1970 Salad Bowl Strike Sparked Major Gains for U.S. Farm Workers

On August 23, 1970, the Salad Bowl strike erupted in California, with an estimated 5,000-10,000 farm laborers abandoning their jobs under the leadership of Cesar Chavez and fellow organizers. The walkout drove lettuce prices up dramatically and inflicted daily losses of roughly $500,000 on growers, prompting the United Farm Workers to urge a nationwide boycott of non-UFW-picked lettuce. The movement soon turned violent, highlighted by a bomb attack on a UFW regional office, and in December Chavez was detained for ignoring a court injunction against the boycott.

After two weeks in jail he called for additional strikes against six more growers, extending the conflict. The strike persisted until March 26, 1971, when the UFW and the Teamsters signed an agreement that gave the UFW the right to organize field workers, though tensions lingered until a lasting settlement in 1977. Chavez continued to champion migrant worker health and safety, visiting Utah in 1986 to address pesticide concerns, and remained active until his death. In 2026, new allegations of sexual abuse against Chavez led to the removal of many of his honors.