César Chávez was an Arizonian, WWII Veteran, father, husband, organizer, and leader. His legacy as a leader among farm workers’ unions is honored on March 31st.
The Spanish phrase: “Si Se Puede” (Yes, You Can), coined by Dolores Huerta, became the rallying cry for César Chávez during a 1972 fast in which the Mexican American farmworker rights advocate protested a signed Arizona bill that denied farmworkers the right to strike and boycott during harvest seasons.
In 2012 former Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis hosted the Induction of the Pioneers of the Farm Worker Movement into the Labor Hall of Honor and the naming of the César E. Chávez Memorial Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
Thanks to César Chávez and the UFW the actions led to these accomplishments:
- The abolishment of the short-handled hoe that crippled generations of farmworkers.
- Unemployment, disability, and workers’ compensation benefits for farmworkers;
- Establishment of labor contracts with employers that require rest periods,
- Toilets in the fields.
- Clean drinking water, handwashing facilities,
- Protective clothing against pesticide exposure.
- Banning pesticide spraying while workers are in the fields.
- Outlawing DDT and other dangerous pesticides.
- Eliminating farm labor contractors and guaranteeing farmworkers seniority rights and job security.
- Creation of a pension plan for retired farm workers; a credit union.
- and comprehensive union health benefits for farmworkers and their families.
On this day, the UFW martyrs also need to be remembered. These were men and women from Yemen, Mexico, and the United States. They were Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and Protestant.
Not many people know of the men and women who participated in and fought for the establishment of the UFW. They were inducted into the Labor Hall of Fame:
Nan Freeman: an 18-year old college freshman from Wakefield, Massachusetts, who gave her life while picketing with striking farmworkers in central Florida in the middle of the night because of her love for justice. In Cesar’s words, Nan was Kadosha in the Hebrew tradition, a “holy person” to be forever honored.
Rufino Contreras: a 27-year-old husband, father of two, and a dedicated union activist who was shot to death in the Imperial Valley lettuce field for demanding a more just share of what he produced during the 1979 vegetable industry strike
Nagi Daifallah: a young Muslim immigrant from South Yemen who was killed during the 1973 grape strike after giving himself completely to the union to escape the trap of powerlessness. Nagi immigrated to this country to escape poverty, only rediscover it in California’s rich fields and vineyards. He learned English, could communicate well, served as a translator for UFW organizers, and became active with the union.
Juan De La Cruz: a 60-year old immigrant from Mexico, a gentleman who knew firsthand the benefits of a UFW contract. He was also a grape striker and an original union member recruited by Cesar in the early ’60s. Juan died two days after Nagi’s killing when shots rang out on a vineyard picket line, and Juan shielded his wife, Maximina, with his body.
Rene Lopez was only 21 when he came home and proudly told his mother, “Here is my first union card. Now I am important. Now I am a man.” A short time later, grower goons gunned Rene down just after he voted in a union election at Sikkema Dairy near Fresno, which he and his co-workers were striking. Rene was young, but, as Cesar observed, “he had already felt the call to social justice.”
César Chávez has a special connection to my county, Ventura, because he lived in Oxnard as a child and returned as an adult to organize protests and boycotts to secure better wages and working conditions for farmworkers.
My mom marched until the age of 89 yrs.
Here are some old posts: Remembering Cesar Chavez and My Mother
From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength.-
I hope you commemorate the day by serving others, doing random acts of kindness, or teaching others about Chávez’s legacy.