he's like one of the least powerful people in the unite are migrant workers that come do our hard work. >> what workers endure. >> when it was 104 degrees, you should have seen how we were all sweaty, dying of thirst. tonight we look back at the man who tried to make working

conditions better, cesar chavez. good evening welcome to a second look. this week we celebrate cesar chavez's birthday. chavez worked on the fields for years before he founded the united workers union. ktvu's lloyd lacuesta took a look at the life of cesar chavez. >> cesar chavez was a humble man who never received a high school education but became the most powerful voice for farm workers. >> all the farm workers are sad about the death of cesar chavez. he's worried about when we will have another man like cesar chavez to lead us. >> he's the most significant

civil rights leader since 1962. he worked for the lowest paid in society. >> reporter: he founded exploded in the national scene in 1965 when he organized a national boycott of table grapes in an effort to gain the first ever labor contract for farm workers. >> there are more problems with the grape than any other crop than any other put together in california. there's a tremendous number. >> reporter: he publicized costs with a series of hunger strikes. one brought john f. kennedy to his side. he once said i went through a bit of hell as did a lot of people and i see the union movement as evening the score for every one of us. growers of half of california's table grape crop had signed union contracts with the ufw. >> eliminate some of the fear

that the workers had toward the employers. i think to me that's the single biggest establishment. >> reporter: in recent years the influence of chavez waned with membership of 100,000. still hispanic leaders say the chavez legacy goes beyond just the farm fields. >> because he made us realize that we should fight against discrimination. we should fight for our rights in our country. we should be proud of being brown and being latino. and we should be proud of being bilingual. >> reporter: chavez first mayor victory came in 1966. that year his national farm workers association joined the delena grape strike and set out on a 300-mile march to sacramento. on the first day of the march about 100 people carrying banners, signs and a cross set off toward the capital.

at the time, farm workers averaged less than $1.50 an hour. >> you guarantee that i will sell a box of grapes, so i can make a profit and pay you $2 an hour. we will make a deal. three dollars an hour, $5 an hour. whatever you want but you guarantee me enough when i sell a box that i can pay you that much. we're paying what we can afford. >> i don't think you speak truly. >> you come and look at my bank account. you probably have more money in your bank than i do now. >> reporter: conditions were grueling. workers spend long hours in the field often without portable toilets or clean drinking water. shade was almost nonexistent and at nights they lived in ram shacks many without cooking equipment or utilities. >> what do you think of the farmers conditions. >> i think it's ridiculous. >> why do you say that. >> you asked me what i think,

this is what i think. i will say this, farm wages in the last 12 months right here in this area has increased from $1.10 to $1.60 an hour. >> isn't that because of the strike. >> that has nothing to do with that. >> what does have that to do with? >> i'm not going to go into those questions with you. >> what other question, do you think without a union the farm workers can improve their conditions. >> it has been done here. >> reporter: has this camp been approved. >> this camp has been greatly approved since i've been here. >> would you live here? >> i wouldn't leave here. you know you're being impotent. would i want to live here? this is what i call an --

>> along the march the union called for people to march. by the time they reached sacramento on easter sunday, they were thousands strong. that contract raised wages by 34-cents an hour. and required everyone who worked on the field to be a union worker. it was a significant achievement. the first time union workers were recognized. two weak to walk. cesar chavez walks bread after two weeks of fasting.

welcome back to a second look. throughout his life cesar chavez undertook a number of fasts. some of those he regarded as spiritual transformations. he also fasted in regard to wrongs or to criticize

political campaigns. chavez went without food for 36 days. on the day he was joined by supporters to end his fast, dawkins was there. >> reporter: a mass was held on the usw compound. a farmer community. cesar chavez on the 36 day of his water only fast was carried in by his two sons. the 61-year-old president of the united farm workers has lost 33-pound. the long fast showed in his face and frame. doctors say it'll be more than a week before he can return to solid food. his oldest son read a statement for him. >> the fast will go on in hundreds of distant places and they will multiply among thousands and then millions of caring people until every poisoned grape is out of the grocery store and our food is once again a source of

nourishment and life. >> reporter: hundreds in the crowd received communication including ethel kennedy in forever children. the widow of robert kennedy broke bread with cesar chavez ending his fast. >> cesar has broken his fast. >> reporter: chavez passed a small piece of bread to jesse jackson. >> the fast does not end today. the fast continues. the fast expands, the fast grows. >> reporter: leaders of

california's grape industry call the fast a scare tactic and say grape sales have not been affected. they say the union is weak. membership is half of what it was 20 years ago. today the mass brought farm workers together. this family drove 26 hours from the coachella valley. >> it's making strong and stronger to help in the boycott. and i just, admire him. >> reporter: celebrities joined in. actors edward james olmos. activist actors martin sheen. >> i am not thrilled about it. i don't everyone like to miss breakfast but i'm going to do it. it's become a national majority issue where a month ago it was a tiny minority issue that everybody thought was the farm workers problem. and now we've all come to realize that the farm workers

are the victim. that we've created the problem and we have to cure the problem. >> when we come back on a second look, comedian steven cobert places his tongue firmly in cheek as he testified at capitol hill. he shows his rarely seen serious side. >> seems like one of the least powerful people in the united states are migrant workers who come and do our work but don't have any rights as a result.

welcome back to a second look. cesar chavez worked tirelessly throughout his life for a better life and fair wages for farm workers. but the latest figure show the majority of farm workers make just $9 an hour for back breaking work and many are here illegally. as cara hahn reported in 2010 it was the plight of undocumented farm workers that brought steven colbert to

capitol hill. >> steven colbert appeared at capitol hill. if you are wondering what he was doing here so were lawmakers. >> would you call yourself an expert witness. >> reporter: even asked him to leave. >> leave the committee room completely. >> reporter: but he came under invitation of laphrgren who wanted him to speak seriously about the day he spent packing corn. >> i'm just playing a little farm bill. okay. >> reporter: the union put out a call for more americans to do the work of farm workers of most of who are here illegally. only 20 people responded and colbert made fun of americans

wanting food picked by americans. >> i like talking about people who don't have any power. this seems one of the most powerful people in the united states are migrant workers who come and do our work but don't have any rights as a result. >> it's the right of american workers that have colbert critics riled up. but today their side seems lost under the laughter. >> reporter: in the decade since cesar chavez visited camps, the majority of farmers have lived from camps to cities. living conditions of many farm workers remains poor. extreme overcrowding and poor sanitation are persistent issuings. - - issues. rob roth got a look at some of the conditions that workers

were living in. >> reporter: the raid happened at this house on shiloh road. acting on a tip, cal osha and others went to see what conditions were like inside. what they found they call appalling. 29 migrant farm workers living in a two bedroom house. they were sleeping in the basement, the kitchen, everywhere imaginable. >> oh my goodness. >> there's everyone a bed in the closet. >> reporter: and there was this discovery. >> this is the only bathroom they have here. >> reporter: workers say they've been living here since january. brought here by a farm labor contractor. during the day they had been working at the vineyards of the gallo. this morning we found them cooking breakfast on a stove fueled by a propane tank which is dangerous to use indoors. the walls inside were covered in mold, so thick in spots when you breathed in you could taste it. there were hoses outside that the men said they used for showers. and for these accommodations they said the labor contractor

charged each man $100 a month. >> is the food provided? >> no. >> just the floor he said. >> just the floor. >> reporter: through an interpreter we spoke with one of the workers a 22-year-old father who has not seen him family in mexico in a year. >> he said it's not right. he's better off living where he lives where he comes from. but that it's not right living like this. >> reporter: not right and not legal. california's labor commissioner who went along on their raid says the labor contractor who provided this housing was breaking the law. >> when they locate housing or identify housing for them but they're not to be involved or making a profit from that. and certainly, a house where they've got 29 people living in a two bedroom house. obviously that's exploitation of these workers. >> reporter: the state says it

will move the workers to more suitable housing immediately and likely revoke the license of the contractor. gallo probably will not receive any punishment. a gallo spokesperson told us by home there haven't been any allegations the contractor provided improper housing in the past. and said gallo will not tolerate such treatment of workers. the sonoma county wine industry says growers need to be aggressive in finding out how their labor contractors are treating workers. >> they need to make sure that license is intact. it's probably pretty hard to know exactly how that operation is working after hours. for the winery, but it's still important to try to know. >> it's personally heartbreaking for me. >> reporter: authorities say while they may have found out about this place they're certain this is just the tip of the iceberg. they suspect there are countless places just like this one they just don't know where they are. >> reporter: farm workers spend hours in the hot sun.

california law requires employers to provide shade, drinking water and breaks to their workers. but what the law demands is not always supplied. in may 2008, 17-year-old maria jimenez vasquez collapsed while pruning grapes, she died two days later. it wasn't until after her death that her fiance learned that maria was pregnant. a group of people protesting her death scaried two coffins for two hours. the nearest water cooler was a 20 minute walk away. cal osha says it shut down six agricultural operations

because of working conditions. >> reporter: as these men layed irrigation pipe in a yolo county field, united farm workers advocates warned them to drink plenty of water. >> reporter: it was in the 90s a slight break from the sixth consecutive day in the 90s. >> reporter: jesus says he feels the heat coming through his shoes all the way up through his body. he and the other farm workers we talked with prefer only to use their first names. they dress on layer of layer of heavy clothing trying to make themselves sweat hoping the sweat will cool them off but still they say they fear they will become dehydrated and dizzy and they too will die out here. >> when it's 102, you should see how we were all sweaty.

working with a brutal thirst. >> reporter: just yesterday the body of another farm worker was found in the bakers field area. that makes four workers dead of suspected heat stroke in the past nine days. two in the fresno area and two near bakers field. calosha has started making public service announcements on public speaking radio and television stations advising workers how to avoid heat stroke. cesar chavez final march. tens of thousands remember the man who was known as a labor hero.

welcome back to a second look. when cesar chavez died in 1993 at the age of 63. he was remembered as a man of peace, a man of justice and a great leader. as lloyd lacuesta reported back then, cesar chavez a man who lived a simple life was honored

in the tradition of a king. >> reporter: it was a treu -- tribute of a fallen leader rarely seen. 35,000 joined in the final march of cesar chavez. it began with aztek dancers announcing the arrival of royalty. cesar chavez lived a simple life and left it the same way in a plane pine casket. he was carried by 120 pal bearers, eight at a time. changing every three minutes of the rout. >> reporter: among the marchers the widow of man who marched with chavez a quarter of a century ago. >> it's a time for mourning and also a time for joy knowing cesar's troubles are all behind him. and thinking of him and bobby

being together. >> it's a great outpouring. nothing like this i've seen in my life. that's because chavez was an unusual man. a great man. >> reporter: a procession passed empty farm fields. it is in the fields where chavez first toiled. then fought for people previously where invisible for the rest of america. chavez was the first man to ever organize farm workers. workers carried the flag, they also carried white flags symbolizing resurrections. >> one of the noble folks of the century has been chavez. among ghandi and dr. king was chavez. >> the movement is going to go

on. chavez is gone but he's here. we're original strikers from 1965 and we're always going to be here. >> reporter: the procession ended under a huge tent at the union headquarters. religion was always a part of the cause, what chavez called la causa. sitting at his widow's side was the kennedy family. and a portrait of chavez appeared to smile at all in attendance. chavez was called a special profete for the world's farm workers. >> cesar chavez dedicated himself to serve as a special champion for the poor. the migrant, the ones who put

food on the nation's tables. >> reporter: several legislators say they will now work toward making cesar chavez birthday a state and national holiday. >> a year after his death, cesar chavez was awarded the presidential medal of freedom. in a white house ceremony, president clinton presented the award to cesar chavez's widow helen. president clinton praised chavez. >> he was for his own people a moses figure. the farm workers who labored in fields and yearned for respect and self-sufficiency. pinned their hopes on this remarkable man who with faith and discipline with humility and amazing inner strength led

a very courageous life. and that's it for this week's second look. i'm julie haener, thank you for watching. no, not while you're driving. and, right now, you can get a one-thousand-dollar volkswagen credit bonus on jetta models. seriously, pinch me. it's not a dream. ow! it's the volkswagen stop dreaming, start driving event. stop dreaming, and test-drive one today. hurry in and you can get 0% apr plus a $1000 volkswagen credit bonus on 2015 jetta and passat models.

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