A half century on, union still fighting for farmworkers BY KERRY KENNEDY

[Omaha Steve]

Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez in 1968 when Chavez broke his fast. George Ballis

http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article36354471.html

Nearly 50 years ago, my father, Robert F. Kennedy, flew to Delano for his first visit with Cesar Chavez. It was six months into a five-year strike by Filipino and Latino grape workers. To the surprise of everyone, including Chavez, my father visited a vineyard picket line and spoke with strikers at their union hall.

He was the first national political figure to unequivocally embrace their struggle. A close personal bond was forged with Chavez. Two years later, my father returned to Delano – where anniversary events are set for Saturday – when Chavez broke his 25-day fast for nonviolence, calling him “one of the heroic figures of our time.”

My father was assassinated three months later in 1968. Since then, our family repeatedly stood with Chavez and his movement. When a reporter in Delano asked whether Chavez and the grape strikers were communists, my father retorted, “No, they’re not communists. They’re struggling for their rights.”

Now it’s my turn to defend Chavez’s successors against equally dishonest claims that malign their character and offend the truth. The chief canard is that the United Farm Workers stopped organizing farmworkers and abandoned the fields. Nothing could be further from the truth.

FULL story at link.