Check It Out: Beyond the Fields

Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century

by Randy Shaw

San Francisco lawyer and activist Randy Shaw doesn't dwell on the decline of the UFW. Instead, he focuses on numerous successful organizing efforts of the past decades and attempts to show how they can trace their roots back to Cesar Chávez and his union. The UFW may have lost a lot of talented people, but, as Shaw demonstrates, they went on to have a major impact on public life in other ways.

Mr Shaw retells the story of Cesar Chavez and the UFWs unprecedented success in mobilizing a broad coalition as well as winning political clout and material gains for workers through such tactics as boycotts, appeals to spiritual values, fasting and community-centered organizing. Shaw describes a generation of young activists passing through the UFWs crucible of idealism, sacrifice and individual initiative, and into a lifetime of service to social justice causes.

Shaw's book is the product of extensive research, and it's invaluable for anyone interested in the evolution of unionization over the past forty years.

Check out Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century , available on the library's New Book Shelf