Cesar Chavez

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Cesar Chavez Study Guide
Vocabulary

1. Citizen an official member of a country
2. Diligence hard work over a long time
3. Justice equal treatment under the law
4. Labor Union an organization of workers who work
   together for better pay and conditions
5. Migrant worker a person who goes from place to
   place in search of work
6. Strike refusal by workers to work to protest
   low pay, or poor working conditions

Important Facts

• Born in Yuma Arizona in 1927
• The Chavez family owned a farm and a grocery
  store. They didnt have a lot of money.
• During the Great Depression times were so tough
  that the family lost their farm and store and had
  to move to California.
• In California they became migrant farm workers.
  When they finished harvesting one type of crop,
  they move to another farm for more work.

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• Life for migrant workers was very tough. They
  had to work long hours in the hot sun. They were
  given very few breaks and little water to drink.
  They were paid very little, or nothing at all.
  If the workers complained about their conditions
  they could be fired.
• Cesar Chavez liked school, but never stayed in
  one school for very long because of his parents
  job. By the 8th grade he had been to 30 schools.
  He had to quit after the 8th grade in order to
  begin working to earn money for his family.
• He hated the way migrant workers were treated.
  As an adult, Chavez crated the Community Service
  Organization. The purpose of the CFO was to get
  better working conditions for migrant workers.
• The Community Service Organization believed in 3
  things
• 1. There is power in numbers.
• 2. Real change cannot be achieved through
  violence.
• 3. There is power in knowledge
• In 1962, Chavez founded the Farm Workers
  Association, a labor union that worked hard to
  get better pay and working conditions for Mexican
  Americans. They used non-violent forms of
  protest, such as strikes, boycotts, and marches,
  to achieve their goals.
• Chavez worked diligently his entire life to get
  rights for migrant workers.
• Cesar Chavez died in 1993. He is remembered
  today by
• 1. The Cesar Chavez Foundation
• 2. His birthday is a holiday in seven states.
• 3. The continued work of the United Farm Workers
  Labor
• Union.
• 4. A statue in Sacramento, California.