A noted Mexican-American civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez was instrumental in securing union rights for migrant farm workers during the 1960s. As a young boy, he dropped out of school to help support his family through field work. After a stint in the U.S. Navy, Chavez returned to the fields with determination to better the lives of workers like him. He began organizing, forming the National Farmworkers Association, which is now known as the United Farm Workers of America, to advocate for improved working conditions and wages.
Chavez was a champion of nonviolent protesting, using tactics like marching, fasting and boycotting to assert farmworkers’ needs. In 1968, Chavez orchestrated a boycott that resulted in a collective bargaining agreement guaranteeing field workers the right to unionize. Chavez was also a champion of broader human rights, including an early supporter of gay rights and an opposer of the Vietnam War.
Chavez died in 1993, but his legacy lives on in many of the labor protections we see today.
