Migrant Labor was very well known during the years
of 1930's when droughts, the depression, and the increased of mechanization of
farming was present in the states of the Midwest of the United States and
further. Migrant Labor was in charge of traveling from place to place
harvesting crops that had to be picked by the time they started to ripen. Many
of the conditions were very poor and unsanitary so efforts to enforce these
conditions as well as preventing child labor and protecting the workers from
exploitation were a success in the mid 1960s. An organization of migrant
workers began to developed in the west under the leadership of Cesar Chavez. He
was a mexican-american labor leader who wanted better conditions for the
migrant farm workers in the grape fields of California. In order for this to
happen he took action and formed the National Farm Workers Association which
used strikes, fasts, and marches and was able to obtain contracts from a number
of major farm growers. In the year of 1966 his organization merged with
Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee of the AFL-CIO to form the United
Farm Workers, which Caesar Chavez then became the president of this committee
and a member union of the AFL-CIO. In order to expand his efforts to other
states and to see the conditions that these workers would work in led to
lettuce boycotting and extended his organizational efforts to Florida citrus
workers. During his efforts of marching many college students, preachers, and
lots of Filipino farm workers as well joined the march which started in Delano,
California and marched all the way to the state capitol Sacramento. During his
march to Sacramento he encourage all Americans to boycott table grapes which
lasted five years and in 1966 the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Public
Welfare's subcommittee on Migratory Labor held hearings in California during
the strikes. At this time one of the subcommittee member Robert F. Kennedy
expressed his support for the strike and causes that Cesar was encouraging. Throughout
this entire movement and effort of trying to get better conditions and health
rights for migrant farm workers, Cesar believed in nonviolence so no violence
was being used or initiated. He believed in Gandhi's beliefs/ movement of
nonviolence while striving for India's independence. Lots of people who watched
as Cesar marched towards Sacramento acted and supported by also joining the
march and boycotting grapes from California to achieve and win victory.
"Cesar Estrada Chavez." Columbia
Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2011): 1. Literary
Reference
Center. Web. 18 Apr. 2012
