Mexican-American farmworker, labor leader and civil rights activist César Chávez brought about better conditions for agricultural workers. 

Born on his family’s farm near Yuma, Arizona, Chávez witnessed the harsh conditions farm laborers endured. Routinely exploited by their employers, they were often unpaid, living in shacks in exchange for their labor, with no medical or other basic facilities. Without a united voice, they had no means to improve their position. 

Chávez changed that when he dedicated his life to winning recognition for the rights of agricultural workers, inspiring and organizing them into the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers.

He launched the National Farm Workers Association that represented farm laborers from all walks of life — including Filipino Americans, Black Americans, and Mexican Americans — on March 31, 1962, his own birthday

Chavez had a bold vision for a strong farmworkers’ union as well as services that would support that union by building communities up beyond the workplace. He knew it would take an entire movement to empower his community to overcome the burdens of poverty, discrimination, and powerlessness.

 Through marches, strikes and boycotts, Chávez forced employers to pay adequate wages and provide other benefits including fresh drinking water and bathrooms and was responsible for legislation enacting the first Bill of Rights for agricultural workers. 

For his commitment to social justice and his lifelong dedication to bettering the lives of others, Chávez , who passed away in 1993 at age 66, was posthumously recognized with the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

  Chavez’s birthday  — March 31 — is a California State holiday. Because it falls on Sunday this year, the state is observing Cesar Chavez Day on Monday, April 1.