The NFWA had planned to begin striking within five years of its founding but found itself on the picket line much earlier than that when the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) began striking in Delano in the fall of 1965.
Huerta on a grape strike. (Harvey Richards, 1965)
Volume of perishable crops processed by week in California.
(Department of Agriculture, 1959)
AWOC and NFWA on the picket line.
(John Kouns, 1966)
Huerta and the NFWA joined more than 1000 Filipino workers of the AWOC to strike in a move of economic diplomacy to pressure growers to raise wages and improve working conditions.
The NFWA and AWOC later merged into one organization, becoming the United Farm Workers (UFW).
Inspired by the Selma Marches of the Civil Rights Movement just a year prior, Huerta, Chavez, and other union leaders led about a hundred farmworkers on a march from Delano to Sacramento as a form of public diplomacy to win over the hearts and minds of the American people.
After several weeks and covering more than 340 miles, thousands of supporters joined them at the state Capitol.
Along the way, Huerta successfully negotiated a contract with Schenley Industries, the first of many union negotiations she would lead as the chief negotiator of the UFW.
Audio Report of the First Farmworker Union Contracts (Jonathan Harris in ¡HUELGA!)
"The towns that have been reached by the pilgrimage will never be the same. [...] The farm workers are moving. Nothing is going to stop them." - Dolores Huerta
Huerta's Speech in Sacramento (KQED News, 1966)
March to Sacramento. (Harvey Richards, 1966)
Article by the NY Times.
(New York Times, 1966)
Boycott poster. (UFW, 1975).
That winter, they began a nationwide consumer boycott of grapes; Huerta was responsible for coordinating the boycott strategy in New York and successfully organized boycotts on the biggest grocery chains like Safeway to force non-union products off the shelves.
"Grapes must remain an unenjoyed luxury for all as long as the barest human needs and basic human rights are still luxuries for farm workers. The grapes grow sweet and heavy on the vines, but they will have to wait while we reach out first for our freedom. The time is ripe for our liberation."
- Dolores Huerta in Proclamation of the Delano Grape Workers
Huerta (third from right) leading the boycott in New York. (El Macriado, 1968)
What seemed like another labor dispute to the growers was becoming a social and cultural movement, garnering the support of religious, student, labor, and women’s groups from across the nation.
“The strike is a movement by the poor people themselves to improve their position. Where the poor are, Christ should be, and is.”
- Father Kenny, Catholic priest of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Sacramento
"My colleagues and I commend you for your bravery, salute you for your indefatigable work against poverty and injustice, and pray for your health and continuing service."
- Martin Luther King Jr. to Cesar Chavez, UFW's president
"I think people are frustrated [...] that the federal government in Washington has not been helpful to them. [...] We should pass the laws that remedy what people riot about."
- Senator Robert F. Kennedy on the farmworkers movement
Huerta was a prominent spokesperson, giving many public speeches to rally support. “Sí se puede” (meaning yes, we can) was coined by Huerta and became the UFW’s powerful rallying cry.
The boycott on grapes became the largest boycott in US history with over 17 million participants. Facing increasing pressure, growers covering nearly the entire California grape industry signed over 200 UFW contracts for which Huerta led negotiations for, marking a historic win for farm laborers.
Huerta. (George Ballis, 1969)