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September 28, 1974@EL MALCRIADO 1974

UNREST BREWING AT GALLOWorkers Angry at Winery-Teamsters Pact

, .......STOCKTONIN

Law enforcement agencies,meanwhile, have jumped to thedefense of the winery.

The Merced County Sheriff'sDepartment and the LivingstonPolice Department are maintain­ing survefllance over the UFWbynooding picket line areas withofficers and spending a great dealof their time following organizersin their squad cars.

The Sheriffs are so preoc­cupied with the strike they foundthemselves left, at one point, with'only two reserve squad cars totake care of things in the rest ofthe county..

Sheriffs' radios abound withreports on which UFW membersto follow, the locations of pic­

.ket lines, and bulletins on strikeactivities.

According to an unconfirmedreport. 270 people were fired forfailing to show up to work onthe first day ofthe strike, Sept. 6.

Eight workers from Mexico de·cided to go back home after Gal­lo fired them just because tl\eywere seen talking to UFW organi­zers after the strike began.

Campestnos, currently .work­. ...1:-~~.:.- ~'lll'\ _.-::_.:::::_" ~._.. ,,--

winery--s employees are satisfied!with the Teamsters union.I They said non-EngUsh speak­.ing workers are treated especial-ly bad by the Teamsters. ,

The workers said many ofthem, because of their dissatis­faction with Gallo 3:nd the Team-,sters, would leave the winery ifthey found similar paying jobs.Older workers are particularlydisgruntled.

MeanWhile, the UFW is gather­ing information on the number of"fllegal" aliens and pressuringthe Immigration and Naturaliza­tion Service to clear strikebreak­ing "fllegals" from the struckfields.

Rough estimates indicate thatat least 75 to 100 undocumentedworkers are employed at Gallovineyards in Livingston out of atotal of about 500 workers.

The UFW has learned that asmany as 30 undocumented aliensare living at the government-runPlanada Migrant Center in LeGrand, about 15 miles south ofLivingston.

Merced County sheriffs ar­rested four UFW members in thefirst few days of the strike.

Manuel Hernandez has been re-leased after being charged for as-

sources say that the amount of sault with a deadly weapon on thetomatoes being shipped during ,'I first day.this point in the harvest is far \\ Also arrested were Gilbertobelow the norm of other years. '; Rodriguez and Juan Perez, two

Sources also report that Andco I union organizers, and Saul Bau-tomatoes are being harvested by 'tista, a l7-year old Mexican citi-inexperienced workers brought in zen.from Sacramento in such a slip- Rodriguez and Perez were re-shod manner that many truck leased Sept. 10 on their own re-loads have been rejected by gov- cognizance. one day after beingernment inspectors. The rejected arrested for assault with a dead-tomatoes. it is reported, are be- 1y weapon, maHcious mischief,ing buried somewhere in the area and trespassing. _ .by Andco. I A scab .from last year's Gallo

Every day work is stopped in strike, riding in a car, hit a wo-the fields visited by strikers and man with a beer can as she wasas a result some of the smaller Istanding at a picket line, Sept. 13.

(continued on page 3)

Livingston, Calff.- An under­current of worker discontent isbeing felt on the fields of E & JGallo Winery as UFW organizersquietly organize campesinos fedup with the sweetheart Teamstercontract signed with the companylast year.

A UFW strike against Gallo hasshaken the company as it has tak­en to the defensive by scaring itsworkers, strengthening its corpsof security guards, and attempt­ing to stifle organiZing effortsbythe union.

The company Is reeling asstate tax figures showGallo's rel­ative share of the taxable Calff­

.ornia production of wine haddropped 7 per cent.

UFW organizers are optimis­tic that what has been a low- keystrike up to now will t!ventuallydraw a large number of workersfrom the fields.

UFW members are visitingworkers at labor camps and attheir homes, and have opened upan office to coordinate strike ac­tivities..

AND• • •

Three strikers were arrestedon Sept. 8 in Sutter County foralledgedly trespassing on privateproperty and one of them, RubenSolorzano, suffered a neck in­jury when he was manhandled bycounty sheriffs.

Four Solano grower agentswere also arrested on Sept. 7when they attempted to run oversome pickets with their pick-ups.They were charged with assaultwith a deadly weapon and placedin the Solano county jaB.

Although the strike has justbegun, its effects are already be­ing felt by the growers. Rellabl'

... ~ 2

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,.. .., ,

ers halted 13 out of 25 harvest­ing machines in one field on thefirst day.

. More than 76% of the Andcowork force has signed union au­thorization cards; picket captainssay that more and more workersare leaving the fields daily andsigning up with the UFW.

AI Rojas, UFW organizer inthe area, says that workers wantthe UFW to negotiate for themand want a contract that callsfor a wage increase, job secur­ity, health and welfare benefits,and removal offllegal aliens fromthe fieldS.

YUMA

..... ...'U . -

IN

'. - t~ :-'

TOMATO KINGS HIT BY UFWNorthern California

The San Joaquin Coun­ty Sheriff's Departmenthasn't been able to .break the spirit of UFW . ~huelgu!stas•••Just ... ~;,~\ Q~when It seemed the .'area's tomato strike.was fading, 500 angryhuelgistas'-struck againand were met by thewell armed cops. Thesheriffs arrested 20and seriously beat do­zens more but thei rclubs have been unableto defeat the determin­ation of the strikers.

Davis, Calff,.---The United FarmWorkers of America pushed itsunionization campaign when morethan 400 tomato workers walkedoff their harvesting machinesSept. 4 in Yolo, Solano and Sut­ter counties In northern Califor­nia.

The strike, which Is the first. in the area, is being aimed atthe four largest tomato growersin the three counties: NishikawaBrothers, Heidricks Farms,Chew Brothers and Andco.

. The walk- out has hit Andco,the largest tomato producer inthe world, the hardest when work-

l: HUELGA

\. •. .:"X ...Loll i. 4,.tJ--_if' ..!i"'" ........ "--.

~t ~

/

"Strike in the Sun"

'HUELGA' HALTS YUMA LEMON HARVEST

Children Farm WorkersStrike Black Co-op

UFW Leader in Patterson

Carlos Calderon, Editor of ELMALCRIADO, also spoke sayingthat, "Farm workers here (inArizona), in Florida, Texas andCalifornia are shaking thiseountry as it.nas never beendone before. This struggle is very

a Sept. 2 afternoon rally at Pat­terson Park..

Chavez recalled how he triedto organize in Stockton over 10years ago but that only four orfive people would attend a meetingbecause people then were afraidof talking.

He said, "It was not yet time,but now people everywhere areready to strike."

Chavez' further declared thatalthough contracts may not bewon, workers always benefit fromstrikes.

Last year, for example, Stock­ton tomato workers won a raisefrom 17~ to 30~, on each boxpicked, even though the strikedid not result with a UFW con­tract.

Chavez, however, emphasizedthat the workers must settle fornothing less than a signed con­tract from the growers.

vides no guarantees for work,the workers do not receive daysoff, and, according to Villalpando,tIthe workers are treated bad andhuman relations are not real goodbetween the supervisors and thew~rkers.~'

The pickets, led.by Oracio Es­parza. picket captain, have keptout all scabs except one, althoughthe management and ,office per­sonel continue' to. wor.k;.

Because of the great lossessuffered by steak Mate, strikeleaders believe the company willcapitul2~e in a matter of weeks..

HUELGAtumble.. Company production isdown 85% and, steak Mate isloosing over 30,000 pounds ot,mushrooms per day (mushipomsgenerally sell at 59~ per poundon the market)..

According to Ricardo Villal­pando, a strike leader, workersearn 79~ for every 10 poundsof mushrooms harvested, how­ever. the company incorrectlymeasures the amount and there­fore steals about two pounds forevery ten.

steak Mate Inc.., whichemploys about 125 persons, pro-

Said the UFW President, "Itan 'megal' supports our struggle,then let him eome and we willmore than weleome him."

But, said the farm workerleader, "The scab is the dr~gs

of the working elass and thereis no forgiveness for the seab" important in order to gain jus-

• tiee for the farm worker."Chavez conclud~ his remarktJ _ • ,,' ,

by saying that "T1iefarfu worm :Q1. ". errta'rlno . T'-!>~.".. l·-is no longer ~fraid of the grow- UFW director( and ~u~l':'-ers beeause now there isa union Chavez, UFW strike leader, alsodireetion and fighting spirit.'~ spoke during the rally..

Morgan Hill, Calif.r-Over 80mushroom pickers and packerswent on strike September 7 pro­testing low wages, irregularhours and discrimination in asmall processing plant here..

The farm workers also aredemanding that steak Mate, Inc..,a subsidiary of Purina, recognizethe United Farm Workers ofAmerica (UFW) as their sole

.colleetive bargaining agent.According to local UFW lead­

ers, the strike in this smallagricultural town 15 miles southof San Jose. has every llklihoodof victory as steak Mate profits

San Luis, Arizona- UFW Pres­ident Cesar Chavez narrowed hisattacks on 'megals' during anAugust 29th rally of strikinglemon workers in this smalltown 22 mUes south of Yuma.

Chavez, who has eome underftre from 'leftists' and someChieano aetivists for. hi anti-~ZJtan~e, sai~that, "We

are not neeessarUy against the'megal,' what we are against isthe seaD."

"People Are Ready To Strike"

UFW organizer AI Rojas speaks to strikers at sundown at the

Dixon Migrant camp.

Stockton Calif. - The tomato Workers have eomplained ofworkers strike against Stockton lack of rest periods, hot drinkingarea growers entered its third water and long hours since themonth as more than 200 work- work days sometimes last 10 toers joined strike lines in Pat- 12 hours.terson, a small farming com- strikers also charge that theymunity 40 mtles south of here. don't get paid during the time a

The strike began in July and maehine is broken down, and thathas been hit with restrictive some of them have been physic-eourt orders, violence from ally punished for making mis-

take s on the job.grower - employed private Although no contracts haveguards, and discriminatory law been signed yet with the UFW,enforcement by the, San Joaquin one grower reportedly wants toSheriff's Department. negotiate but has been told by the

The focus of the 'huelga' is union he must go directly to theworkers.

now in Patterson where harvest-ing ends in late November and His packing machines were

closed down for several dayswhere workers are protesting early in the strike.low wages ($2.25 an hour or The tomato strikers moral wasless), mistreatment by their em- apparently boosted when UFWployers, and job displacement by President Cesar Chavez Spoke'illegals.' to more than 1,000 People at

Mushrooms and Labor

MORGAN HILL

Chavez Assails Scabbing by 'illegais'

eause the entire eooperative waslosing money.

Robert Johnson, one oUhe em­ployees, finally organized theeurrent strike but was promptlyfired.

The day after the strike began,the workers ealled on the UnitedFarm Workers (UFW) field officein Avon Park, Florida for assis­tance.

Mack Lyons, .Florida fieldoffice director and UFWNationalExecutive Board member, metwith the strikers in Georgia.

The workers signed UFWauthorization cards (cards whichname the UFW as the bargain­ing agent of their choice) andvoted to demand a UFW eontractwith the protections oUhe union'sCoca-Cola contract in Florida.

The union has already won backpay for workers Who were notearning the minimum wage,sometimes amounting to as muchas $500..

Through several of this Blackcooperative's funding organiza­tions are pressuring CharlesSherrod, the farm's manager, toreach a settlement with the strik­ers, he remains unwi1l1ng tonegotiate..

With so few scabs left in NewCommunity's fields, the UFW'sfirst strike in the southeast area(outside of Florida) may alsobring the first of manyUFW con­tracts to these fields that wereonce harvested by slave labor..

In addition, the lemon treesare becoming so heavy with un­picked fruit that entire branchesare breaking off from the ex­cess weight.

The upshot is that much oUhisyear's antieipated 20 m111iondol­lar bumper harvest may be lost.

The' growers, however, haveapparently not been standing st111and at one point hired a laboreontractor from nearby CaleXico,California to bring in 200 work­ers to break the strike.

Gilbert Rodriguez, CalexicoUFW Direetor, got wind of thestory and promptly organized aerew to talk to the workers,most of them Mexieanos. TheUFW erew quiekly surrounded thebuses, talking to the workersabout the strike and the unionand within 30 minutes all theMexieanos had left the buses..

How long the growers hope tohold out depends, of eourse, onwhether or not they ean hire.anybody to break the strike.

A' deeade ago they eould havegotten as many workers fromaeross the border, in San Luis,Sonora (Mexieo) as they couldhave used. ~..4 .~ , eat··times past has given way to theeries of "Huelga" of the 1970'sand there is no doubt that theghost of the rebe11ious Geronimomay be lurking somewhere inthe hearts of those 1,400 lemonworkers in San Luis, Arizona.

six at a time, and would askif the I was going to organizea strike?

"I would then tell that I eouldn'tmake the strike by myself butthat they were the ones thatwould make the strike and I couldonly support them.

"I told them to think aboutit, to unite and when you areunited and you still want to strike!then I w111 eome before you anawe w111 make the strike togetherif you wish."

Observers say the strike hasbeen very effective noting thatthe orehards are virtually emptyof workers.

Albany, Georgia - The blaekeagle nag first new over thefields of Georgia on August 19th,when 50 Blaek farm workers,most of them under 16 yearsof ~age, walked out on strike atNew Communities, Inc., a farm­ing cooperative near here.

As the strike enters its fourthweek, only management and eightworkers are gathering the har­vest at this 6,000 acre farm.,

The strikers walked out for aliving wage and humane workingconditions.

Not only must they work be­hind machines spraying lethalpesticides, but there is no de­finite pay scale.

Wages paid by New Commun­ities vary from 67~-$1..63 perhour, and management pays eachworker whatever they please, ac­cording to personal preference..

strikers say they must put inunnecessary overtime, on a half­hour's 'notice, at ungodly hoursbecause the farm is poorlymanaged..

The farm's manager, for in­stance, would accept a largeproduce order late in the after­noon and then require people towork late into the night so thatthe order would be filled thenext morning..

Management had convinced theworkers that they should notexpect better payor hours be-

San Luis, Arizona - YumaCounty is hardly known for itslabor battles and is best recog­nized for its territorial prisonand its sweltering 120 degreeheat.

Yet last August 26 more than1,400 lemon workers staged a"strike in the sun" bringingthis desert county's 10 milliondollar lemon harvest to a halt.

The 'huelguistas,' most oUhemChicanos and Mexicanos, are de­manding wage increases, a col­lective bargaining agreement,and recognition of the UnitedFarm Workers of America, AFL­ClO.

The strike, which began spon­taneously, was sparked when 475workers walked off their jobsat eight of the largest orchardsin this border town 22 mtlessouth of Yuma.

The workers are now in theirthird week of the strike and areprotesting the low wages sayingthat the $6 a day is simply notenough to feed their families andmaintain their households.

In addition, the workers aredemanding union recognition ofCesar Chavez' UFW and unionofficials have reported that over90% of the pickers have signedauthorization cards.

(Authorization cards are formssigned by workers granting au­thority to a union to act as theirbargaining agent..)

Growers' attorney steve Shad­dIe denounced the UFW when hesaid, in apparent reference tothe union in a press release,"We feel that many of the peo­ple whe have come into the areafrom outside have done so toexploit our locallemon piekers."

Catarino Torres, San LuisUFW Director, however says that

," -. ,-'0-. h. ~omp -_"'1_ -taneous and that the union camein only after the workers askedfor support, for a collective bar­gaining agreement and union re­cognition.

Said Torres, "The workerswould come to the office five or

Page 2 - September 28, 1974 - EI Malcriado

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Walkout in Stockton

Angry Workers

These are some of the 400 tomato workers whohave left harvesting machines idle and struckgrowers in Davi s, Cal ifornia. Andco, the larg­est tomatos grower in the world, was hardesthit as 13 of 25 machines halted operations inone of the fields on the first day of the strike.

Al Rojas, UFW organizer, saysthat the farm workers are notspending a quarter ofthat amountand still the union Is maintain­ing a pIcket line of not less than200 strikers,

The Teamsters were saId to bespendIng between $7,000 and,$10,000 a week to keep 25 or­ganizers In the area but now haveincreased the number of organi­zers to 100 since the UFW is nowleading the "tomato revolution."

Teamsters AttackIndependent Truckers

As he drove past the line, sev­eral Teamsters jumped on hisrunning board and one of themhit hI m on the back of the headwith a metal object causing alarge gash which required hospi­tal treatment,

Another independent driver al­so reported that he came under~nflre while passIng through aTeamster picket line,

ing to be lit. The strIke will beerupting any mInute now."

**STOCKTON - The tomatostrike has nared up again as thegrowers' attempt to begin theirsecond harvest. More than 1,000workers have walked out alreadyas the strike continues to spread.

**YUMA - More than 1,400Ie mon workers are strIking forbetter wages and recognition ofthe UFW,

**SA~;'!' -" PAULA - Two hun­dred and fifty lemon workershave ended a three- week strikeafter winning wage increases andimproved workIng conditions,

**pATTERSON - Some 500tomato workers have been onstrike for better wages and unionrecognition of the UFW.

Davis. Callf".-Teamsters fromlocal 1973 have been picketingfields in the current UFW-ledtomato strike in this tri-coun­ty area of northern CalifornIa.

The Teamsters, however, areconcentrating their efforts onhalting the shipping of tomatoesto the canneries than on o!'gan­Izing farm workers.

They hope that by keeping thetomatoes from the canneries theycan force the growers Into sIgn­ing with the IBT Instead of theUnited Farm Workers,

Trucking' contractors, how­ever, obtained a restraining ord­e,r against the Teamsters aftertwo Incidents of vIolence on lETpicket lines,

John Galicia, a driver forJames Ward trucking, was ift­jured by rock-throwing Team­sters while he was driving histruck through a picket line twoweeks ago,

Keenet

Calif. - Officials fromthe Uni ed Farm Workers ofAmerica, AFL-CIO, stated herelast week that the current agri­cultural strike wave continuesto sweep across the southwest­ern United States and that itshows no sign of abating.

Said one UFW bulletin, "Strikefever is burning like namesacross a dry plain through theranches of CalifornIa andArf2:ona,"

As of Friday, September 13,almost 4,000 workers were orhad been on strIke in Stockton,Santa Paula, Patterson, Delano,Morgan Hill and Davis, Califor­nIa and Yuma, Arizona.

The strIkes are currently ef­fecting tomatoes, grapes,lemonsand mushrooms, all of which arevalued at over 30 mIllion dol­lars, according to inside observ­ers.

What's Behind the Strike Wave?

"This is the Harvest of Strikes"**DAVIS - Almost 300 workers

are out on strIke agaInst tomatogrowers demanding an end todiscrimination, benefits, betterwages and recognition of theUFW.

**DELANO- Around 70 work­ers walked out of the Superiorgrape fields after talking to UFWpickets and "after complainingabout low wages.

**MORGAN HILL - Two hun-dre~ and flft-r m,,:;!::- -;- .. i":-ei"z.~-~~ ....have entered their second weekof a strike for better wages andunion recognition.

**LIVINGSTON - Over 100workers have struck Gallo vine­yards protesting Teamstersweetheart contracts and de­manding recognition of the UFW.

The Yuma strike alone( forexample, has stopped wha wasexpected to be an estimated 20million dollar bumper crop Inlemons.

UFW PresIdent Cesar Chavezsaid that, "The workers areangry at the growers and theTeamsters and want collective·

"bargainIng agreements and unionrecognition."

Continued Chavez, "The work­ers are fed up with lousy work­ing conditions and want to strike.There's no holding them back."

Several of the strikes havebeen completely spontaneous andthe UFW has come in only afterthe workers have asked the unionfor support.

In addition, Jose Gomez, ad­ministrative assistant to Chavez,said that tomato workers in Yuba,Yolo.. Sutter and Colusa Counties,"are hot, like a firecracker wait~

LABOR CAMPSEarly in the strike, UFW rep­

resentatives went to a laborcamp, Matthews Camp 13, totalk to the residents.

However, Hardig Securityagents denied entry to the UFW,including union members who arecamp resIdents.

Meliclo Sanchez, head of thepicket captains, was kept out,even though he lives In Campnumber Three,

After much discussion, theHardig forces were ejected bylocal sheriffs.

The strike wave in thIs tomatosaturated county is the mostrecent of a summer-long effortto achieve union recognition.

Union officials say that theUFW organizing efforts aremeeting with tremendous succes­ses, citing that each afternoonthe field office is nooded withnew people signing up with theunion.

Despite the violent actions ofthe sheriff's department, grow­ers and security guards, the'huelguistas' have continually ex­pressed their determInation tofight for collective bargaIningrights and decent working con­ditions.

Strikers acknowledge that thestrIke may be a lengthy one, butthey also vow that, In the end,the Uhuelga will be victorious."

Every day, 50-75 "huel-guistas" de monstrate in down­town Stockton. beginning at 3a.m.where contractors recruit astrikebreaking force.

Most workers, after listeningto UFW organizers, agree toeither work in another kind offield or not work in the fieldsat all.

Maurilio Urias, UFW fieldoffice director, aptly summed upthe feelings of the strikers whenhe told those seeking work,"Whoever picks tomatoes todayshould be ashamed."

WE'RE GOING TO WINLucio Rodriguez, a local strike

leader pointed out to the fore­man the advantages of signingwith the UFW and stressed,"We're going to win, that's forsure."

In addition to the violent ac­tivities of the deputies and se~

curUy guards, growers' repre­sentatives drove through thepicket lines repeatedly carryingbaseball bats and cans of mace,

Besides picketing the fields,strikers went to labor campsand labor contractors' busses totake the message of the striketo farm workers.

stockton, Calif, - Over 500angry far m workers walked outof local tomato fields last Sept. 9and vowed to stay out until thisarea's growers agree to signcontracts with the United FarmWorkers of America (UFW),

San Joaquin County Sheriffsimmediately sought to destroythe strike and moved throughthe picket lines swinging clubsand threatening people with cansof mace,

During the first days of therenewed strike, sheriff's depu~

ties attacked the lines wherethE'Y arrested close to 20 people.inclUding Gilbert Lopez, strikeorganizer, and seriously beatdozens mure (many of the vic­tims later required medicaltreatment.)

Despite the violence, strikersreturned to the fields each dayand encouraged strikebreakers tojoin the union struggle,

The strikers are picketing Hat­"anaka & Ota 13, Merl Miller,and Narduchi fields.

Pickets confronted Hatanaka'sforeman, who identified himselfas Randy "None-of-your-buis~

ness," as security guards ac­cused striker Demetrio Munizof malicious mischief. Theguards later repeatedly changedtheir charges against Muniz.

GALLO STRIKE(continued from page 1)

Deputies who saw the incidentmerely gave the culpritabawUngout but made no arrest.

The strike, combined with theboycott, has sent the companyrunning. The Wall Street Journal

- and the San Francisco Chroniclereported that sales were off 9 to10 perc!!nt and attributed some otthe drop to the boycott.

UFW attorneys announcedthree weeks ago that they wereattempting to force television andradio stations to give the unionequal time to match an intensIfiedGallo advertising campaign.

The seven percent drop in Gal­lo's relative share of the state'swine production is Important.

On a month- to- month compari­son Gallo's share of California'sproduction ranges from 22 to 40per cent, using state ngures as a~ide.

. Ron Taylor of the Modesto Beehas found, "WIne experts pointout these figures understate the

Gallo posItion."The company is reported to

produce one-third of the gallon­age consumed in the United Statesand up to 45 per cent of that con­sumed in California. Gallo willneither confirm nor deny thefigures."

DAVIS STRIKE(continued from pa~ 1)

growers are beginning to makeovertones that they want to nego­tiate.

Though this Is the UFW's firstattempt at organizing tomatoworkers In the area, the strikehas met with a surprisIngly largeamount of Success according tounion officIals, Rojas, for ex­ample, remarked that the strikeis running smoothly and thateverything is "falling into'place."

other observers believe thatif the strIke continues on itssmooth course it won't be longbefore Andco falls and the restof the growers will follow with

"pen in hand.

EL MALCRIADOVoice of the Farm Worker

•••Published by

UNITED FARM WOOKERS. AFL-CIOLa Pl!, P.O. Boic 62

Keene, California 93531•••

Bulk order of 50 (prepaid only)$5.00

Please specifySpanish or English edition....Institutional subscriptions

$20.00 a year.

E I Ma"tcriado - September 28, 1974 - 3

1I11elgaJ

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111ma

6 - September 28, 1974 - E1 Malcriado

buelfB en IUllaEI Malcriado - September 28, 1974- Page 7

Washington, D.C.

MEANY REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR UFWLashes Out at

Teamster-Grower Alliance

and I should expect that new materials wUl be forthcoming frothe, Union Label and ServicTrades Department.

"Our field service people arall ready working hard on thboycott and I am certain thaAllen Kiessler and Don Slaymaw1l1 impress upon them the urgency for even greater efforts

"We have a big job to dto Inform every union memberevery union family, every uniofriend of the issue and to urgof the boycott of table grapeand head lettuce.

"The reports, thus far, ashave said, are good. The boycotis beginning to have its effecon the growers. Those who prOUdly display the UFW label on theicrates are reporting excellensales, and they shOUld, for thlJFW labels' stand for fair pIaand decency.

"Now we must take the boycotmessage ov~rseas. We mureach free trade unionists iother lands and sol1cite their suport for the United Farm Workers.

"1 hope the unions of the AFLcro that have close ties witunions in other free countries 0

with a very straight secratariatw1l1 take action to secure overseas trade union cooperatio

"We must all remember thathe success of the boycott idependent upon thousands of millions of individuals decisions noto buy. the product. People witgood intentions sometimes forgeand have to be reminded anreminded again."It is individual commitment

on the part of trade unioniststhe members of theirtamiUeand all other citizens who beUevein fairness that we must con­stantly strive to obtain.

"individual commitmentsagainst the oppression of a min­ority. individual commitmentsagainst union busting individualcommitments for the UnitedFarm Workers of America.

"We must not relent - wemust not relent.

"Our goal is decency, justi~e

and democracy in the vineyardsand fields • • • • and, that ia goal we can win - we mustwin- we shall obtain.

their own union - the UnitedFarm Workers of America- beshattered. The boycott will con­tinue.

"It w1l1 gather motnentum. ItWill not end until the growersrecognized the legitimate aspir­ations of the farm workers tohave the union of their choice­the UF'W.

"Second, the AFL-CIO willpress relentlessly for enforce­ment of immigration laws. Thephrase "law and order" lost itprominence In recent weeks, butwe are going to demand thatthe law be obeyed.

"We urge the new President­clean up the Immigration andNaturalization Service - enforcethe law - do not cohtinance hu­man misery for any reason.

uAdditionally, we're going topress for new laws that w1l1J)ertaUze' the growers and otheremployers for hiring 1l1egalaUens.

"The legislative fight, quitefrankly, may take sometime. So,let us talk about immediateaction - the boycott. Actjon that'We can take ourselves.-the reports that are coming

irito headquarters about the ef­fect of the boycott are heartEln­tng - but we are not satlstted.We will' not be satisfied untilthe UFWA is recognized as alegitimate union of FarmWorkers.

-In many areas of the country,the boycott and its related activ­tt1es are progressing veryweU.III other areas, much more st1l1must be done to assist the farmworkers. And right now- harvesttime - ·Is the time to do it.

'"This means new efforts thatWill gain publ1c attention andsupport for the product boycott01 the table grapes and the headlettuce not picked by the UFWmembers.

"The summer vacation SElasonIs over, So it should be easierfor the' state and local centralbodies to obtain volunteers.Every program that Is now inthe planning stage should be im­plemented without delay.

"Now is also the time for thelabor press to redouble its efforts

George Meany

rights,civil rights and equalrights.' _

"Thay are hot slaves, not chat­tel. They are people, and, by allthat is decent and fair, farmworkers- are going to be treatedUke people - if we have any­thing to say about it. _

"CompUcating the problem ofthe UFW is the dismal recordof the U.s. government in en­forcing the immigration laws.

"More than 600,000 1l1egalagents were apprehendeclin 1973in the Southwest alOne, and theestimate of the numbers whore­mained at large, take jobs awayfrom U.S. workers run into the

. m1l1ions.

"These m1l1ions of 1l1egalscould be stopped, COuld be te­turned to their own country ifthe U.s. Immigration and Natur­aUzation SerViee did what itshould be doing - enforcing thelaw.

IIAt the same time, they aremoVed by the Mexican govern­ment and the U.S. State Depart­ment to reinstitUte the bracero

, program - the importation ofMexicans to work in the fields­to work cheap. Cheap labor isthe reaSon the grower'S forgedan unholy a1Uanee with the Team­ster to break the United FarmWorker.

"Cheap labor is the' reasonthe growers now seek a returnof thebracer.o program. Thequestion•. then, is what are' wegoing to do about it?

HFirst, we're not going to letthe dream of farm workers for

sour grapes of oppression tastesweet again.

"There is little point in re­peating the sordid facts of theTeamsters raid on the FarmWorkers. You all know them.We have made everything a mat­ter of public record. We havedisclosed every detail of the longnegotiations we had with theTeamsters and its president. Wehave revealed the text of theagreement We had reached withthe Teamster and on,which Pres­ident Frank Fitzsimmons rene­ged.

"On that record, we say thatFitzsimmons has made theTeamster an agent of the grow­ers - turning his back on theprinciples that trade unionistshOld dear.

"The aim of the growers, theTeamster and the farm bureaufederation is the destruction ofthe Farm Workers Union.

"The growers know that if theUFW is destroyed, that the spirit'of the workers will be broken.And, the workers will be moreHltlanagable" •

--The growers don-t want todeal with the farm workers ashultlan beings, much less equalsat the bargaining table. Theyprefer the labor contractor sys­tem- the patrones.

"The United Farm Workershave pushed the labor contractorsout of the fields but the Team­ster have brought them backo,

"Of course, labor contractorsare a thrOWback to the days ofslavery. Instead of buying andse1Ung slaves, today growers can"rent tMm" through labor con­tractors and the Teamster.

"The growers may not like it,but'this is the 20th century.Farm Workers have human'

Noon Monday. Sept. 9.1974. The followingls a text of an ad..dress deliveted by AFL-CIO President George Meany at a lunch­eon today Monday Sept. 9th. honoring the United Farm Workers ofAmerica and its President Cesar Chavez. The luncheon was spon­sored by In AFL-CIO Greater Washington Central Labor Councilat the Shorem-Americana Hotel in Washington. D.C.

"We are here today becauseit is harvest time in the vine­yards of California and they areharvesting the fruit of oppressionand tt is that oppression and ourcontinuing determined oppositionto ott that brings each of us heretoday.

"We are not here just to paytribute to a small and valiantunion. Although we hold thisunion and its members in thehighest esteem. We're not herejust to honor Cesar Chavez theleader of that union althoughwe hold him in high regard.

"We are here to do somethingconcrete in the name of decencyand justice and right to promote;the boycott of table grapes andhead lettuce harvested by scabs.

"The cause of the United FarmWorkers of America, the causeof Cesar Chavez, the cause ofthe' AFL-CIO, the caUse of Whichwe today reaffirm a1Ugence isthe right of the workers to con­trol their own economic destiny;to be tree and equal under thelaw in the eyes of their fellowmen.

"Even if our instincts otstraight unionists were not soaroused by the vicious attack onthe United Farm Workers wewould still be herEl today for oursensab1l1ties as reasonable andcompassionate people wouldcome under support oUhis cause.:

"So make no mistake aboutit we are here today to rally,pubUc support tothe United farmWorkers and the boycott of tablegrapes and head lettuce, but wein the AFL-CIO are not cheer

lleaders, we do not stand on theiside Hnes and root this side isour side. '

"We ate involved and we are!going to stay involved until the

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Page 8 - September 28; 1974 - E I Malcriado