You are never strong enough that you don't need help.

Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. Cesar Chavez Address to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Nov. 9, 1984

I am an organizer, not a union leader. A good organizer has to work hard and long. There are no shortcuts. You just keep talking to people, working with them, sharing, exchanging and they come along.

Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Non-violence is hard work.

[We believe that unions have always been about much more than the industries in which they operate.] The fight is never about grapes or lettuce, ... It is always about people.

Non-violence has suffered its biggest defeat in the hands of people who most want to talk about it.

In some cases non-violence requires more militancy than violence.