...Farm Labor Movement Farm labors are one of the most unrecognizable jobs that we have in the United States. Most people do not ever realize, when they purchase fruits and vegetables at the local super markets, how much work is required in the planting, caring, and harvesting before these items arrive at the store. When I was a child, I was ignorant to the hardships that my parents had to go through to make a living. As my father said, “that was a time when no one cared about the farm worker to where we did not have clean water, bathrooms, a fair wage, unemployment insurance, and lunch break that was not long enough to be able to eat all of our lunch” (Mexicano, 2012). “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about the people” (Chavez, n.d.). Although many farm workers were afraid of speaking out, because they did not want to lose their jobs, there were a few that wanted to make better working conditions for all and this is when the Farm Labor Movement began. There were other movements like the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, Community Service Organization (CSO), the American GI Forum (AGIF), or the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), but the one movement that had the biggest impact in the United Stated was the United Farm Workers (UFW). The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement began in the 1940’s, and their goal was in achieving the Mexican American empowerment. The Community Service Organization was founded in 1947 and was a California Latino...
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... and was an American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist. Born a Mexican American, Chavez probably is the most well known Mexican civil rights activist to date, and was heavily involved in the American labor movement. Chavez worked in the fields until 1952, when he became an organizer for the Community Service Organization (CSO), a Latino civil rights group. Father Donald McDonnell who served in Santa Clara County introduced Fred Ross, a community organizer, to Cesar Chavez. Chavez urged Mexican Americans to register and vote, and he traveled throughout California and made speeches in support of workers' rights. He later became CSO's national director in 1958. In 1962, Chavez left the...
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...works accurately reflect the period when people in the lower class, especially workers had experienced the oppression of the upper class and reveal the beginning of socialist movement in European countries in the early nineteenth century. “Martin Andersen Nexo was born in Copenhagen on 26 June 1869” (Ingwersen, 1) . As a communist writer, he devoted his whole life in the career of socialism and to spread communist ideology in those countries, he wrote many literature works depicting the labor movement in Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark. As an adamant opponent of Fascism and Nazism, Nexo was temporarily detained from the German Army and eventually realeased. He experienced many turmoils and finally moved to East Germany and passed away with the East German’s citizen honor. During the time Nexo was writing Pelle the Conqueror, the countries in Scandinavian region were still in agriculture centralized economic condition, and the social injustice was widely existing in those countries. Better farms of the island were captured by wealthy people and poor people could only receive barren land. Those independent peasantries then became the class of proletariats. Some people who hope to have a better future decided to move to towns to be apprentices in the factories rather than staying in farms (Johanson, 1). One...
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...co-founded the National Farm Association (NFWA) His initial impact was by helping Filipino American farm workers initiate the Delano grape strike on September 8, 1965. He then decided to protest for similar reasons. In 1962, Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association later to become the United Farm Workers (UFA). He was joined by Dolores Huerta a labor leader who has started the CSO and helped agricultural workers. The problem started early on with labor workers upset with the low wages, long hours and low resources. In 1965 the union finally exploded.the agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, a mostly Filipino union struck when the Delano grape growers cut the pay rates during the harvest of that year. Cesar Chavez asked his organization to join him during the strike and quickly became its leader. Cesar Chavez and his organization wanted more pay, less work and other benefits. This social movement was important because labor workers were not being treated right. They were neglected and seen as slaves and not given proper benefits. Cesar Chavez wanted to help agricultural workers across the entire nation and make their lives a little more easier and to be treated equally. Cesar Chavez and his union became nationally known when Chavez’s drawings on the imagery of the civil rights movement, his insistence on non violence, his reliance on volunteers from the universities and religious organizations. His alliance with organized labor unions and his use of...
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.... What real life labor movement was the film Salt of the Earth based on? Based on the book From Out of the Shadows and the film Salt of the Earth, how did women participate and contribute during the miners’ strike? What did the workers and their families gain through this movement? The film Salt of the Earth is based on Cold War politics and Mexican-American labor. Women participate and contribute during the miners strike in many different ways such as feeding the men while they were protesting. However, afterwards women take the men places on the line and men assumed childcare and household responsibilities. Even though women were assaulted and harassment they refused to be intimidated. In fact, women fought back for their rights. According to the book From Out of the Shadows the majority of the union negotiated team during the Empire Zinc strike were not miners, but wives of...
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...Labor Issue: Women and Minority of the Past, Present, and Future Rachel Galvan National University 27 September 2009 At one point in everyone’s working career there is the issue of dealing with certain problems in the workplace. No matter how much a person will try to ignore the problems there comes a point where a certain individual or a group of people have to speak up and defend themselves. Many times it can be difficult to bring up a certain topic there is always a solution to a problem. In the United States the labor issues have became a common ground for employees to voice their own opinion, when they know that they were treated unfairly. Although that is a reality of today of labor issues, strikes, unions, that was the harsh reality of life one hundred years ago. The individuals who had the most difficult time to have their voice be heard were women and as well as immigrants. These group of people were considered as second-class and were not treated equally as men. Although, many argue that even today women and minorities will never be equals to Anglo men because of the past history that the United States has instilled by many even today in our generation. The roots of the American labor movement began after the American Revolution at that time women were not even considered a factor in the labor laws. During that era it was very common for women not to work, but their duties was to be a housewife. It all change when the industrial revolution was in the process...
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...Chicano Movement In the United States of America Latinos/as were treated unequally, because of so much segregation, Latinos/as decided to stand together and created a movement which would help the to let others hear their voice. Chicano Movement was established in 1960’s, it was also called Chicano Civil Rights Movement; it helped Latinos/as to speak up and protest, because they were not treated equally as the rest of the USA citizens. Which brings the questions such as what were the aims of the Chicano Movement? To what extent were they achieved? How did they affect Latinos/as Lives during the Civil Right era? To what extent does their legacy...
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...the National Farm Workers Association only a few years prior. Chavez did not wait to implement change as the NFWA grew to become the United Farm Workers Association, and worked towards promoting a union for both Filipino and Latino farmworkers. Alongside the Filipinos, Chavez’s tenacity to improve the lives of the laborers only strengthened. “[Cesar] …knew how growers historically pitted one race against another to break field walkouts… Cesar insisted the Latino and Filipino strikers work together, sharing the same picketlines, strike kitchens and union hall.” (The 1965) Despite the segregation of races posed by crop growers, he defied traditional racism to improve conditions for these minorities. The prevalence of racism was evident throughout the methods crop growers took in ensuring Latino and Filipino farm workers would live in inferior conditions. His nonviolent approach mimicked Dr. King during the Civil Rights Movement, and Gandhi during India’s liberation of British occupation. Writer Armando Navarro explains, “Chavez and his fledgling National Farm Workers Association began a historic twenty-five day march from Delano to…Sacramento…the 250- mile march…not only dramatize[d] the iniquities suffered by...
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...With constant growth and evolution, many people struggle with advancement with profit and the balance of keeping respect of humanity. This issue sometimes builds frustration and injustice among workers and major companies. The dignity of the people who make up the backbone and labor of the success are overlooked, and sometimes need a voice for how they are treated. Cesar Estrada Chavez became that voice for farm workers everywhere. He provided an instruction on how to establish a voice with non-violent peace tactics creating hope for the poor and communities across the nation. Cesar Chavez, named after his grandfather Cesario, was born on March 31, 1927, in Yuma, Arizona. His family owned eighty acres of land with a farm, grocery store, garage, and a pool hall near Arizona’s North Gila Valley. In 1938, his father made a horrible business deal with a local landowner that whom agreed to exchange his eighty acres of land for forty acres that adjoined their home. The deal ended with the land stolen from under their feet, and his father taking out a loan to buy it back. When he could no longer make the payments, they were forced to move and find work elsewhere. The family relocated to California, leaving a farm that had been their family for over fifty years behind. They lived in San Jose and attended segregated schools that punished Spanish speaking Cesar and his brother for not speaking English. In our lovely country at this time in history, segregated schools were new, and white...
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...eighth-grade education became a leader. His work of instituting and empowering the United Farm Workers (UFW) changed millions of lives. He is probably the most responsible leader in history. From his hard work and sacrifice, he secured raises and improved conditions for farm workers in California, Texas, Arizona, and Florida. Cesar Chavez accomplished these goals through hard work, dedication, and relentlessness. In fact, those attributes made Cesar Chavez one of the most respected leaders in history. Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona, and grew up in a small home. His family owned a grocery store and a ranch, but during the Great Depression, they lost their home. So they moved to California and...
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...Aurora Castillo were all Hispanic leaders in their nation. Apart of being Hispanic leaders, these four people have one thing in common. They all made a historical impact in history. Dolores Huerta was born on April 10, 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico. Her father Juan Fernandez was a farmer, Union activist and state assemblyman. Soon enough her mother Alicia Chavez, raised Dolores and her two brothers in central California. In California farmer worker community. She lived in an area filled with farms. She graduated and got her associates teacher degree from the University of the Pacific’s Delta Community College. She began to teach but soon resigned. Dolores couldn’t bare seeing her students coming to class hungry without eating or their essential...
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...The Chicano Movement began during the civil rights era with three goals, which are, rights for farm workers, restoration of land, and education reforms. Latinos lacked influence in the national political arena before the 1960s. That changed when John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, this established Latinos as a significant voting bloc. After Kennedy was sworn into office, he appointed Hispanics to posts in his administration but he also considered the concerns of the Hispanic community. Mexican Americans began demanding that reforms be made in labor, education, and other sectors to meet their needs. Chicano radicals began demanding that the land is given to Mexican Americans during the civil rights era. They believed that it constituted...
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...Throughout the 1900s many Mexican-Americans would work, and live in harsh conditions as farm workers. It seemed as nothing would change until a young man had a dream to give rights to all farm workers, this man’s name was Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez is undeniably courageous because he was able to persevere through all the harsh challenges he had to face, he showed integrity while others showed him hatred, and he showed respect to anyone it didn’t matter their race, color, or gender he still showed respect. Perseverance To Illustrate who Cesar Chavez was one of America’s most heroic citizen is perseverance. Perseverance was one of many things that Chavez had showed throughout his entire life. The strike began in 1965, when Cesar Chavez had...
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...HISTORY SUMMARY 1865-19901865-1900In the years following the Civil War the United States was transformed by the enormous growth of industry. Once, the United States was mainly a nation of small farms. By 1900, it was a nation of growing cities, of coal, steel, and of engines and fast communications. Though living standards generally rose, millions of industrial workers lived in crowded, unsanitary slums.In the north, industrial violence was common and occurred on numerous occasions. The most violent confrontation between labor and employers was probably the Great Railway Strike of 1877. The nation had been in the grip of a severe depression for four years. During that time, the railroads had decreased the wages of railway workers by 20 percent. Many trainmen complained that they could not support their families adequately, and there was little that the trainmen could do about the wage decreases. At that time, unions were weak and workers feared going on strike; there were too many unemployed men who might take their jobs. Some workers secretly formed a Trainmen's Union to oppose the railroads. In the last quarter of the century, the textile, metal, and machinery industries equaled the railroads in size. In 1870, the typical iron and steel firm employed fewer than 100 workers. Thirty years later, the force was four times as large. By 1900, more than 1,000 factories had work forces ranging from 500 to 1,000 workers. From 1860 to 1900 some 15 million immigrants from southern and...
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...Social Movements and Trends His/145 May 29 2012 In the rare occasions when the U.S looks at unions, the media tends to view social movements as the creation of strong leaders. The view of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers is one of the most evident events of all. Cesar Chavez the famous activist would have been 85 years old today. After his death in 1993 an abundance of coverage assumed that the Unite Farm Workers would not survive the tragedy. The Chicano movement began during the Civil Rights era with three main goals which included the restoration of land, rights for farm workers and developments in education. Prior to the 1960’s Latinos had no influence when it came to the national political arena. There was a complete turnaround in the 1960’s when the Mexican American Political Association worked to elect President John F. Kennedy, creating Latinos as a significant voting alliance. After Kennedy won the election he showed his appreciation towards the Latino community by assigning Hispanics to posts in his administration and he also took in consideration the concerns of the Hispanic community. Latinos, mainly Mexican Americans began demanding and were very persisting towards the reforms made in labor and education to meet their needs. Under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, the Chicano movement in the 1960's used economic pressure rather than violence to pursue civil rights for Mexican-Americans. The fight during the 1960’s to secure unionization for farm workers...
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