United Farm Workers, Sponsor/Advertiser. UFW Boycott lettuce. United States, None. [Between 1970 and 1972] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015649388/.
This United Farm Workers poster is valuable for students learning about Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and the United Farm Workers labor union. Students can learn their history as part of a unit on Mexican American history or Latinx history in the United States, especially the labor rights organizers fighting for better treatment of Latinx agricultural workers in California and beyond. The UFW poster calling for a lettuce boycott is a great starting point for students learning about boycotts, protests, and other forms of civil rights organizing. Elementary students may be unfamiliar with the concept of a boycott prior to the start of the lesson. This poster can be paired with informational texts on Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and/or the United Farm Workers, such as Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez by Monica Brown or Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull. The lettuce boycott of the 1970s could also be connected to boycotts led by Black civil rights organizers in the United States, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott following the arrest of Rosa Parks. Books about these important events can serve as mentor texts for students working on understanding text sequence or a central idea. Students can also practice examining primary sources and connecting them to informational texts.
Teachers can begin their lesson by showing students the UFW poster calling for a lettuce boycott. This can serve as an entry point for discussions about labor unions, the history of agricultural work in the United States, the work of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, and more. Teachers can choose a nonfiction mentor text such as Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez by Monica Brown or Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull. Side by Side is a dual-language book, and Harvesting Hope is available in Spanish, so either text can be used in dual-language classrooms with Spanish as a language of instruction. Teachers can use the study of the mentor text and accompanying primary source poster for many possible lessons including sequence, compare/contrast, central idea, etc.
This photograph from 1970–72 shows a United Farm Workers poster. The poster has a white background with a black eagle and reads “UFW” and “Boycott Lettuce.” It is relevant to the United Farm Workers labor union, rights for Latinx migrant agricultural workers, and labor unions in general. The original poster is a silkscreen print. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, in 1970 the United Farm Workers, led by Cesar Chavez, called for a boycott of lettuce grown at farms associated with “coercive, violent, and unjust labor practices against Latino migrant farmworkers” in California’s Salinas Valley (“Cesar Chavez Jailed For Leading Boycott Against Coercive Farmers” accessed December 26, 2024). According to the United Farm Workers website, around 10,000 farm workers had gone on strike in the summer of 1970 because growers had signed unfavorable “sweetheart contracts” with the Teamsters Union (“UFW Chronology” accessed December 26, 2024). Merriam-Webster defines a sweetheart agreement as “an agreement between an employer and a labor union on terms favorable to the employer and often arranged by a union official without the participation or approval of the union members” (“Sweetheart Agreement” accessed December 26, 2024). The Equal Justice Initiative also reports that striking workers were met with violence, including the November 1970 bombing of the UFW office. The UFW website explains that the lettuce boycott convinced “some large vegetable companies to abandon their Teamster agreements and sign UFW contracts” (“Cesar Chavez Jailed For Leading Boycott Against Coercive Farmers” accessed December 26, 2024). The EJI also explains that UFW leader Cesar Chavez was sentenced to jail after refusing to comply with a court order to end the boycott, and he spent three weeks in jail before his conviction was overturned. Another important leader of the UFW was Dolores Huerta. According to the National Women’s History Museum, Huerta was the cofounder of the UFW and served as its vice president for many years. The museum highlights her advocacy for better working conditions and benefits for agricultural workers, political representation for Latinos, and advancement of women’s rights.
- What does this poster have to do with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta? How did they shape the history of agricultural work in the United States?
- What is the main idea of a mentor text such as Side by Side or Harvesting Hope and how does it relate to the UFW poster?
Texas ELAR TEK
9Di&iii: recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including: (i) the central idea with supporting evidence . . . and (iii) organizational patterns such as compare and contrast.
- The photograph of the UFW poster supports TEKS English Language Arts 4.9D because it can be used alongside the study of an informational text.
- Students can view the United Farm Workers poster and write down their observations and questions before discussing them with a partner. This opening activity can help teachers activate students’ prior knowledge or give additional context before reading an informational text on the UFW and Cesar Chavez and/or Dolores Huerta.
- Two potential mentor texts include Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez by Monica Brown and Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull. Students can examine the UFW poster and study one or both books before identifying the central idea and supporting details. They can also compare both books and the information presented in each. For example, only one of the books introduces readers to Dolores Huerta.
- Some teachers may face criticism for choosing to share the history of the United Farm Workers, Cesar Chavez, or Dolores Huerta by those who oppose labor unions. Given the range of opinions regarding labor unions, some families may oppose their inclusion in language arts curriculum. Teachers may endure criticism by those opposed to sharing a history related to Latinx migrant farmworkers due to racism, xenophobia, or anti-immigrant biases.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- Teachers can turn to many respected institutions offering guides for teachers covering Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, such as these:
- The National Park Service has a guide for educators. “Cesar Chavez Educator Toolkit.” Cesar Chavez Educator Toolkit. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/cech/learn/education/upload/CESAR_CHAVEZ_TOOLKIT_FINAL-DRAFT_4132016-508.pdf.
- The Smithsonian website includes an article on Dolores Huerta. “Dolores Huerta’s Story: Community Organizing, the Chicano Movement and Challenging Gender Norms.” Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past, August 2, 2021. https://oursharedfuture.si.edu/stories/community-organizing-the-chicano-movement-and-challenging-gender-norms.
- The National Women’s History Museum includes a guide for educators teaching about Dolores Huerta. “Dolores Huerta: The Life and Work of a 20th Century Activist.” National Women’s History Museum. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://www.womenshistory.org/resources/lesson-plan/dolores-huerta-life-and-work-20th-century-activist.
- PBS offers a guide for lesson plans about Dolores Huerta. “Lesson Plan: Dolores Huerta—a Lifetime of Activism.” PBS, August 1, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/lesson-plans/2023/08/lesson-plan-dolores-huerta-a-lifetime-of-activism.
- Tavarelli, Paola, and Ken Light. Farm workers at Thomas Farm, Vineland, Colorado. Colorado Vineland United States, 1990. Vineland, Colorado, July 9. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1989022_kl_c088/.
- This is a newer picture of farm workers and could give more context to the plight of farm workers in the United States.
- Lee, Russell, photographer. Sharecropper woman worker, Southeast Missouri Farms. Missouri New Madrid County Southeast Missouri Farms United States, 1938. May. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017737027/.
- This historical picture of a woman working the fields could help give some context as to the working conditions in the decades before the lettuce boycott in the original source.
- Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “sweetheart agreement,” accessed December 26, 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweetheart%20agreement. This is the definition of “sweetheart agreement” by Merriam-Webster.
- “Dec. 3, 1970: Cesar Chavez Jailed for Leading Boycott against Coercive Farmers.” calendar.eji.org. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/dec/03. The Equal Justice Initiative calendar gives information on the lettuce boycott of 1970.
- “UFW Chronology.” UFW. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://ufw.org/research/history/ufw-chronology/. The United Farm Workers website includes a chronology of historical events.
- Michals, Debra. “Biography: Dolores Huerta.” Dolores Huerta Biography, 2015. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dolores-huerta. The National Women’s History Museum includes a biography of Dolores Huerta explaining her connection to the United Farm Workers.
- Educators can visit the Dolores Huerta Foundation website for more information. “Dolores Huerta.” Dolores Huerta Foundation, March 13, 2024. https://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/.
- The Cesar Chavez Foundation offers lesson plans for teachers. Cesar Chavez Foundation. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://chavezfoundation.org/cesar-chavez-day-lessons/2023.
- “Farm Union Halts ‘Salad Bowl’ Work.” The New York Times (New York, New York), August 25, 1970. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/08/25/76781743.html?pageNumber=41
- Students can read this New York Times article from 1970 to learn more about the lettuce boycott. It is available on the NYT “Times Machine” archive.