History of the United Farm Workers
Recent Reassessment and Public Memory
United Farm Workers Union Cancels Cesar Chavez Events Over Abuse Allegations
| The Guardian | The Guardian | March 17, 2026
This article covers the UFW’s decision to cancel commemorative events and create a process for survivors, adding a contemporary accountability chapter to the union’s history.
Rising Up from the Fields
| Smithsonian National Museum of American History | Smithsonian | March 3, 2026
This article highlights Filipino American farmworker leadership and explains how organizers such as Larry Itliong helped build the groundwork for the United Farm Workers movement.
Chavez Abuse Claims Prompt Reflection on the History of Filipino Farmworkers in the US
| Associated Press | AP News | March 2026
This article discusses how recent controversy around César Chávez has renewed attention to Filipino farmworker organizers and the broader collective history of the UFW.
Filipino American and Multiracial Farmworker Organizing
Larry Itliong and the Great Delano Grape Strike
| American Community Media | American Community Media | April 8, 2026
This article centers Larry Itliong’s role in launching the Delano grape strike and shows how Filipino and Mexican farmworkers built a powerful cross-ethnic labor alliance.
Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW
| Smithsonian National Museum of American History | Smithsonian | January 16, 2026
This film program page focuses on the Filipino farmworkers whose organizing sparked the Delano grape strike and helped create the UFW.
Larry Itliong
| National Park Service | National Park Service | July 23, 2024
This biography explains Itliong’s organizing career, his leadership in the Delano grape strike, and his role in uniting Filipino and Mexican farmworkers.
Filipino Labor Leaders of the Delano Grape Strike Hall of Honor
| U.S. Department of Labor | Hall of Honor | 2024
This Department of Labor page honors Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Pete Velasco, and other Filipino organizers who helped launch the strike that led to the UFW.
11 Moments From Asian American History That You Should Know
| Olivia B. Waxman | Time | April 29, 2021
This article includes the Filipino-led Delano grape strike as a major Asian American history milestone and connects it to the creation of the UFW.
Dolores Huerta, César Chávez, and Movement Leadership
Dolores Huerta Says She Was Abused by Cesar Chavez
| The Guardian | The Guardian | March 18, 2026
This article reports Dolores Huerta’s allegations against César Chávez and explains how the disclosure has reshaped public discussion of UFW history and leadership.
César Chavez and Dolores Huerta Led a Movement That Won Better Wages and Conditions for Farmworkers
| Associated Press | AP News | March 2026
This overview summarizes how Chávez, Huerta, strikes, fasts, boycotts, and organizing campaigns helped transform farmworker rights in the United States.
People
| National Park Service | César E. Chávez National Monument | March 28, 2025
This page introduces Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong, and Philip Vera Cruz as key leaders who shaped the farmworker movement and the United Farm Workers.
Pioneering Labor Activist Dolores Huerta
| Olivia B. Waxman | Time | March 27, 2018
This article discusses Dolores Huerta’s role in the UFW, her partnership with Chávez, and the documentary that helped restore attention to her leadership.
How Cesar Chavez Convinced the Powerful to Care About Farm Workers
| Peter Matthiessen | The New Yorker | June 28, 1969
This profile traces Chávez’s organizing style, nonviolence, sacrifice, and public appeals during the UFW’s rise.
Cesar Chavez
| The New Yorker | The New Yorker | May 17, 1993
This obituary-style article reflects on Chávez’s life, the UFW’s achievements, and the movement’s later difficulties.
Dolores Huerta
| Dolores Huerta Foundation | Dolores Huerta Foundation | n.d.
This biography emphasizes Huerta’s role as a UFW co-founder, negotiator, feminist organizer, and lifelong advocate for farmworkers and civil rights.
Monuments, Historic Sites, and National Park Service Resources
History & Culture
| National Park Service | César E. Chávez National Monument | April 3, 2025
This National Park Service page summarizes the farmworker movement, the UFW’s growth, the Delano-to-Sacramento march, and the Agricultural Labor Relations Act.
César E. Chávez National Monument
| National Park Service | César E. Chávez National Monument | March 28, 2025
This official park page presents the UFW’s history through the legacy of La Paz, the union headquarters, and the broader farmworker movement.
Workers United: The Delano Grape Strike and Boycott
| National Park Service | National Park Service | March 20, 2025
This article explains the early months of the 1965 Delano grape strike and the boycott strategy that made the UFW a national force.
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument Celebrates Citizenship and Farmworker Legacy
| National Park Service | César E. Chávez National Monument | January 17, 2025
This news item connects the modern monument to the continuing legacy of UFW organizing, immigrant communities, and civic belonging.
Foundation Document Overview
| National Park Service | César E. Chávez National Monument | 2018
This planning document summarizes the historical significance of La Paz, the UFW, and the farmworker movement’s achievements.
Cesar Chavez Special Resource Study
| National Park Service | U.S. Department of the Interior | 2018
This study explains why sites such as Forty Acres, La Paz, Filipino Community Hall, and McDonnell Hall are important to preserving UFW history.
Cesar Chavez Educator Toolkit
| National Park Service | César E. Chávez National Monument | 2016
This toolkit provides classroom material on Chávez, the UFW, La Paz, strikes, boycotts, and the social justice values of the farmworker movement.
Establishment of the César E. Chávez National Monument
| The White House | National Park Service | October 8, 2012
This presidential proclamation explains the national significance of La Paz, Chávez, and the UFW as part of American labor and civil rights history.
Forty Acres Delano: United Farm Workers
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This page focuses on Forty Acres, the UFW’s historic Delano site that housed clinics, organizing offices, and key movement institutions.
Learn About the Park
| National Park Service | César E. Chávez National Monument | March 28, 2025
This page provides educational access to the monument’s interpretation of Chávez, UFW history, farmworker struggles, and movement successes.
Strikes, Boycotts, and Farmworker Campaigns
The California Grape Boycott
| Facing History & Ourselves | Facing History & Ourselves | August 1, 2025
This teaching resource explains how the UFW turned a local strike into a national consumer boycott that pressured grape growers to negotiate.
UFW Florida Boycott Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | May 8, 2018
This archival guide documents UFW boycott work in Florida and shows how the union built national support beyond California.
Labor History: Cesar Chavez and the Grape Boycott
| AFT | AFT Connecticut | March 2016
This labor-history handout explains the grape boycott, the Delano strike, and the UFW’s place in the broader labor movement.
Cesar Chavez, Walter Reuther, and the United Farm Workers
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | March 24, 2014
This article explains the relationship between Walter Reuther, the UAW, and the UFW, including labor solidarity during the Delano grape strike.
UFW New York Boycott Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | March 18, 2014
This archival description documents New York boycott offices that organized consumer pressure campaigns in support of California farmworkers.
UFW Virginia Boycott Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | December 2, 2013
This archive describes UFW boycott activity in Virginia, showing how local supporters pressured stores and distributors selling non-union products.
A Moveable Feast: The UFW Grape Boycott and Farm Worker Justice
| Matt Garcia | International Labor and Working-Class History | 2013
This scholarly article analyzes the UFW grape boycott as a consumer campaign that moved farm labor struggle from the fields into national politics.
UFW Central Boycott Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | December 2, 2012
This finding aid documents the UFW’s central boycott operations, including national coordination, correspondence, and campaign materials.
Collection Spotlight: Robert F. Kennedy and the UFW
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | June 3, 2011
This article highlights Robert F. Kennedy’s support for the UFW and the archival collections that document his relationship to the farmworker movement.
Cesar Chavez and the UFW: Revival of the Consumer Boycott
| University of California Press | UC Press | 2009
This book chapter explains how the UFW revived and expanded the consumer boycott as a central weapon in farmworker organizing.
The Delano Grape Strike
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This document provides a historical account of the Delano grape strike and the organizational strategies that helped sustain the farmworker struggle.
Letter from Delano
| César Chávez | Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | n.d.
This primary-source letter presents Chávez’s defense of the grape boycott and the UFW’s commitment to nonviolent organizing.
Preliminary Report on the Grape Strike
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This report documents early strike conditions, organizing challenges, and the need for outside support during the Delano grape strike.
Straight Talk on the Lettuce Strike
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This document explains the lettuce strike, UFW organizing committees, and the union’s effort to extend power beyond the grape industry.
Senator Robert Kennedy Visits Delano 1968
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This page documents Robert Kennedy’s visit to Delano, including his public support for farmworkers and Chávez’s 1968 fast.
Labor Law, Collective Bargaining, and the ALRA
Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project CSUN | CSUN | 2024
This timeline entry explains the 1975 law that gave California farmworkers collective bargaining rights and became one of the UFW’s greatest legislative victories.
The Story of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act
| Daniel Willhoite | California Supreme Court Historical Society | January 2022
This legal history article explains the origins, passage, and consequences of California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act for the UFW and farm labor law.
Labor Relations in California Agriculture: 1975-2000
| Philip Martin | UC Davis Migration Dialogue | n.d.
This article examines the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, the ALRB, UFW elections, and the changing power of farm labor unions after 1975.
The Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975
| H.M. Levy | Santa Clara Lawyer | 1975
This law review article analyzes the 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act and its importance for farmworker collective bargaining.
The California Farm Workers’ Struggle
This article by Chávez discusses the historical conditions of migrant farm labor and the struggle to organize agricultural workers.
Archives, Records, and Primary Source Collections
Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Movement Collection
| California State University Stanislaus | Special Collections and University Archives | 2025
This archival collection contains FBI files gathered for research on César Chávez and the United Farm Workers.
United Farm Workers Image Gallery
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | November 16, 2023
This gallery provides photographs of UFW leaders, demonstrations, boycotts, fasts, union offices, and movement events from the Reuther Library archives.
United Farm Workers Graphics
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | November 16, 2023
This image gallery preserves UFW posters, boycott graphics, campaign materials, and visual culture from the farmworker movement.
FBI File on Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | February 10, 2015
This archival entry describes FBI surveillance of Chávez and the UFW, showing how federal authorities viewed farmworker organizing during the 1960s.
UFW California Boycott Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | April 3, 2014
This archival guide describes California boycott office records, including leaflets, grape and lettuce reports, pesticide campaigns, and Proposition 22 materials.
UFW Publications
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | January 22, 2014
This collection includes UFW serials, convention proceedings, constitutions, bylaws, and movement publications from the union and allied organizations.
UFW Information and Research Department Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | July 22, 2013
This archive shows the UFW’s research work and member services, including legal assistance, immigration support, healthcare, and grievance mediation.
UFW Administration Department Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | January 20, 2011
This collection covers UFW administration, boycott files, El Malcriado materials, negotiations, and correspondence with supporters and growers.
UFW Work Department Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | October 30, 2008
This archival record describes correspondence on farmworkers, boycotts, and Teamster-UFW conflicts during a crucial period of UFW activity.
Cesar Chavez Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | October 30, 2008
This collection documents Chávez’s work from the National Farm Workers Association through his presidency of the UFW.
Volunteers for the United Farm Workers Union
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | August 7, 2008
This photograph entry documents women volunteers in the UFW and points to the often underrecognized grassroots labor behind the movement.
UFW Arizona State Office Records
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | 2008
This archival guide traces UFW activity in Arizona and explains the formation of UFWOC after the merger of AWOC and NFWA.
UFW Texas Files Collection
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | 2008
This finding aid documents UFW work in Texas, including boycotts, health concerns, La Voz del Campesino, and organizer Antonio Orendain.
United Farm Workers Organizing Committee Collection
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | 2008
This archive documents the 1966 merger of NFWA and AWOC into UFWOC, with Chávez as director and Larry Itliong as assistant director.
United Farm Workers Central Administration Files Collection
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | 2008
This guide describes central administration files, including Dolores Huerta’s contract-negotiation notes and records from the union’s early organizational years.
Farmworker Movement Online Gallery Display Image
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | September 27, 2007
This image record offers a primary-source visual item from the farmworker movement archive.
United Farm Workers of America
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | n.d.
This Reuther Library page introduces the UFW as a major farm-labor union and provides access to related archival collections and images.
United Farm Workers Image Gallery
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | n.d.
This digital collection offers photographs from UFW history, including strikes, boycotts, leaders, marches, and union activities.
Links
| Union of Their Dreams | Union of Their Dreams | n.d.
This resource page points to UFW archives, collections, and historical materials used in researching the union and its organizers.
UFW Photo Archive Reuther Library
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This resource directs researchers to UFW photographs, videos, oral histories, essays, and memorabilia preserved by the Reuther Library.
Archives
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This archive page gathers primary sources, photographs, oral histories, videos, essays, and historical documents from Delano strikers and UFW participants.
Farmworker Movement Online Gallery
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This image gallery provides visual documentation of UFW history, Delano strikers, boycott activity, and farmworker movement events.
Farmworker Movement Online Gallery: Album 473
| Farmworker Movement Documentation Project | UC San Diego Library | n.d.
This gallery album preserves photographs and documents related to UFW organizing, movement culture, and farmworker activism.
United Farm Workers - Tales from the Reuther Library
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Tales from the Reuther Library | n.d.
This podcast category includes labor-history episodes connected to UFW archives, farmworker organizing, and related agricultural labor struggles.
Migrant Workers
| Walter P. Reuther Library | Wayne State University | n.d.
This Reuther Library subject page lists UFW boycott, administration, public relations, and migrant worker collections useful for studying the union.
Education, Culture, and Movement Communication
United Farm Workers and Chicano Literature
| Gale | Gale Primary Sources | January 6, 2025
This guide places the United Farm Workers within Chicano literature, movement culture, archival sources, and the politics of representation.
National History Day: United Farm Workers
| Smithsonian Learning Lab | Smithsonian | September 9, 2020
This resource collection brings together primary and secondary materials for researching the UFW, the Delano strike, and farmworker civil rights.
Actos
| The New Yorker | The New Yorker | August 19, 1967
This article discusses El Teatro Campesino, the farmworker theater group formed during the Delano grape strike to educate and mobilize workers.
Essay: United Farm Workers and the Delano Grape Strike
| Immigrant Learning Center | Immigrant Learning Center | n.d.
This essay explains the working conditions that led to the Delano strike and the UFW’s use of organizing, coalition-building, and public pressure.
César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and the United Farm Workers
| Bill of Rights Institute | Bill of Rights Institute | n.d.
This educational essay introduces Chávez, Huerta, and the United Farm Workers through the themes of labor rights, civil rights, and social reform.
Scholarship, Overviews, and Historical Analysis
The Rise and Fall of the United Farm Workers
| MR Online | MR Online | March 23, 2026
This historical analysis examines the UFW’s rise, its victories, internal weaknesses, and the long decline from its peak influence in the 1970s.
Labor History in the United States: A National Historic Landmarks Theme Study
| National Park Service | U.S. Department of the Interior | 2022
This federal labor history study places the UFW within the wider history of U.S. labor struggles, agricultural organizing, and landmark preservation.
The Rise of Agricultural Labor and the United Farm Workers
| Smithsonian National Museum of American History | Smithsonian | October 15, 2020
This article explains the roots of agricultural labor organizing and connects the UFW’s history to race, immigration, and continuing farmworker inequality.
Labor: A Long Dry Season
| UC Berkeley Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies | UC Berkeley | 2020
This article reviews the long-term decline of farmworker union power after the 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act and the UFW-Teamsters rivalry.
The United Farm Workers and the Delano Grape Strike
| Digital Public Library of America | DPLA | n.d.
This primary-source set gives background on the 1965 Delano grape strike and the Filipino and Mexican farmworkers who built the UFW.
1962: United Farm Workers Union
| Library of Congress | Latinx Civil Rights Research Guide | n.d.
This Library of Congress guide summarizes the UFW’s founding, strikes, boycotts, and major role in Latino civil rights history.
United Farm Workers
| EBSCO | Research Starters | n.d.
This research starter summarizes UFW origins, Chávez and Huerta’s leadership, major campaigns, and the challenges the union faced after its early victories.
Grape Workers’ Strike
| EBSCO | Research Starters | n.d.
This overview explains the Delano grape strike, the grape boycott, and the UFW contracts that followed the campaign’s success.
Allies, Immigration, and Continuing Farmworker Advocacy
Biden Urges Congress to Pass Bills Honoring César Chávez
| United Farm Workers | UFW | March 31, 2022
This UFW post connects Chávez’s historical legacy to modern legislative efforts around farmworker recognition and labor rights.
200+ Gather to Push for Immigration Bill’s Veto
| United Farm Workers | UFW | April 21, 2010
This UFW-posted article shows how the union’s later work connected farmworker organizing to immigrant rights and Arizona politics.
United Farm Workers of America
| National Farm Worker Ministry | NFWM | n.d.
This profile describes the UFW’s founding by Chávez, Huerta, Itliong, Padilla, and others and summarizes its continuing role in farm labor organizing.
Gallo Grapes
| Boston Teachers Union History Project | University of Massachusetts Boston | n.d.
This digital exhibit explains how Boston teachers and supporters participated in UFW grape and Gallo wine boycott solidarity campaigns.
National Farm Worker Ministry Records
| National Farm Worker Ministry | NFWM | n.d.
This organizational history source helps explain how religious allies supported UFW strikes, boycotts, and farmworker justice campaigns.
