A black Aztec eagle inside a white circle on red: the flag of César Chávez’s union, which defended the farm workers in the fields.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
It is a rectangular red field, with a 3:5 ratio in the most widely spread version, with a white disc in the centre.
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
Every date in its story, at a glance.
In 1962 César Chávez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association in California
In 1966 the association joined with a Filipino farm workers’ union and UFW was born
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
It is the flag of the United Farm Workers (UFW), the union of farm workers in the United States. A black eagle with stepped wings, inside a white circle, on a red field. It was born for a union and ended up becoming a symbol of the whole Latin community of the country.
In 1962 César Chávez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association in California. Its members were mostly Mexican and Mexican-American farm workers picking grapes, lettuce and other crops for very low wages. Chávez wanted a symbol that would give them pride and chose the Aztec eagle, the same one that appears on the coat of arms of Mexico.
His brother Richard drew the eagle on a piece of wrapping paper and squared up its wings so that anyone could copy it by hand. On 30 September 1962, at the first meeting of the union in Fresno, his cousin Manuel Chávez unveiled the flag before those present. In 1966 the association joined with a Filipino farm workers’ union and UFW was born, which became famous for its strikes and non-violent boycotts.
The design has not changed since 1962. At strikes and marches words such as ‘Huelga’, ‘UFW AFL-CIO’ or ‘Sí se puede’ are usually added.
According to the union itself:
Black eagle
the difficult situation of the farm workers.
White circle
hope.
Red
the hard work and the sacrifice that would be needed to achieve justice.
Aztec eagle
pride in their roots. César Chávez said that on seeing it, people knew it meant dignity.
Richard Chávez squared the edges of the wings on purpose. That way members could paint it themselves on red cloth without knowing how to draw.
When it was presented, some workers said it looked like a communist flag and others a Nazi one. Chávez answered that each person sees what they are used to seeing, and that for him it was a sign of hope.
During the Salinas strikes of the 1970s, the women living in the company houses turned their rooms into workshops for sewing flags.
The Aztec eagle is also the star of the coat of arms on the flag of Mexico. UFW’s simplifies it so much that it is recognisable with just a few straight lines.
Test what you have read about the flag of United Farm Workers of America.
Text based on the article “United Farm Workers (FOTW)” from the Spanish Wikipedia, published under the licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
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