Vol. V No.11 © 1972 El Malcriado Price 10¢ ~]lo- •.... " . October, 13, 1972

IIITE RIVER fARIS: .

• SEE PAGES 4 AND 5 FOR A REPG~T 0N :HE WHITE RIVER FARMS STRIKE

• MASSIVE RALLIES IN SALINAS AND FRESNO, PAGES 6 AND 7

•.REPORTS ON PUERTO RICAN AND FLORIDA FARM WORKERS, AGBAYANI VILLAGE

• CALIFORNIA'S CATHOLIC BISHOPS DENOUNCE PROPOSITION 22, PAGE 3

• ARAB FARM WORKERS REPORT IN ARABIC, PAGE 10

/

roposition 22 is the latest and mostsophisticated attempt by large agribusinessto destroy the United Farm Workers Union.In the past we have been subjected to threats,violence, vandalism and company unions allof which have failed. Now millions ofdollars are being spent on false politicaladvertising in an effort to pass a propositionwhich was conceived in fraud and qualifiedby fraud.

Most of the people who signed petitionsqualifying Proposition 22 did so becausethey were told they were "helping Chavez"or "this is backed by Chavez." Manyhoust!wives signed petitions "to lower foodprices" upon leaVing supermarkets. Manydid not sign at all but their names wereforged upon the petitions. All of the aboveconstitute criminal violations of the elec­tions code.

Why did tIle proponents of Proposition22 take such chances? Because they knewthat if the truth about Proposition 22 wereknown it would not have qualified. Forthe same reason they are now embarkingupon a massive c'.lmpaign of false politicaladvertising. They are tell1ng the peopleof California that this proposition providesfor "secret ballot elections" by farmworkers, that it sets up fair rules. They

have gotten the Attorney General to writea summary of the proposition which makesit appear neutral. This summary will appearon the ballot and will no doubt influencesome voters who do not know the facts.This has been done because if the peopleof California know the truth, Proposition22 will be badly beaten.

In fact the election procedure set up inProposition 22 is really "Catch 22" inthat it disenfranchises 90% of the farmworkers. Elections "shall be set at a timewhen the number of temporary agriculturalemployees entitled to vote does not exceedthe number of permanent agricultural em­ployees entitled to vote:' For example,one lettuce grower employs 45 permanentworkers and needs 900 migrant farm wor­kers to harvest his crop. The election athis ranch can be held only when 90 orless farm workers are employed. In thisexample, 810 workers would be denied theright to vote.

The ratio of harvesters to permanentworkers is usually about 9 to I, so at least90% of the workers are denied the rightto vote. There are many other restrictionson those few who are lucky enough to bein the 10% who could vote.

In addition, the proposition provides that

no striker who has been replaced can vote.This deprives him of the right to vote.Elections can be held only at a "farm"which is a technical word defined in theproposition as "any enterprise engaged inagriculture which is operated from a head­quarters where the utilization of labor andequipment is directed and which, if consis­ting of separate tracts of land, is withina 50 mile radius of the headquarters."Therefore, many elections would have to beheld at a large grower. Furthermore ateach "farm" operated by a particulargrower a 60-day order stopping strikes,boycotts, threats of strikes or boycottscould be issued.

In short, the election procedure is afraud. The right to vote is denied thosewho need it most. The grower is givencomplete power over the election procedurebecause he is given the power to terminatea worker for any reason.

The United Farm Workers Union has woncontracts by hard work, using the toolsof non-violence, the strike and the boy­cott. All the poor have is their own sweat.They can withold it from an unfair employerand use it on the picket line and in thecities boycotting. .

But this proposition deprives poor farm

An Editor'ialworkers of their non-violent tools. Allstrikes, and threats of strikes, can beenjoined for 60 days at each "farm." Theproposition provides that temporary re­straining orders without notice can stopstrikes and boycotts. The drafters of theproposition have in their arrogance ignoredthe United States Constitution in draftingthese restrictions.

All secondary and most primary boy­cotting is made a crime punishable byone year in jl!il and $5,000 fine. All pic-.keting at retail stores is made criminal.

So, if we ask you to boycott lettuCe,we have committed acrimeunder Proposition

22. You tell your spouse or a friend toboycott lettuce. You have subjected yourselfto a possible year in jail. The delegatesat the- Democratic Convention could havebeen jailed for their support of the lettuceboycott if Proposition 22 were the law•.Of course, the boycotting of any storewould also be a crime.

Assume that even with the fraudulentelection procedure and without the strikeand the boycott we could persuade someoneto bargain with us. What is collectivebargaining under Proposition 22? It ismeaningless. The workers are specificallyprevented from bargaining about issuesmost vital to them. Workers cannot bargainabout the growers "right" to contract outany part of the work. This means thata grower could sign a contract one dayand hire a labor contractor to do allof his work t1ie next day. The contractwould then 'cover nobody and the collectivebargaining process becomes a mockery.

Farm workers could not bargain aboutthe methods, equipment and facilities usedby a grower. If a grower uses a dangerouspesticide on his crops his attorney couldsit at the bargaining table and tell theworkers that his client's use of poisonis a grower "method" and therefore notsubject to collective bargaining.

All present farm worker contracts con­tain a pesticide clause, a hiring hall clauseand a subcontracting clause. These clauseswould be outlawed. The hiring hall wouldgive away to the evils of the labor con­tractor system which the workers havefought so hard to eliminate since theUnion was formed. Furthermore, successorclauses, preventing growers from sellingtheir operations solely to get out of acontract, would be outlawed.

In short, Proposition 22 takes dead aimat those aspects of our contracts which wehave struggled almo~t a decade to attain.

Proposition 22 is the most repressivepiece of labor legislation drafted in thiscentury. It is a classic example of thefraudulent abuse of the initiative system.

. Help us tell the truth to the voters. Voteno on Proposition 22.

'. (The follClwtng letter cqncerns Mr. Kubo..pr$!-ident ~f. the Nisei.Le~which ishelping the growers in their effort tobreak die str1lce at White Ri,.er Farms.kwas o::,igillallysubmltted ~otheFresnOBee. ,~-EQ.ir'··'·' .....

T I,) t!'1e editor;;'. .,.Mr. KUbO should 1cnow the historyof lUs people when they were sent tocoacentration camps. The reasan I men­don tbic Is. beeause I saw it happe~ It

': was done not because the Japanese weredangerous, when in fact they were harmless.bUt becliUSe large landowners wanted theland and the butJ1nesses of the Japanese.l'hat was the reason, and these companiesD.lade a killing during the war years. Theseare the people that Mr. Kobo is trying

"to prOteCt, those who sent them to the'cOncentration camps, and they wIll do it

agatn, and don't you forget it.Where was Mr. Kobo when Cesar Chavez

and [)Glores Huerta, seeing the injusticesperpetrated on the aged aliens, regardlessof race and that included many aged Japan­ese. and to whom CalIfornia owed so much,to be denied an aged pension because they

· were not American c1tizens,requlringthem.. to learn the Constitution. when the majority· dId DOt' even know how to read. Where was· Mr. Kubo, tinking 8bout money, instead

of humaflity••••· The farm workers will never submit to

Proposition No. 22, which Mr. Kubafavors.because we will never submit to Hitlerismor Tojoism. Too many farm workers gavetheir lives fighting Hitlerlsm in World WarTwo. If We submit to Propsoition No. 22we know that the next step is Concentration

· Camps and the Gas Chambers for farm•. workers. This is History. and my advise

to Mr. KubO is if he Is such a patrioticAmerican to use his talent and energy toremove that Mad Bomber from the WhiteHouse before he blows the' whole world

... to smithreens. instead of viOlating Federal, Laws, scabherdIng illegal aliens for the

benefit of large land conglomerates.Respectfully,

E. L. CuellarA Retired Farm Worker

2 • October 13. 1972. EL MALCRIADO

.~tnR5 Yo~(~$A\

Dear Friends:In your issue of EL MALCRIADO, Vol.

V, No.8, dated September I, 1972•••yousay that every boycotter makes the growerlose $15;000 a year.

I realize that the real fact is $15.00per boycotter per year, but a lot of peoplemust be very confused. Not only that buta lot of people will use this as an exampleof how difficult it is to believe anythingEL MALCRIADO says. I also realize howdifficult it is to edit material carefullyenough to.cl\tch errors of this type.

This is said just to call the mistaketo your attention if you hadn't alreadylieardabout it and to urge that a bit moretrouble be taken to prevent mis-informationin the future.

We're behind EL MALCRIADO, UFW,farmworkers, the lettuce boycott, etc.,etc., etc., all the way and will continueto help La Causa in every possible way.But I did want to call this matter to yourattention.

Si, se puede,

A. Garnett Day, Jr.Director, Church and CommunityChristian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Mr. Day:Thank you for wrmng, and apologies

to you and the rest of our readers forthe mistake. It was a typographical error,and we will try not to let it happen again.

--EL MALCRIADO

To the editor:Cesar Chavez' call for a nation-wide

lettuce boycott is being met by legisla­tion prohibiting use of this tactic, the onlyeffective strategy for the migrant farmworker.

Heavily exploited, 95 per cent are un­protected by union contracts; average an­nual income for a family of four is $2,700while 800,000 children under sixteen workin the field; only 20 per cent reach highschool; average life expectancy of the farmlaborer is 49 years.

In 1950, President Nixon sat on a Con­gressional committee investigating the firsf.major strike of the California grape wor­kers. The committee report vehementlydenounced the National Farm Workers U­nion, and for almost twenty years there­after served as a powerful le!!;al aid foragribusiness to stifle uniomzation.

During his presidential campaign he con­s picuously consumed grapes and repeatedlydenounced the grape bOycOtt. Departmentof Defense purchases of grapes rose 800percent during the strike, and recentlypurchases of iceberg lettuce by the armedforces have increased 300 per cent.

Moreover, lurking behind the threat ofrestrictive legislation is the specter ofmechanization. A pneumatic pruning ma­chine developed in California with Federalfunds was used by agribusiness to replaceworkers during the grape strike. For themigrant farm worker, the ultimate night­mare would be a mechanical lettuce har­vester.

But already on the drawing boards issuch a machine. Six hundred such machineswould be capable of harvesting the world'siceberg lettuce crop. Thus, the handwritingmay be on the wall for a segment of oursociety--heavily constituted by minoritygroups (Chicanos, Filipinos, Blacks, Jap­anese and Chinese)--whose history in A­merica has been marked bi' the ugly factof exploitation.

Secretary of Agriculture Butz stated atthe American Farm Bureau conventionlast December: "Let's take the Caesarout of the salad." I offer an amendment;"Let's take the lettuce out of the salad,and no Butz about it."

George Margolis, M.D.Hanover, New Hampshire(reprinted from the New York Times)

Dear Sir:

Thank you for the reply of my letterconcerning my benefit of the Robert F.Kennedy Medical Plan. Since I'm 21 andindependent and no longer filed under myfath~r, who is ,the head of the household,549-78-0366 is my social security number.Thank you for processing my claim.

Gratefully yours,

James C. UgayPorterville, California

My Dear Brothers:

I am writing these few lines in order tosay hi, hoping that you may be in finehealth, as for me, I am flne, thanks be toGod.

This is to inform you that yourbrother, (me) was in the hospital for 13days and for 13 days I was doing my job,boycotting lettuce and Coors beer. Andeven though I was sick, sick, sick.

They would serve the lettuCe severalways, like a salad, a dish, and even thoughI was hungry, I wouldn't eat it. I didn'tcare if I would starve to death.

I hope that it will serve as an exampleand that this may be the way of others thatthink of their own rights.

Best regards to everyone.i Que viva la Huelgat

I Viva el Boycottli Viva la Causa!

iQue Viva The Great "Cesar Chavez"J

Yours truly,

Jose DiazGilroy, California

I would like to express my appreciationand many thanks to the Robert F. KennedvFarm Workers Medical Plan for the checkof $500.00 I received which will help topay his funeral expenses.

Thank you,

Mrs. Ruby L. ApplewhiteSoledad, California

BISHOPS BLASTPROP 22

CORONA, California--A group of ISO farm workers and supporters convergedon the home of Joy Gard Jameson, Jr., here with a petition asking him to with­draw Proposition 22 from the Nov. 7 ballot. Jameson is the official sponsor ofthe measure.

Jameson is also a director of the Council of California Growers, and chair­man of the grower-organized Fair Labor Practices Committee, which has re­ported spending $240,000 to place the measure on the ballot.

John Zarate, a spokesman for the group, said the effort to approach Jamesonwas an attempt by farm workers and their sympathizers in Jameson's hometown to persuade him to voluntarily take the proposition off the ballot. Jamesonrefused to appear or talk to the group.

All fourteen of California's Roman Cath­olic Bishops have joined together to at­tack Proposition 22, charging that theinitiative violates the "bedrock social doc­trine of our church." It marks one ofthe few times the 14 bishops have joinedin an attack on a hotly contested politicalissue.

"Proposition 22 would"unjustly limit therights of farm workers," the bishops said.The initiative "deviates so widely froma just and equitable approach to settlingagricultural labor problems that, if adopted,it will undoubtedly create far more serioustension and difficulties than it attemptsto solve," they continued.

Although they rarely speak out as agroup on political issues, the bishops notedthat Proposition 22 "threatens the rightsof our fellow citizens and we are boundin conscience to respond to these attemptsto deny basic rights."

The church leaders listed three majorobjections to the initiative:

--The "vast majority of farm workers"would be prevented from voting in unionrepresentation elections since the proposedlaw would permit elections only when thenumber of temporary farm workers doesnot exceed the number of permanent farmworkers eligible to vote. "Since mostfarm workers are considered 'temporary',few would ever be eligible to exercisethe right to vote, and furthermore, a farmworker could vote only once dUring any12- month period, even ifhe works on severalranches during those 12 months," the bi­shops noted.

--The measure would free growers whosign union contracts to "sub-contract hisentire farm labor requirements to non­union workers, thus displacing all of hisunion employees."

--"The basic right of workers to strikeis so conditioned by the act as to renderthis right meaningless.... Together withthe ability of employers to delay elections,this provision which gives employers thepower to secure a 6O-day injunction against

even a threatened strike enables the growerto insulate himself against any legitimates trikes during the periods when a strikewould benefit the workers."

The bishops ended by saying that "Prop­osition 22 would unjustly limit the rightsof farm workers and it would not bringpeace and harmony to the California agri­cultural scene:'

Proposition 22

FRAUDADMITTED

LOS ANGELES, California RobertWalters, head of American Advertisinghere, one of the firms hired by agribusinessinterests to qualify Proposition 22 for theNovember 7 ballot, acknowledged recentlythat he used a technique described by Sec­retary of State Edmund G. Brown, Jr., as"fraudulent" in securing signatures for theinitiative.

The technique involves the use of, 'dodger" cards that cover up the AttorneyGeneral's official summary of the initiativewhich is required to be printed at the topof each initiative petition.

Brown reported to the public that the"dodger" cards were extremely misleadingand usually contained outright lies. Thecards claimed that the initiative "helpsprevent inflated food prices caused by(farm labor) disputes." He also reportedthat' 'some circulators allegedly told votersthat the initiative was supported by CesarChavez' Farm Workers Union and that theinitiative would help the farm workers,"both claim~ completely false.

CONSTRUCTION STARTS SOON

AGBAVANI VILLAGEPLANS REVEALED

IICollective living is the spirit of community life. VIehave the beaut'ful idea of family life. It is the mostbeatiful thinq I've seen in my life. That's the soiritwe want to oreserve. 1i

•

DELANO, California--A simple cere­mony was celebrated OCtober 1 at theSChenley camp near here, where a groupof retired Filipino farm workers live, tomark the beginning of the construction ofthe farm workers' retirement center, Ag­bayani Village.

Present at the reunion were a core ofsisters and brothers who are well-identifiedwith the project, dedicated to make thedream of Agbayani Village come true.Each person who arrived was warmlywelcomed and all sat down to enjoy the

Philip Vera Cruz

delicious Filipino and Mexican dishes thatwere served.

After lunch, everyone gathered under alarge tree to share their feelings aboutAgbayani Village. Philip Vera Cruz, UnionVice-President and Chairman of the Ag­bayani Village Committee, spoke about theproject as "proof of the creative capacityof oppressed peoples and what they can dowhen they unite to build something." ,

Afterwards, the sisters and brothersfrom •'Trabajadores Adelante", a civic­action program headquarted in Gilroy, de­clared their commitment to cooperate inthe building of the retirement center. ChinoVasquez, Director of "Trabajadores Ade­lante", Tony Cervantes, Linda Gonzales,Tomas Alejo and Modesto Negrettee toldof their enthusiasm for the project andtheir hope that many more will follow inthe future.

The highlight of the afternoon came whenTony Frausto, a retired builder, and PhilipVera Cruz presented the plans for thevillage to the group. Tony explained that,as a retired man, he had no need of work­ing anymore, but that for him it wouldbe an honor to volunteer hi~ time to thebuildini! 0' the retirement center. "[' mdo.ng till" because I believe in what theUni0r: j<, rj"ing an, I'm determined thattL~ \'i!]ag> Will e built with the coopera­tion o~ r! l, :-~L ~J.i. L

Pre", -0: at the rrathering were the mem­bers of the :\gbayani Village Committee:~,~ba"ri"" "lhag'"''], \1'll'iano Santiago, Faus­to I)ulman, Candido f'eliciano, Willie Bar­ricnt :-, Cp'er.on,-') l,a Cuesta, Julian Bal­:doy, all: 'I -to Dulay. Also present wereII ndv 11 'I ,ln, LnlOn Vic(;-I're;,ldent and LX­rectol_ 'j tl,e Delano office. hiS wife, Lu­ming, alll Union volunteers Rall,ona HolguInanJ 'iu;! I :10:• .an el:, ,\ho ..\OrK with theAgbayar.i Village.

have used them their whole lives to make themselves rich.And now that they are old and retired, they are kickedour by the growers because it is not orofitable to keepthem in the labor camps. The Agbayani Village is a Unionproject and will be used by farm workers of all races. 1I

•

These Filipino brothers are among the earliest to join the Union ancl, thoughretired, they continue to fight for the Union, most recently on the picket linesat White River Farms. They are looking forward to the opening of .\gbayamVillage.

IiThis is a community project. If this works out \-lithsingle people now, this general principle of communitylife will be appl~ed to families. The Union is buildinaa community and Agbayani Village is not being built forcommercial purposes. It is not being built to ma~e

money. We are aoina to show that poor people canreally think for themselves and build thinas for them­selves. This is the only way we can do it. 1I

lilt's just incidental that the Filipinos are the oldestand don't have families and are homel~ss. The growers

--Philip Vera Cruz

IHITE RIVER FARMS STRU66LE CONTINUES ~

135 STRIKERS JAILED

Dave Cormire (center) has been organlzmg people from La Paz to try tostop scabs from breaking the strike at White River Farms. Car- and bus-loadsof o-ganizers from La Paz have been going to pick-up points early each morningto try to end the strikebreaking.

•I

sighed, "You can't tell the good from thebad--they're aIr Mexican Americans."

The Nisei League, composed of smalljapanese growers and labor contractors,is determined to fight the Union with theirintensive scabbing efforts, including re­cruitment on the other side of .the border,The japanese group has apparently for­gotten that a lot of grower land in theDelano and Poplar areas used to belongto them before they were held prisonerduring World War II. So now they areturning out in full force, with their familiesand friends, to pick the scab grapes ofWhite River Farms-Butte Oil Company.

They have also been transporting workersfrom the Fresno area to the scab vine­yards under threat of losing their jobs,No laws or scruples seem to stand in theirwas in their attempt to break the Unionstrike.

Illegal Strikebreakers CaughtEven the border patrol seems to be

joining the Union on the picket line asthey set up road barricades september25 to block the scab workers from enter­ing White River Farms ranch. Agentschecked private automobiles and companybuses and discovered 68 illegals about tocross the picket line.

However, the Immigration service's co­operation has only been partial. The Unionhas protested the patrol's refusal to enterthe vineyards to check reports that thereare some 225 illegal Mexican nationalsworking there as strikebreakers.

The positive actions of the border patrolseems to have caught the strikebreaking con··tractors by surprise. As an exasperatedexplanation, Harry Kubo, president of theNisei Farmers' League which has beensupplying workers at the struck ranch,

to forbid him to return to the picket lineas a condition of his probation.

All 135 of the prisoners were releasedon Friday on their own recognizance. Ev­

eryone on Friday on their own recognizance.Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, andMonday, OCtober 2 was declared a Day ofSolidarity for the striking workers. Nowork will be done by campesinos on thatday in support of the White River Farmspicket line.

One hundred and thirty-five Unionmembers were arrested at the White RiverFarms ranch in Delano and Poplar, Sep­tember 25 following a non-violent demon­stration in support of the striking Unionworkers.

Among those arrested were Unionofficials Al Rojas, Pablo Espinosa, PanchoBouteillo, Ed Krueger, workers from ValleyVineyards, Roberts Farms, Mid-State, andthe struck White River Farms; DoloresHuerta, Union vice president, and RichardChavez, director of field offices. .

Eighty-five of the brothers and sisterswere arrested in Thlare county at thePoplar Ranch of White River Farms, and50 were arrested at the Delano ranch.

Workers were arrested after celebratinga mass inside the White River Farmsproperty line. Forty Arabic brothers whoparticipated also recited a Muslim prayerin the non-violent demonstration of soli­darity for the striking workers and a pro­test against the restrictive injunction laidagainst the Union by Kern and Tulare coun­ties.

Around 300 pickets had gathered at theranches for the demonstration. One ofthose arrested, Abelando Garcia, reportedthat ~ome we:e arrested as they knelt inthe fields. At the time of the arrests, noone was informed of their rights or thereason for their arrest. The bail was firstset at $1,500.00 each, and later reduced to$500.00.

Danny sanchez, one of the arrested pick~

eter~ reached in the Kern County jail onSeptember 27, described the conditionsthere as extremely crowded. The arrestsincreased the number of Kern County pris~

oners to 710, nearly double the jail' s capac~ity of 372.

However, sheriff captain and "jail com~mander" H. L. Matlock insisted the num~

ber of prisoners had "little effect on thejail's procedures." Danny reported thatthere were 17 inmates in his cell, and fivehad to sleep on the cement floor. Only oneblanket was issued for each prisoner.

Four of those arrested were under legalage and hence subjected to the whims ofthe juvenile court system. One of thesepicketers, Guadalupe Rios, reported that hisprobation officer johnson, was attempting

Picketers continue to try to keep illegal scabs out of the fields at White River Farms,

BULLETIN ••• BULLETIN ••• BULLETIN

Joe Melendez of Bakersfield, talking to one of his friends from the cab ofhis big truck, has been recruiting scabs from as far away as Los Angeles tohelp the growers in their attempt to' break the strike at White River Farms.Melendez has been selling his brothers to the growers for years, originally asa labor camp supervisor for Di Giorgio and most recently as an indeoendentcontractor. He has a little barrio of his own right behind his own house wherehe keeps his poor, scared scabs (left) untilthey'reneeded. When 30 pickete:-sfrom La Paz showed up at his house, he promptly called the police.

The Great Nixon Wheat Scandal

JOE MELENDEZOO~;L.J~1....l.-..L.J '-L..I'-L......L-.IL-I

LETTUCE.BOYCOTT

We have just received word that thestrikers being held at the Tulare Countyj ail are being fed nothing but lettuCe.According to Union organizer Joe Rubio,one of those arrested while picketing atWhite River Farms in Poplar, the farmworker prisoners have gone ona hunger strike and are tossingthe lettuce out of their cells.

George McGovern, Democratic presidential candidate, has beentalking to small farmers about how the Nixon administration stolemillions of dollars from them with the big wheat deal with the So­viet Union.

CBS News reported about the wheat dealand their inve'itigation of the prl>fiteeringbehind it on a recent broadcast, exposingthe follOWing items:

--U.S. wheat sales to Russia normally fallwell below 100 million bushels. In August anational grain publication announced thatsales might approach a booming 100 millionbushels, raising prices for farmers. Butalready in July, grain exporters had sentover 200 million bushels to Russia and thetotal for the year will be well over 400million. The sales were a well-kept secretbetween the Nixon Administration and thegrain businessmen.

--In direct c:onflict with several pro­visions of federal laws prohibiting conflictof interest, Clarence Palmby, an officialhigh in the Department of Agriculture, wasinstrumental in concluding the Russianwheat deal after he had deCided to leave theDepartment to work for a private grainexporter, Continent3.1 Grain Company. Con­tinental, it turns out, will supply the largestblock of wheat to the Ru<;sians.

While \campaigning in Minnesota, Vice­President Spiro Agnew revealed that theFBI has been ordered try investigate thewheat deal.. But many observers questionwhether the Justice Department and theF BI--·headed by Nixon appc'intees·· c:anreally be expected to do a1l impartial ar.djust job. ~;imilar doubts surround the FBiinvestigation of the Watergate buggi ngaffair.

So the s mall far mer, the far m worker, andthe tax - payJllg consumer come up un theshort end OJ' the Nixon agriculttlral policywhile agribusiness men make big profits.Reuben ]ohn.;on of the Nalional Farms Unionclaims that f'Jrmers 10st about $ll(1 millionbecause they sold their crops before thedeal was announced, and it has beenestimated that tax-payers will have tofoota $150 millif)n bill in gnyernment sllbsidiesand increa~ed grain ·f('()d prices, allaccruing to tht:' agricultural big business­man.

As Earl Blitz pm it: "Some n~oney hasbeen made in the deal, some trading .;om·panies have made it. But it's the name ofthe game."

The wheat sale came about because ofa huge failure of the Soviet crop. Severalmonths ago the Soviet government requestedsales of wheat to bolster their saggingharvest. Secretary of Agriculture EarlButz had a report written which rec­ommended the sale, but kept the reportsecret from the American public and thenation's farmers.

As a result, grain busines~menwere ableto buy wheat from farmers at $1.19 to $1.39a bushel. Now that the news of the Russiandeal is out, wheat is selling at$2.20'a bushelor more·· a huge mcrease.

WASHINGTON, D.C.• - 'The Nixon admin­istration is coming under increasing fire fora massive wheat deal to Russia that broughthugh profits to grain businessmen but leftfarmers holding an empty bag.

George McGovern, Democratic Pres­idential candidate, broke the story severalweeks ago, charging that Secretary of Agri­culture Earl Butz leaked sensitive in­formation to wheat brokers but kept itfrom fa.mers and the general public, thusallOWing the busineSsmen to buy wheat at

. low prices from American farmers andsell it at huge profits to the Soviet Union.

Because of the mass arrests of strikersand the unfair court injunction restricting

'cketing at White River Farms, 100 farmorkers and supporters picketed at the

Kern County Court House in Bakersfieldon September 25. Among them were thosewho had been picketing at the house ofstrikebreaking contractor Joe Melendez,but who were ordered to leave by thepolice because of the court injunction.Picketing continued until nightfall.

The arrests have continued, as the grow­ers use every tool at their disposal tofight the Union. There have also beenreports of machines being used at WhiteRiver Farms in an attempt to replacethe striking workers. Despite aU thiS,striking workers are certain of victory.

EL MALCRIADO • October 13, 1972 • 5

Thousands Protest Prop 22 at Rallies in Salinas and Fresno

FRESNO, California--Over 2,000 farm· workers gathered for a "Rally of Solidar­ity with Cesar Chavez at the Selland Arenahere Sunday, September 24.

The four hour rally was marked by afiesta spirit as many groups contributedtheir efforts and skills to celebrate the10th anniversary of the lhlion's foundingconvention in West Fresno, September,1962,and to voice their opposition to Propos":ition 22.

One such group was the MESTIZOS,· a mariachi band led by Lupe de la Cruz

and made up almost entirely of musicianscoming from farm worker backgrounds.As members of the Musicians Union, thegroup is limited to three free concertsa year, and Lupe declared that everyone will be a benefit for farm workers.

Other groups contributing to the two hoursof music and dance were Valentin Gonzales,El Trio Barranquenos, El Trio los Faras,El Mariachi Santa Cruz, and Fresno StateStudents in La Raza Studies.

A mammoth 15 by 20 feet Union flagdonated by the Vie-del Ranch Commi~e

hung above the speakers' platform.· Cesar spoke for the concluding hour ofthe rally, with the audience applauding,

· cheering, and stomping their feet in re­sponse.

In his speech Cesar emphasized that thecontinuing attempts to .destroy the Unioncan only make the Movement stronger.He singled out for special attack the NiseiLeague, an organization of small japanesegrowers and labor Contractors who arepresently concentrating all their effortson crossing the Union picket line at WhiteRiver Farms.

"The small farmer is noth~ng but aglorified farm worker with a lot of debtsand a mortgage," he said. "Are thosein the Nisei League trying to be white,so hard that they are willing to destroytheir brown brothers? If they want to takeus on in a fight, we'll take them on,"Cesar declared.

Cesar also emphasized that the Unionis one of the few movements in the countrythat embraces many ethnic groups. "Amongour members we have Chicanos, Cubans,Black people, Filipinos, Indians, Portu­guese, Puerto Ricans, White people andArabs," he said.

Among the other speakers at the rallywere jose Silva from Gallo in LiVingston,who spoke in Portuguese; john Burton ofSan Francisco, a leader in McGovern'spresidential campaign in California; AlVilla, Fresno City Councilman; ArmandoRodriquez, candidate for the 5th Supervi­s orial District seat in' Fresno; and AlexBrown, Democratic nominee in the 32ndAssembly District. .

t LJ A

"We must register to vote. We mustfight Proposition 22. Look, sisters andbrothers, at no time has Our movementbeen in such danger as it is now withthe threat of Proposition 22. Proposition22 is an evil law. It is an a~mpt todestroy our Union at all costs."

--Jose Morales, Inter-Harvest

Jessica Govea of the Union's Boycott Staff introduces Canadian Steel Workers (left to right)Sandy McAllion, Jean Marc Karl, Dick Martin and Don Taylor to the crowd in Salinas. Don Taylor,Assistant National Director for the United Steel Workers of Canada, told the gathering that "thereare many, many thousands of us in Canada who support you," and all the workers pledged theirefforts to help. the lettuce boycott.

lilt is true, sisters and brothers, that in all struqqles, in all movementsthat have ever existed, there have been the cowards, the strikebreakers, butthey have their reward in the disrespect and dishonor they have earned fromeveryone. And everything has its just reward, so I can say something that willmake your anger a little less. There were no scabs during the Inter-Harveststrike. Not because the company did not want them or not because the othercompanies did not offer. There were no scabs because all of our sisters andbrothers in the Movement were with us. They refused to break our strike. Weare grateful to all farm workers for your moral support that marle it possiblefor us to defeat such a large corporate empire."

Over 3,000 people came to the SalinasHigh SChool stadium September 23 to cele­brate the newly"-won contract with Inter­Harvest and to denounce ProJXlsition 22.

In addition to hearing from Cesar Chavez,director of the lhlion, the large crowda Iso was addressed by workers and ranchcommitteemen from all over the Salinasarea.

Cesar hailed the new three year con­tract with Inter-Harvest, won after a two­week strike, as important not only for,'Ie workers of that company but for alldrm workers, whether under contract or

not."We know that every time a contract

is won, growers not under contract areforced to raise wages and improve wor­king conditions in an effort to keep theUnion out. And we are happy with that,for our struggle is for farm workerseverywhere, not just those presently inthe Union," he said.

Cesar blasted Proposition 22, saying,•'It's a shame that the people who workto give food to the people of the UnitedStates don't have enough money to feedthemselves.

"If the law passes," he continued, "wewill continue haVing boycotts and strikes,.;ome what may, and if they don't like it,let them put us in jail, because we're'lot afraid. Meanwhile we'll continue toorganize, because we're under the laws ofhumanity."

6 October 13, 1972 EL MALCRIADO E L MALCRIADO October 13, 1972 .7

Rallies in Salinas and Fresno

tersve­vesme

Ivesall

ers

FRESNO, California--Over 2,000 farm· workers gathered for a "Rally of Solidar­ity with Cesar Chavez at the Selland Arenahere Sunday, September 24.

The four hour rally was marked by afiesta spirit as many groups contributedtheir efforts and skills to celebrate the10th anniversary of the Union's foundingconvention in West Fresno, September, 1962,and to voice their opposition to Propos­ition 22.

One such group was the MESTIZOS,a mariachi band led by Lupe de la Cruzand made up almost entirely of musicianscoming from farm worker backgrounds.As members of the Musicians Union, thegroup is limited to three free concertsa year, and Lupe declared that everyone will be a benefit for farm workers.

Other groups contributing to the two hoursof music and dance were Valentin Gonzales,El Trio Barranquenos, El Trio los Faras,El Mariachi Santa Cruz, and Fresno StateStudents in La Raza Studies.

A mammoth 15 by 20 feet Union flagdonated by the Vie-del Ranch Committeehung above the speakers' platform.

· Cesar spoke for the concluding hour ofthe rally, with the audience applauding,

· cheering, and stomping their feet in re­sponse.

In his speech Cesar emphasized that thecontinuing attempts to destroy the Unioncan only make the Movement stronger.He singled out for special attack the NiseiLeague, an organization of small Japanesegrowers and labor contractors who arepresently concentrating all their effortson crossing the Union picket line at WhiteRiver Farms.

"The small farmer is nothing but aglorified farm worker with a lot of debtsand a mortgage," he said. "Are thosein the Nisei League trying to be white,so hard that they are willing to destroytheir brown brothers? If they want to takeus on in a fight, we'll take them on,"Cesar declared.

Cesar also emphasized that the Unionis one of the few movements in the COWltrythat embraces many ethnic groups. ,.Amongour members we have Chicanos, Cubans,Black people, Filipinos, Indians, Portu­guese, Puerto Ricans, White people andArabs," he said.

Among the other speakers at the rallywere Jose Silva from Gallo in LiVingston,who spoke in Portuguese; John Burton ofSan Francisco, a leader in McGovern'spresidential campaign in California; AlVilla, Fresno City COWlcilman; ArmandoRodriquez, candidate for the 5th SUpervi­sorial District seat in' Fresno; and AlexBrown, Democratic nominee in the 32ndAssembly District. .

EL MALCRIADO October 13, 1972 .7

- KillerKrupp linesfree-INDIO, California--Richard Krupp, for­

mer Blythe, California policeman and kil­ler of farm worker Mario Reyes Barreras,was freed here after a four-week murdertrial despite the testimony of four eyewitnesses. The jury deliberated only threehours.

According to Alfredo Figueroa, directorof the Union's Blythe Field Office andinstrumental in bringing Krupp to trial,the turning point in the trial came whensomeone either bribed or threatened ayoung Chicano witness to deny his formertestimony and attempt to discredit thetestimony of Qther prosecution witnesses.Figueroa declined to give the name of thewitness at this time.

Alfredo said that the witness in ques­tion told him he changed his story becausehe was "afraid." In any case, the witnesstold the court that he had discussed tes­timony with other witnesses on the wayto the police station.

Alfredo said the defense used thiS -to dis­credit the testimony of four eyewitnesses,all of whom had testified that Krupp shotMario Barreras without provocation.

Krupp and his defense lawyers had tried todefend him by saying that his gun hadaccidentally discharged as he struck Marioon the head during a struggle. But, notonly did all the eyeWitnesses say thatMario offered no resistence at all, apathologist also testified that the bulletthat killed Mario had made a clean hole,

and that there were no signs of Mario'shead haveing been struck in a struggle.Alfredo reported.

However, the jury apparently did notfeel that such testimony discredited Knipp'sdefense.

The Chicano community of Blythe isindignant over the decision, according toFigueroa. "How can they come in with adecision in three hours on a trial thattook four weeks and saw dozens of Wit­nesses?" he asked. He said there werestrong feelings in the Chicano communitythat the jury was "raCist" in bringingits decision, pointing out that, of the eightmen and four women jurors, all wereAnglo except for one Black. Not a singleChicano was allowed to sit in judgementof Richard Krupp.

Alfredo Figueroa is not giving up. Thedecision is so contrary to the evidencegiven that he is considering seeking afederal investigation of the trial.

"How can Chicano people be expectedto believe in the law when this kind ofthing happens?" he asks.

But it appears unlikely that things willchange radically in Blythe in the nearfuture. A local paper has quoted the policechief as saying that "I'd expect all ofmy officers to do generally the samething under the same Circumstances."

Mario Barreras lies dead. Richard Kruppwalks free. Richard Krupp

-----Rights Commission Investigates f~Assassinations"SANTA FE, New Mexico--Police killings

of three Chicanos and a black during thepast year, ruled justifiable homicide bylocal and state authorities, merit a com­plete federal investigation, the New Mex­ico Advisory Committee to the U. S. CivilRights Commission has found.

The Advisory Committee took testimonyfrom a district attorney and private citi­zens terming the deaths "assassinations"during a three-day public hearing June8-10.

The hearing had been called, accordingto Committee Chairman Sterling Black ofAlbuquerque, because the Commissicn "hasreceived disturbing reports of illegal andbrutal use of police authority" in NewMexico.

The federal investigation would be askedin the deaths of the following victims:

Roy Gallegos of Santa Fe, a young bur­gulary suspect shot in the head by a

"warning shot." The Committee said Gal­legos was shot while handcuffed and sur­rounded by state and local police at San­ta Fe.

Chicano activists Rito Canales and An­tonio Cordova, both 29-years old and ofAlbuquerque, slain at a construction siteby state and local police. The pair wascut down a day before they were to tes­tify on a church-sponsored television pro­gram regarding prison conditions and po­lice burtality. Officers said the two men,wounded 15 times between them, were try­ing to steal dynamite.

James Bradford, 24, Albuquerque, a blackauto theft suspect shot by an Albuquerquepoliceman who said the man threaened himwith a hair comb.

Albuquerque Police Chief Donald Byrdand his counterpart in Santa Fe, FelixLujan, accepted an invitation to testify atthe hearing, but several other public of-

ficials declined.Byrd said it was "almost impossible

to get rid of an incompetent individualon the Albuquerque police force" becauseof a "merit" system that "protects in­competent officers." Asked if Albuquerquepolice acted in a "humane manner" atall times, Byrd said, "I'm afraid we donot."

Paul Alexander, an assistant counsel tothe Civil Rights Commission in Washing­ton, perceived early in the hearing a"deep sense of frustration on the partof New Mexico citizens trying to followup a grievance against the police."

Black Coalition leader John Goldsmithand leaders of other groups detailed inci­dents of selective stop and search policemethods, police beatngs, improper arrests,and other forms of alleged harrassmentof their organizations and Chicano andBlack groups.

Mrs. Gallegos said she was able to ob­tail "only very little information" aboutthe death of her son. She said she askedDist. Atty. James C. Thompson of SantaFe why he did not subponea two eyewitnes­ses to the shooting to appear before thegrand jury. The woman said the districtattorney told her all witnesses had to vol­unteer. Thompson was among pUblic offic­ials declining to appear at the hearingto testify.

Also refusing to testify was Dist. Atty.Alexander SCeresse of Bernadillo County,who had ruled "justifiable homicide" inthe deaths of Canales and Cordova. Dist.Atty. Donald Martinez of San Miguel Coun­ty labeled the deaths of the Chicanos"assassinations" and said police would havebeen prosecuted if the killings had happened"in my district."

(Reprinted from AGENDA.)

McGovern ...YES• McGovern is against compulsory arbitration.

• McGovern opposes wage controls which violate col­lective bargaining contracts.

• McGovern is for a higher minimum wage. In 1972 itwas McGovern's vote that pushed across the $2.20minimum wage bill in the Senate.

• McGovern is for higher unemployment compensa­tion. In 1966 he cast the crucial vote that won themeasure for labor.

• McGovern is for Medicare and greater social securitybenefits.

• McGovern led the successful legislative battles formore jobs through public works and public serviceemployment programs.

• McGovern sponsored food. stamps and school lunchprograms.

• McGovern is an outspoken supporter of civil rightslegislation.

• McGovern is against "right to work" laws.

• McGovern is opposed to the export of Americanjobs to foreign countries.

• McGovern is a strong voice for peace.

• McGovern believes all workers, including those whoare employed by the government, should have theright to strike. He also believes the restrictions im­posed on government workers by the Hatch Act areunfair and should be removed.

THE RECORD SHOWS ... McGOVERN 93.4% RIGHT FOR LABOR~ .

Nixon ... N• In 1946 Richard Nixon was elected to the House of Repre­

sentatives on a platform that called for "smashing the laborbosses." .

• In 1947, Richard Nixon was one of the principal authorsof the infamous Taft-Hartley Act and, the following year,the anti-labor Wood Act.

• Since Nixon has been President, he has slapped a freeze onwages but allo .• ed prices an~ profits to rise virtually un­checked. It now costs more than $1,300 a year to buy-thefood that cost $1, I 00 when Nixon was elected.

8· Octobt.· 8, 1972 • EL MALCRIADO

• As President, Nixon opposed the passage of an effectivejob safety bill and a higher minimum wage.

• As President, Nixon vetoed government jobs for the un­employed and day care centers for working mothers.

• Nixon has invoked Taft-Hartley injunctions against laborand has proposed compulsory arbitration legislation tocripple labor.

• Although Nixon declared that he had "a secret plan 19 endthe war" in 1968, the. war in Viet Nam was raised to newheights.

Report from Santa Maria .2- .- _

Meet Mel O'Campo:•

minimal busing.As a result children liVing up to two

miles away from school are forced to walleacross state highways ~ to ~t t~ ~5=hool,

because many families do not have cars.available to take their children to school.

After three days of picketing and com­munity meetings, School SuperintendentJohn Mudge reversed his .earlier announce­ments and made buses available on thenext school day.

Mudge asked to Comite Consejero deEducaion de Santa Maria to act as anintermediary between the school and thecommunity, to express the community'sneeds and help the school district resolveits problems. .

The CO'1lite was formed by the Chicanocommunity as a result of disturbanceslast year at the local high school.

The school district has agreed in nego­tiations with the Comite to accept a sim­ilar advisory group for th:: elementarydistrict.

The district also agreed to hire Chicanoteachers to create a ethnically balancedstaff. Still under discussion is a timetahlefor completion of the balanced staff.

Parents and Students forceSchool Board 10 Provide

Transporlalion

SANTA MARIA, California--SChoolopenedin Santa Maria this fall with a picketline at the Santa Maria Elementary Schooiadministration office protesting the lackof transportation for elementary and juniorhigh school students, some of whom mustwalle up to two miles to get to school.

United Farm Workers Union membersjoined with the picket!> to complain aboutthe hazardous conditions under which theirchildren had to walle to school.

During the summer the school boardadopted an integration plan that met stateand federal requirements in a minimalfashion.

The board had previously appointed acitizens' committee to recommend integra­tion plans. The committee had recommendeda system of paired schools in which slight­ly more than 2,000 of the 6,000 studentsin the district would be bussed.

Even though 1,800 students were thenbeing bused without integration, a groupcalling themselves "Parents for Neighbor­hood Schools" voiced strong objections tothis "massive busing,"

Along with adopting the integration planduring the summer, the board decided therewas no money in the budget for more than

lupe who refused to say masses for thefarm workers in the Guadalupe park duringthe strike of 1970, was played during acourt session. It showed there was a greatdeal of noise from the audience whenO'Campo tried to speak.

The meeting ended after thirty-five min­utes even though no one was called outof order by the chairman Fausto Ragusci,president of the PTe.

Echavarria, most severely sentenced andthe subject of a two-hour session on thestand during the trial. was said by wiOles­ses to have directed the actions of otherdefendants "with his eyes", according totestimony of a sheriff's deputy. In conflict­ing testimony from other wiOlesses, Echa­varria was supposed to have directed otherwiOlesses with hand and arm signals.

During Echavarria's sentencing, judgeRichard Kirkpatrick told all the defendantsthey must respect the opinions of otherpersons and allow them the freedom toexpress their ideas.

Kirkpatrick gave examples of variousextreme opinions that must be allowedexpression including "those who wear theswastika," referring to Nazis.

"The cold light of reason is the bestplace to let people examine and reject badideas," Kirkpatrick said.

In a reply to the bench, Echavarriaexpressed hope that "this government wouldbring true justice to the barrios, ghettosand reservations of this country,"

Another defendant, Carman Manana, mo­ther of seven children, one of whom, afive week old infant, spent each day ofthe trial with his mother in court, addres­sed the court through an interpreter.

Mrs. Magana, in an emotion-laden state­ment, said she wanted "to thank FaustoRagusci for inviting me to the (Parent­Teacher Club) meeting," which resulted inthe arrests and trial.

Ragusci, his wife Barbara, and MelO'Campo, who all testified against thedefendants, were in the courtroom for thesentencing.

Defense attorney Bill Carder will filean appeal within ten days in a Santa Bar­bara court.

All sentences are stayed by the courtpending the appeal.

Cesar Chavez and the efforts of poor farmworkers to build themselves a union.

O'Campo has done the bidding of theright-wingers ever since the strike beganhere in 1970. In so doing, he has steadilydrifted away from the people he professessuch concern over. "He has begun to avoidtalking to farm workers," say people inSanta Maria, "because he knows we won'thold back from telling him he is a liarwho is interested only in money,"

O'Campo recently demonstrated his"concern" by prosecuting the "GuadalupeTen", striking farm workers who had con­fronted him during an anti-Chicano speechat Guadalupe, a small town near SantaMaria.

"But Mel O'Campo is not the real enemy.When we finally force the growers to signUnion contracts," say the Santa Mariastrikers, "Mel O'Campo will have to goback to his former career as a peddlingsalesman,"

SANTA MARIA. Callfornia-·Injustice,Santa Maria Valley style, wrote anothershameful chapter in the "Guadalupe Ten"case september 20 when seven of the tenwere sentenced in Superior Court in San­ta Maria.

All seven were given two years pro­bation, six were given suspended sentencesof 90 days, one was given a six monthssuspended sentence, and three were fined.

As part of the terms of probation, Man­uel Echavarria was given 45 days in thecounty jail, jesus Ortiz was given 10days and fined $125, Sammy Gonzales wasgiven 5 days and fined $75, and FerminSepulveda was fined $125. All seven weretold to act in a "lawful and orderly man­ner" at public meetings which they maya ttend in the future.

Other defendants receiving two years pro­bation and 90 day suspended sentences areAugustina Guiterrez, Carman Magana andMargarito Cabello.'

Two other defendants, juana Estorga andMary Baca, were found not guilty. Chargesagainst the tenth person, Angel Fierro,were dismissed when United Farm Wor­kers attorney Bill Carder showed the courtthat Fierro had not attended the Parent­Teacher Club meeting.

The jury trial, held in mid-August, de­veloped from charges of disturbing the peaceand disrupting a public meeting last March16 in Guadalupe. a small town nine mileswest of Santa Maria.

All seven were convicted on the singlecharge of disrupting a public meeting.

The Parent-Teacher Club of the Guada­lupe Schools had invited Mel O'Campo,long-time foe of the United Farm WorkersUnion and Chicanos. a self-styled memberof the right wing john Birch Society anda resident of Santa Maria. to speak about"The Truth Behind the Chicano Movement."

According to testimony in court therewere 350 persons at the meeting. No onewas arrested at the meeting. even thoughthere were four sheriffs deputies in theroom at all times and many police standingby "in case of trouble." The ten werecited to court three weeks later by noticesin the mail.

A tape of the meeting, supplied by Rev.Anthony Cambra, Catholic priest in Guada-

~p "Guadalupe Ten Sentenced

Mel O'Campo with two of hisbuddies-- State Senator john

Harmer (R•• Glendale), sponsorof anti-farm worker legislation

(right), and Mike Shultz,an Imperial Valley

grower (center).

Sell-Out

SantaMaria

SANTA MARIA, Caiifornia--"He's a pup­pet and a sell-out." "He lives in a fancyhouse where the rich live," That's whatfarm' workers in this area have to sayabout Melchor O'Campo, self-proclaimedenemy of the United Farm Workers move-

. ment. They should know. O'Campo liveshere.

"I can say 1 am very proud to be amember of the john Birch Society," saysO'Campo when speaking for himself. "Iwent to the society, they did not comeafter me." "Don't call me a Chicano,"he asks. "I am an American of Mexicandescent.·'

O'Campo used to make a living as asalesman and radio announcer. Nowhepaysoff the mortgage on his fancy house withfees from speeches to "fat cats" set upby the Birch Society and other right-winggroups, anxious to hear from a "Mexican­American" turncoat who will bad-mouth

r: L MALCRli\J)O. October 13, 1972 • 9

'T -" ~ / J" .. '

ARAB FARM WORKERS SPEAKThe article in Arabian in this issue of

EL MALCRIADO is by Dirhem Yahya, afarm worker at Tenneco's Ducor Ranchand a strong supporter of the Union. Broth­er Dirhem came to the United States fromthe Yemen Arab Republic in January and,like most of the 6,000 Arabian farm workersin California has worked in the asparagusharvest and in the grapes.

There were some Arabian workers inCalifornia fields in the early 1960's, butthe great influx began after 1965, when thegovernment ended the importation of serf­like Mexican "Braceros." The Delanogrape strike also encouraged some growersto turn to Arabian workers as supposedlydocile and unorganizable replacements fortheir Mexican and Filipino workers whowere pro-union. Almost all of the Arabianshere are from North or South Yemen, oneof the most isolated areas of Arabia, locatedon the corner of the Red Sea and IndianOcean, and bordered only by Saudi Arabia.

Yemen itself, the kingdom of the BiblicalQueen of Sheba, was so isolated throughthe centuries that most of it did not fallunder European colonization or influence.The Turks of the Ottoman Empire tem­porarily occupied the country in the 19thCentury and England did seize the port cityof Aden for a naval base. Aden gained in­dependence several years ago as the PeoplesDemocratic Republic of South Yemen, aftera brief but bitter and violent struggle toforce the British out.

The Yemen Arab Republic or North Yemenwas founded on September 26, 1962, after aone-day revolution that was almost blood­less. The country had been ruled bydespotic Immans (Kings) for centuries andslavery, public beatings, hangings, behead­ings and corporal punishment were allcommon. None but the Imman's family andaristocracy were allowed education, therewere no public schools, no universities,four hospitals for the 6, 000,000 people.Newspapers were forbidden to the commonpeople and the government printed the onlypapers available to the aristocracy. Womenwere (and in many ways still are) virtualslaves, bought as wives by the fathers oftheir prospective husbands at the age of12 or 14, and expected to clean, cook andbear children, preferably males.

The Republic endeu slavery and some ofthe more horrible medieval forms of publictorture and punishment, allowed news­papers, pushed free education and healthcare (now availablp. to most city dwellers),built roads, factories, ariports and bridges,and made a vigorous effort to modernizethe country. Most of the younger Yemenishere can read and write (in Arabic), but

since most are from rural areas of'ieman,few have had any formal education. Al­most all have families, though the wivesand children are left in Yemen. Theirisolation from American society is almosttotal, much like the Filipinos of the 1930's(and of today). They live almost entirelyin labor camps, many of them segregated,and they rarely get into town except to cashtheir checks. Because few speak or under­stand any English, they have great difficultygetting driver's licenses, a fact whichfurther increases their isolation. Travelingsalesmen and prostitutes visit the camps andrip off hard-earned money, but for the mostpart the Arabians are extremely thrifty andhard working. And unlike the Filipino menwho were trapped in this social isolationbefore beginning families, the Arabians canlook forward to the day when they havesaved enough money to get back to theirwives and families. Most go back to Yemenevery 3 to 5 years.

Since the major grape companies signedcontracts in 1970, many Arabians have be­come union members. Though there wereno unions in Yemen until recently, mostunderstand the necessity and advantages ofworking together and organizing. Becauseof the language barriers, the socialstrUCture of the rural society from whichthey come, their fundamentalist religion(Islam), and their isolation from otherAmerican society, they present a special setof problems and opportunities for the unionin organizing. But the 40 or more Arabianworkers who went to jail in support of theWhite River strikers should be proof toall the Union that the Arabians are becomingmilitant and dedicated Union brothers in theforefront of our struggle for justice for thefarm workers of America. HIY1' W' ALLAHHIYAl

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Published every two weeks as theOfficial voice of the:

UNITED FARM WORKERSAFL-CIO

•La Paz P.O. Box 62

Keene, California 93531

•No subscription orders accepted

Bulle order of 50 prepaid only $5.00P lease specify

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If you have decided to masterSpanish, explore CIDOC for a min­imum of four weeks. You will dis­cover that in three months thisdemanding program will enableyou to speak correctly and flu­ently-at least in everyday con­versation and in your professionalfield. While at CIDOC you may alsojoin an academy addressing itselfin 1973-74 to "Limits in the Growthof Both Industrial Goods and Insti­tutional Services." Yearly registra­tion fee is $50. Room and board inCuernavaca from about $80.For catalog and further information. write:

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INTERVIEW WITH SUPPORT GROUP•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

puerto Rican Farm Workers

Jersey, Apolonio Collazo, to pacify me byoffering me a job as an assistant. Theyfailed to buy me off."

In their visit to Callfornia our brothersWilmer, Alberto, William and Juan meta t length with Cesar, participated on theUnion picket lines against White RiverFarms, and visited with Puerto Ricanworkers who work in the Delano area.They did much to lay the groundworkfor theUnion to someday bring better livingand working conditions to our Puerto Ricanbrothers on the eastern coast of the UnitedStates.

E L MALCRIADO. October 13, 1972 • 11

Dorthy Johnson, assistant to Eliseo Me­denia, reports that "they have just begunto question him (Norwood), but have '11­ready discovel'ed a July llth letter fromhis office certifying the importation of thisyear's Jamacian work force. It wasn't untilAugust that the growers began their flimsyrecruitment effort (for domestic workers).

. so it is beginning to look m<.re and morelike whatever efforts are made are merelyfor appearances sake aad are not at alldesigned to reach the people who couldwork in the cane."

Joe Kaplan, a lawyer from Miami, isdonating his services to the Union inarguing our case before the court. AsDorthy descrihes it, he "had to fight offabout eight lawyers. including a guy s::!ntdown by the Department of Labor fromAtlanta. Bur it was beautiful to see Joestay so cool while all these other lawyerswere just getting more and more up tight."

labor supply has been exhausted. But, asis often the case in the agricultural indus­try, the government conveniently looks theother way and invariably gives the growerspermission to import Jamacians "While A­merican farm workers go jObless.

On september 8 the United Faz;m Wor­kers filed suit in a federal court in Mi­ami to stop this illegal collusion betweenthe government and the growers and pro­tect the jobs of domestic farm workers.

The suit charges U. S. Attorney GeneralRichard Kleindienst,Raymond Farrell, com­missioner of immigration and naturaliza­tion; James D. Hodgson, secretary of la­bor; and William Norwood, Department ofLabor regional manpower director, withviolating labor laws by allOWing the impor­tation of foreign workers without goinj!;through the proper certification procedures.

Dr. Marshall Barry, Assistant Professorof Economics at New College in Sarasota,told the court that more than 80,000 Flor­ida farm workers went unemployed whilethe government permitted the Jamaciancutters into the country on the groundsthat domestiC workers were unavailable.

Dr. Barry and Eliseo Medina, directorof Union organizing in Florida, are usingthe government's own statistics to provetheir case. Medina pointed out that S~'!te I

figures showed some 116,000 farm workershad entered Florid'a but that only 78,000of them were employed during the peakharvest season. These figures do not evenaccount for workers already residing inFlorida.

Dr. Barry's testimony was followed bythat of William Norwood, regional manpowerdirector for the U. S. Department of La­bor and a defendent in the suit, whose re­s ponsibility it is to certify the importa­tion of Jamacian workers only when nodomestic workers are available.

Puerto Rican organizers (left to right) Wilmar Silva, Alberto Gonzalez, WilliamLoperena and Juan Irizarry (seated) during a recent visit to Union headquartersat La Paz, California.

Department of Labor called for a minimumwage of $1.80 an hour, but he was nevertold how many hours he had worked. Hewas never paid for the two hours spentin going to and from the fields. The foodthat was taken out to the workers atlunch time was often half-rotten.

Juan began to protest the conditionsand began to organize his fellow workersin order to force the company to live upto the contract. The company fired himfor "the lack of harmony with the company'sworking operations." Juan said, "They evensent the immigration specialist for New

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MIAMI, Florida--Every year about thistime the big sugar growers and processorsdown here get ready to harvest their cropof ·cane. Like growers everywhere. theyare eager to find the cheapest possiblesource of labor to do their work. Tra­ditionally for cane growers this has beenalien Jamacians, imported with the helpof the United States government for thesole purpose of harvesting the cane.

Equally traditionally, domestic farm wor­kers-" mostly Blacks --go unemployed whiletheir even poorer Jamacian brothers under­bid them for the work, since they willsoon return home where the American dol­lar carries a lot more weight.

There are federal laws to prevent that.Growers must apply to the United Statesgovernment for permission to import Ja­macian workers, and the only legal groundsfor such permission is that the domestic

Florida:

UNION SUES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

can uepartment or Labor can neverresulvethe grievances of Puerto Rican farm wor­kers because the department is "an in­herent part of the problem." It is the agencythat recruits the workers, hears theirgrievances, yet is part of the colonialgovernment that has to satisfy the wishesof American business interests.

. Juan Irizarry gave a typical example ofthe way in which Puerto Ricarfarmworkersare treated. He said the Glassboro (N.J.)Service Association, an agency of the FarmBureau in New Jersey and Delaware, serves800 growers with 2,000 ranches.

The Association brings 5,000 to 9,000workers from Puerto Rico every yeal"and keeps them in central labor campsa s a reserve of cheap labor for the growers."The Association keeps them like a herd

of cattle. The grower comes and picks theanimals he wants. If some of them are'defective,' he can return them and getmore," explained Juan.

Juan says that those camps charge theworkers $17.31 a week for food whetherthey are working or not. And when theyfindly'do work, most of their pay is de­ducted to pay for the food. They onlyget one hot meal a day. Many can nolonger stand the conditions at the campsand try to leave. So the Association em­ploys guards to keep them from escaping.

Juan Irizarry told us he was once con­tracted to work for Jolly Green GiantCompany, which brings in 800-900 PuertoRican farm workers to work a six to eightweek season harvesting asparagus in Del­aware Most of the time there was nowork. The contract with the Puerto Rican

Four Puerto Rican organizers, WilmerSilva, Alberto Gonzalez, William Loperenaand Juan Irizarry have been visiting theUnion in California for almost two weeks.Wilmer Silva came representing the Ec­umenical Ministry for Puerto Rican Mi­grants, while the other brothers are fromCAMP, "Committee of Support for PuertoRican Migrants."

They are dedicated to the liberation ofPuertoRicanfarm workers who are forcedby economic need to come to the easternUnited States, where they are exploited byAmerican growers. They have just finishedtraveling throughout Delaware,New Jersey,

onnecticut, Massachusetts and New Yorkwhere they visited the labor camps in whichthe majority of Puerto Rican farm workersmust stay.

have with the Puerto Rican Departmentof Labor.

"The inspectors that come to look atthe labor camps never talk with the wor­kers," explained Wilmer, "they always goto the grower, the labor contractor or theadministrators of the camps. They aregiven boxes of produce and the reportson the camps come out favorable to thegrowers."~e organizers told us the, l?l!er~o Ri-

" .

"What we saw," said Alberto Gonzalez,"is no more than a new kind of slaveryin the 20th century." They found "hor­rible working and living conditions." Manyof the camps have no heating for theharsh winter months. The beds are filthy,and the blankets are never changed. Thesanitary conditions are repulsive, the grouptold EL MALCRIADO.

The workers have no privacy. They'have no lockers in which to put their

personal belongings. There are no fireextinguishers. The toilets are not adequatelyserviced and are located right next todining halls. The windows are broken anddoor screens torn. For this they are charged$30-50 rent per week.

And the workers are not able to changethese conditions," the organizers told us,"because they are completely isolated whenthey come to this country." They arerecruited by the Puerto Rican Departmentof Labor and are contracted directly togrower associations in the United States.

The Puerto Rican Department of Laborsupposedly protects the rights of PuertoRican farm workers, said Wilmer Silva,but it does not enforce the contractsit has with the growers, which stipulateminimal living and working conditions.The grievances the organizers listed wereall violations of the contractsthe growers

~ Under the Union Contract, the workers had a minimum wage of $2.30 an hour,$2.70 an hour for pruning and $6.00 an hour piece-rate harvesting. But the companywants to break the Union so it can lower wages.

~ Under the Union contract the workers enjoyed job security. But the companywants to break the Union so it can bring in machines to put the gondola grape pickersout of work.

I

Lamont: 845-3344, 845-3712, 845-1306Delano: 725-9703, 725-1594

Pass this on to other farm worker sisters ana brothers. Don't be fooled intobreaking the strike~ DON'T BE A SCAB~ This battle affects the futures of usand our families. Rise to the fight. Together we will win~

BECAUSE THE GROWERS WANT TO KILL THE UNION SO THEY CAN PAY THE SAME MISERABLEWAGES THEY PAID BEFORE THE GRAPE STRIKE IN 1965. THEY WANT TO KEEP THE UNION FROMBRINGING HIGHER WAGES AND A BETTER LIFE TO ALL FARM WORKERS. THE GROWERS WANT TODESTROY THE UNION BECAUSE IT WON'T LET THEM BRING IN MACHINES TO PUT FARM WORKERSOUT OF WORK LIKE THEY DID IN THE COTTON, TOMATOES AND OTHER CROPS.

~ If anyone tries to recruit you to go and scab at White River Farms(Buttes Gas &Oil Company) or if you know about anyone who is planning to break the strike callone of the following numbers:

The money-grabbing owners of White River Farms refuse to negotiate a new Unioncontract.

~ Why are other growers, including Japanese growers, helping the company toget labor contractors to bring in scabs to break the strike?

In 1966, the United Farm Workers won a Union contract from Schenley, Inc. It wasthe first collective bargaining agreement for farm workers in the history of theUnited States. Later, Schenley sold its land to Buttes Gas &Oil Company and theland became White River Farms.

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~ 200 strikers have been arrested in the areas of Delano and Poplar in theirmonth-long strike against White River Farms(Buttes Gas &Oil Company).

~ A great number of the illegal aliens brought in to break the strike have beenarrested by the U.S. Border Patrol.