The National Farm Workers Association In this small town in the San Joaquin Valley -- California's fruit basket -- Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta joined forces in 1962 to found the National Farm Workers Association, later known as the United Farm Workers (UFW). Delano is still the organization's headquarters. As Mexican-Americans born to parents who did manual labor, Chavez and Huerta were no strangers to hard work. Throughout their native Southwest there was strong discrimination against Mexican-Americans. Migrant workers from Mexico, an abundant source of cheap labor, were key to grape growers' profits