Cesar Chavez: The Spiritual Worker

Cesar Chavez: The Spiritual Worker
Cesar Chavez was a hero that came from unlikely origins. He was born into a family of migrant farm workers who primarily worked in the harvest fields of Yuma, Arizona. Unable to make the payments necessary to continue the farm, the Chavez family left Arizona during the Great Depression. Leaving their possessions and the farm behind, the family found themselves on the road towards California, where they continued to hold on to the small hope of finding a new opportunity. Penniless and powerless, Chavez and other Hispanic families were stuck with the task of working in fruit and vegetable fields. Dealing with stifling days of nonstop heat, suffering from the injuries of having to work in contorted positions

In addition, these farm workers were also forced to labor in inhumane conditions, as growers ignored the state laws on working conditions. The farmworkers also had no toilets in these fields and were forced to give up their own wages so that they could live in metal shacks which had no electricity or plumbing. To put it simply, these Hispanic farm workers were faced with injustices and prejudices that bled into their own racial exploitation, the denial of human rights, and economic discrimination which America at the time was infamous for. After being dealt these injustices while working in the fields with his family in Delano, Chavez took on a personal and spiritual crusade that many predicted would be a failure. Lacking any form of influence, Chavez attempted to organize a labor union of his fellow farm workers or campesinos who he grew up with. Through his extensive, and persistent campaign, Chavez would constantly try to convince his fellow farm workers and union supporters that an effective organization could be created against these injustices, only if they worked together as a community, and were also willing to give up their own sweat and

Here, Chavez wanted to find a means to support the important social value of equality and justice against the political institutions that turned a blind eye for Hispanics under the Bracero Program. To put it simply, “La Causa” was never founded on the basis of being a typical labor union. Rather, it was a political movement that advocated for the respect and dignity of Hispanics, who demanded that they deserved the same rights and pay as any other American in the country. The sparks created by these protests, showed the plights that many Hispanics faced to the eyes of unsuspecting Americans. By creating the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) with the help of Dolores Huerta, Chavez made a lasting impression against his political enemies. This especially was shown when Chavez and his fellow marchers would carry banners with the black eagle, along with the sayings of Huelga and Viva La Causa. Once again, Chavez advocated for social equality along with his supporters when advocating that the local state governments were to pass laws that would permit farm workers to organize into a union and could collect bargaining agreements The UFW would also testify to Congress for the support or endorsement of employee