The United Farm Workers: Office of the President Collection Papers, 1951-1971 (Predominantly, 1962-1971) 44 linear feet (88 manuscript boxes) The papers of the United Farm Workers, Office of the President Collection were placed in the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs beginning in 1967. Deposits of documents from this and other entitles of the Union have been made at regular intervals. The founder of the United Farm Workers union, Cesario Estrada Chavez, was born in 1927 on a family farm, which had been homesteaded by his grandfather in Arizona three years before that territory had achieved statehood. Growing up during the depression, Cesar Chavez left school after the eighth grade to work full time in the fields. In 1938, his father and the family left Arizona to seek work in California. Along with his father and siblings, Chavez joined the migrant farm worker stream topping sugar beets, picking cotton, thinning lettuce with a short-handled hoe and picking grapes. They followed the crops from the Imperial Valley in the south to Sacramento in the north. A turning point in Chavez’s life came with his meeting in 1952 with Fred Ross who was working in the Mexican-American barrio for the Community Services Organization (CSO). Cesar accepted a job as organizer for them. IT was here his organizing skills were honed under the tutelage of Ross and Saul Alinsky. In 1958, Dolores Huerta, who was also working with the CSO, along with several others, formed the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA), which then melded with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) set up by the AFL-CIO the following year. In 1961, despite the urgings of Alinsky, the CSO voted not to support AWOC. Cesar Chavez resigned from CSO and set out to form his own union. The National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) was founded in 1961 at a convention called by Chavez. In 1965 AWOC struck the grape growers and Chavez jointed with his NFWA. That December marked the beginning of the first grape boycott. In August 1966, AWOC and NFWA merged to form the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC), AFL-CIO and the next three years were marked by membership drives, grape and lettuce strikes and boycotts. In February of 1968, Chavez embarked on a 25-day fast to reinforce his commitment to non-violence as an integral part of his union’s philosophy. 2 UFW Cesar Chavez Papers Part 1 Office of the President Collection In February 1972, the AFL-CIO granted UFWOC an independent charter as the United Farm Workers (UFW), the name that is formally adopted at their first constitutional convention held in Fresno, California in September 1973. In addition to approving their first constitution, UFW members elected by acclamation, a nine member board with Cesar Chavez as president. The years since that humble beginning have been marked by many major successes. And, despite controversies about his political beliefs, his philosophy of life and his leadership tactics, Cesar Chavez remained the head of the union until his untimely death in 1993. The papers of the UFW, Office of the President reflect Cesar’s beginnings with the CSO and the formative years of NFWA, UFWOC and UFW as well as some milestones in his personal life. Subjects covered in this collection include: AWOC International Brotherhood of Boycotts Teamsters California Migrant Ministry Mexican-American organizations California Rural Legal Assistance National Migrant Ministry Chavez’s fast Filipinos Chavez’s speaking engagements Salinas Strike Community Service Organization (CSO) Terronez Memorial Clinic DiGiorgio Company Texas farm workers El Malcriado UFW Executive Board Giumarra Company UFW Field Office Green Carders UFW Legal Department Among the important correspondents are: Saul Alinsky William Kircher Steve Allen Lane Kirkland Leroy Chatfield Eugene McCarthy Jerry Cohen George McGovern Irwin DeShetler George Meany Marshall Ganz Richard Nixon Dolores Huerta Gilbert Padilla Larry Itliong Ronald Reagan Robert F. Kennedy Walter P. Reuther Coretta Scott King Fred Ross Martin Luther King, Jr. Pete Velasco UFW Cesar Chavez Papers Part 1 Office of the President Collection Part I Series I Cesar Chavez Files, 1951-1971 Boxes 1-9 Correspondence, reports, diaries, memos and calendars pertaining to Cesar Chavez and his activities. In addition, some documents pre-date the UFW. Files are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material. Box 1 1. Appointment calendar, 1967 2. Appointment calendar, Oct 1970-Mar 1971 3. Autograph requests, 1970 4. Autograph requests, 1971 5. Awards received, 1967-69 6. Awards received, 1970 7. Biography, 1966 8. Birthday, 1969 9. Birthday, 1970 10. Birthday, 1971 11. Boycott and fund-raising tour, Dec 1967 12-15. Christmas greeting cards, ca. 1970s Box 2 1. Community Service Organization (CSO) activities, 1950s- 2-10. CSO, correspondence, 1952-1958 11. CSO, financial report, 1955 12. Congressional Record; Chavez statement, 3 Oct 1969 13-15. Condolence messages from Chavez, 1970-1971 Box 3 1-12. Correspondence, 1966-1971 Box 4 1. Diary, 1957 2. Educational records, 1948, 1968 3. Fast for Non-Violence, 1968 4. Get-well greetings, 1968-69 5. Get-well greetings, 1969-70 6. Greetings received, 1969 7. Greetings received, 1970 8. Greetings sent, 1971 4 UFW Cesar Chavez Papers Part 1 Office of the President Collection 9. Guest Book, Chavez fast, 1968 10-12. Interview requests, 1969-71 Box 5 1. Jail, 1970 2. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, 1968 3. Labor News Conference Program; transcript, May 1970 4. Membership credentials, 1950s 5-6. Notebook, 21 Jul 1962 7-12. Notes, memoranda, 1968-71 13. Political notes, 1968 14. Publicity, 1968 15. Resolutions, 1971 Box 6 1. Victor Reuther, 1966 2-3. Security problems, Cesar Chavez, 1972 4-11. Speaking engagements, Jan-Jun 1971 Box 7 1-7. Speaking engagements, Jul-Dec 1971 8. Special UFW meetings, minutes, 1968-70 9-15. Special requests, 1970-71 Box 8 1-5. Special requests, May-July 1971 6. Speech; Senate Committee on Labor, 16 Apr 1969 7. Speech; “A Dialogue with Congress,” Oct 1969 8. Speech; Council for Community Action, 4 Nov 1971 9-12. Speech notes, 1969-1971 13. Speeches and statements, 1968-1971 14-17. Supporters; individuals, Jan-Jul 1971 18. Supporters; organizations, Jan-Feb 1971 Box 9 1-2. Supporters; organizations, Mar-May 1971 3. Telephone calls, Oct-Nov 1970 5. Terronez Memorial Clinic dedication, 13 Sep 1971 6. Threatening letter, 1968 7. Writings, 1969 8. Writings, 1966-1971 UFW Cesar Chavez Papers Part 1 Office of the President Collection Series II Boycott Offices, 1968-1971 Box 10 1. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Ohio 2. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Alabama 3. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Albany, NY 4. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Albuquerque, NM 5. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Ames, IA 6. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Arizona 7. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Atlanta, GA 8. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Austin, TX 9. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Baltimore, MD 10. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Bay area/San Francisco 11. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Beaumont, TX 12. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Boston, MA 13. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Buffalo, NY 14. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Canada 15. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Canton, OH Box 11 1. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Charleston, SC 2. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Chicago, IL 3-4. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Cincinnati, OH 5. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Cleveland, OH 6. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Columbus, OH 7. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Columbia, SC 8. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Connecticut 9. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Cowallis, OR 10. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Council Bluffs, IA 11. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Davenport, IA 12. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Denver, CO Box 12 1. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Des Moines, IA 2. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Detroit, MI 3. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; El Paso, TX 4. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets, Eugene, OR 5. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets, Hawaii 6-7. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets, Indianapolis 8. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets, International 9. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets, Iowa 10. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets, Kansas 6 UFW Cesar Chavez Papers Part 1 Office of the President Collection 11. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets, Kentucky UFW Cesar Chavez Papers Part 1 Office of the President Collection Box 13 1. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Klamath Falls, OR 2. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Laredo, TX 3. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Las Vegas, NE 4. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; London, England 5. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Los Angeles 6. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Maryland 7. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Mason City, IA 8. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Massachusetts 9. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Memphis 10-13. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Michigan Box 14 1. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Minneapolis, MN 2. Boycott correspondence, fliers leaflets; Minnesota 3. Boycott correspondence, fliers, leaflets; Mississippi 4. Boycott correspondence, fliers,