Chavez for the first time brought a degree of stability and security to the lives of some migrant workers. Kennedy in 1968 as 'one of the heroic figures of our time,' was widely acknowledged to have done more to improve the lot of the migrant farm worker than anyone else.įighting growers and shippers who for generations had defeated efforts to unionize field workers, and later fighting rival unionists, Mr. Of California, he issued a call to boycott grapes that soon became a cause celebre. Leading an initially lonely battle to unionize the fields and orchards Chavez captured worldwide attention in the 1960's. An autopsy is planned.īlending the nonviolent resistance of Gandhi with the organizational skills of his mentor, the social activist Saul Alinsky, Mr. Chavez, who lived in Keene, Calif., and was in Arizona on union business, died in his sleep, the local police said. Newspaper in Education (NIE) Teacher ResourcesĪpOBITUARY Cesar Chavez, 66, Organizer of Union For Migrants, Dies By ROBERT LINDSEYĬesar Chavez, the migrant worker who emerged from the poverty of an agricultural valley in Arizona to found America's first successful union of farm workers, was found dead yesterday in San Luis,

Cesar Chavez, 66, Organizer of Union For Migrants, Dies

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