United Farm Workers

United Farm Workers
source
Name	United Farm Workers
Founded	22 August 1962
Founders	Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta
Location	Keene, California, U.S.
Key people	Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz
Focus	Agricultural labor
Method	Union organizing, strikes, boycotts, nonviolence
Website	https://ufw.org/

United Farm Workers

The United Farm Workers (UFW) is a labor union for agricultural workers in the United States, founded in 1962. It emerged from the merger of two earlier organizations, the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). The UFW became a pivotal force in the Chicano Movement and a significant chapter in the broader U.S. Civil Rights Movement, championing the rights of predominantly Mexican-American and Filipino-American farmworkers through nonviolent direct action.

History and founding

The union's origins lie in the harsh conditions of California's agricultural valleys, where migrant workers faced extreme poverty, exposure to pesticides, and a lack of basic labor protections. In 1962, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association in Delano, California. Simultaneously, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, a union led by Filipino-American organizers like Larry Itliong, was active. In 1965, AWOC initiated the Delano grape strike, a pivotal strike against grape growers. The NFWA, after a historic vote by its members, joined the strike in solidarity, leading to a powerful alliance. This cooperation culminated in 1966 with the merger of the two groups to form the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, which later became the permanent United Farm Workers. The union was officially chartered by the AFL–CIO in 1972.

Key leaders and organizers

Cesar Chavez, the union's most iconic figure, served as its president and embodied its commitment to nonviolent resistance and personal sacrifice, including public fasts. Co-founder Dolores Huerta was the union's vice president and a master strategist and negotiator; she is credited with coining the rallying cry "¡Sí, se puede!" ("Yes, we can!"). Larry Itliong, a leader of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, was instrumental in forging the multiethnic coalition that defined the early union. Fellow Filipino American leader Philip Vera Cruz also served as a UFW vice president. Other key figures included Gilbert Padilla, a founding member, and Fred Ross Sr., a community organizer who mentored Chavez. The union also drew support from allies like Robert F. Kennedy and Coretta Scott King.

Major campaigns and strikes

The Delano grape strike (1965–1970) was the UFW's defining struggle. It paired the strike with a national consumer boycott of table grapes, a strategy that garnered widespread public support. The campaign concluded with historic contracts with major grape growers. This was followed by the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, against lettuce and vegetable growers in 1970. The UFW also organized the successful Coachella grape strike in 1973. A central tactic across these campaigns was the secondary consumer boycott, which pressured supermarkets to stop carrying non-union products. These actions were often met with violence, including clashes with local law enforcement and the Teamsters union, which sought to sign contracts with growers.

Intersection with broader civil rights movements

The UFW's work was deeply interwoven with the broader Civil Rights Movement. It shared the philosophy of nonviolence with Martin Luther King Jr., who sent a telegram of support to Chavez during his 1968 fast. The union was a cornerstone of the Chicano Movement, empowering Mexican Americans and fostering cultural pride. Its alliance with Filipino American workers made it an early model for multiracial solidarity in labor struggles. The UFW also connected with the anti-war movement, the women's movement through leaders like Huerta, and the religious left, receiving crucial support from the Catholic Church and figures like Father Donald McDonnell. The union's use of pilgrimages, religious imagery, and public fasting framed its struggle in moral terms.

Impact on labor law and policy

The UFW's advocacy was instrumental in passing landmark legislation in California. The 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) was a monumental victory, establishing the right for farm workers to collectively bargain and creating the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) to oversee elections and address unfair practices. This was the first law of its kind in the United States. At the national level, the UFW fought to repeal the Bracero Program and later advocated for amendments to the National Labor Relations Act to include agricultural workers. While that federal goal was not achieved, the UFW's efforts brought national attention to the exclusion of farmworkers from core New Deal labor protections like the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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