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California became the first state to establish March 31, Chavez\u2019s birthday, as a day commemorating the labor leader. Others followed. In 2014, then-President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as national Cesar Chavez Day<\/a>, urging Americans to honor his legacy.<\/p>\n Streets, schools and parks bear Chavez\u2019s name. Born in Yuma, Arizona, Chavez grew up in a Mexican-American family that traveled around California picking lettuce, grapes, cotton and other seasonal crops. He died in California in 1993 at age 66.<\/p>\n Chavez is known nationally for his early organizing in the fields, a hunger strike, a grape boycott and eventual victory in getting growers to negotiate with farmworkers for better wages and working conditions.<\/p>\n In 1962, Chavez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers of America.<\/p>\n Farmworkers are crucial to agribusiness in California, which grows nearly half the nation\u2019s fruits, nuts and vegetables.<\/p>\n