Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez is on a boycott of lettuce.

He was born on March 31,1927, in Yuma, Arizona. He helped migrant workers fight for better pay and treatment. He is known as Cesar Chavez, a great hero for helping migrant workers. Cesar Chavez helped migrant workers for better pay and conditions, helped build a foundation for workers and started boycotts, and helped workers get their rights.

First of all, Cesar Chavez helped migrant workers for better treatment and pay. Before growers paid workers good, they used to pay them 5 cents a basket. But ever since Cesar and workers refused to work, the growers got angry because they were not making any money. The growers treated workers bad because they used to beat them. Another thing is, workers used to live in small houses that were old and with no restroom. Their treatment and pay became better in 1970, when growers gave workers good homes and they did not beat them or scream at them, and they started to pay better salaries.

This is Cesar Chavez giving an important speech.

Next, Cesar built a foundation and helped start boycotts. Cesar used all his money on the foundation and he soon went broke. After Cesar’s wedding with Helen, he went on his first strike and migrant workers protested for the unfair pay and treatment. The strike lasted 5 years but nothing changed because growers refused to budge and workers needed money, food, and shelter to feed their families. In 1965, Cesar started a boycott so no one in the United States would buy grapes from California. Cesar and workers went through struggling conditions because the Teamster Union tried to take over workers, and growers still refused to pay growers better. Cesar went on a hunger strike for 25 days which brought him close to death. These are some of the boycotts and the foundation Cesar started.

Finally, Cesar helped migrant workers get their rights. Cesar Chavez and migrant workers worked with pesticides which are harmful chemicals used to kill insects. Pesticides are usually in the ground and, since growers have to pull the crops out of the ground, it was easy for them to be exposed to pesticides. Growers beat migrant workers if something went wrong, and they had to sleep in a cubby with no bathroom. Every worker had to share one bathroom and there were lots and lots of workers. In 1970, growers gave up against the boycott and they signed a contract that they would give migrant workers good pay and better treatment. In 1993, Cesar Chavez died but his dream of helping others came true.

Cesar Chavez is feeling sad.

Overall, this is how Cesar Chavez fought for workers better treatment and pay, he built a foundation and started boycotts, and got workers' rights.