Cesar Estrada Chavez

Chavez, Cesar Estrada (1927– ), Chicano (Mexican-American) labor leader, founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW), an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. The early history of the UFW was marked by bitter strikes and violent clashes with both growers and the Teamsters. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chavez was instrumental in organizing national boycotts of table grapes and lettuce in solidarity with the struggle of the farm workers.