A History essay I did for a highschool student.
"The fight was never about grapes or lettuce. It was always about people. Cesar Chavez. The labor leader and Mexican-American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez is an inspiration for peaceful protests. He was a man who took the initiative; he advocated for better wages, safer working conditions, and less exposure to pesticides. He successfully obtained these demands by carrying out peaceful protests in California. One example of Chavez's peaceful protests was the Delano grape strike in 1965, where Chavez led a boycott against California grape growers to demand better wages and working conditions for farm workers. The strike lasted for five years and resulted in a union contract that improved the lives of thousands of workers. One provision he procured in his union contract was less exposure to harmful pesticides. Pesticides can harm the environment and people exposed to their dangerous chemicals. Over time, the synthetic matter in pesticides damages the body's endocrine system. So, acquiring demand for the use of fewer pesticides could have possibly saved thousands of people from acquiring a variety of illnesses. Another provision in the labor union contract was for safer working conditions. The farm workers' employers would have them work in harsh conditions, such as constantly being exploited with racism, receiving no payment for their labor, and having no medical or basic facilities to tend themselves to. These harsh conditions deprived them of their salient human rights. Another way of peacefully protesting is by going on strike. That is precisely what Cesar Chavez did to obtain better wages. The grape farm workers wouldn't even get paid money; they would get paid shelter, and that's it. Their employers did not account for their food, electricity, water, etc. Cesar Chavez and the farm workers went on strike until they received better wages. If not for the deeds that Cesar Chavez did, obtaining these union contracts would have taken a lot more time. Getting the union contracts was beneficial for the farm workers, and Chaves helped make it happen.
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