Richard Chavez
American labor leader (1929–2011)
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Richard Estrada Chavez (November 12, 1929 – July 27, 2011) was an American labor leader, organizer and activist. Chavez was the younger brother of labor leader César Chávez, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, now known as the United Farm Workers (UFW). Richard Chavez is credited with building the UFW into a major California agricultural and political organization.[3][5]
- Sally Chavez[2]
- Dolores Huerta[3]
Richard Estrada Chavez | |
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Richard Chavez with U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis in 2010. | |
| Born | November 12, 1929 Yuma, Arizona, U.S[1] |
| Died | July 27, 2011 (aged 81)[1] Bakersfield, California, U.S |
| Known for | Labor leader and civil rights activist |
| Partners |
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| Children | 10[3] |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | César Chávez (Brother) |
Chavez was born to a migrant family on November 12, 1929, in Yuma, Arizona, on a family farm.[1][5] He worked as a child migrant worker during the Great Depression.[3] He transitioned from farm work and later became a carpenter, working in lumber mills and joining a carpenter’s union apprenticeship program in San Jose, California.[3][1].In the early 1960s, Chavez would leave his job as a carpenter in order to assist Cesar Chavez in his effort to organize California farm workers.[3] Richard Chavez was a co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association with his brother Cesar Chavez and organizing leader Dolores Huerta, which would later become known as the United Farm Workers (UFW).[5]
Richard Chavez spearheaded the construction of the United Farm Workers' union hall, which became its headquarters, in Delano, California.[3] Paul Chavez, the president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation and son of Cesar Chavez, told the Los Angeles Times that "was there before there was a union."[3] In 1962, Richard Chavez designed the now iconic logo of the United Farm Workers, which features a black Aztec eagle.[3][5] (Cesar Chavez chose the red and black colors of the union.[5]) Decades later, U.S. President Barack Obama called the eagle "a symbol of hope that has helped carry the struggle for the rights of farm workers forward for almost five decades."[6][7]In 1963, Chavez helped establish the UFW credit union by using his home as collateral.[1]
In 1966, Chavez became the founding director of the National Farm Workers Service Center, which opened up social services to farm workers.[5] Chavez helped organize the Delano grape strike and boycott which was led by Dolores Huerta, which spanned five years during the late 1960s.[3] He later organized a boycott in Detroit in 1973 and helped with a boycott in New York City.[1] While in New York City, Chavez led contract negotiations affecting 30,000 members.[1]
Richard Chavez served as the third Vice President of the United Farm Workers from 1972 until his retirement in 1984.[5] Chavez retired from the United Farm Workers union in 1983, but continued to serve on the board of directors of the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the Dolores Huerta Foundation.[3] Chavez worked as a Los Angeles–based custom home builder during the 1990s after he received a California contractor's license.[3] Chavez had visited Obama at the White House in 2010 to mark Cesar Chavez Day.[7]
For many years, Chavez was partners with fellow labor leader Dolores Huerta.[3] Richard's romantic relationship with Dolores began in the early 1970s, and lasted until Richard's death.[8] They never married, but four children were born of the relationship.[3] Richard was married to Sally (née Gerola), who he became estranged from, who bore Richard five children;[2] she had complained to Cesar about the extra-marital relationship that Richard had with Dolores.[9]
Richard Chavez died from complications of surgery at a hospital in Bakersfield, California, on July 27, 2011, at the age of 81.[3][5]