The Rise and Fall of UFW Leadership
The Cesar Chavez National Monument in Keene, California sits on the grounds where America’s most famous labor leader spent his final decades.
But the story of this place reveals both the incredible triumph and tragic downfall of one of America’s most important civil rights movements.
What began in 1965 as a groundbreaking alliance between Filipino and Mexican farmworkers in the Delano grape fields would eventually transform into a isolated community where paranoia and personal struggles tore apart the very movement Chavez had built.
Here’s the remarkable rise and heartbreaking unraveling of the farmworker movement that changed American labor history forever.
Filipino Workers Walked Off Delano Grape Fields in 1965
Larry Itliong led over 2,000 Filipino farmworkers as they walked off Delano grape fields on September 8, 1965. Workers wanted fair pay, asking for $1. 40 per hour (the federal minimum wage) after growers cut their pay to $1. 20.
The night before, Filipino workers packed into Filipino Community Hall and voted to strike.
Philip Vera Cruz, Benjamin Gines, and Pete Velasco joined Itliong in organizing the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee strike that changed American labor history.
César Reluctantly Joined the Strike Eight Days Later
César Chávez worried his National Farm Workers Association wasn’t ready for a strike. His group was only three years old when Itliong asked for help.
Itliong made a good point: growers would just hire Mexican workers to break the Filipino strike if they didn’t stand together.
On September 16, 1965 (Mexican Independence Day), about 1,200 Mexican farmworkers met at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Delano and voted to join.
Chávez made sure Latino and Filipino strikers shared picket lines, kitchens, and halls.
Nationwide Grape Boycott Turned Up the Pressure
Growers refused to talk with strikers and quickly hired replacement workers from Oregon, Texas, and Mexico to finish the 1965 harvest.
Unlike other unions, farmworkers could legally organize secondary boycotts because federal labor laws didn’t cover them.
Chávez called for a nationwide boycott of non-union California table grapes in 1967, sending UFW workers to cities across America.
That same year, the two unions joined to form the United Farm Workers, with Chávez as director and Itliong as assistant director.
Hunger Became a Powerful Weapon for the Movement
On February 14, 1968, Chávez started a 25-day water-only fast after hearing some strikers talk about using violence. He worried members had damaged property, breaking their promise to stay peaceful.
His health got worse quickly as he lost 35 pounds, with doctors warning his life was at risk.
Every night during the fast, supporters gathered at Forty Acres for Catholic services led by Father Eugene Boyle, turning the fast into a spiritual renewal for the movement.
Robert Kennedy Showed Support at Fast-Breaking Ceremony
The fast ended on March 10, 1968, during an outdoor Catholic mass at a Delano park with thousands watching. Senator Robert Kennedy traveled to Delano to join Chávez, calling him “one of the heroic figures of our time.”
Chávez had grown too weak to speak, so someone else read his statement: “The truest act of courage is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally non-violent struggle for justice.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sent a letter to Chávez showing his support.
“Sí Se Puede” Was Born During an Arizona Fast
Arizona lawmakers passed tough laws in May 1972 that made it illegal for farmworkers to strike or boycott, threatening six months in jail for simply saying “boycott.
” Chávez started a 24-day fast in Phoenix at Santa Rita Hall, growing so weak he became bedridden. When meeting with Latino leaders, they told Dolores Huerta “No, no se puede” (it can’t be done) because growers had too much power.
Huerta fired back with “Sí, si se puede!” (Yes, it can be done), creating the UFW’s famous slogan.
Grape Growers Finally Surrendered After Five Years
After five years of strikes and boycotts, grape growers finally signed union contracts in 1970. The deals raised wages by 40 percent and made working conditions better for thousands.
By then, the UFW had organized most of the grape industry and had about 50,000 dues-paying members.
Their biggest win came with the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, the first law in the United States that gave farm unions organizing and bargaining rights.
La Paz Compound Became a Remote Mountain Headquarters
In 1971, Chávez moved UFW headquarters from Delano to La Paz, a 187-acre property tucked in the Tehachapi mountain town of Keene.
The place grew into a community where up to 250 volunteers and their families lived together with schools, gardens, and shared kitchens. Workers got just $5 a week (later $10 in the late 1970s) plus room and board.
Thousands of union members came to La Paz to plan strategies, get contract training, and build unity far from the fields.
Paranoia Led to McCarthyite Purges Within the Union
In February 1977, Chávez took his leaders to visit the Synanon cult compound where they tried “the Game,” a tough therapy method.
Soon, about 100 people at La Paz faced harsh, curse-filled group criticism sessions twice weekly. The “Monday Night Massacre” in April 1977 saw Chávez publicly call longtime allies spies and troublemakers.
He grew sure that a far-left plot aimed to hurt the UFW, using purge tactics like those in China’s Cultural Revolution.
Helen Chávez Discovered Her Husband’s Secret Affairs
During the late 1970s, Chávez’s affairs with multiple women became common knowledge among top UFW officials.
Things came to a head when Helen found a love letter written to her husband by another woman, causing her to leave La Paz and move in with one of their daughters in Delano.
Union leaders stayed quiet about his cheating to protect his image as a devoted Catholic family man. The Chávez children showed little interest in the union, though most eventually worked for it.
Membership Collapsed as Chávez Isolated Himself at La Paz
In 1988, Chávez started his longest and final fast, going 36 days at La Paz to protest pesticide poisoning affecting farmworkers and their children.
This fast triggered another round of purges as Chávez accused more people of working against the union. Union membership had already dropped from 30,000 in 1976 to just 12,000 by the early 1980s as key leaders left.
Chávez died on April 23, 1993, near Yuma, Arizona, while defending the UFW against a lawsuit. His body returned to La Paz for burial.
Visiting Cesar Chavez National Monument in Keene, CA
The Cesar Chavez National Monument in Keene shows where the farmworker movement was run from 1971-1993. This was Chavez’s home and the UFW headquarters, known as La Paz.
You can tour his office and grave site, plus see the garden where he fasted for 36 days in 1988.
The visitor center has exhibits about the Delano Grape Strike, the 340-mile march to Sacramento, and the union’s rise and decline. Many original buildings from when Chavez lived and worked here are still around.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
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