Over the course of his life, César Chávez went from back-breaking work in California’s fields to national fame, fighting for the rights of millions of farm workers
. Thousands of workers in the farming town northwest of Bakersfield went on strike to demand a 15-cent hourly raise , and a 15-cent increase earned for each box of grapes packed .
In March 1966, Chávez began a march from Delano to Sacramento to get the governor’s support. He saw it as a, and held mass every morning on the journey. The striking workers passed by more than 50 towns and cities, gathering supporters along the way until the crowd numbered in the thousands. Before they reached their destination, the head of one grower’s association called to concede to the union’s demands. It was the first union contract between growers and a farm workers’ union in U.S.
By 1969, grapes had become a symbol of farm worker exploitation, and Chávez was at the center of the story, even appearing on the cover of Time in July of that year. Boycotts became so widespread that millions of pounds of grapes were left to rot unpurchased., the UFW got grape growers to accept union contracts and had effectively organized most of the industry.
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