56
©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from
Toolkit Texts
by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
V
Vi
iv
va
a L
La
a C
Ca
au
us
sa
a
I
magine it is the 1930s, and
you are a Mexican Amer ican
child. Your migrant labor
family travels from farm to farm
harvesting whatever crop is in
season—strawberries, lettuce,
peas, string beans, grapes, apples.
The roof over your head at night
could be the old family car, a tent,
or a one-room shack. You have no
electricity or running water. After
working a long day, your parents
are tired and sore from bending
and planting, weeding, or picking
crops. You dread going to yet
another school where you might
be laughed at because your shoes
are worn out, and you cannot
speak English well.
In the 1930s and 1940s,
agricultural workers toiled under
tough conditions like those
described here. Migrant laborers
were the most poorly paid,
housed, fed, and educated
workers in Ameri ca. In addition,
there often was no water to drink
in the fields. Old and heavy tools
made the farming jobs more
backbreaking and exhausting.
Pesticides used on the crops
endangered the workers’ health.
Unfortunately, much of that still
is true today for migrant workers
in America. But some changes
have been made, mostly through
the work of Cesar E. Chavez. In
the 1950s, Chavez was a migrant
worker in the fields around San
Jose, Califor nia. He spent his
evenings planning house meetings
for the Community Service
Organization (CSO), which was
trying to unify and empower poor
people through the strength of
their votes.
Cesar Chavez
organized this march from
Delano to Sacramento, California,
to raise public awareness of La Causa.
La Causa was the name of Cesar Chavez’s
movement that fought for better working
conditions for farm workers.
Chavez’s Fight for Social Justice
57
©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from
Toolkit Texts
by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
Chavez marches in a picket line
to support a boycott of grapes.
Chavez helped migrant workers
find housing, medical care, food,
and legal aid, but he wanted more
for them. He knew that the biggest
problem they faced was the
Bracero Program. Braceros—
Mexicans with U.S. government
permission to work as laborers
in America—earned less money
and were willing to live in worse
conditions than the migrant
Mexican American workers.
The presence of braceros caused
migrant laborers to lose jobs or
forced them to work for even
less pay.
Chavez was aware of the
peaceful teachings of India’s
Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi
and America’s Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. He believed that
change could be achieved through
nonviolence. So in 1959, with ten
thousand march ers, he staged
a
sit-in
at a ranch that hired
braceros. The negative publicity
from the television coverage forced
the farmer to stop employing
braceros. Chavez then decided
to commit all of his time to
organizing a
union
of farm
workers, despite the fact that
others before him had tried to
do the same and failed.
Chavez, Dolores
Huerta, and other
activists
who
believed in
La Causa (“The
Cause”), as his
movement was
called, traveled
from farm to farm.
They talked to
workers about
health and safety
issues, wages, and
the need to form a
A
sit-in
is a
demonstration in
which particip
ants
seat themse
lves
in a place rela
ted to
the cause and refuse
to move.
A
union
is a group of
employees who join
together
to improve
their working
conditions.
Activists
are people
of action, such a
s
demonstration
s or
strikes
, who promote
or oppose people or
ideas.
58
©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from
Toolkit Texts
by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
union. It was difficult because the
laborers often moved from job to
job. But Chavez was patient:
“When you organize, you must dig
it bit by bit, very deliberately and
carefully. It’s like digging a ditch.
You take one shovelful at a time,”
he said.
On September 30, 1962, the
first convention of Chavez’s
National Farm Workers
Association (NFWA) was held in
Fresno, California. Three years
later, the still-young, but growing,
union voted to join Filipino farm
workers in a
strike
against local
Delano (a city in south-central
California) grape growers. Union
members agreed not to pick any
grapes until the Filipino workers
got better pay and working
conditions.
When the
vineyards
hired other
workers to pick the grapes, NFWA
members
marched near
the grape fields
carrying signs
that said
“
Huelga!
”—
Spanish for
“strike.”
Chavez
convinced the
A mural in San Francisco, California, reminds
Mexican immigrants to demand fair treatment
for hard work.
A
strike
occurs when
employees refuse to
work, and the business
owner is left without a
labor force.
Vineyards
are areas
of ground planted with
grapevines.
Fasts
are acts of
abstaining from eating
food.
A
boycott
is an
expression of protest by
refraining from buying or
using an item.
59
©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from
Toolkit Texts
by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
new workers to stop picking.
Soon, grapes were rotting on the
vines. But the owners still refused
to agree to the workers’ requests.
In an attempt to bring more
attention to the strike and La
Causa, Chavez organized a
three-hundred-mile march
from Delano to Sacramento,
California, in the spring of 1966.
Television cameras were there
once again, broadcasting the
event on the news. During the
march, Chavez received word that
one of the vineyards was ready to
negotiate with the NFWA.
In addition to sit-ins, strikes,
and marches, Chavez used other
nonviolent methods to bring
about change. He spoke to
religious leaders and university
students about social justice,
gained their support, and raised
money for La Causa. He went
on several
fasts.
And Chavez
announ ced a nationwide
boycott
of California grapes as a way to
get other vineyard owners to
change their conditions and pay
scales, too. It ultimately became
the most effective strategy and
gained nationwide attention and
support.
Throughout the 1970s and
1980s, Chavez peacefully, but
forcefully, tried to keep the
migrant workers organized and
united and demanding change.
His efforts made a huge impact
on farm workers throughout the
United States. But his hard work
and fasting took its toll on his
health. When Chavez died in
1993, thousands of people came
to pay their respects to this hero
of migrant farm work ers and
Mexican Americans.
Adapted from an article
by Diane L. Brooks
