March 31 is the day of the birth of Cesar Chavez. he was born in Arizona. The family ended in California because of the depression. Cesar Chavez worked in the fields with his family. there was considerable hardship, and as a teenager Cesar and his sister would take people to the doctor as needed. Otherwise the workers were without medical care.
Chavez with Dolores Huerta was instrumental in the organization of farm labor. Their union became the United Farm Worker Union. they employed many nonviolent initiatives for change. Among this was a self imposed fast of 20 days. The tactics also included boycotting of food, including the salad bowl boycott and the boycott of grapes. At its highest the union boasted 50,000 members. After his death the numbers decreased rapidly to only 15,000 a few years later. During the Chavez years in the union they were active in fighting against immigration which tends to lower farm wages. Chavez' actions were instrumental in fighting for civil and labor rights. His motto, "Si se puede" was adopted by the Obama campaign. (most of this article gleaned from Wikipedia)
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