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His organizing tactics with the union included non-violent protest, strikes and boycotts, the use of culture (particularly religious iconography and theater) and participation in electoral politics. The grape boycott became the catalyst for the recognition of the U.F.W. on an international level. The campaign focused on public awareness about the conditions of farm workers and asked people to support the recognition of the Union, by growers, through a boycott of California grapes that did not have the UFW stamp. It became so successful that many supermarket chains would not carry California grapes and overseas dock workers would not unload them. The grape boycott lasted five years and resulted in Senate Subcommittee hearings that resulted in Robert Kennedy’s public support of the UFW. Cesar Chavez continued to organize farm workers and protested the unfair wages lettuce growers paid to their workers in the 1970’s, and in the 1980’s renewed the grape boycott due to the use of cancer causing pesticides by growers. Throughout his life Cesar Chavez would fast to encourage non-violence and bring national attention to the issues of farm worker’s. Cesar Chavez died on April 23, 1993.
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