliong said in a 1976 speech. “Because in that Constitution, it said that everybody has equal rights and justice.” Early Life and Migration to the United States Modesto “Larry” Dulay Itliong was born on October 25, 1913 in the bucolic town of San Nicolas, Pangasinan Province, Philippines. He was among the six children of Francesca Dulay-Itliong and Aretemio Itliong. At an early age, Larry knew he wanted to become a lawyer to fight for the rights of the common people. Itliong belonged to the “Manong” (Ilocano for “elder brother”) generation or the first major wave of Filipino immigrants in the United States between the 1900s to the 1930s. The Manongs were mostly young Filipino men who were recruited as a source of cheap labor when the Philippines was still a U.S. colony. They were enticed with the promises of the American Dream only to confront hardships and racial discrimination. As Itliong remarked in his 1976 speech to students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, “You go to the United States where they pick money on trees. Did that happen? Hell, no!” At the age of 14, Itliong migrated to the United States with hopes of earning his law degree. He first arrived in Alaska in 1929 and later found work in the different states, from the canneries of Alaska to the railroads of Montana and the agricultural fields of California. He later earned the nickname “seven fingers” after losing three of his fingers due to a work-related accident. Activism, Military Service in World War II Despite only finishing 6th grade back in the Philippines and not being able to pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer in the United States, Itliong remained passionately committed to defending the rights of the poor. In 1930, he joined his first strike and within the same year he co-founded the Alaska Canneries Workers Union. Larry soon earned his reputation as a young fiery activist and a leading figure in labor organizing throughout the West Coast. Apart from Ilocano, Pangasinense, Tagalog (Filipino), and six other Philippine languages, he also became fluent in English, Japanese, Cantonese and Spanish. Itliong honed his oratory skills to galvanize workers. He was often heard saying “Let’s go, don’t be scared! I’ll be in the front— just follow me” to embolden his fellow Manongs. Itliong served in the U.S. Army from 1936 to 1943. He later gained U.S. citizenship in 1944 for his service in World War II. After returning from the war, he wasted no time in resuming his fight for worker’s rights. Itliong moved to Stockton, California and founded the Filipino Farm Labor Union in 1956, and the multi-ethnic Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) in 1959. The Delano Grape Strike Larry Itliong GERALD L FRENCH/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES UFW OFFICER JULIO HERNANDEZ (LEFT) AND UFW DIRECTOR LARRY ITLIONG (CENTER) WITH CESAR CHAVEZ DURING A MARCH IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1966. In May of 1965, Itliong led a successful strike of Filipino farm workers in vineyards of Coachella, California. This victory empowered farm workers throughout California’s Central Valley to protest against low wages and miserable working and living conditions. Among their demands were basic necessities such as clean water and toilets. A little over three months later, on September 8, 1965, thousands of Filipino American farm workers led by AWOC went on strike in Delano, California. Itliong then asked the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, to join the Filipino American farm workers on strike. Chavez initially declined, believing that the Mexican American farm workers needed at least two more years to be ready. “May I let you know that it was our [Filipino] people who started the strike. Then our Mexican brothers followed suit. Since then the cooperation between these two groups has been good. It looks to me that this is the real beginning of a closer relationship between our people” Itliong wrote in a 1967 letter to Jose M. Leonidas. Eight days later, on September 16, 1965, the Mexican American farm workers walked out and joined the Filipinos on strike. AWOC and NFWA soon merged to form the United Farm Workers (UFW) movement with Itliong as assistant director. The Delano grape strike lasted for five years and became one of the most pivotal labor movements in the history of the United States. Continuing the Fight for Workers’ Rights Itliong resigned from the UFW in 1971, citing concerns that the union was veering away from its mandate to serve farm workers equally. His grievances leading to his resignation included a lack of support and recognition for the aging Filipino American farm workers.  Itliong continued his mission to fight against injustices and promote workers’ rights after leaving the UFW. This included traveling to defend and organize farm workers in Brazil and Chile, and becoming an elected delegate at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida. Back home in California, Itliong oversaw the completion of the Agbayani Village, a housing development for retired Filipino farm workers. Larry Itliong passed away on February 8, 1977 at the age of 63. He was survived by his wife and seven children. In 2015 the Alvarado Middle School in Union City, California was officially renamed the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School, after Itliong and his friend and fellow Filipino American labor leader, Philip Vera Cruz. The State of California officially celebrates October 25 as “Larry Itliong Day” in honor of the labor leader’s legacy of fighting for social and economic justice. Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the United Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers (UFW).[1] Huerta helped organize the Delano grape strike in 1965 in California and was the lead negotiator in the workers' contract that was created after the strike.[2] Huerta has received numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers', immigrants', and women's rights, including the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the United States Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights[3] and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[4] She was the first Latina inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, in 1993.[5][6] Huerta is the originator of the phrase "Sí, se puede".[7] As a role model to many in the Latino community, Huerta is the subject of many corridos (Mexican or Mexican-American ballads) and murals.[8] In California, April 10 is Dolores Huerta Day.[9] Early life Dolores Huerta was born on April 10, 1930, in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico. She is the second child and only daughter of Juan Fernández and Alicia Chávez. Juan Fernández was born in Dawson to a Mexican immigrant family and worked as a coal miner. Later, he joined the migrant labor force, and harvested beets in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. When Huerta was young, she would hear her father tell stories about union organizing.[10] After her parents divorced when she was three years old, she seldom saw her father. He stayed in New Mexico and served in the state legislature in 1938.[11] Chávez raised Huerta and her two brothers in the central California farmworker community of Stockton, California. Huerta's mother was known for her kindness and compassion towards others and was active in community affairs, numerous civic organizations, and the church. She encouraged the cultural diversity that was a natural part of Huerta's upbringing in Stockton. Alicia Chávez was a businesswoman who owned a restaurant and a 70-room hotel, where she welcomed low-wage workers and farmworker families at affordable prices and sometimes gave them free housing. Huerta was inspired by her mother to advocate for farmworkers later on in her life. In an interview, Huerta stated that "The dominant person in my life is my mother. She was a very intelligent woman and a very gentle woman".[12] This prompted Huerta to think about civil rights.[13] Her mother's generous actions during Dolores's childhood provided the foundation for her own non-violent, strongly spiritual stance. In the same interview she said, "When we talk about spiritual forces, I think that Hispanic women are more familiar with spiritual forces. We know what fasting is, and that it is part of the culture. We know what relationships are, and we know what sacrifice is".[14] Huerta's community activism began when she was a student at Stockton High School. Huerta was active in numerous school clubs and was a majorette and dedicated member of the Girl Scouts until the age of 18.[15] Dolores Huerta says a school teacher accusing her of stealing another student's work and, as a result, giving her an unfair grade, an act she considers to be rooted in racial bias.[citation needed] Having experienced marginalization during childhood because she was Hispanic, Huerta grew up with the belief that society needed to be changed. She attended college at the University of the Pacific's Stockton College (later to become San Joaquin Delta Community College), where she earned a provisional teaching credential.[16] After teaching elementary school, Huerta left her job and began her lifelong crusade to correct economic injustice:[3] "I couldn't tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children."[citation needed] — Dolores Huerta, year unknown Career as an activist Dolores Huerta in 2009 In 1955, Huerta along with Fred Ross co-founded and organized the Stockton Chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO), which fought for economic improvements for Latino/Mexican/Chicano migrant Farm workers. Due to her dedication and willingness to serve, Ross often delegated huge responsibilities to her. He knew she was capable of delivering the organization's message in Spanish and English and promoted the agenda from door to door field organizing.[17] "As she assumed responsibilities and stance that were traditionally held by white males, Huerta encountered criticism based on both gender and ethnic stereotypes".[18] In 1960, Huerta co-founded the Agricultural Workers Association, which set up voter registration drives and pressed local governments for barrio improvements.[19][20] In 1962, she co-founded, with César Chávez, the National Farm Workers Association, which would later become the United Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. Huerta was the only woman to ever sit on the board of the UFW, until 2018.[9] In 1966, she negotiated a contract between the UFWOC and Schenley Wine Company, marking the first time that farm workers were able to effectively bargain with an agricultural enterprise.[21] But Chavez and Huerta quickly realized that they shared a common goal of helping improve the lives and wages of farmworkers, so they co-founded the National Farm Workers Association. In 1962, after the CSO turned down Chávez's request, as their president, to organize farmworkers, Chávez and Huerta resigned from the CSO. She went to work for the National Farm Workers Association, which would later merge with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. "Dolores's organizing skills were essential to the growth of this budding organization."[20] The Original UFW house is located in the city of Los Angeles. At the age of only 25, Huerta was a lobbyist in Sacramento for the Stockton Community Service Organization and trained people to do grassroots organizing.[22] The foundation was later changed to an affiliated agricultural workers’ organization. In an interview, Huerta explained that she decided to join the organization after getting an inside look at the poverty farm workers lived in.[23] She cited that they were being paid little to nothing, had no rights, slept on the floors, had wooden boxes as furniture and unclean water, lacked access to bathrooms, and worked from sunrise to sundown without breaks. Many of these workers would migrate to where the crops were in season, meaning their children did not have a proper education and would often work in the fields alongside their parents. She explained that many women were often sexually assaulted by the landowners but were in fear to speak up because their family needed a job. She accused landowners of expecting free labor and justifying it as “doing the farmworkers and the public a favor by giving these people a job."[24] In 1965, Huerta directed the UFW's national boycott during the Delano grape strike, taking the plight of the farm workers to the consumers. She led the organization of boycotts advocating for consumer rights.[23] The boycott resulted in the entire California table grape industry signing a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the United Farm Workers in 1970.[19] In addition to organizing, Huerta has been active in lobbying for laws to improve the lives of farm workers. The laws that she supported included the following:[citation needed] 1960 bill to permit Spanish-speaking people to take the California driver's examination in Spanish 1962 legislation repealing the Bracero Program 1963 legislation to extend the federal program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), to California farmworkers The 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act As an advocate for farmworkers' rights, Huerta has been arrested twenty-two times for participating in non-violent civil disobedience activities and strikes.[citation needed] She remains active in progressive causes, and serves on the boards of People for the American Way, Consumer Federation of California, and Feminist Majority Foundation. On June 5, 1968, Huerta stood beside Robert F. Kennedy on the speaker's platform at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles as he delivered a victory statement to his political supporters shortly after winning the California Democratic presidential primary election.[25] Only moments after the candidate finished his speech, Kennedy and five other people were wounded by gunfire inside the hotel's kitchen pantry. Kennedy died from his gunshot wounds on June 6. In September 1988, in front of the St. Francis Hotel in Union Square, Huerta was severely beaten by San Francisco Police officer Frank Achim during a peaceful and lawful protest of the policies/platform of then-candidate for president George H. W. Bush. The baton-beating caused significant internal injuries to her torso, resulting in several broken ribs and requiring the removal of her spleen in emergency surgery. The beating was caught on videotape and broadcast widely on local television news. Later, Huerta won a large judgment against the SFPD and the City of San Francisco for the attack, the proceeds of which she used for the benefit of farm workers.[26] As a result of this assault and the suit, the SFPD was pressured to change its crowd control policies and its process of officer discipline.[27] Following a lengthy recovery, Huerta took a leave of absence from the union to focus on women's rights. She traversed the country for two years on behalf of the Feminist Majority's Feminization of Power: 50/50 by the year 2000 Campaign encouraging Latinas to run for office. The campaign resulted in a significant increase in the number of women representatives elected at the local, state and federal levels.[28][29] She also served as National Chair of the 21st Century Party, founded in 1992 on the principles that women make up 52% of the party's candidates and that officers must reflect the ethnic diversity of the nation.[citation needed] Dolores Huerta Foundation Huerta is president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which she founded in 2002.[30] It is a 501(c)(3) "community benefit organization that organizes at the grassroots level, engaging and developing natural leaders. DHF creates leadership opportunities for community organizing, leadership development, civic engagement, and policy advocacy in the following priority areas: health & environment, education & youth development, and economic development."[31] The foundation first got started when Huerta received the $100,000 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship in 2002, which she then used to create the DHF. Her youngest daughter, Camila Chavez, is the executive director at the foundation.[32] The primary purpose of the foundation is to weave in movements such as “women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, labor rights, and civil rights”[32] into an individual thread. The DHF has several programs.[32] The civic engagement program focuses on the voting rights of the people. They have protested, with petitions and signatures, to revise property tax loopholes in Proposition 13. Another part of their campaigns was to encourage voters to vote at the California primary elections, and to educate voters on federal issues such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the White House Budget.[32] They also created a Youth VOTE Campaign, where they were able to reach 1,055 contacts and 809 young voters. The organization has “secured millions of dollars for local infrastructures such as new sewer connections, street lights, sidewalks, and gutters in Lamont and Weedpatch from 2007–2015.”[32] The DHF was one of the plaintiffs in a suit against Kern High School District, alleging that African-American and Latino students were unfairly targeted for disciplinary actions; as part of the settlement, the district provides Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports training to staff members.[33] Awards and honors Dolores Huerta currently has about 15 honorary doctorates.[citation needed] On November 17, 2015, Dolores Huerta was bestowed the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest decoration a foreign national can receive from the Mexican government. Huerta was lauded for her years of service helping the Mexican community in the United States fighting for equal pay, dignity in the workplace, and fair employment practices in the farms of Northern California like Stockton, Salinas, and Delano.[34] Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama on May 29, 2012.[35] Huerta has served on the Board of Directors of Equality California.[36] Huerta was named one of the three most important women of the year in 1997 by Ms. magazine.[37] She was an inaugural recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights from President Bill Clinton in 1998. That same year, Ladies' Home Journal recognized her as one of the '100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century', along with such women leaders as Mother Teresa, Margaret Thatcher, Rosa Parks, and Indira Gandhi.[38] Speaking at a rally in Santa Barbara, California on September 24, 2006. She was awarded the Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship in 2002.[39] She was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from California State University, Northridge on May 29, 2002.[40][41] On September 30, 2005, she became an honorary sister of Kappa Delta Chi sorority (Alpha Alpha chapter – Wichita State University).[42] She received an honorary degree from Princeton University in recognition of her numerous achievements May 2006. She was lauded in the ceremony: "Through her insatiable hunger of justice—La Causa—and her tireless advocacy, she has devoted her life to creative, compassionate, and committed citizenship."[43] She was co-recipient (along with Virgilio Elizondo) of the 2007 Community of Christ International Peace Award .[44] On May 18, 2007, she announced her endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president,[45] and at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Huerta formally placed Clinton's name into nomination.[46] Also in 2008, Huerta received the "Maggie" Award, highest honor of the Planned Parenthood Federation, in tribute to their founder, Margaret Sanger.[47] She was recognized in 2008 by United Neighborhood Centers of America with its highest individual honor, the Jane Addams Distinguished Leadership Award at its National Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.[48] She was awarded the UCLA Medal, UCLA's highest honor, during the UCLA College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony on June 12, 2009.[49] In October 2010, Huerta was awarded an honorary degree by Mills College, who lauded her as "a lifetime champion of social justice whose courageous leadership garnered unprecedented national support from farmworkers, women, and underserved communities in a landmark quest for human and civil rights".[50] The same month, she was awarded an honorary doctorate [51] by University of the Pacific, which unveiled an official portrait of her for the Architects of Peace Project by artist Michael Collopy. Huerta was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Mount Holyoke College, where she delivered the commencement address, on May 21, 2017.[52] Huerta was honored by California State University, Los Angeles in October 2017 with its highest honor, the Presidential Medallion.[53] Four elementary schools in California and one in Tulsa, Oklahoma; one school in Fort Worth, Texas; and a high school in Pueblo, Colorado, are named after Huerta.[37] Pitzer College, in Claremont, California has a mural in front of Holden Hall dedicated to her.[54] A middle school in the major agricultural city of Salinas, California, which has a dense population of farm workers, was named in 2014 after her. She was a speaker at the first and tenth César Chávez Convocation.[55] In 2013, Huerta received the annual Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, given by Jefferson Awards.[56] Huerta also gave the keynote address at the Berkeley Law Class of 2018 graduation ceremony.[57] In July 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 2455, by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes, designating April 10 each year as Dolores Huerta Day.[58] In March 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a measure also designating April 10 each year as Dolores Huerta Day.[59] The intersection of East 1st and Chicago streets in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights is named Dolores Huerta Square.[60] In Fort Worth, Texas, a portion of State Highway 183 is named in honor of Huerta.[61] Asteroid 6849 Doloreshuerta, discovered by American astronomers Eleanor Helin and Schelte Bus at Palomar Observatory in 1979, was named in her honor.[62] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on August 27, 2019 (M.P.C. 115893).[63] Huerta received the Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in 2020.[64] In March 2021, the Governing Board of the Burbank Unified School District in Burbank voted to rename its David Starr Jordan Middle School as the Dolores Huerta Middle School.[65] Yale University awarded Huerta an Honorary Doctor of Laws in May 2021.[66] In August 2021, a brand new middle school in San Jose was dedicated in Huerta's honor.[67] Huerta also received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from University of Southern California, the highest honor conferred by the university, in May 2023.[68] She once served as Honorary Chair in the Democratic Socialists of America.[69] Representation in other media Huerta is one of the subjects of the Sylvia Morales film A Crushing Love (2009), the sequel to Chicana (1979).[70][71] She is portrayed by actress/activist Rosario Dawson in Diego Luna's César Chávez (2014).[72] She is the focus of a 2017 documentary called Dolores.[73] A middle school in Las Cruces, New Mexico is named after her. La Academia Dolores Huerta. The school specializes in bilingual studies, Latin dance and folk music.[74] Huerta appears with César Chávez in the graphic memoir Tata Rambo La Voz de M.A.Y.O, by Henry Barajas, Bernardo Brice and Gonzo[citation needed] Women's rights Dolores Huerta speaking at a campaign rally with former President Bill Clinton at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Huerta championed women's rights in feminist campaigns during her time off from union work. She also fought for ethnic diversity in her campaigns.[75] Huerta was an honorary co-chair of the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as president.[citation needed] Dolores, a new documentary about Huerta, talks a lot about her feminist approach to activism. She defines a feminist person as someone "who supports a woman's reproductive rights, who supports a woman's right to an abortion, who supports LGBT rights, who supports workers and labor unions, somebody who cares about the environment, who cares about civil rights and equality and equity in terms of our economic system."[76] Huerta goes on, in the documentary, to explain how she understands why many people think "feminism is for white women" and that is because middle-class women initially organized it. However, her stance is to show that women of color can be at the front of civil rights, labor, and feminist movements. When looking to the future of activism, Huerta believes that education is the way to go, stating: "We've got to include, from pre-K, the contributions of people of color in our schools today."[76] She says this is the only way to erase the ignorance we have in the world right now. Dolores Huerta and Gloria Steinem championed intersectionality in activism. In the 60's, when Huerta traveled to New York City for the Boycott of California Table Grapes, she was focused on bringing women to the fight. Said Huerta: “My mind was focused on getting those women at those conventions to support the farmworkers,". At the convention, Gloria Steinem voiced her support for Huerta's cause, which prompted Huerta to lend her support for the feminist movement. Huerta believes herself to be a “born again feminist”.[77] By consciously incorporating feminism into her fight for workers’ rights, Huerta had more of an impact on how female workers were treated. Additionally, Steinem expanded the feminist movement to include issues surrounding race and feminism to show it was no longer a movement just for white women. In the 1970s, Huerta's positions on women's rights were often moderated by the UFW's messaging strategy, which involved portraying its workers as what Ana Raquel Minion describes as “idealized figure[s] of the physically disciplined resident/ laborer deserving of rights.”[78] As a result, the union encouraged abstinence, discouraged homosexuality, and restricted the distribution of birth control to laborers. Huerta joined in criticizing workers for their perceived promiscuity; while she did not personally support the use of birth control, she kept this opinion to herself out of respect for other women's choices.[78] In 2014, Dolores Huerta organized people in Colorado to vote against Amendment 67, which would have extended the definition of “person” and “child” in the Colorado Criminal Code and the Colorado Wrongful Death Act to include "unborn human beings", which could have restricted reproductive rights.[77][79] Huerta spent three decades advocating for safer working conditions with the UFW. A key part of her platform was reducing use of harmful pesticides.[80] As her movement grew more feminist in nature, this became more important as such pesticides cause pregnancy complications such as: decreased fertilitity, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and developmental abnormalities.[81][better source needed] Personal life Huerta married Ralph Head in college after her graduation in 1948.[82] During their marriage, they had two daughters, Celeste and Lori. After divorcing Head, she married Ventura Huerta, with whom she bore five children. Their son Emilio Jesus Huerta entered politics and ran for Congress. Her second marriage ended in divorce as well, in part because of the significant amount of time that she spent away from the family while campaigning and organizing.[citation needed] Later, Huerta had a romantic relationship with Richard Chavez, the brother of César Chávez.[83] Huerta and Chávez never married, but the couple had four children during their relationship. Richard Chávez died on July 27, 2011.[83] Archival collection The Dolores Huerta Papers[84] are a part of the United Farm Workers Collections at the Walter P. Reuther Library. There is also significant material related to Huerta in the Cesar Chávez Papers at the Reuther Library.[85] See also icon Organized Labour portal icon Hispanic and Latino Americans portal icon Society portal Feminism portal flag United States portal History portal Cesar Chavez Larry Itliong Philip Vera Cruz Mily Treviño-Sauceda List of civil rights leaders History of Mexican Americans List of Mexican Americans List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients National Organization for Women Woman of Courage Award winners List of Mills College honorary degree recipients List of people from Stockton, California 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 Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) led by organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta. They became allied and transformed from workers' rights organizations into a union as a result of a series of strikes in 1965, when the mostly Filipino farmworkers of the AWOC in Delano, California, 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.[5] This organization was accepted into the AFL–CIO in 1972 and changed its name to the United Farm Workers Union.[6] History Founding of the UFW See also: Delano grape strike Part of a series on Chicanos and Mexican Americans Terms History Culture Literature Chicana/o studies Visual art Law Population Lists flag United States portalCategoryIndex vte Black-and-white photograph of Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, addressing group in 1985 at San Jose State University. Dolores Huerta grew up in Stockton, California, in the San Joaquin Valley, an area filled with farms. In the early 1950s, she completed a degree at Delta Community College, part of the University of the Pacific. She briefly worked as an elementary school teacher. Huerta saw that her students, many of them children of farmworkers, were living in poverty without enough food to eat or other basic necessities. To help, she became one of the founders of the Stockton chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO). The CSO worked to improve social and economic conditions for farm workers and to fight discrimination.[7] César Chávez — speaking at the Delano UFW−United Farm Workers rally in Delano, California, June 1972. By 1959, César Chávez had already established professional relationships with local community organizations that aimed to empower the working class population by encouraging them to become more politically active. In 1952, Chávez met Fred Ross, who was a community organizer working on behalf of the Community Service Organization. This group was affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation, headed by Saul Alinsky.[8] To further her cause, Huerta created the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA) in 1960. Through the AWA, she lobbied politicians on many issues, including allowing migrant workers without U.S. citizenship to receive public assistance and pensions and creating Spanish-language voting ballots and driver's tests. In 1962, she co-founded a workers' union alongside community activists such as Larry Itliong and César Chávez, which was later known as the United Farm Workers (UFW). The UFW was created through the emergence of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) which was mainly composed of Filipino migrant workers and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) which was mainly composed of Mexican migrant workers. Larry Itliong was a Filipino American labor organizer who forefronted the grape strike in Coachella Valley that spearheaded the Delano Grape Strike of 1965. He became assistant director of the UFW.[9][10] Chávez was the dynamic leader and speaker and Huerta was a skilled organizer and tough negotiator. Huerta was instrumental in the union's many successes, including the strikes against California grape growers in the 1960s and 1970s.[7] 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 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, César Chávez and Fred Ross developed twenty-two new Community Service Organization chapters in the Mexican American neighborhoods of San Jose. In 1959, Chávez claimed the rank of executive director in the Community Service Organization. During this time, Chávez observed and adopted the notion of having the community become more politically involved to bring about social changes that the community sought. This was a vital tactic in Chávez's future struggles in fighting for immigrant rights.[8][11] César Chávez's ultimate goal in his participation with the Community Service Organization and the Industrial Areas Foundation was to eventually organize a union for the farm workers. 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)[8] In March 1962, at the Community Service Organization convention, Chávez proposed a pilot project for organizing farm workers, which the organization's members rejected. Chávez responded by resigning from the organization to create the farm workers union that later became known as the National Farm Workers Association.[8] 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 just a decade earlier. Out of those twelve hundred, only about two hundred paid dues.[8] Also in 1962, Richard Chavez, the brother of César Chávez, designed the black Aztec eagle insignia that became the symbol of the NFW and the UFW.[1] César Chávez chose the red and black colors used by the organization.[12] 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.[13] 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.[8] The AFL–CIO chartered the United Farm Workers, officially combining the AWOC and the NFWA, in August 1966.[14] 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.[15] 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 farmworkers 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.[8] In 1913, the Industrial Workers of the World 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.[8] 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.[6] In 1936, the National Labor Relations Act 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.[6] In 1941, the United States Government and the Mexican Government enacted the Bracero Program. 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 Nationals 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 government extended the program until 1964.[6] Community organizing and divisions of labor in the UFW Before UFW was an official trade union associated with the AFL–CIO, 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.[16] 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.[16] 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 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.[17] 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, 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.[18] 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 co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which became the United Farm Workers. She had great influence over the direction that it took, breaking stereotypes of the Mexican woman in the 1960s. Huerta was instrumental in organizing the large scale boycott of grapes during the 1960s. 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.[19] By 1973, Dolores 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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22] Texas strike This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) 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.[23][24] 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.[23][24] On July 4, members of UFWOC, strikers, and members of the clergy set out on a march to Austin 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.[25] 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 rally, but no changes in law resulted. Strikes and arrests continued in Rio Grande City through 1966 into 1967.[26] 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, arrived in the lower Rio Grande Valley to hold hearings in Rio Grande City and Edinburg, Texas. 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. 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 joined the San Antonio 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 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 Membership (US records)[27] Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. Finances (US records; ×$1000)[27] Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues.      Assets      Liabilities      Receipts      Disbursements In 1970, Chávez decided to move the union's headquarters from Delano to La Paz, California, into a former sanatorium in the Tehachapi Mountains. 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.[28] 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 and the growers nearly destroyed it. Initially, the Teamsters signed contracts with lettuce growers in the Salinas Valley, 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.[13] 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.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31] In 1977, the Teamsters signed an agreement with the UFW promising to end their efforts to represent farm workers.[29] 1980s In the 1980s, the membership of the UFW shrank, as did its national prominence.[6] After taking office in the 1980s, California Governor George Deukmejian stopped enforcement of the state's farm labor laws, resulting in farm workers losing their UFW contracts, being fired, and blacklisted.[32] Due to internal squabbles, most of the union's original leadership left or were forced out, except for Chávez and Huerta.[6][30] By 1986, the union had been reduced to 75 contracts and had stopped organizing.[28] In the 1980s, the UFW joined with the AFL–CIO and other organizations for the national Wrath of Grapes campaign, re-instituting 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.[33] 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.[34] This influenced the legislature in California to create more food testing programs, resulting in pesticide-free produce, and to encourage organic farming. Recent developments Wikimedia Commons has media related to Labor Department Honors Farmworkers and Cesar Chavez. In July 2008 the farm worker Ramiro Carrillo Rodriguez, 48, died of a heat stroke. According to United Farm Workers, he was the "13th farm worker heat death since CA Governor Schwarzenegger took office"[35] in 2003. In 2006 California's first permanent heat regulations were enacted[36] but these regulations were not strictly enforced, the union contended. Arturo "Artie" Rodríguez, former President of the UFW In 2013, farm workers working at a Fresno facility, for California's largest peach producer, voted to de-certify the United Farm Workers.[37] News of this decertification was released to the public in 2018.[38] César Chávez is a film released in March 2014, directed by Diego Luna about the life of the Mexican-American labor leader who co-founded the United Farm Workers. The film stars Michael Peña as Chávez. Co-producer John Malkovich 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".[39] 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.[40][41] The UFW held a 5 day Fast[42] on September 20, 2018,[43] 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[44] 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, D.C., 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 U.S. 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.[14] Mapping UFW Strikes, Boycotts, and Farm Worker Actions 1965–1975 shows over 1,000 farm worker strikes, boycotts, protests, and other actions as collected by El Macriado, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Seattle Times, etc. Between 1965 and 1975 the United Farm Workers activism throughout the United States saw a tremendous increase, starting with just 7 states such as California, New York, Washington D.C., Mississippi, Arizona, Illinois, and Texas. This movement and fight for change have 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)[45] – 1967, Treeplanters & Farmworkers United of the Northwest[46] (PCUN) – 1985, and Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)[47] – 1993. Immigration The UFW during Chávez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration. With the introduction of new laws restricting immigration like the Alien Contract Labor Act of 1885, Chávez and other like-minded individuals fought the influx of people that could hurt their cause. Chávez and Dolores Huerta, co-founder and president of the UFW, fought the Bracero Program that existed from 1942 to 1964. Their opposition stemmed from their belief that the program undermined U.S. 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. In 1973, the UFW was one of the first labor unions to oppose proposed employer sanctions that would have prohibited hiring illegal immigrants. 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 Valleys to the border of Mexico to protest growers' use of illegal immigrants as strikebreakers. In its early years, the UFW and Chávez went so far as to report illegal immigrants who served as strikebreaking replacement workers (as well as those who refused to unionize) to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.[48][49][50][51][52] In 1973, the United Farm Workers set up a "wet line" along the United States-Mexico border to prevent Mexican immigrants from entering the United States illegally and potentially undermining the UFW's unionization efforts.[53] 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.[54][55][56] In 1979, Chávez used a forum of a U.S. Senate committee hearing to denounce the federal immigration service, which he said the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service purportedly refused to arrest illegal Mexican immigrants who Chávez claims are being used to break the union's strike.[57] After the passing of Chávez, the United farm workers shifted their stance towards immigration and began advocating for undocumented immigrants as well as campaign against Proposition 187.[58] 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.[59] 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.[60] The union publicly adopted the principles of non-violence championed by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 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. 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.[61] Presidents 1963: Cesar Chavez 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, Delano, California, NRHP-listed A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organisation of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment",[1] such as attaining better wages and benefits, improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees (rules governing promotions, just-cause conditions for termination) and protecting and increasing the bargaining power of workers. Trade unions typically fund their head office and legal team functions through regularly imposed fees called union dues. The union representatives in the workforce are usually made up of workplace volunteers who are often appointed by members through internal democratic elections. The trade union, through an elected leadership and bargaining committee, bargains with the employer on behalf of its members, known as the rank-and-file, and negotiates labour contracts (collective bargaining agreements) with employers. Unions may organize a particular section of skilled or unskilled workers (craft unionism),[2] a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism), or an attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism). The agreements negotiated by a union are binding on the rank-and-file members and the employer, and in some cases on other non-member workers. Trade unions traditionally have a constitution which details the governance of their bargaining unit and also have governance at various levels of government depending on the industry that binds them legally to their negotiations and functioning. Originating in Great Britain, trade unions became popular in many countries during the Industrial Revolution. Trade unions may be composed of individual workers, professionals, past workers, students, apprentices or the unemployed. Trade union density, or the percentage of workers belonging to a trade union, is highest in the Nordic countries.[3][4] Definition Garment workers on strike, New York City, c. 1913 Since the publication of the History of Trade Unionism (1894) by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, the predominant historical view is that a trade union "is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment."[1] Karl Marx described trade unions thus: "The value of labour -power constitutes the conscious and explicit foundation of the trade unions, whose importance for the ... working class can scarcely be overestimated. The trade unions aim at nothing less than to prevent the reduction of wages below the level that is traditionally maintained in the various branches of industry. That is to say, they wish to prevent the price of labour -power from falling below its value" (Capital V1, 1867, p. 1069). Early socialists also saw trade unions as a way to democratize the workplace, in order to capture political power.[5] A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a trade union is "an organisation consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members."[6] Recent historical research by Bob James puts forward the view that trade unions are part of a broader movement of benefit societies, which includes medieval guilds, Freemasons, Oddfellows, friendly societies, and other fraternal organizations.[7] History Main articles: Collegium (ancient Rome) and Guild Trade guilds Early 19th century workplace militancy manifested in the Luddite riots when unemployed workers destroyed labour-saving machines. Following the unification of the city-states in Assyria and Sumer by Sargon of Akkad into a single empire c. 2334 BC, common Mesopotamian standards for length, area, volume, weight, and time used by artisan guilds in each city was promulgated by Naram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2254–2218 BC), Sargon's grandson, including for shekels.[8] Codex Hammurabi Law 234 (c. 1755–1750 BC) stipulated a 2-shekel prevailing wage for each 60-gur (300-bushel) vessel constructed in an employment contract between a shipbuilder and a ship-owner.[9][10][11] Law 275 stipulated a ferry rate of 3-gerah per day on a charterparty between a ship charterer and a shipmaster. Law 276 stipulated a 21⁄2-gerah per day freight rate on a contract of affreightment between a charterer and shipmaster, while Law 277 stipulated a 1⁄6-shekel per day freight rate for a 60-gur vessel.[12][13][11] In 1816, an archaeological excavation in Minya, Egypt (under an Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire) produced a Nerva–Antonine dynasty-era tablet from the ruins of the Temple of Antinous in Antinoöpolis, that prescribed the rules and membership dues of a burial society collegium established in Lanuvium, in approximately 133 AD during the reign of Hadrian (117–138) of the Roman Empire.[14] A collegium was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the Lex Julia during the reign of Julius Caesar (49–44 BC), and their reaffirmation during the reign of Caesar Augustus (27 BC–14 AD), collegia required the approval of the Roman Senate or the Roman emperor in order to be authorized as legal bodies.[15] Ruins at Lambaesis date the formation of burial societies among Roman Army soldiers and Roman Navy mariners to the reign of Septimius Severus (193–211) in 198 AD.[16] In September 2011, archaeological investigations done at the site of the artificial harbor Portus in Rome revealed inscriptions in a shipyard constructed during the reign of Trajan (98–117) indicating the existence of a shipbuilders guild.[17] Rome's La Ostia port was home to a guildhall for a corpus naviculariorum, a collegium of merchant mariners.[18] Collegium also included fraternities of Roman priests overseeing ritual sacrifices, practising augury, keeping scriptures, arranging festivals, and maintaining specific religious cults.[19] Modern trade unions While a commonly held mistaken view holds modern trade unionism to be a product of Marxism, the earliest modern trade unions predate Marx's Communist Manifesto (1848) by almost a century (and Marx's writings themselves frequently address the prior existence of the workers' movements of his time), with the first recorded labour strike in the United States by the Philadelphia printers in 1786.[20] The origins of modern trade unions can be traced back to 18th-century Britain, where the Industrial Revolution drew masses of people, including dependents, peasants and immigrants, into cities. Britain had ended the practice of serfdom in 1574, but the vast majority of people remained as tenant-farmers on estates owned by the landed aristocracy. This transition was not merely one of relocation from rural to urban environs; rather, the nature of industrial work created a new class of "worker". A farmer worked the land, raised animals and grew crop, and either owned the land or paid rent, but ultimately sold a product and had control over his life and work. As industrial workers, however, the workers sold their work as labour and took directions from employers, giving up part of their freedom and self-agency in the service of a master. The critics of the new arrangement would call this "wage slavery",[21] but the term that persisted was a new form of human relations: employment. Unlike farmers, workers often had less control over their jobs; without job security or a promise of an on-going relationship with their employers, they lacked some control over the work they performed or how it impacted their health and life. It is in this context, then, that modern trade unions emerge. In the cities, trade unions encountered a large hostility in their early existence from employers and government groups; at the time, unions and unionists were regularly prosecuted under various restraint of trade and conspiracy statutes. This pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labour spontaneously organized in fits and starts throughout its beginnings,[1] and would later be an important arena for the development of trade unions. Trade unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guilds of medieval Europe, though the relationship between the two is disputed, as the masters of the guilds employed workers (apprentices and journeymen) who were not allowed to organize.[22][23] Trade unions and collective bargaining were outlawed from no later than the middle of the 14th century, when the Ordinance of Labourers was enacted in the Kingdom of England, but their way of thinking was the one that endured down the centuries, inspiring evolutions and advances in thinking which eventually gave workers more power. As collective bargaining and early worker unions grew with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the government began to clamp down on what it saw as the danger of popular unrest at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1799, the Combination Act was passed, which banned trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. Although the unions were subject to often severe repression until 1824, they were already widespread in cities such as London. Workplace militancy had also manifested itself as Luddism and had been prominent in struggles such as the 1820 Rising in Scotland, in which 60,000 workers went on a general strike, which was soon crushed. Sympathy for the plight of the workers brought repeal of the acts in 1824, although the Combination Act 1825 severely restricted their activity.[citation needed] By the 1810s, the first labour organizations to bring together workers of divergent occupations were formed. Possibly the first such union was the General Union of Trades, also known as the Philanthropic Society, founded in 1818 in Manchester. The latter name was to hide the organization's real purpose in a time when trade unions were still illegal.[24] National general unions Poster issued by the London Trades Council, advertising a demonstration held on 2 June 1873 The first attempts at forming a national general union in the United Kingdom were made in the 1820s and 30s. The National Association for the Protection of Labour was established in 1830 by John Doherty, after an apparently unsuccessful attempt to create a similar national presence with the National Union of Cotton-spinners. The Association quickly enrolled approximately 150 unions, consisting mostly of textile related unions, but also including mechanics, blacksmiths, and various others. Membership rose to between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals spread across the five counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire within a year.[25] To establish awareness and legitimacy, the union started the weekly Voice of the People publication, having the declared intention "to unite the productive classes of the community in one common bond of union."[26] In 1834, the Welsh socialist Robert Owen established the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union. The organization attracted a range of socialists from Owenites to revolutionaries and played a part in the protests after the Tolpuddle Martyrs' case, but soon collapsed. More permanent trade unions were established from the 1850s, better resourced but often less radical. The London Trades Council was founded in 1860, and the Sheffield Outrages spurred the establishment of the Trades Union Congress in 1868, the first long-lived national trade union center. By this time, the existence and the demands of the trade unions were becoming accepted by liberal middle-class opinion. In Principles of Political Economy (1871) John Stuart Mill wrote: If it were possible for the working classes, by combining among themselves, to raise or keep up the general rate of wages, it needs hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished, but to be welcomed and rejoiced at. Unfortunately the effect is quite beyond attainment by such means. The multitudes who compose the working class are too numerous and too widely scattered to combine at all, much more to combine effectually. If they could do so, they might doubtless succeed in diminishing the hours of labour, and obtaining the same wages for less work. They would also have a limited power of obtaining, by combination, an increase of general wages at the expense of profits.[27] Beyond this claim, Mill also argued that, because individual workers had no basis for assessing the wages for a particular task, labour unions would lead to greater efficiency of the market system.[28] Legalization, expansion and recognition Trade union demonstrators held at bay by soldiers during the 1912 Lawrence textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts British trade unions were finally legalized in 1872, after a Royal Commission on Trade Unions in 1867 agreed that the establishment of the organizations was to the advantage of both employers and employees. This period also saw the growth of trade unions in other industrializing countries, especially the United States, Germany and France. In the United States, the first effective nationwide labour organization was the Knights of Labor, in 1869, which began to grow after 1880. Legalization occurred slowly as a result of a series of court decisions.[29] The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions began in 1881 as a federation of different unions that did not directly enrol workers. In 1886, it became known as the American Federation of Labor or AFL. In Germany, the Free Association of German Trade Unions was formed in 1897 after the conservative Anti-Socialist Laws of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck were repealed. In France, labour organization was illegal until 1884. The Bourse du Travail was founded in 1887 and merged with the Fédération nationale des syndicats (National Federation of Trade Unions) in 1895 to form the General Confederation of Labour. In a number of countries during the 20th century, including in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, legislation was passed to provide for the voluntary or statutory recognition of a union by an employer.[30][31][32] Prevalence worldwide World map with countries shaded according to their trade union density rate with statistics provided by the International Labour Organization Department of Statistics   90.0–99.9%   80.0–89.9%   70.0–79.9%   60.0–69.9%   50.0–59.9%   40.0–49.9%   30.0–39.9%   20.0–29.9%   10.0–19.9%   0.0–9.9%   No data Union density has been steadily declining from the OECD average of 35.9% in 1998 to 27.9% in the year 2018.[33] The main reasons for these developments are a decline in manufacturing, increased globalization, and governmental policies. The decline in manufacturing is the most direct influence, as unions were historically beneficial and prevalent in the sector; for this reason, there may be an increase in developing nations as OECD nations continue to export manufacturing industries to these markets. The second reason is globalization, which makes it harder for unions to maintain standards across countries. The last reason is governmental policies. These come from both sides of the political spectrum. In the UK and US, it has been mostly right-wing proposals that make it harder for unions to form or that limit their power. On the other side, there are many social policies such as minimum wage, paid vacation, parental leave, etc., that decrease the need to be in a union.[34] The prevalence of labour unions can be measured by "union density", which is expressed as a percentage of the total number of workers in a given location who are trade union members.[35] The table below shows the percentage across OECD members.[36] Union density across OECD members (in %) Country 2018 2017 2016 2015 2000 Australia 13.7 14.7 .. .. 24.9 Austria 26.3 26.7 26.9 27.4 36.9 Belgium 50.3 51.9 52.8 54.2 56.6 Canada 25.9 26.3 26.3 29.4 28.2 Chile 16.6 17.0 17.7 16.1 11.2 Czech Republic 11.5 11.7 12.0 12.0 27.2 Denmark 66.5 66.1 65.5 67.1 74.5 Estonia 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.7 14.0 Finland 60.3 62.2 64.9 66.4 74.2 France 8.8 8.9 9.0 9.0 10.8 Germany 16.5 16.7 17.0 17.6 24.6 Greece .. .. 19.0 .. .. Hungary 7.9 8.1 8.5 9.4 23.8 Iceland 91.8 91.0 89.8 90.0 89.1 Ireland 24.1 24.3 23.4 25.4 35.9 Israel .. 25.0 .. .. 37.7 Italy 34.4 34.3 34.4 35.7 34.8 Japan 17.0 17.1 17.3 17.4 21.5 Korea .. 10.5 10.0 10.0 11.4 Latvia 11.9 12.2 12.3 12.6 .. Lithuania 7.1 7.7 7.7 7.9 .. Luxembourg 31.8 32.1 32.3 33.3 .. Mexico 12.0 12.5 12.7 13.1 16.7 Netherlands 16.4 16.8 17.3 17.7 22.3 New Zealand .. 17.3 17.7 17.9 22.4 Norway 49.2 49.3 49.3 49.3 53.6 Poland .. .. 12.7 .. 23.5 Portugal .. .. 15.3 16.1 .. Slovak Republic .. .. 10.7 11.7 34.2 Slovenia .. .. 20.4 20.9 44.2 Spain 13.6 14.2 14.8 15.2 17.5 Sweden 65.5 65.6 66.9 67.8 81.0 Switzerland 14.4 14.9 15.3 15.7 20.7 Turkey 9.2 8.6 8.2 8.0 12.5 United Kingdom 23.4 23.2 23.7 24.2 29.8 United States 10.1 10.3 10.3 10.6 12.9 Source: OECD[36] Structure and politics Cesar Chavez speaking at a 1974 United Farm Workers rally in Delano, California. The UFW during Chavez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration. Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers (craft unionism, traditionally found in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US[2]), a cross-section of workers from various trades (general unionism, traditionally found in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, the UK and the US), or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry (industrial unionism, found in Australia, Canada, Germany, Finland, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US).[citation needed] These unions are often divided into "locals", and united in national federations. These federations themselves will affiliate with Internationals, such as the International Trade Union Confederation. However, in Japan, union organisation is slightly different due to the presence of enterprise unions, i.e. unions that are specific to a plant or company. These enterprise unions, however, join industry-wide federations which in turn are members of Rengo, the Japanese national trade union confederation. In Western Europe, professional associations often carry out the functions of a trade union. In these cases, they may be negotiating for white-collar or professional workers, such as physicians, engineers or teachers. A union may acquire the status of a "juristic person" (an artificial legal entity), with a mandate to negotiate with employers for the workers it represents. In such cases, unions have certain legal rights, most importantly the right to engage in collective bargaining with the employer (or employers) over wages, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The inability of the parties to reach an agreement may lead to industrial action, culminating in either strike action or management lockout, or binding arbitration. In extreme cases, violent or illegal activities may develop around these events. The Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 was a trade union strike involving more than 200,000 workers.[37] In other circumstances, unions may not have the legal right to represent workers, or the right may be in question. This lack of status can range from non-recognition of a union to political or criminal prosecution of union activists and members, with many cases of violence and deaths having been recorded historically.[38] Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggle. Social Unionism encompasses many unions that use their organizational strength to advocate for social policies and legislation favourable to their members or to workers in general. As well, unions in some countries are closely aligned with political parties. Unions are also delineated by the service model and the organizing model. The service model union focuses more on maintaining worker rights, providing services, and resolving disputes. Alternately, the organizing model typically involves full-time union organizers, who work by building up confidence, strong networks, and leaders within the workforce; and confrontational campaigns involving large numbers of union members. Many unions are a blend of these two philosophies, and the definitions of the models themselves are still debated. In Britain, the perceived left-leaning nature of trade unions has resulted in the formation of a reactionary right-wing trade union called Solidarity which is supported by the far-right BNP. In Denmark, there are some newer apolitical "discount" unions who offer a very basic level of services, as opposed to the dominating Danish pattern of extensive services and organizing.[39] A rally of the trade union UNISON in Oxford during a strike on 28 March 2006 In contrast, in several European countries (e.g. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland), religious unions have existed for decades. These unions typically distanced themselves from some of the doctrines of orthodox Marxism, such as the preference of atheism and from rhetoric suggesting that employees' interests always are in conflict with those of employers. Some of these Christian unions have had some ties to centrist or conservative political movements, and some do not regard strikes as acceptable political means for achieving employees' goals.[2] In Poland, the biggest trade union Solidarity emerged as an anti-communist movement with religious nationalist overtones[40] and today it supports the right-wing Law and Justice party.[41] Although their political structure and autonomy varies widely, union leaderships are usually formed through democratic elections.[42] Some research, such as that conducted by the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training,[43] argues that unionized workers enjoy better conditions and wages than those who are not unionized. International unions The oldest global trade union organizations include the World Federation of Trade Unions created in 1945.[44] The largest trade union federation in the world is the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), created in 2006,[45] which has approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and territories, with a combined membership of 166 million. National and regional trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups also form global union federations, such as UNI Global, IndustriALL, the International Transport Workers Federation, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Arts and Entertainment Alliance and Public Services International. Labour law Union law varies from country to country, as does the function of unions. For example, German and Dutch unions have played a greater role in management decisions through participation in supervisory boards and co-determination than other countries.[46] Moreover, in the United States, collective bargaining is most commonly undertaken by unions directly with employers, whereas in Austria, Denmark, Germany or Sweden, unions most often negotiate with employers associations, a form of sectoral bargaining. Concerning labour market regulation in the EU, Gold (1993)[47] and Hall (1994)[48] have identified three distinct systems of labour market regulation, which also influence the role that unions play: "In the Continental European System of labour market regulation, the government plays an important role as there is a strong legislative core of employee rights, which provides the basis for agreements as well as a framework for discord between unions on one side and employers or employers' associations on the other. This model was said to be found in EU core countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, and it is also mirrored and emulated to some extent in the institutions of the EU, due to the relative weight that these countries had in the EU until the EU expansion by the inclusion of 10 new Eastern European member states in 2004. In the Anglo-Saxon System of labour market regulation, the government's legislative role is much more limited, which allows for more issues to be decided between employers and employees and any union or employers' associations which might represent these parties in the decision-making process. However, in these countries, collective agreements are not widespread; only a few businesses and a few sectors of the economy have a strong tradition of finding collective solutions in labour relations. Ireland and the UK belong to this category, and in contrast to the EU core countries above, these countries first joined the EU in 1973. In the Nordic System of labour market regulation, the government's legislative role is limited in the same way as in the Anglo-Saxon system. However, in contrast to the countries in the Anglo-Saxon system category, this is a much more widespread network of collective agreements, which covers most industries and most firms. This model was said to encompass Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Here, Denmark joined the EU in 1973, whereas Finland and Sweden joined in 1995."[49] The United States takes a more laissez-faire approach, setting some minimum standards but leaving most workers' wages and benefits to collective bargaining and market forces. Thus, it comes closest to the above Anglo-Saxon model. Also, the Eastern European countries that have recently entered into the EU come closest to the Anglo-Saxon model. In contrast, in Germany, the relation between individual employees and employers is considered to be asymmetrical. In consequence, many working conditions are not negotiable due to a strong legal protection of individuals. However, the German flavor or works legislation has as its main objective to create a balance of power between employees organized in unions and employers organized in employers associations. This allows much wider legal boundaries for collective bargaining, compared to the narrow boundaries for individual negotiations. As a condition to obtain the legal status of a trade union, employee associations need to prove that their leverage is strong enough to serve as a counter-force in negotiations with employers. If such an employees association is competing against another union, its leverage may be questioned by unions and then evaluated in labour court. In Germany, only very few professional associations obtained the right to negotiate salaries and working conditions for their members, notably the medical doctors association Marburger Bund [de] and the pilots association Vereinigung Cockpit [de]. The engineers association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure does not strive to act as a union, as it also represents the interests of engineering businesses. Beyond the classification listed above, unions' relations with political parties vary. In many countries unions are tightly bonded, or even share leadership, with a political party intended to represent the interests of the working class. Typically this is a left-wing, socialist, or social democratic party, but many exceptions exist, including some of the aforementioned Christian unions.[2] In the United States, trade unions are almost always aligned with the Democratic Party with a few exceptions. For example, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has supported Republican Party candidates on a number of occasions and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980. In Britain trade union movement's relationship with the Labour Party frayed as party leadership embarked on privatization plans at odds with what unions see as the worker's interests. However, it has strengthened once more after the Labour party's election of Ed Miliband, who beat his brother David Miliband to become leader of the party after Ed secured the trade union votes. Additionally, in the past, there was a group known as the Conservative Trade Unionists, or CTU, formed of people who sympathized with right wing Tory policy but were Trade Unionists. Historically, the Republic of Korea has regulated collective bargaining by requiring employers to participate, but collective bargaining has only been legal if held in sessions before the lunar new year. Shop types Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several models: A closed shop (US) or a "pre-entry closed shop" (UK) employs only people who are already union members. The compulsory hiring hall is an example of a closed shop—in this case the employer must recruit directly from the union, as well as the employee working strictly for unionized employers. A union shop (US) or a "post-entry closed shop" (UK) employs non-union workers as well, but sets a time limit within which new employees must join a union. An agency shop requires non-union workers to pay a fee to the union for its services in negotiating their contract. This is sometimes called the Rand formula. An open shop does not require union membership in employing or keeping workers. Where a union is active, workers who do not contribute to a union may include those who approve of the union contract (free riders) and those who do not. In the United States, state level right-to-work laws mandate the open shop in some states. In Germany only open shops are legal; that is, all discrimination based on union membership is forbidden. This affects the function and services of the union. An EU case concerning Italy stated that, "The principle of trade union freedom in the Italian system implies recognition of the right of the individual not to belong to any trade union ("negative" freedom of association/trade union freedom), and the unlawfulness of discrimination liable to cause harm to non-unionized employees."[50] In Britain, previous to this EU jurisprudence, a series of laws introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher's government restricted closed and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union are now illegal. In the United States, the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed the closed shop. In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights found Danish closed-shop agreements to be in breach of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It was stressed that Denmark and Iceland were among a limited number of contracting states that continue to permit the conclusion of closed-shop agreements.[51] Impact Globe icon. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (October 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Economics The academic literature shows substantial evidence that trade unions reduce economic inequality.[52][53][54][55] The economist Joseph Stiglitz has asserted that, "Strong unions have helped to reduce inequality, whereas weaker unions have made it easier for CEOs, sometimes working with market forces that they have helped shape, to increase it." The decline in unionization since the Second World War in the United States has been associated with a pronounced rise in income and wealth inequality and, since 1967, with loss of middle class income.[56][57][58][59] Right-to-work laws have been linked to greater economic inequality in the United States.[60][61] Research from Norway has found that high unionization rates lead to substantial increases in firm productivity, as well as increases in workers' wages.[62] Research from Belgium also found productivity gains, although smaller.[63] However, other research in the United States has found that unions can harm profitability, employment and business growth rates.[64][65] Research from the Anglosphere indicates that unions can provide wage premiums and reduce inequality while reducing employment growth and restricting employment flexibility.[66] In the United States, the outsourcing of labour to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a comparative advantage in labour, making it more efficient to perform labour-intensive work there.[67] Trade unions have been accused of benefiting insider workers and those with secure jobs at the cost of outsider workers, consumers of the goods or services produced, and the shareholders of the unionized business.[68] Economist Milton Friedman sought to show that unionization produces higher wages (for the union members) at the expense of fewer jobs, and that, if some industries are unionized while others are not, wages will tend to decline in non-unionized industries.[69] Politics In the United States, the weakening of unions has been linked to more favourable electoral outcomes for the Republican Party.[70][71][72] Legislators in areas with high unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the poor, whereas areas with lower unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the rich.[73] Higher unionization rates increase the likelihood of parental leave policies being adopted.[74] Republican-controlled states are less likely to adopt more restrictive labour policies when unions are strong in the state.[75] Research in the United States found that American congressional representatives were more responsive to the interests of the poor in districts with higher unionization rates.[76] Another 2020 American study found an association between US state level adoption of parental leave legislation and trade union strength.[77] In the United States, unions have been linked to lower racial resentment among whites.[78] Membership in unions increases political knowledge, in particular among those with less formal education.[79] Health In the United States, higher union density has been associated with lower suicide/overdose deaths.[80] Decreased unionization rates in the United States have been linked to an increase in occupational fatalities.[81] See also icon Organized labour portal Critique of work Digital Product Passport Labor federation competition in the United States Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act Labour inspectorate List of trade unions Progressive Librarians Guild Project Labor Agreement Salt (union organizing) Smart contract: can be used in employment contracts Union busting Workplace politics The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 60 national and international unions,[2] together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.[1] The AFL–CIO engages in substantial political spending and activism, typically in support of progressive and pro-labor policies.[3] The AFL–CIO was formed in 1955 when the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged after a long estrangement. Union membership in the US peaked in 1979, when the AFL–CIO's affiliated unions had nearly twenty million members.[4] From 1955 until 2005, the AFL–CIO's member unions represented nearly all unionized workers in the United States. Several large unions split away from AFL–CIO and formed the rival Change to Win Federation in 2005, although a number of those unions have since re-affiliated, and many locals of Change to Win are either part of or work with their local central labor councils. The largest unions currently in the AFL–CIO are the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with approximately 1.7 million members,[5] American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with approximately 1.4 million members,[6] and United Food and Commercial Workers with 1.2 million members.[7] Membership Main article: List of unions affiliated with the AFL–CIO This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2021) Total membership (US records; ×1000)[8] Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. Finances (US records; ×$1000)[8] Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues.      Assets      Liabilities      Receipts      Disbursements The AFL–CIO is a federation of international labor unions. As a voluntary federation, the AFL–CIO has little authority over the affairs of its member unions except in extremely limited cases (such as the ability to expel a member union for corruption[9] and enforce resolution of disagreements over jurisdiction or organizing). As of May 2023, the AFL–CIO had 60 member unions representing 12.5 million members.[1][10] Political activities The AFL–CIO was a major component of the New Deal Coalition that dominated politics into the mid-1960s.[11] Although it has lost membership, finances, and political clout since 1970, it remains a major player on the liberal side of national politics, with a great deal of activity in lobbying, grassroots organizing, coordinating with other liberal organizations, fund-raising, and recruiting and supporting candidates around the country.[12] In recent years the AFL–CIO has concentrated its political efforts on lobbying in Washington and the state capitals, and on "GOTV" (get-out-the-vote) campaigns in major elections. For example, in the 2010 midterm elections, it sent 28.6 million pieces of mail. Members received a "slate card" with a list of union endorsements matched to the member's congressional district, along with a "personalized" letter from President Obama emphasizing the importance of voting. In addition, 100,000 volunteers went door-to-door to promote endorsed candidates to 13 million union voters in 32 states.[13][14] Governance The AFL–CIO is governed by its members, who meet in a quadrennial convention. Each member union elects delegates, based on proportional representation. The AFL–CIO's state federations, central and local labor councils, constitutional departments, and constituent groups are also entitled to delegates. The delegates elect officers and vice presidents, debate and approve policy, and set dues.[15] Annual meetings From 1951 to 1996, the Executive Council held its winter meeting in the resort town of Bal Harbour, Florida.[16] The meeting at the Bal Harbour Sheraton has been the object of frequent criticism, including over a labor dispute at the hotel itself.[17][18][19] Citing image concerns, the council changed the meeting site to Los Angeles.[20][21] However, the meeting was moved back to Bal Harbour several years later.[22] The 2012 meeting was held in Orlando, Florida.[23] State and local bodies The AFL–CIO constitution permits international unions to pay state federation and CLC dues directly, rather than have each local or state federation pay them. This relieves each union's state and local affiliates of the administrative duty of assessing, collecting and paying the dues. International unions assess the AFL–CIO dues themselves, and collect them on top of their own dues-generating mechanisms or simply pay them out of the dues the international collects. But not all international unions pay their required state federation and CLC dues.[24] Constitutional departments One of the most well-known departments was the Industrial Union Department (IUD). It had been constitutionally mandated by the new AFL–CIO constitution created by the merger of the AFL and CIO in 1955,[25] as CIO unions felt that the AFL's commitment to industrial unionism was not strong enough to permit the department to survive without a constitutional mandate. For many years, the IUD was a de facto organizing department in the AFL–CIO. For example, it provided money to the near-destitute American Federation of Teachers (AFT) as it attempted to organize the United Federation of Teachers in 1961. The organizing money enabled the AFT to win the election and establish its first large collective bargaining affiliate. For many years, the IUD remained rather militant on a number of issues. There are six AFL–CIO constitutionally mandated departments: Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL–CIO Maritime Trades Department, AFL–CIO Metal Trades Department, AFL–CIO Department for Professional Employees, AFL–CIO Transportation Trades Department, AFL–CIO Union Label Department, AFL–CIO Constituency groups Constituency groups are nonprofit organizations chartered and funded by the AFL–CIO as voter registration and mobilization bodies. These groups conduct research, host training and educational conferences, issue research reports and publications, lobby for legislation and build coalitions with local groups. Each constituency group has the right to sit in on AFL–CIO executive council meetings, and to exercise representational and voting rights at AFL–CIO conventions. The AFL–CIO's seven constituency groups include the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the AFL–CIO Union Veterans Council, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and Pride at Work. Allied organizations The Working for America Institute started out as a department of the AFL–CIO. Established in 1958, it was previously known as the Human Resources Development Institute (HRDI). John Sweeney renamed the department and spun it off as an independent organization in 1998 to act as a lobbying group to promote economic development, develop new economic policies, and lobby Congress on economic policy.[26] The American Center for International Labor Solidarity started out as the Free Trade Union Committee (FTUC), which internationally promoted free labor-unions.[27] Other organizations that are allied with the AFL–CIO include: Alliance for Retired Americans Solidarity Center American Rights at Work International Labor Communications Association Jobs with Justice Labor Heritage Foundation Labor and Working-Class History Association National Day Laborer Organizing Network United Students Against Sweatshops Working America Working for America Institute Ohio Organizing Collaborative Programs Programs are organizations established and controlled by the AFL–CIO to serve certain organizational goals. Programs of the AFL–CIO include the AFL–CIO Building Investment Trust, the AFL–CIO Employees Federal Credit Union, the AFL–CIO Housing Investment Trust, the National Labor College and Union Privilege. International policy The AFL–CIO is affiliated to the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation, formed November 1, 2006. The new body incorporated the member organizations of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, of which the AFL–CIO had long been part. The AFL–CIO had had a very active foreign policy in building and strengthening free trade unions. During the Cold War, it vigorously opposed Communist unions in Latin America and Europe. In opposing Communism, it helped split the CGT in France and helped create the anti-Communist Force Ouvrière.[28] According to the cybersecurity firm Area 1, hackers working for the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force compromised the networks of the AFL–CIO in order to gain information on negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.[29] History For the history of the AFL–CIO prior to and including the merger, see American Federation of Labor, Congress of Industrial Organizations, and Labor unions in the United States. Civil rights AFL–CIO headquarters in Washington, DC The AFL–CIO has a long relationship with civil rights struggles. One of the major points of contention between the AFL and the CIO, particularly in the era immediately after the CIO split off, was the CIO's willingness to include black workers (excluded by the AFL in its focus on craft unionism.)[30][31][32] Later, blacks would also criticize the CIO for abandoning their interests, particularly after the merger with the AFL.[33] In 1961, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech titled "If the Negro Wins, Labor Wins" to the organization's convention in Bal Harbour, Florida.[34] King hoped for a coalition between civil rights and labor that would improve the situation for the entire working class by ending racial discrimination. However, King also criticized the AFL–CIO for its tolerance of unions that excluded black workers.[34] "I would be lacking in honesty," he told the delegates of the 1965 Illinois AFL–CIO Convention during his keynote address, "if I did not point out that the labor movement of thirty years ago did more in that period for civil rights than labor is doing today...Our combined strength is potentially enormous, but we have not used a fraction of it for our own good or the needs of society as a whole."[35] King and the AFL–CIO diverged further in 1967, when King announced his opposition to the Vietnam War, which the AFL–CIO strongly supported.[36] The AFL–CIO endorsed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[37] Police violence In the 21st Century, the AFL–CIO has been criticized by campaigners against police violence for its affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA).[38][39] On May 31, 2020, the AFL–CIO offices in Washington, DC, were set on fire during the George Floyd protests taking place in the city.[40] In response, AFL–CIO president Richard Trumka condemned both the murder of George Floyd and the destruction of the offices, but did not address demands to end the organization's affiliation with the IUPA.[41] Triumph and disaster: the politics of the 1960s After the smashing electoral victory of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, the heavily Democratic Congress passed a raft of liberal legislation. Labor union leaders claimed credit for the widest range of liberal laws since the New Deal era, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Voting Rights Act of 1965; the War on Poverty; aid to cities and education; increased Social Security benefits; and Medicare for the elderly. The 1966 elections were an unexpected disaster, with defeats for many of the more liberal Democrats. According to Alan Draper, the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Action (COPE) was the main electioneering unit of the labor movement. It ignored the white backlash against civil rights. The COPE assumed falsely that union members were interested in issues of greatest salience to union leadership, but polls showed this was not true. The members were much more conservative. The younger ones were deeply concerned about taxes and crime, and the older ones had more conservative social views. Furthermore a new issue--the War in Vietnam-- was bitterly splitting the New Deal coalition into hawks (led by Johnson and Vice-President Hubert Humphrey) and doves (led by Senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy).[42] New Unity Partnership In 2003, the AFL–CIO began an intense internal debate over the future of the labor movement in the United States with the creation of the New Unity Partnership (NUP), a loose coalition of some of the AFL–CIO's largest unions. This debate intensified in 2004, after the defeat of labor-backed candidate John Kerry in the November 2004 US presidential election. The NUP's program for reform of the federation included reduction of the central bureaucracy, more money spent on organizing new members rather than on electoral politics, and a restructuring of unions and locals, eliminating some smaller locals and focusing more along the lines of industrial unionism. In 2005, the NUP dissolved and the Change to Win Federation (CtW) formed, threatening to secede from the AFL–CIO if its demands for major reorganization were not met. As the AFL–CIO prepared for its 50th anniversary convention in late July, three of the federations' four largest unions announced their withdrawal from the federation: the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("The Teamsters"),[43] and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).[44] UNITE HERE disaffiliated in mid-September 2005,[45] the United Farm Workers left in January 2006,[46] and the Laborers' International Union of North America disaffiliated on June 1, 2006.[47] Two unions later left CtW and rejoined the AFL–CIO. After a bitter internal leadership dispute that involved allegations of embezzlement and accusations that SEIU was attempting to raid the union,[48] a substantial number of UNITE HERE members formed their own union (Workers United) while the remainder of UNITE HERE reaffiliated with the AFL–CIO on September 17, 2009.[49] The Laborers' International Union of North America said on August 13, 2010, that it would also leave Change to Win and rejoin the AFL–CIO in October 2010.[50] ILWU disaffiliation In August 2013, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) disaffiliated from the AFL–CIO. The ILWU said that members of other AFL–CIO unions were crossing its picket lines, and the AFL–CIO had done nothing to stop it. The ILWU also cited the AFL–CIO's willingness to compromise on key policies such as labor law reform, immigration reform, and health care reform. The longshoremen's union said it would become an independent union.[51] Leadership Presidents George Meany (1955–1979) Lane Kirkland (1979–1995) Thomas R. Donahue (1995) John J. Sweeney (1995–2009) Richard Trumka (2009–2021) Liz Shuler (2021–present) Secretary-treasurers 1955: William F. Schnitzler 1969: Lane Kirkland 1979: Thomas R. Donahue 1995: Barbara Easterling 1995: Richard Trumka 2009: Liz Shuler 2021: Fred Redmond Executive vice presidents 1995: Linda Chavez-Thompson 2005: Arlene Holt Baker 2013: Tefere Gebre 2022: See also Labor history of the United States Directly affiliated local union Labor unions in the United States List of labor unions in the United States
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