Cesar Chavez Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Cesar Chavez
OCCUPATION: Activist
BIRTH DATE: March 31, 1927
DEATH DATE: April 23, 1993
PLACE OF BIRTH: Yuma, Arizona

PLACE OF DEATH: San Luis, Arizona

more about Cesar

Best Known For

A union leader and labor organizer, Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to improving treatment, pay, and working conditions for farm workers.

Print Cite This

Cesar Chavez

APA Style

Cesar Chavez. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 02:40, Feb 09, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781

Harvard Style

Cesar Chavez [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781, February 09

MLA Style

" Cesar Chavez." 2012. Biography.com 09 Feb 2012, 02:40 http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781

MHRA Style

' Cesar Chavez', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781 [accessed Feb 09, 2012]

Chicago Style

" Cesar Chavez," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781 (accessed Feb 09, 2012).

CBE/CSE Style

Cesar Chavez [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 Feb 09]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781.

Bluebook Style

Cesar Chavez, http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781 (last visited Feb 09, 2012).

AMA Style

Cesar Chavez, http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781 (last visited Feb 09, 2012).

Synopsis

Born Cesario Estrada Chavez near Yuma, Arizona, on March 31, 1927, Cesar Chavez employed nonviolent means to bring attention to the plight of farmworkers and formed both the NFWA and the United Farm Workers.

Quotes

"If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him...The people who give you their food give you their heart."

– Cesar Chavez

Profile

Union leader and labor organizer. Born Cesario Estrada Chavez near Yuma, Arizona, on March 31, 1927. Chavez dedicated his life to improving the treatment, pay, and working conditions for farm workers. He knew all too well the hardships farm workers faced. When he was young, Chavez and his family had toiled in the fields as migrant farm workers.

After working as a community and labor organizer in the 1950s, Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in 1962. This union joined with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) in its first strike against grape growers in California in 1965. A year later the two unions merged and the resulting union was renamed the United Farmer Workers in 1972. In early 1968, Chavez called for a national boycott of California table grape growers. Chavez's battle with the grape growers for improved compensation and labor conditions would last for years. At the end, Chavez and his union won several victories for the workers when many growers signed contracts with the union. He faced more challenges through the years from other growers and the Teamsters Union. All the while, he continued to oversee the union and work to advance his cause.

As a labor leader, Chavez employed nonviolent means to bring attention to the plight of farm workers. He led marches, called for boycotts, and went on several hunger strikes. He also brought the national awareness to the dangers of pesticides to workers' health. His dedication to his work earned him numerous friends and supporters, including Robert Kennedy and Jesse Jackson. It is believed that his hunger strikes contributed to his death. He died on April 23, 1993, in San Luis, Arizona.