More handpicked essays just for you.
Cesar chavez and the united farm workers movement essays
Cesar chavez and the united farm workers movement essays
Cesar chavez and the united farm workers movement essays
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Labor unions have been instrumental in the lives of workers throughout American history, and have led to important advances in the American workforce. Throughout history there have been patterns of exploitation of immigrant workers by businesses in order to increase profits; the Mexican migrant workers of southern California are the most recent historical group to fall into this pattern of exploitation mostly from their lack of organization. Cesar E. Chavez was a great organizer and leader of the United Farm Workers labor union. Robert Kennedy referred to him as “one of the heroic figures of our time.”
Chavez used his life experiences in order to better the lives of many migrant workers in America. Key points in Chavez’s life that had profound effects on the Mexican American workers include things such as: his first taste of leading political organizations in 1952; the foundation of the United Farm Workers of America in 1962; and the use of nonviolent approaches such as boycotts, strikes, and fasts, as seen in the grape and lettuce strikes. Throughout his career his selfless exploits made him the hero that he is now seen to be. When these key portions of Chavez’s life are examined, it can be seen that he had a very large role in gaining and defending civil rights, wage increases, and worker benefits for migrant farmers (Chavez Foundation).
In 1952 Chavez would begin his career as a community leader and political organizer through the Community Service Organization or CSO, which was already established as a prominent Mexican American civil rights organization in southern California. The CSO worked mostly with voter registration and everyday problems that Mexican Americans would encounter, and this served as a valuable learni...
... middle of paper ...
... understood what was right, and he sought to fill the need that had been left by government and the private sector.
Works Cited
Chavezfoundation. “Cesar E. Chavez> American Hero.” http://www.chavezfoundation.org/_page.php?code=001001000000000&page_ttl=American+Hero&kind=1.
Griswold Del Castillo, Richard, and Richard A. Garcia. César Chavez: A Triumph of Spirit. The Oklahoma western biographies, v. 2. Norman, Okla: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995
Martin, Philip. “Labor Relations in California Agriculture: 1975-2000”. September 20, 2000. http://migration.ucdavis.edu/cf/more.php?id=44_0_2_0.
Moore, Joan W., Cuellar, Alfredo. Mexican America. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc 1970.
Tejada-Flores, Rick. “Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Struggle”. 2004. http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/cesarchavez.html.
In 1938, the Chavez family lost their farm due to the Great Depression. They were forced to relocate to California and become migrant workers. Chavez was distressed by the poor treatment that migrant farmworkers endured on a daily basis. His powerful religious convictions, dedication to change, and a skill at non violent organizing cultivated the establishment of the United Farmworkers (UFW). It was also referred to as “La Causa” by supporters and eventually became a vital movement for self-determination in the lives of California's farmworkers. The astounding nationwide lettuce and grape boycotts along with public support revealed the atrocities of California agribusiness and resulted in the first union hiring halls and collective bargaining for migrant workers. The details of the childhood of Cesar Chavez and how they would later shape his actions are a vital aspect of this book and the establishment of the farm workers movement.
In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.
They believed that their approaches to making changes for the workers would work if they continued practicing the same method. Oftentimes their very own methods worked, and would result in the desired way. Sometimes however these methods would lead to quite a bit of anger from those that they opposed. The opposition would call on the courts to attempt to get the union leaders to stop whatever their union was doing. When the leaders did not do this, they were imprisoned. This was the main reason for Chavez's imprisonment. While this possibly partially led to Hoffa's imprisonment, his involvement with the mafia was most likely the main reason for his arrest.
Cesar Chavez, one man who dramatically changed the world said, “From the depth of need despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems, and fill their own needs with dignity and strength” (ufw.org). This quote means several things. We can’t all make a difference on our own, so we need to work together, as a whole. This also means that we can organize our own problems to figure it out. It also says that we can fill our own wishes with quality and power. Chavez was an important figure in American History because he stood up for what he believed in, and wanted. In some peoples’ view, Chavez will always be a genuine hero.
There is much to commend about the inclusion of United Farm Workers (UFW) co-founder and Filipino Larry Itliong in the Hollywood biopic “Cesar Chavez” directed by Diego Luna. However sadly, his depiction is problematic. The film fails to present an accurate history of this historically important farm workers’ movement. “Cesar Chavez” does not stress the historic multi-ethnic partnership between Mexicans and Filipinos in the UFW and the effort that was born as a product the Filipinos’ 1965 Grape Strike. Rather, the film is told from a predominantly Chicano/a perspective that only lightly accents the contribution of Filipino-American farm workers.
Throughout our lives we have been taught that the law is virtuous. Is it right when someone is above the law only because they’re wealthy, white, or have a government position? I strongly believe that Wilde's claims are valid not only because it's been proven, but because we have experienced rebellion and desobedince throughout history.
Prensa, La. "Hondureños Gritan Al Mundo: "No Más Chávez"" La Prensa [San Pedro Sula] 09 May 2010: 1. Print.
Tejada-Flores, Rick. "Fight in the Fields - CESAR CHAVEZ | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 12 February 2012.
Even before Cesar Chavez was born people around the United States were treated unfairly. Many of them worked hard and didn’t get paid for their hard work. When he was young his parents and his siblings worked in the fields and all of them were still not able to make enough money to settle and have a good life. When Cesar Chavez grew older he opened his own grocery store to help and support the farmers that actually get paid a decent amount of
Prior to 1968, Latino people all over the country were being discriminated and mistreated. Students were given horrible education, and the schools’ dropout rates were among the highest in the country, some at well over 50 percent. Many were aware of this, but one man took action that would change Latino history forever. This man was Sal Castro, and his actions during the LA Walkouts made him deserving of the La Raza award because he took huge risks for what he knew was right and he set a great example for other justice-fighting leaders.
I would meet Cesar Chavez he is a true hero to me. He made a great difference for the agricultural workers at the time and his accomplishments still affect us today. He was not only a Latino American civil rights activist he was also supported by the American labor movement. My father for years was a migrant worker and I am glad that Cesar Chavez made the difference that he did. Chavez protested and boycotted companies and industries that did not pay workers enough, treated them unfairly, and had poor working conditions. Cesar Chavez was young when he became a migrant worker in farms, he had gone through the conditions himself, he knew just how important it was for farm workers to work in healthy safe conditions and decided he was going
A few days ago, someone ask me to go into a class and talk to the kids about Cesar Chavez and his life, and the question bounced in my head a few seconds and then I said, “si se puede”. Why? Well, we know what Don Cesar did to help improve migrants’ working conditions at that time, how he founded the UFW, and all those days of starvation for “la causa”; Ok, but did everything changed thanks to him? Are our “paisanos” benefiting from that? Yes and no! Of course we have to thank him for all the labor improvements to such group, but even now on days one can found many of our people working in the fields under similar circumstances to those of the 1960’s. Not far away from here, we can find many illegal and legal citizens of the United States working long hours on the fields picking those fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables that we buy at Ralphs or any other store. It might sound like a thing of the past, which is the reason why Chavez marched many miles and boycotted different companies, so we – future generations- can have fair working conditions on the fields, Right?...No, even today things are NOT quite different, the UF...
One of the most celebrated migrant workers of all time, César Chávez, triumphed as a leader because he knew how to be a servant first and those who followed him respected that. He was a quiet, devoted and religious man who was able to identify with his audience because he was in their shoes. The definition of leadership has been discussed in detail in this class, but our search for the final definition has continued to complicate the issue. The leadership topics that have been studied this semester that apply to César Chávez and that will be concentrated on during this paper are: the ideas of inside and outside leaders, level 5 leadership, situational leadership, service leadership and social justice leadership. César Chávez exemplifies ‘leadership’ in his own way and has created a new way to define what a real leader is. This essay focuses on the relationship between Chávez’s life and work, as well as the idea of ‘Social justice leadership’ and ‘servant leadership’. In his vision of peace, he represented the idea of nonviolence and the importance of believing in a cause and following through with what you promise. Chávez founded a group that supported and fought for the rights of farm workers, acting to increase wages and improve the working conditions and safety of farm workers, which was called the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) and was later renamed the National Farm Worke...
Similarly to World War I’s mass production, the mass production in the Green Revolution has similar working conditions. Some people might say that it benefits people because it creates more jobs and creates jobs even for the undocumented. This is true, but laborers are working in bad conditions. The factories they are working in or the monotonous jobs they do can cause them long-term health problems. It can harm them physically and mentally. In some cases, their jobs do not bring joy to them and can ultimately lead to depression. Workers in factories are also paid low wages. They are not paid fairly by the corporation. Since most of these workers are undocumented, they are not paid the minimum wage of the state. This shows the inequality of the workers versus the owners of the factories. The idea of health issues and financial cost plays a role in the negative effect that the progression leads
Hugo Chavez was a powerful and positive force in addressing social issues, however, his singular focus on social issues at the expense of other matters of the country left the Venezuelan economy in tatters. In 1998, 50.4% of the Venezuelan population was living below the poverty line, where as in 2006 the numbers dropped to 36.3% (Chavez leaves). Although he aggressively confronted the issue of poverty in Venezuela, many other problems were worsened. Some Chavez critics say he used the state oil company like a piggy bank for projects: funding homes, and healthcare while neglecting oil infrastructure and production. Without growth in the oil ind...