Remembering César Chávez

Members of District Lodge 776 and the Tarrant County (TX) chapter of LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement) joined other labor and civil rights organization for a parade and rally celebrating the birthday of Cesar Chavez through downtown Fort Worth, TX last Saturday.

IAM members across the country honored César Chávez on March 31, which would have been his 85th birthday. District Lodge 776 in Ft. Worth, TX, along with the Tarrant County chapter of LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement), joined other labor and civil rights organizations for a parade and rally through downtown Fort Worth, TX.

“The Fort Worth LCLAA chapter and the IAM are very active in the area, and it was a fantastic celebration,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez. “César Chávez is an important figure in labor history. He was a great labor leader and we shall always remember him.”

César Chávez, a first-generation Mexican-American, knew firsthand the hardships farm workers faced, as he and his family had toiled in the fields as migrant farm workers. In his later years, he educated himself and dedicated his life to improving the treatment, pay and working conditions for farm workers.

After working as a community and labor organizer in the 1950s, Chávez founded the National Farm Workers Association. He employed nonviolent means to bring attention to the plight of farm workers by leading marches, calling for boycotts and going on hunger strikes. His union joined with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee in its first strike against grape growers in California in 1965. A year later, the two unions merged. The combined union was eventually renamed the United Farm Workers.

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