Chavez and Huerta's Farmworker Movement Secured Better Wages and Conditions

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Dolores Huerta and the late César Chavez are celebrated as labor rights icons who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. Their movement pushed growers to negotiate for better wages and working conditions for farmworkers, achieving landmark reforms after centuries of failed organizing efforts.

Why it matters

The rise of the farmworker movement led by Chavez and Huerta is considered one of the most important events in U.S. Latino history, resulting in the most significant and sustained improvements to agricultural worker conditions nationwide. However, recent allegations of sexual abuse by Chavez have led to the cancellation of some planned celebrations honoring his legacy.

The details

Chavez and Huerta's union efforts prompted California to pass the first state law recognizing farmworkers' right to collective bargaining. Their work lifted worker wages, banned short-handled hoes, and established state-mandated clean drinking water and restrooms in the fields. In 1966, Chavez led a march from Delano to Sacramento with 10,000 people, and a 17 million-person grape boycott forced growers to accept some of the first farmworker contracts.

• Chavez and Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962.
• The National Farm Workers Association merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee a few years later to become the United Farm Workers of America.
• In 1966, Chavez led a march from Delano to Sacramento with 10,000 people.
• Chavez died in California in 1993 at age 66.

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