August 24 - The 1970 Salad Bowl Strike

Labor History in 2:00 · Aug 24, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1970.

That was the day that the United Farmworkers went out on strike against California lettuce growers.

The UFW had led a successful boycott against grape growers that had drawn national attention to the harsh working conditions and low pay of those who harvested our nation’s food.

In an effort to keep the UFW from organizing lettuce workers, some of the growers had signed contracts with the Teamsters Union.

The UFW argued that these contracts did not represent the workers’ best interests.

As thousands of workers went on strike, Cesar Chavez called…