DiGiorgio Election Victory

César Chávez reads the results of the Sierra Vista Ranch’s elections at Filipino Hall. Delano, September 1, 1966. Photo by John Kouns.

The newly formed United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC)—a merger between Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA)—won over the Teamsters in an election held on August 30, 1966, at the Sierra Vista ranch of the DiGiorgio Corporation in Delano. On election day, voting began at six in the morning. The polls closed at 8:00 p.m. and the ballots were locked up and escorted by the California Highway Patrol to San Francisco to be counted. On Thursday, Sept. 1, when the ballots were counted, all gathered in Filipino Hall. Chávez got up and he gave first the results in the packing shed: Teamsters 94, UFWOC 43. “And then, he announced the vote for the field,” recalls Eliseo Medina in an oral history with the Bradley Center.

Medina later became the highest ranking Mexican American union leader in the U.S. “He [Chávez] first announced the teamsters’ vote, I think it was something like 328 [331] for them. And I thought, Oh my god. Then he paused. And then he said, for the UFWOC, 530 votes. And for a minute, not a sound happened. Then, it’s sort of like at the same time, all of us internalized what he had said. And this cheer erupted. Everybody went crazy and then people were crying and hugging and, and all of that. And that was, of all the elections I ever did in my life, that was the most special one. My first one, but it’s also one that was like redemption for us.”

César Chávez celebrating at Filipino Hall

César Chávez celebrates at Filipino Hall the union victory in the DiGiorgio’s Sierra Vista Ranch elections. Farm workers lift him up high in the air and parade him around the hall. Priests, students, and workers cheer with him and a woman offers Chávez a statue of Christ. Delano, California, September 1, 1966. Photo by John Kouns.

UFWOC members celebrate

A group of United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) members and supporters celebrate at Filipino Hall the union’s victory in the DiGiorgio’s Sierra Vista Ranch elections. Delano, California, September 1, 1966. Photo by John Kouns.

Asuncion Zapata presents César Chávez a small statue of Jesus

Asuncion Zapata (right) presenting César Chávez (left) a small statue of Jesus Christ at Filipino Hall. This was at a celebration of the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) victory in DiGiorgio’s Sierra Vista Ranch elections. An American flag and a banner in English and Spanish that reads, “United We Stand. Divided We Fall” are in the background. Delano, California, September 1, 1966. Photo by John Kouns.

Fred Ross with César Chávez at Filipino Hall

Fred Ross Sr. stands with César Chávez on stage at Filipino Hall. This was at a celebration of the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) victory in the DiGiorgio’s Sierra Vista Ranch elections. Delano, California, September 1, 1966. Photo by John Kouns.

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