Lupe Martinez

In 2016, Martinez was named as "the most influential Latino in the state of Wisconsin" by OnMilwaukee. In 2017, Martinez was inducted into the Farmworker Advocate Hall of Fame. In a tribute to UMOS on its 50th anniversary, Congresswoman Gwen Moore said of Lupe Martinez during a session of Congress that "Mr. Martinez is dedicated to advocating and providing programs and services to improve employment, provide education opportunities as well as health and housing supports for UMOS' clientele whether they are migrant and seasonal farm workers or other underserved populations." Madison365 wrote that Martinez would be a highly eligible candidate should he seek the office of Governor of Wisconsin.

Martinez received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee. Martinez was honored with the Cesar Chavez Humanitarian Award from the widow of Chavez, and received the World Citizen Award from the International Institute of Wisconsin. In 2015, Martinez was named as a "Champion for Migrant Workers" by the Spanish Journal.

In April 2014, Lupe Martinez presented the MAFO Lifetime Achievement Award to Arturo Rodriguez who succeeded Cesar Chavez as President of United Farmworkers.

In 1993, Martinez was a pallbearer of Cesar Chavez' casket for his "final march" of 40 acres on the land where Chavez hosted his first fast that brought the farm workers movement national attention. In 2002, Martinez worked with the Racine Unified School District to found the Cesar Chavez School of Excellence, a public charter school.

In 1974, Martinez was appointed as President/CEO of UMOS. At that time, UMOS was a single state, single-focused migrant serving agency only. As of 2019, UMOS is nationally recognized organization, administering over forty programs. UMOS is the largest Hispanic-managed, non-profit organization in Wisconsin, and one of the largest in the United States. UMOS operates throughout the state of Wisconsin, as well as in Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas.

Martinez was a migrant worker whose family traveled throughout the Midwest harvesting crops. He was one of 10 siblings in a family of migrant workers and accepted the responsibility of paying bills and managing the family finances. As a young man, Martinez organized and marched side-by-side with Cesar Chavez during the grape boycott of the 1970s.

Lupe Martinez (born 1945) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who has spent an entire career advocating for the living and working conditions of migrant and seasonal farm workers.