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Cesar Chavez


            Cesar Chavez was a very influential person through his successful movements. Chavez formed the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 which later became the UFW (United Farm Workers). In the 1960s he sought to change use of dangerous pesticides, lengthening pesticide re-entry periods beyond existing standards, and requiring testing of farm workers on a regular basis to monitor for pesticide exposure. The first union contracts regulated these as well as safety and sanitary conditions in farm labor camps, banning discrimination in employment and sexual harassment of female workers. With Chavez as a leader, the workers began to demand their rights for fair pay and better working conditions. Without these rights, no one would work in the fields. The first collective bargaining agreement between farm workers and growers in the continental United States was signed in 1966, requiring rest periods, clean drinking water, hand-washing facilities, and protective clothing against pesticides. Chavez formed the first, functioning pension plan for retired farm workers as well as the first functioning credit union for farm workers.
             The strategies of Cesar Chavez can be compared to the philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King. Chavez and King were very motivated people looking for equal rights and other ways to benefit the people during the civil rights movement.
             In 1990, Chavez signed IMSS agreement with Mexican government, allowing Mexican farm workers in the U.S. to provide medical benefits to their families in Mexico. Two years later, Chavez and the UFW organized walkouts in the Coachella Valley during the grape harvest, protesting a lack of drinking water and sanitary facilities. They won concessions from the grower, allowing a workers' committee to watch the situation. Also in 1992, in the San Joaquin Valley, Chavez organized walkouts and protests; and in the Salinas Valley, more than ten thousand farm workers, led by Chavez, staged a protest march in support of better conditions in the fields.


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