CESAR CHAVEZ CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS |
| 1927 | Born on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona, March 31. |
| 1937 | Chavez's parents lose the farm and family business in the depression. The family joins the thousands of migrant farmworkers toiling in the California fields. |
| 1942 | Chavez graduates from eighth grade. After attending more that schools, this is his last year of formal education. |
| 1944 - 1946 | Enlists in the U.S. Navy, serves in the Pacific during World War II. |
| 1948 | Marries Helen Fabela. |
| 1952 | Recruited by Fred Ross to work for the Community Service Organization (CSO) on a voter registration drive. |
| 1959 - 1962 | Organizes support from farmworkers throughout California's San Joaquin Valley, forming the National Farm Worker's Association (NFWA). |
| 1965 | NFWA rallies its' membership to strike against grape growers in Delano, California. Chavez's call for a boycott against Schenley Industries, a major grape producer, is endorsed by the AFL-CIO. |
| 1966 | Local officials are criticized by Senator Robert F. Kennedy after an investigation uncovers strike-breaking practices against farmworkers. Chavez and 66 other NFWA members march 250 miles from Delano to Sacramento, California to promote the farmworker cause. NFWA reaches a settlement with Schenley and the boycott is called off. The contract is the first ever signed for farmworkers in the United States. NFWA merges with the Agriculture Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC). |
| 1968 | Chavez fasts for 25 days to emphasize the non-violent nature of the continuing strike against the grape growers. |
| 1969-1970 | Under pressure from the national boycott, grape growers are forced to sign UFWOC contracts. The strike ends July 29, 1970. Chavez rallies the UFWOC to work against the Teamsters who are trying to organize lettuce workers in Salinas, California. The lettuce boycott begins. |
| 1972 | The UFWOC is granted a national charter from the AFL-CIO. The official name of the organization is changed to the United Farmworkers of America (UFW). |
| 1973 | Refusing to limit picketing, Chavez and 3,500 members of the UFW are arrested and jailed. A new grape boycott begins against growers who refuse to renew contracts. |
| 1975 | Agricultural Labor Relations Act is signed by California Governor, Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown. This legislation guarantees farm workers in California the right to bargain collectively through their union. It is the first bill of rights enacted for farmworkers in the United States. |
| 1977 | Chavez and the Teamsters agree that the UFW will represent all farmworkers. |
| 1978 | Boycotts of lettuce and grapes end. |
| 1985 | Chavez leads a UFW march seeking increased wages and better working conditions. |
| 1987 | Chavez and consumer advocate Ralph Nader call for a nationwide boycott of grapes treated with pesticides listed as hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency. |
| 1988 | A 36 day fast publicizes the UFW boycott of California grapes and the need for stronger protection against the use of pesticides. |
| 1990 | Actively continuing the protest against the use of pesticides on table grapes, Chavez is arrested picketing outside of a Los Angeles supermarket. |
| 1991 | Completes a speaking tour of colleges to provide information about the UFW's boycott of California table grapes. |
| 1992 | Visiting lecturer of Farm Labor History in California at the University of California, Santa Monica. Travels extensively to the far east (major buyers of California table grapes) to talked about the poor working conditions and effects of pesticides on farmworkers. |
| 1993 | Cesar Chavez dies on April 22, in San Luis, Arizona. |
| Provided by Diana Morales, Houston Public Library/Houston, Texas 1996 | |