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Viva La Huelga!

By VVAW

"Before the Union, farmworkers slaved for 12-13 years without a day's vacation. The foreman had complete control. The foreman would approach a worker saying, 'You have one hour to prune 30 plants. If in that hour you don't, hit the road...' Those were the days when a farmworker with a family of 13 had to settle for an hourly rate of $1.15.

"But the Union has improved our working and living conditions 100%. The work isn't killing us any more. Workers aren't harrassed, and fired as they were before. Workers no longer have to jump when the grower comes, nor take off their hats in homage to him.

"When the Union came, out went the crooked foreman, the despots and the labor contractors who earned up to $35,000 a year by robbing the crew they hired."

These statements were made by farmworkers who have experienced years of struggle in order for them to get where they are today. The United Farm Workers Union began in 1965 shortly after workers walked off the job after the growers tried to lessen the $1.40 an hour wage that had been part of their contract. This marked the beginning of a successful five year strike and boycott aimed at grape growers in Southern California who had criminally treated the migrant farmworkers; mainly Chicanos.

The nationwide boycott of grapes and the will of the striking farmworkers forced the growers to recognize the Farm Workers Union, under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, as the legitimate representative of migrant farmworkers. In 1970 grape growers representing 85% of the industry signed contracts with UFWU.

Within the next year, the UFWU expanded and won recognition for farmworkers all across the country.

With the advent of an organized union, the grape and lettuce growers and agri-business recognized a threat to their immense profits. This led the growers to try to push through anti-union laws to outlaw strikes and boycotts by agricultural unions. The laws were passed in several states, but in California, Oregon and Florida, the united forces of the farmworkers defeated these efforts to destroy the UFWU.

This led agri-business to try another way to break up the UFWU, by introducing the Teamster's Union into the California farm areas. In 9170 the Teamster's Union contracts allowed for no workers' benefits as compared to the contracts signed by the UFWU. The UFWU negotiated a union hiring hall, seniority system, pesticide control, nine hour limit, overtime pay, greivance procedure, medical benefits, control on layoffs, collective bargaining and a pension plan, while the Teamsters offered none of these that would benefit the workers.

In April of 1973, when the UFWU contracts expired, the growers in league with the bosses of the Teamsters Union signed the contracts the Teamsters in an outright attempt to destroy the rights the workers had fought for and won under the UFWU. Those represented by the UFWU dropped from 40,000 to approximately 6,000. The workers realizing immediately what was in store for them, struck the fields of Coachella, California; the first harvest area. Workers from Salinas volunteered to support the Coachella strike realizing that this battle was necessary to save the union. Within one week after the 'sweetheart' deals between the growers and the Teamsters, hundreds were arrested as the growers learned quickly that the farmworkers were determined to remain represented by UFWU. As the workers struck, Teamster 'organizers', in actuality goon squads, were called in to keep the workers down.

In July, a group of 50 goons armed with pipes, clubs and chains attacked the nonviolent farmworkers in order to bust up their strike. In August Nagi Daifullah, an Arab farmworker was killed after being beaten by a cop and two days later Juan De LaCruz, a striker was shot to death.

After the two murders, the Teamster's Union voided their signed contracts with the growers in an attempt to placate the outraged farmworkers. This action by the Teamsters has successfully covered up the fact that the killing of DeLaCruz was done by one of their goons. But the aim of the Teamsters Union is still to destroy the UFWU. The day after the announcement was made about voiding the contracts, they announced that they would attempt to organize workers in San Diego County.

The Farm Workers Union has a long hard struggle ahead to finally represent the farmworkers. The workers are becoming very impatient with the tactics of the big unions; the Teamsters and the AFL-CIO. But as their force and pressure continue to topple the attempts to subvert their union, they are picking up the support of millions of workers around the country, who view the struggle of the farmworkers as their own.

The Farmworkers ask that all people continue to boycott grapes and head lettuce during these crucial months.

VIVA LA HUELGA!!!!