Nonviolent Protests On Behalf Of Farmworkers

When Cesar Chavez began building the farmworker movement 50 years ago, he simply wanted to build a strong union. He soon realized it would require a larger movement to overcome the burdens of poverty, discrimination and powerlessness. Chavez began a burial program, the first credit union for farmworkers, health clinics, daycare centers and job-training programs. With the help of the movement, he also built affordable housing.

From Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Chavez adopted historic methods and tactics that were new to organized labor. He demanded farmworkers stick to a pledge of nonviolence. This different vision of organizing people sparked opposition from within the UFW. Some strikers and staff left the union during Chavez's 25-day fast for nonviolence, but he prevailed. Senator Robert Kennedy came to Delano as the fast ended and called Chavez "one of the heroic figures of our time."

Chavez used nonviolence to win disputes with management. Millions of people across North America rallied to the farmworkers' cause, boycotting grapes and other products. By refusing to buy grapes, they forced growers to bargain union contracts and agree to California's pioneering farm labor law in 1975.