Home > César Chávez

In 1965, Chávez and the NFWA led a strike of California grape-pickers in demand of higher wages, along with a national boycott of California table grapes, which, five years later resulted in the first major victory for US migrant workers.

He continued to struggle against large growers, including going on three hunger strikes over wages and conditions. At the time of his death he was leading another grape boycott to protest the use of harmful pesticides.

Chávez was born near Yuma, Arizona and attended over 65 schools, never graduating. He was trained in organizing by Fred Ross , himself a student of Saul Alinsky.

Chávez is celebrated in California where the state legislature, in 2000, approved a bill to create a paid state holiday in his honor. The holiday is celebrated on March 31st, Chávez's birthday. The holiday is the first in the history of the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in for a Mexican American and a labor leader. Many cities have also paid respect by renaming streets for him. These cities include San Francisco, Los AngelesThis article is about the city in California. For other uses of 'Los Angeles' see Los Angeles (disambiguation The City of Los Angeles widely known by its abbreviation L. is a large coastal metropolis in Southern California in the western United States., Albuquerque NMAlbuquerque is a city and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico U. It is situated in the central part of the state, about 325 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado (444 miles by road on I-25), straddling the Rio Grande. As of the 2000 census, the, Austin, TXAustin is the capital of the state of Texas, within the United States of America. As of Census 2000, the population of 656,562 people (metro area population of over 1 million people) made Austin the fourth-largest city in Texas (behind Houston, Dallas, an Milwaukee, WI, and Salt Lake City. The California cities of Sacramento, Berkeley, and San Jose have also renamed parks in his memory.