A celebration and fundraiser for the United Farm Workers members will be held on March 31st to coincide with what would have been the late Cesar Chavezs 80th birthday. Born on a family farm. March 31. 1927. Cesar Chavez witnessed firsthand the suffering of migrant workers. When the family lost the farm during the Great Depression. Cesar toiled in the fields following crops across the Southwest. After serving in the US Navy during World War II he retumed to farm work and began his lifelong commitment to justice for migrant workers. During the 1960s Cesar Chavez. in reaction to the conditions he witnessed in the fields. became a union activist. Adopting the techniques of industrial unions like the UAW.