Delano Grape Strike
On 8 September 1965 Filipino farmworkers of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee walked out of Delano, California grape fields demanding wages equal to the federal minimum. Chávez's NFWA joined the strike one week later. For five years the UFW sustained the strike through an international consumer boycott — Chávez called on Americans to stop buying California grapes — that spread to 17 million households. In July 1970 Delano growers signed the first union contracts in California agricultural history, covering wages, rest breaks, clean water in the fields, and restrictions on pesticide exposure. The strike became a template for non-violent labour activism.
- Year: 1965 CE
