Cesar Chavez and La Causa

Page 1: Cesar Chavez and the Struggles of Migrant Workers

• Migrant workers in California faced harsh conditions:

  • Difficult and demoralizing lives.

  • Predominantly Mexican American workers.

  • Low wages for strenuous labor.

  • Poor living conditions in migrant camps.

  • Experience of racism leading to exclusion from democracy and education.

• Cesar Chavez's Background:

  • Born in Arizona; family lost farm during the Great Depression.

  • Became a migrant worker at age 12 (1939).

  • Experienced hardships as a Mexican-American worker firsthand.

• Career and Activism:

  • Worked as an organizer for the Community Service Organization.

  • Resigned in 1962 to form a union for farm workers.

  • Founded the Farm Workers Association (later United Farm Workers - UFW) known as La Causa.

• Tactics and Strategies:

  • Adopted nonviolent direct-action campaigns inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.

  • Merged these tactics with traditional labor strategies like prolonged strikes.

  • Utilized volunteers from universities and religious groups to support national boycotts (grapes, lettuce) to negotiate with growers.

• Achievements:

  • Negotiated improved wages and contracts for workers.

  • By 1970, California growers signed contracts with UFW.

• Reflective Questions:

  1. What obstacles did Chavez overcome to establish a farm workers' union?

  2. Why did Chavez emphasize political and economic power?

  3. What goals did Chavez hope to achieve through the union?

Page 2: Vision for the Future

• Post-Contract Goals:

  • Build clinics and cooperatives.

  • Address mechanization: Establish beneficial programs for workers instead of opposing machines.

• Political Action:

  • Address grievances: Discrimination faced by children in schools and police issues.

  • Advocate for farm workers in governance:

    • Exchange negative police for farm worker representatives.

    • Encourage the election of farm worker judges.

  • Need for participation in town and school board governance.

• Challenges and Opportunities:

  • Long-term struggle ahead; many members are non-citizens or not registered voters.

  • Aim for increased citizenship and voter registration.

  • Political power alone won't yield change without accompanying economic power.

• Economic Power: A Necessity:

  • Political power is powerless without economic strength.

  • Economic power gives marginalized groups the ability to negotiate and enact change.

  • Advocating for cooperatives rather than individual capitalism to elevate community wealth.

  • Credit as a mechanism for organizing power and achieving real change.

• Radical Change Needed:

  • Desire for transformative change over superficial improvement.

  • Urgency for control over personal destinies.

  • Emphasizes collective struggle and ongoing effort for social justice.

Page 3: The Road Ahead

• Empowerment Through Education:

  • Need for a meaningful educational program beyond union awareness.

  • Importance of understanding the broader Cause and the sacrifice involved in fighting for social justice.

• The Nature of Sacrifice:

  • Genuine support for human dignity requires sacrifice.

  • Reflection on the need for commitment and risk in advocacy.

• Change in Workers' Perspective:

  • Significant shift in farm workers' outlook over twenty years.

  • Shift from fear and reluctance to engage to willingness to participate.

  • Importance of serving others and the perception of service without pay.