Cesar E. Chavez

Throughout my entire life I had always thought that a hero was someone like the "heroes" you see depicted on television; but now I know the true meaning of the word "hero." One such hero is Cesar Chavez, a person that did not care about what color someone's skin was or in what language they spoke. Chavez was from Chihuahua,Mexico. He took a stand in the fields of California to fight for a better life and improved working conditions for all the farm workers. As part of a migrant family, himself, he knew the sacrifices that farm workers and their families face.

After graduating from the eighth grade, he started working in the fields. As the long hours in the hot, dry fields passed by slowly, he noticed that the labor contractors and the land owners exploited the workers. He tried reasoning with the farm owners about higher pay and better working conditions. But most of his fellow workers would not support him because of the fear of losing their jobs.

As a solitary voice, Chavez had no power. After he returned to California from his tour of duty in the United States Navy, he reunited with his family and returned to work in the fields where he got to know and married a young women named Helen Fabela, who shared his social concerns. Together they began teaching the farm workers to read and write so that they could take the test to become American citizens, hoping that, as citizens, they would be less afraid and fight on their side for a better life and better working conditions.

One day, a man from a local community service organization wanted to recruit Chavez. He wanted him to join the organization to help imform the migrant workers about their rights. At first, Chavez was not sure whether or not to join the organization because the man was "Anglo," or non-Mexican. As the days passed, the workers became more and more afraid of losing their jobs, so much so that they would do almost anything to stay in one place for longer time.

Chavez could no longer stand to see the workers being taken advantage of, watching as they worked long hours for low pay. At the age of thirty-five,he left his own well paying job to devote all his time to organizing the Farm Worker's Union. At the end of six long months, 300 members joined the National Farm Workers Union.In the first meeting, they aproved the flag,a red background with a black eagle in a white circle in the center."la Causa"("The Cause") was born. With a strong leader to represent them, the workers begand to demand their rights for fair pay and better working conditions. Without these rights, no one would work in the fields. The most important strike occurred in 1965, during which, the grapes they were to pick began to rot on the vines. The dispute was bitter.

During his long journey, many of Chavez's dreams became realities. Some of his achivements include:

*Establishing the first comprehensive union health benefits for farmworkers and their families through the UFW's Robert F. Kennedy medical plan.
*The first union contractors regulating safety and sanity conditions in farm labor camps was established, banning discrimination in emloyment and sexual harrasment of female workers.

Cesar Chaveis is the hero for most farm workers during the 20th century, but he's not only their hero; he's my hero also, because he did not care about what race a person was, he would always help them and fight on their side to gain their right to a better life.