1. START UP – Top ½ 146 ANSWER If these hands could talk, what would they say about life as a worker in the tomato fields? (6 lines) http://youtu.be/UlcIAfkXklk

2. BRIEFING/OVERVIEW César Chávez (1927-1993) was born on a small farm outside Yuma, Ariz. When César was 10, his father lost his land in the Depression, and the family became migrant workers, toiling long hours in fields. After eighth grade, César had to quit school. At 18, he joined the Navy and served in World War II. Afterward, he married and returned to the fields. When he was 25, Chávez became an organizer with the Community Service Organization. He worked for voter registration, medical care and housing. But he really wanted to unionize farm workers so they could have fair wages and safe working conditions. Farm workers were killed in rattletrap buses taking them to work; they were paid about $16 a day and lived in rough tents. He wanted them to make enough money so that their children could go to school. So Chávez, the father of eight, quit his job and started the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. In 1965, the UFW struck against grape growers, refusing to work until they got better pay and working conditions. Grapes rotted on the vine. Growers began beating workers, and the police helped them do it. Chávez, like Gandhi, believed in passive nonviolence, so the workers didn’t fight back. To gain attention for the strike, Chávez led them on a 300-mile march across California. He urged a boycott of California grapes, and 17 million Americans joined in. And he vowed to fast until the growers signed a contract with the union. Twenty-six days into Chávez’s hunger strike, they did. http://youtu.be/REHiLryR1oE

3. READING Q & A – Page 147 While you read think about… 1.What did the farm workers want that caused them to organize? 2.Why did Chavez expand the boycott? 3.Why do you think Cesar Chavez was successful in organizing farm workers?

4. Write the word and definition on Page 147. Key Vocabulary 1.Boycott: a peaceful way of protesting by asking people not to buy a certain thing. 1.Fasting: a peaceful way to protest by not eating food for a period of time. 3. Migrant farm workers: farm workers that move to different farms to find work. 4. Strike (Huelga): a group of people who stop working to protest unfair conditions in their jobs. 5. Union: a group of workers uniting so they can have a voice at work about what they care about (strength in numbers!).

5. Reflection – Page 146 1. How does the UFW story tie to you and all of us in this room? What are at least two lessons we can learn from UFW and from Chavez? 2. Summarize the reading using at least THREE of the vocabulary words accurately.