Chavez hit upon the idea of a national boycott. Trusting in the average person's ability to connect
with those in need, Chavez and the UFW brought their plight — and a lesson in social justice —
into homes from coast-to-coast, and Americans responded.
“By 1970, the grape boycott was an unqualified success,” writes Marc Grossman of Stone Soup.
“Bowing to pressure from the boycott, grape growers at long last signed union contracts, granting
workers human dignity and a more livable wage.”
Chavez is perhaps best known for the grape boycott, but in line with his collective soul, he was
always the first to admit that it was not his idea. In fact, he was initially against the boycott until
his co-workers explained that the best method was not to boycott individual labels, but all grapes.
In this way, the grapes became the label itself.
Through hunger strikes, imprisonment, abject poverty for himself and his large family, racist and
corrupt judges, exposure to dangerous pesticides, and even assassination plots, Chavez
remained true to the cause and to the non-violent methods he espoused. Even when threatened
with physical harm, the furthest Chavez and his comrades would go is deterrence.
Once in 1966, when Teamster goons began to rough up Chavez's picketeers, a bit of labor
solidarity solved the problem without violence. William Kircher, the AFL-CIO director of
organization, called Paul Hall, president of the International Seafarers Union.
“Within hours,” writes David Goodwin in Cesar Chavez: Hope for the People, “Hall sent a
with those in need, Chavez and the UFW brought their plight — and a lesson in social justice —
into homes from coast-to-coast, and Americans responded.
“By 1970, the grape boycott was an unqualified success,” writes Marc Grossman of Stone Soup.
“Bowing to pressure from the boycott, grape growers at long last signed union contracts, granting
workers human dignity and a more livable wage.”
Chavez is perhaps best known for the grape boycott, but in line with his collective soul, he was
always the first to admit that it was not his idea. In fact, he was initially against the boycott until
his co-workers explained that the best method was not to boycott individual labels, but all grapes.
In this way, the grapes became the label itself.
Through hunger strikes, imprisonment, abject poverty for himself and his large family, racist and
corrupt judges, exposure to dangerous pesticides, and even assassination plots, Chavez
remained true to the cause and to the non-violent methods he espoused. Even when threatened
with physical harm, the furthest Chavez and his comrades would go is deterrence.
Once in 1966, when Teamster goons began to rough up Chavez's picketeers, a bit of labor
solidarity solved the problem without violence. William Kircher, the AFL-CIO director of
organization, called Paul Hall, president of the International Seafarers Union.
“Within hours,” writes David Goodwin in Cesar Chavez: Hope for the People, “Hall sent a
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