U.S. Farmworker Awareness

The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America.

During the 22 years of the Bracero Program, more than 4 million Mexican workers left their families behind and came to work in the fields of California.

The La Raza movement endeavored to expose and overturn the discrimination in employment, housing, and education that Hispanic Americans faced in California.

Primary source accounts by the UFW volunteers who built the movement.

1962: United Farmworkers Union

Here we explore the history and geography of the UFW, including (1) a timeline of more than 1,000 farm worker strikes, boycotts, and other actions, some involving independent farm worker unions; (2) a set of interactive maps that dynamically show the locations of those events; and (3) an essay that highlights key actions and details the changing geography of the UFW. This section has been researched and written by Katie Anastas and supported by a gift to the Digital History Initiative, History Department, University of Washington.

The Michigan Farmworker Project conducted by Michigan Public Health researchers found that farmworkers (migrant, seasonal, and H-2A)—considered "essential workers" - face challenging working and living conditions that are critical to address during the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to limit COVID-19 risks in this population require an evidence-based, multifactorial approach that involves workers, employees, and stake-holders. In a policy brief, the researchers recommend that enforcement actions be taken to ensure compliance with COVID-19 protection and mitigation guidelines instead of reliance on self-compliance.

The United Farm Workers of America is the most influential farm-labor union in America. Founded in southern California, in the small San Joaquin Valley agricultural town of Delano in 1962, and led by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and others, the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) has ceaselessly battled some of the most powerful forces in the agribusiness industry in an attempt to organize farm laborers, raise wages and improve working conditions. Currently Teresa Romero, former Secretary-Treasurer, heads the UFW and continues to work to organize farm workers.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) works tirelessly to improve the lives of working people.

We are the democratic, voluntary federation of 60 national and international labor unions that represent more than 12.5 million working people.

Over 50 years ago, civil rights activist Cesar Chavez ignited a movement that would transform communities by championing the rights of farmworkers, Latinos and working people. He believed it was important to support working families and Latinos through numerous programs including a burial program, credit union and cooperative gas stations in order to create lasting community empowerment.

Today, the Cesar Chavez Foundation carries on his legacy by growing and adapting into a successful group of social enterprises that support working families, inspiring and transforming communities from rural to urban areas throughout the Southwest and across generations.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in fighting human trafficking and gender-based violence at work. The CIW is also recognized for pioneering the design and development of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility paradigm, a worker-led, market-enforced approach to the protection of human rights in corporate supply chains.

As a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to inspiring and mobilizing communities, our mission is to cultivate empowered volunteer organizations actively pursuing social justice. Our grassroots organizing efforts in Civic Engagement, Education Equity, Health, and Safety, and LGBTQIA+ Equality aim to amplify the voices of those most directly affected by inequity, recognizing their inherent knowledge and capacity to implement community-driven solutions when equipped with the necessary tools, training, and resources.

FLOC began in the mid-1960s, when Baldemar Velásquez convinced a small group of migrant farmworkers in northwest Ohio to come together for their common good. Initial successes generated strong reactions in the agricultural industry, which has been structured to benefit those at the top, while exploiting those who labor at the bottom. It took several years for FLOC to build a base among farmworkers in the area.

Farmworker Justice (Justicia Campesina) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower migrant and seasonal farmworkers to improve their living and working conditions, immigration status, health, occupational safety, and access to justice. We work with farmworkers and their organizations throughout the nation.

Based in Washington, D.C., Farmworker Justice was founded in 1981. Farmworker Justice maintains an independent Board of Directors and 501(c)(3) status as a charitable corporation.

Begun in the early 1960s by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong, and other organizers, the United Farm Workers of America is the nation’s first enduring and largest farm workers’ union. The UFW continues its activism in major agricultural sectors, chiefly in California. UFW contract agreements protect thousands of vegetable, berry, winery, tomato, and dairy workers in California, Oregon, and Washington state. More than 75 percent of California’s fresh mushroom industry is now under union contract. Many landmark recent UFW-sponsored laws and regulations protect all farm workers in California, especially at non-union ranches. They include the first state laws in the nation providing farm workers with overtime pay after eight hours a day in California, Washington state, and Oregon; the first comprehensive standards in the U.S. to prevent heat deaths and illnesses in California; and recent COVID19 protections for agricultural workers. The UFW is a leader in the national movement for immigration reform. It’s most recent reform bill for immigrant field workers passed the U.S. House on a broad bipartisan vote last year. The union continues proactively championing legislative and regulatory reforms for farm workers covering issues such as overtime, heat safety, other worker protections, and pesticides.