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English...Edition

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·Yol. 9, No.1

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United Farm Workers of America, AFL.CIO~ 10 September 17, 1976 '

English

EditionPrice-25t

Carter says 'Yes'on 14

£1 Ma/criado returns"El. Malcriado" doesn't translate

easily, but its closest Englishequivalents are "the misfit" or "theupstart." UFW President CesarChavez has said that a paper by thesame name played an important roleduring the Mexican Revolution andthat the term has special appeal forMexican farm workers who feel op­pressed by their grower bosses.

As we build our stafr' we hope toturn up stories that do justice to thename of the p<ip-er.

FRESNO - Three thousand sur­prised but exultant UFW delegates andsupporters jumped to their feet for a 90­second ovation when Presidential can­didate Jummy Carter told their Sept. 5Political Endorsement Convention byphone that he supports passage ofProposition 14.

The convention's 1,047 delegatesfrom 223 ranches throughout Californiareciprocated several hours' later byvoting almost unanimously to endorseCarter for the Presidency. Before hisscheduled call from Geogia, Carter'schances for a UFW endorsement wereconsidered uncertain.

Just days earlier, Carter had takenpains to correct a Los Angeles Timesreport that he favored passage of theinitiative. Observers here speculatedthat Carter may have wanted to save hisendorsement' statement for the con-vention. ,

,The former Georgia gov~rnor joinedsuch leading California Democrats asGov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., Sen. AlanCranston, artd Sen John Tunney in sup-

'porting the proposition, which isdesign~d to remove farm workers'collective bargaining rights from thepolitical arena.

Meeting in Fresno's Selland Arenafor their first endorsement conventionUnion delegates endorsed candidate~for county and state offices and adop­ted 15 resolutions on subjects rangingfrom immigration regulation tofreedom of the press.

They also heard from an array ofguest speakers including Cranston,Canadian Labor Congress represen­tative Don Taylor, UAW RegionalDirector Jerry Whipple, Los AngelesDeputy Mayor Grace Montanez Davis,and Delancey Street FoundationPresident John Maher.

Union President Cesar Chavez toldthe crowd in Spanish that, "This con­vention represents a dream" because itwas the first time farm workers wouldtake an active role in politics.

Speaker, after speaker told theworkers that unless they wielded theirpolitieal power to elect sympatheticcandidates, their victories at thebargaining table and on the picket linescould be undermined by the govern­ment. The California legislature'srefusal earlier this year to re-fund thestate's Agricultural Labor RelationsBoard was cited repeatedly as an exam­ple of that sort of interference.

"When I came here I expected to findyou organizing under the Agricultural

(Continued on page 11)

This issue marks the first time ElMalcriado has appeared sinceJanuary 1975. We expect to continuepublishing every two weeks withoutinterruption as the official newspaperof the United Farm Workers ofAmerica, AFL-CIO.

As in the past, each issue will con­sist of separate Spanish and Englisheditions with some overlap in con­tent. The Spanish edition will begeared to the farm workers while theEnglish version will cater primarily toUFW supporters. .

lights attached as they crawl aroundcramped growing rooms to do theirwork.

"It's like working in a dark,steaming, stinking cave," said UFWnegotiator Liza Hirsch.

Some crews are allowed to use restrooms only at scheduled times. In somerooms the only drinking water isbrought by the workers themselves inold plastic milk jugs. The uncoveredjugs sit in the corners of the growingroom and are shared by the entire crew.

The new contract provides for the ad­dition of six drinking fountains andfour toilets.

The company's extensive use of toxicchemicals poses a special healthproblem for the West Food workers.

The mushroom beds are sprayedsystematically with Dithane (Z-28), aknown carcinogen. Vapona, a

(Continued on page 2)

honored the strike and that most ofthem participated in shifts of the round­the-clock picketing. The company's at­tempt on Sept. 1 to jam a busload ofstrikebreakers through the picket 'linefailed, Medina added.

He said the victory will have a majoreffect on UFW contract negotiationseverywhere because "it will show thegrowers we're serious and the workersthat they don't have to be scared."

West Foods' motion for a restrainingorder against the strike failed. TheUFW attorney argued that under theALRA, the firm first had to make itscase before the Agricultural LaborRelations Board (ALRB) before goingto court.

The strike began as a work stoppageto protest the company's bad faithbargaining, Medina said. The strikevote was taken Aug. 30 at the plant, infront of company officials.

The contract is the UFW's first with amushroom grower. The Teamsters havea contract in Oregon, Medina said, butthat the UFW's is far superior.

He said the international boycottstarted in July against products of DoleCo., another Castle & Cooke sub­sidiary, was "extremely helpful" in per­suading the company to negotiateseriously and in procuring the'mediation services of Dan Rathenbergof the Berkely Coop. The boycott wasterminated last week.

West Foods workers, who voted July13 to impose the boycott, have some ofthe worst jobs in agriculture. Themushrooms are grown in completedarkness in chemically treated beds ofsteaming horse manure compost.

Like coal miners, the bedding. andharvest workers wear hardhats, with

" ,

SHOUTING.. CHEERING DELEGAT~S make it difficult to hear the mariachis (foreground) during a late afternoon floordemonstration at the Fresno convention., (Photo by Cathy Murphy)

, Farm workers won a historic victorySept. 6 when officials of West Foods'Ventura mushroom plant caved in un­der pressure from an eight-day strikeand international boycott and agreed toa contract meeting virtually all of the'workers'demands.

The victory represented the first suc­cessful strike under California'sAgricultural Labor Relations Act(ALRA) and the first strike that agri­business was unable to halt with arestraining order, said Eliseo Medina,UFW executive board member anddirector of Contract Administration.

Agreement on the. two-year contractcame after 44 hours of continuousbargaining during which 39 of thedocument's 44 articles were negotiated.In the 26 bargaining sessions betweenMay 10 and Aug. 30, when the strikebegan, agreement was rea"hed on onlyfive of the articles because the Castle &Cooke, Inc., subsidiary refused to talkseriously, Medina said.

Workers ratified the contract 09 - 1.Highlights of the contract, which

took effect Sept. 6, include:-A minimum wage scale of $3.30, to

go to $3.50 next year, compared to theprevious $2.50.

-Nine paid holidays per'year.-One to four weeks of paid vacation,

depending on seniority:-Establishment of a hiring hall.-Elimination of a probationary

period during which workers enjoyed'no union benefits or protection.

Negotiations on the use of dangerouschemicals are continuing.

"It was a nice, nice, nice strike,"Medina said. "There was beautifulsolidarity among the workers." He saidall but 10 of the plant's 225 workers

West Foods s rike winshistoric contract victory

Page 2 EL MALeR/ADO September 17, 1976

Mushroom strikers win

The sheriff's deputy saidthat bf trying to take pictures"you would be placing your­selves in personal danger. "

I,OOO-worker seasonal ranch, Medinasaid.

trucks, slashing of tires, threats of rapeagainst women workers, and otherviolent actions too numerous to men­tion. One person was fired upon whiledriving and the bullet missed his headby a foot."

Dozens of sworn declarations filedwith the ALRB state that even securityguards and ardent Teamster memberswere threatened. One of the guardsswore that Teamster' organizer EfranGonzales told him, "If you're gonnapull your guns out, we're gonna pullours out." A V.B.Z. worker who hadvoted for Teamster representation at theranch and acted as a Teamster observerduring the state-sponsored ballotingtold of how he was threatened withblacklisting and a $500 fine.

The victims of all this were and areTeamster members who were never

given the opportunity to cast ballots in astrike vote. Most of the 400 V.B.Z.workers neither worked nor picketed,preferring to simply stay away from theranch in safety and wait.out the strike.

On Sept. 7 they went back to work,the strike called off without agreementon a new contract. As El Malcriadowent to press, Federal mediators hadmade a proposal that the Teamsters ten­tatively approved with no guaranteethat the growers would accept it. Mem­bers ratified the union's acceptance onSept. 5, paving the way for a possiblesettlement, but only 75 of the more than500 V.B. and A. & N. Zaninovichworkers voted at the ratificationmeeting.

If their unilateral agreement shouldresult in a contract based on themediators' proposal, that pact wouldincrease base houriy wages from $2.70to $3.00, rising to $3.15 in' February.The most recent UFW grape contractset base wages of $3.35 per hour.

Thus the final outcome of this bizarrestrike remains uncertain, but Delizonnahasn't changed his plans to seek con­tempt of court charges against theTeamsters for "thumbing their nose atthe law."

He'll also go ahead with his an­nounced intention to seek decer- \tification of the Teamsters as thebargaining agent for workers at the twoZaninovich ranches, an unprecidentmove in the one-year history of theALRB.

A Board ruling isn't expected for acouple of months, but if Delizonna issuccessful the union would be strippedof its claim to represent the workers.

Since the plant operates year-round,the contract is equivalent to one for a

from the other side, only to be greetedby a shining hunting.knife blade held by"a fat guy who stood right next to me."When they saw to it that we had put ourcameras away, they rejoined theirgroup, 50 strong, which was preparingto stalk the Zaninovich workers whohad finished in the grape rows for theday.

As the disinterested-looking deputiesreadied their cars to form the day'scaravan a few minutes later, I asked oneif we could join the convoy to takephotographs.

"Sure," he said, "but you would beplacing yourselves in personal danger."Executing a U-turn in accordance withhis advice, we left by another route butnot before we saw the Teamsters' carsmoving in behind the police cruiserseven before any workers had movedtheir cars into line. .

The members of our welcoming partyall qad addressed us in English, thoughmost Mexican farm workers in the areagenerally are not bilingual.

In announcing legal action against theTeamsters earlier, the ALRB's Delizon­na had said: "A telling piece of evidenceis that there are 50 or 60 farm workers(working in the fields) and that therewere 50 to 60 Teamsters there. Theevidence clearly indicated that only twoof the Teamsters had picket signs. Ifthey weren't there picketing they wereclearly there for intimidation pur­poses. "

"Almost all the pickets are V.B.Z.workers," claimed Teamster organizerPete Maturino when reached in hisDelano office by telephone. "Ninety­five percent of the workers are in thestrike and they don't have any weaponsout there - we checked," he added.

Teamster officials continued to denyall charges of violent conduct at theZaninovich ranches while almosteveryone else who studied the situationhad no trouble documenting suchbehavior during the 13-day strike."There's violence going on and thesepoor workers are scared to death,"Delizonna argued before a TulareCounty judge as he sought to strengthena temporary restraining order againstharassment that had been virtuallyignored by the Teamsters.

"Today there wtlre actual shootingattempts," he said before going intocourt. "There have been burnings of

"These proposed standards onlygive a worker another excuse to begoofing off while on the job and willnot provide any real benefit to theworker. Bowel movements can becontrolled and should be ac­complished by the worker beforeentering the place of work or after.

"At the present time, no one ispermitted to use the sanitary facilitieshere during working hours as thiscuts down on their production andamounts to a monumental waste oftime. New employes are permitted touse the facilities until they trainthemselves so bowel movements takeplace out of working hours."

An election was held on Sept. 8 underthe auspices of the ALR:B, with theworkers voting UFW, 137; Teamsters,39; and "no union," 9. After dismissinga Teamster appeal, the ALRB certifiedthe UFW as the workers' officialbargaining agent.

Negotiating for the UFW was doneby a committee of seven workersassisted by Hirsch, UFW NegotiationsDirector David Burciaga, NegotiationsDivision staffer Jennifer Braun, andMedina, who joined the talks Sept. 2.

Medina said the West Foods picketersgot support from locallongshoring and WEST FOODS mushroom plant workers in Ventura, Calif., picketed around thelaborers unions. clock for eight days before winning their first UFW contract. (Photo by Nell Campbell)

ty sheriff's deputies had been escortingthe workers to Delano in car caravanssince a few days earlier, but thecaravans had become tragicomic chasescenes as Teamsters in cars attempted tocut the workers off from the caravans,ALRB agent Fred Lopez said.

The instant I parked my car that dayon Road 208 across from a dozen or sodeputies, we were approached by atleast 15 pickets who had broken offfrom the rest of their ranks up the road.Deputies began snapping photos of thewhole scene as the picketers moved in.We were completely surrounded by thestrike enforcers even before I could geta picture. It" was clear they didn't- wantus there, no matter who we were, andthey cut off any remaining elbow roomwhen I identified myself as 'an ElMalcriado reporter. Clutching mycamera, I looked to the deputies, whomade no move.

The lawmen couldn't see whatfollowed as my antagonists pressed infor a few minutes of frantic bad­mouthing during which I expectedalmost anything to happen. Then a manabout my size snarled through a phonysmile as he pulled me toward him withhis right arm and placed a couple oflight jabs into my stomach with his leftjust to reenforce his suggestion that Istay away from V.B.Z.

In the meantime, anotherphotographer had gotten out of our car

(Continued/rom page 1)

dangerous organo-phosphate insecti­cide, also is used.

West Foods had been under a Team­ster contract for five years prior to thelate summer of 1975, when companyworkers asked the UFW's Oxnard Field

,Office staff to help them organize aunion election under theALRA.

Reporter learns fast

rea~sterenforeersdon't mess around

As workers crap out

GroUlarThe following Associated Press

story, which speaks for itself, ap­peared in the Los Angeles Times onJuly 23.

WASHINGTON - Some farmersare outraged at a privy-on-the-prairieproposal that would require them toprovide toilets, washing facilities anddrinking water within a five-minutewalk of all field workers.

Since the proposal was made lastApril, the Occupational Safety andHealth Administration has receivedabout 1,000 letters, mostly fromfarmers who cite cost, impracticalityand difficulty of enforcement as po­tential problems. Few are from farmworkers.

One irate Florida farmer says hisworkers must control their bowelmovements when they are working soas not to reduce productivity.

"Why are you trying to get us to1984 before the clock does?" wroteRhee Cummings of Greensboro,N.C. "Toilets, sinks and water foun­tains in the fields? Are you serious?"

Mrs. Bill Simanton of Malta,Mont., writes that she would needdozens of toilets on her 627 acres."This would entail financialbankruptcy because a water wellwould have to be drilled for eachfacility. And each would have to beheated to insure against freezingduring the winter months."

And this unsigned comment froma farmer in Brownsfield, Tex.,"What else will you idiots inWashington come up with?"

Faced with this outhouse impasse,OSHA officials concede changes in

. the standard will be made. "I think itwill have to be modified," said, W.M. Glasier, an OSHA agriculturalsafety specialist.

He added, however, that someregulation is necessary because noteveryone takes care of workers.Glasier cited a letter from a farmer inCoconut Grove Fla., who wrote: .

By Bob DatzStaff Writer

"Most of the people in the strikedon't appear to be farm workers;"Agricultural Labor Relations BoardGeneral Counsel Harry Delizonna toldme on Sept. 3. His investigation hadturned up Teamster organizers from allover California manning picket lines atthe V.B. and A. & N. Zaninovich gtaperanches near Delano.

That afternoon, I had gone to"V.B.Z." myself to check out thereputedly violent Teamster strikers andfind out exactly who they were. Most ofall, I wanted photographs of theirstrong-arming of workers who didn'tobey the strike command.

The Delano office of Teamster Local946 had ordered the strike, first at V.B.Zaninovich on Aug. 18 and at A. & N.Zaninovich five days later, after con­tract renegotiations were snagged on theissue of wages. The growers had firstsigned Teamster contracts in 1973,causing workers to strike in protest ofthe termination of previous UFWflgreements. The Teamsters solidifiedtheir positions by winning ALRB­sponsored representation elections, theconduct of which was protested by theUFW. Thus the UFW looked on withinterest as news accounts told ofmassive intimidation of workers byTeamster "pickets" in late August.

My arrival at the V.B.Z. fields with aUFW legal worker and some other ob­servers came just before 4 p.m. quittingtime. It was then, ALRB investigatorshad reported, that the workers werebeing most heavily harassed by theirown union as they left for home. Theirlicense numbers were being taken andthey were being threatened andfollowed, state investigator Fred Lopeztestified later under oath. Tulare Coun-

Proposition 14: What &Why

Florida labor contractorindicted for enslavement

Page 3

November 1975 and April 1976 andforcing them to work until they repaiddebts Wilson claimed they owed.

All four defendants were charged'with five counts of peonage and fivecounts of involuntary servitude. IvoryWilson and Carter also were chargedwith another count each of peonage and'of involuntary servitude. Maximumpenalty for each count is a $5,000 fineand five years in prison.

The workers involved were ThomasBethea, Charles V. Brown, Richard L.Brown, Will Carmichael, Elliott John­son, and Clayton Norris.

In the campaign's first 18 days,160,000 bumper stickers were attachedto cars throughout the state and $28,000collected in small contributions withonly a fraction of the 300 full-timevolunteers now working in the cam­paign.

The volunteers have come to Califor­nia from throughout the country, manyfrom UFW boycott offices in the majorcities. But Ganz notes that it's a sign ofthe Union's maturity that other im­portant functions are continuing, in­cluding contract negotiations and en­forcement, the recent Political En­dorsements Convention, litigation,strikes, and medical care for farmworkers.

"This has to be a 'people to people'campaign," Ganz says. "It's very hardto think in terms of raising as muchmoney as the growers. We're askingpeople on the street for contributions.We explain that farm workers don'thave the same kind of money asgrowers. "

Agribusiness groups have announcedplans to spend $2-$2.5 million beforethe Nov. 2 election, primarily for massmedia advertisements. Their first salvo,full-page ads on Sept. 1 in California's24 largest newspapers, cost about$80,000.

"Growers have to buy whatever willhelp them," Ganz told farm workerdelegates in Spanish at the Union'sSept. 5 Political Endorsements Con­vention in Fresno. "But help that's~ivt;n is 100 per cent better than helpthat's bought because it comes from theheart, not the pocket. "

Nonetheless, Ganz told the con­vention that the Union must raise a bareminimum of $250,000 just for broad­cast ads to run during the final weeks ofthe campaign.

"We thinJ< we can get it," Ganz con­tinued. "But it won't come from theBank of America or Standard Oil. Itmust come from the people. "

Benefit concerts with majorcelebrities, and raffles, dances, and tacosales sponsored by ranch committeesand Union field offices are among thefund-raising devices being used.

Ganz also emphasized the importanceof registering voters and said the Unionneeds to sign up at least 500,000 new'voters by the Oct. 4 registrationdeadline. In a four-hour statewide ex­periment recently, the Union registered2,199 voters.

Ganz says he wants to recruit another200 full-time volunteers soon and tohave as many as 5,000 working by theend of October. The lion's share of thatnumber will be farm workers.

The campaign has been broken downinto 10 geographic divisions, each withits own office.

Ganz said he expects to spend untilOct. 1 recruiting volunteers, raisingfunds, and obtaining endorsements forthe proposition so all resources in Oc­tober can be devoted to campaigning.

Ask the typical UFW staffer orvolunteer what he or she is working onnow, and chances are you'll be told,"Proposition 14."

The Union is throwing most of itsresources into the initiative campaignbecause in the words of one UFWleader, losing the proposition "wouldset the Movement back 10 years."

"This is the largest singlemobilization the Union has un­dertaken," says Marshall Ganz,Executive Board member and directorof the statewide Yes on 14 campaign.

Ganz vacated his La Paz officeseveral weeks ago to set up state cam­paign headquarters in Los Angeles, andhe's been working full-tilt ever since.

necessary to achieve reasonable accessto workers.

"That the growers realize the im­portance of the list is amply evident,"said a UFW white paper on ALRAabuses issued in February. "For whilethey delay and provide inaccurate listswhen the UFW in involved, they, inmany instances, give the Teamsters listsbefore they qualify. This is known tohave occured at Bud Antle, Jack T.Bailley, and Oshita Farms in Salinas,among others. In contrast, the UFWhas gotten lis.ts as late as 11 hours 8eforean election. In Delano, the average timewas 18 hours before an election."

Proposition 14 also would:eProvide for appointment of a new

ALRB with new terms of office.eprovide that a new election cannot

be held until at least one year after anelection has been held under existinglaw.

eMake it more difficult to petition foran election to remove or decertify anexisting union, raising to 50 from 30 percent the amount of the workforcenecessary to petition for a decert­ification election. This would make itharder for a grower to hire antiunionworkers specifically to oust a unionfrom a ranch.

Anti-Proposition 14· "citizens"groups are funded and operated mainlyby agribusiness interests who havefought farm unionization since Emanci­pation.

Their major anti-14 organization,Citizens for a Fair Farm Labor Law, isheaded by Parlier grower Harry Kubo,president of the Nisei Farmers League(NFL).

That group, Kubo once said, ."hasdone more to stunt the growth of theUFW in the Central Valley than anyother orgainzation and association."

Kubo's picture appears on the frontof a slick anti-14 brochure under thequote, "Cesar Chavez has done somegood things, but this time he's gone toofar." Since the founding of the NFL in1971, Kubo has spent much of hisenergy opposing those "good things."

A federal grand jury in Florida latelast month indicted a labor campoperator and three of his employes oncharges of holding six farmworkers inpeonage and involuntary servitude.

The 12-count indictment was re­turned in U.S. District Court in Tampaagainst Ivory L. Wilson, operator oflabor camps in Lake Wales, Fla., andBenson, N.C. Also charged were Wil­son's brother, Roscoe, Willie J. Bibbs,and Hagley Carter.

The four were charged with prevent­ing the workers from leaving Wilson'scontrol and employment between

Farm workers initiativecampaign picks up

EL MALCRIADO

ty to vote. In short, they stooped print­.jng ballots and toolc away the ballotboxes," said the Rev. Wayne (Chris)Hartmire, director of the National~arm Worker Ministry.

Proposition 14 requires the statelegislature to provide "funds necessaryto carry out the (farm worker) act" inthe future.

The proposition includes otheramendments to the ARLA necessitatedby the hundreds of abuses of the lawthat took place during ranch electioncampaigns from September toFebruary. One would allow the farmlabor board to award treble damages toparties injured by unfair labor prac­tices. This would serve as a powerfuldeterrant to the threats,assaults, and in­timidation that occurred against UFWorganizers and supportive farmworkers.

Many farm workers both live andwork on ranch property. If their land­lords had their way,. union organizerswould be prevented from ever enteringthe ranches to campaign during elec­tions despite the ALRB's unanimousadoption of an "access rule" that

.allows organizers into the fields andcamps during specified periods beforeand after work and during lunchbreaks.

Agribusiness has bitterly opposed therule even though courts have upheldsimilar rules in logging and other in­dustries. Still, growers went to court tohave it eliminated, without success.Both the California Supreme Court andU.S. Supreme Court Justice WilliamRenquist refused to reverse the ruling.

"It should scarcely be necessary, aswe enter the last quarter of the 20thCentury, to reaffirm the principle thatall private property is held subject to thepower of the government to regulate itsuse for the public's welfare," wroteJustice Stanley Mosk in the state court's4-3 majority opinion.

A similar preliminary ruling by thatcourt last October was defied bygrowers all over the state, who con­tinued to place UFW organizers undercitizen's arrest for "trespassing." Injust one month 104 such illegal arrestswere made with. the cooperation ofcounty sheriff's deputies in the Delanoarea alone.

Proposition 14 makes the board's ac­cess rule a part of the ALRA itself. Theagribusiness contention that allowingunion access to workers is comparableto letting strangers into one's livingroom has been rejected by every highcourt decision rendered to date.

Complete and accurate lists of em­ployes were to be provided to the ALRBand unions involved in ranch electionsat least 48 hours after an election hadbeen petitioned for, according to aboard rule frequently violated bygrowers. That provision would be writ­ten into the law if Proposition 14passes, giving unions information

Who backs 14?Major public figures and organiza­

tions that have endorsed Proposition14 include:

Gov. Jimmy CarterGov. Edmund J. Brown Jr.Lt. Gov. Mervyn DymallySen. Alan CranstonSen. John TunneyMayor George Moscone, San

FranciscoMayor Tom Bradley, Los AngelesParlier City CouncilSouthern California Council of

ChurchesBoard of Rabbis of Southern

CaliforniaSouthern California Conference,

United Church of ChristNational Association of Women

Religious

September 17, 1976

News Analysis"This enactment is intended to bring

certainty" and a sense of fair play to a·presently unstable and potentiallyvolatile condition in the state. "

Section I, Agricultural LaborRelations Act, June 5, 1975

When growers and unions reached acompromise last year that resulted inthe passage of California's Labor Rela­tions Act (ARLA), both sides pledgednot to seek changes to the law in thefuture.

It took the growers less than a year torenege on their promise.

When the Agricultural LaborRelations Board (ALRB) ran out ofmoney in February and sought a specialbudgetary supplement to get it through'the rest of the fiscal year, agribusinessmobilized to block the appropriation.

Blaming the law ana the board's en­forcement of it for their resoundingdefeats in last fall's union represen­tation elections, the growers got thelegislature's conservative minority tooppose the funding unless changes weremade to the law.

The legislative majority wasn't aboutto alter the law, but it couldn't musterthe two-thirds majority needed to passthe special appropriation. So the boardwent out of business until July 1, whenits regular budget for fiscal 1977 tookeffect.

As other stories in this issuedocument, suspension of the board'sactivities held up hundreds of represen­tation elections, certifications, and.hearings on unfair labor practices. Toensure that farm workers' rights neveragain would be subjected to politicalsabotage, the UFW designed a ballotinitiative, since designated Proposition14, to take farm workers' fundamentalrights out of the political arena.

"In 1975 the State of Californiagranted farm workers the right to votein secret ballot elections for the union oftheir choice. In 1976 the state nullifiedthat right by taking away the opportuni-

- .

GETTING IN to see "Yes on 14" Director Marshall Ganz these days isn't easy.Here he takes a breather from a breakneck schedule to chat with a visitor.

Page 4 EL MALCR/ADO September 17, 1976

Editorials

Same old story Striking'victory

Apolitical coming of age

,Cesar called me Hamigo!"

Fresno conventionAn appreciation

Their gutsy determination evoked thesupport of farm workers and otherworkers from all over the Oxnard areawho joined their picket line and kept itwell supplied with food and coffee.

And in the end the West Foodsworkers and UFW negotiators foughtthrough a back-breaking 44-hourbargaining session to win what isprobably our best contract to date.

They earned it.The successful West Foods strike and

boycott offers concrete hope to all farmworkers who wait for decent contractsat the ranches where we won electionslast year.

Growers who refuse to negotiate ingood faith, be forewarned.

"There's so much political work to bedone taking care of all the grievancesthat people have, such as thediscrimination their kids face in school,and the whole problem of the police. Idon't see why we can't exchange thosecops who treat us thLway they do forgood, decent human beings like farmworkers. Or why there couldn't be farmworker judges," he said.

"We have to participate in the govern­ing of towns and school boards. Wehave to make our influence felteverywhere and anywhere. It's a longstruggle that we're just beginning, but itcan be done because the people wantit. "

Just as the Rev. Martin Luther KingJr. had a dream, Cesar Chavez had avision for the future. But in 1969 thatvision seemed a long way from reality.

No one would have dreamed that sixyears later, on Sept. 5, 1976, more than1,000 farm worker delegates wouldgather for their first political en-

(Continued on page 5)

Former newsman Jacques Levy is theauthor of "Cesar Chavez:Autobiography of La Causa," w:w: Norton, 1975.

Felicitations to the farm workers atWest Foods on their successful strikeand new contract and to the Doleboycotters who helped make it allpossible.

Once again the boycott proved itselfto be the great equalizer when farmworkers were forced to take on the giantmultinational firm Castle and Cooke,Inc., West Foods' parent company.

But it was the strike that made thedecisive difference.

The West Food workers walked outin strength and stayed out until they gotwhat they wanted. They picketed 24hours a day and effectively and non­violently prevented the company frombringing in strikebreakers..

By Jacques LevyContributing Editor

Back in 1969, when, UFWOCheadquarters were in two small shabbybuildings in the southwest corner ofDelano, Cesar Chavez talked to me ofhis visions for the future.

At that time, the Union had few con­tracts. It was in its seventh year ofexistence and in its fourth year of whatappeared a near-hopeless and endlessstrike against Delano grape growers.

And yet the farm worker leaderalready had made plans for a time whenthe unIon would be solidly established., "Once we have reached our goal and

have farm workers protected by con­tracts," he said, "we must continue tokeep our members involved."

He talked of the need for political ac­tion.

wholesale deprivation of property rightsthat growers claim would occur if theproposition passes. And to say that thelimited access is tantamount to forcingcitizens to allow hordes ~f strangers intotheir back yards is nonsense.

The California Supreme Court hasupheld the ALRB's access rule, whichProposition 14 would write into law.Growers, after all, have access 24 hoursa day to workers who live in companycamps and ride to and from work oncompany buses. Without legallyguaranteed access to workers by unionorganizers, the workers are effectivelydenied the right to make an informedchoice.

"No on 14" materials featuringParlier grower Harry Kubo continue toclaim that the proposition would resultin "blank check" funding for theALRB. This is further poppycock, andthe proof of its falsehood is in black andwhite. "The / legislature shall providefunds necessary to carry out the act,"the proposition states simply.Legislative analyst A. Alan Post hascorrectly concluded that funding for theboard "would be determined by the'Governor and Legislatur~ through tlJestate's regular budget process." Theballot itself states that the propositionwould result in little, if any, additionalcost to the state.

Kubo's leadership of the agribusinesscampaign is revealing in and of itself.The Nisei Farmers League of which heis a founder and president "has donemore to stunt the growth of the UFW inthe Central Valley dian any otherorganization and association," Kubohas boasted. And ,his "gang," as Gov.Brown calls them, aren't merely againstProposition 14 - they're against theAgricultural Labor Relations Act itself.Why don't they come right out and ad­mit it?

What they did with live ammunitiQnback in Pixley they're trying to do todaywith money. For them, it's a no-winproposition.

in, New York City, Carter had torecognize the breadth of support LaCausa enjoys in the nation's mostpopulous state. Hence the rare en­dorsement of a s~te ballot proposition,Proposition 14, by a Presidential can­didate.

Senator John Tunney, facing a toughrun against his Republican challenger,saw the need to mend his shatteredrelationship with the Union. Though hedecided not to address the delegates, hebenefited from Sen. Alan Cranston'scarefully cr~fted appeal to the con­vention to support his colleague, whohad endorsed Proposition 14 two daysearlier.

In all, 30 office-seekers from bothmajor parties spoke before delegatecaucuses, coming from all parts of thestate in search of the UFW blessing.Democrat Stephen Shilling from· theBakersfield area put in an appearance,for example, hoping for an en­dorsement in his electoral battle for theDistrict 33 assembly seat despite his

. stated opposition to Proposition 14.Predictably, he didn't succeed.

Representatives of the rural and ur­ban political structure from top to bot­tom thus trooped to the once-powerlessfarm workers who now appear to themas vital allies. -

Editor-in-ebiefCesar E. Chavez

General ManagerJoe Smith

Managing EditorRobert Neff

ReporterRobert Datz

Second Class Postage Pending in Keene, CA.

El Malcriado is the official publication of theUnited Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO.Correspondence should be addressed to ElMalcriado, La Paz, Keene, CA. 93531.

The UFW's First Political En­dorsements Convention on Sept. 5 wasa testimony to the growing significanceof this Union on. the American scene.Some mighty powerful political can­didates, most notably DemocraticPresidential hopeful Jimmy Carter, sawthe Union's support as essential'to theirefforts to win the hearts of Californiavoters.

Perhaps the appearance of UFWPresident Cesar Chavez at thenationally televised Democratic Na­tional Convention in July fore­shadowed the rise of farm workersinto the political big time. Afterpocketing the Democratic nomination

In 1933 a massacre in Pixley, Calif.,starkly dramatized the way growers feltabout farm workers who wanted tounionize. About a dozen rancherswaited outside a union hall in the smallSan Joaquin Valley town that October,

, and as a strikers' meeting emptied intothe street, mowed down several farmworkers with rifle fire, killing two andwounding several more. Despite anationwide public outcry, no suspectswere ever arrested.

Two years later, with passage of theNational Labor Relations Act,American workers in almost every in­dustry except agriculture won the rightto vote at the jobsite on union represen­tation. For the more than 40 years since,the "Pixley mentality" has prevailed invarious forms to deprive farm workersof the right to free union elections.

While some growers have changedtheir tactics with the times, they're oftenstill motivated by vicious opposition tofarm unionization.

Their verbal salvos, 'first against theperformance of an allegedly pro-UFWAgricultural Labor Relations Board andnow against the proposition, have beennothing short of a smokescreen for theirrefusal to grant farm workers the rightto a decent life. "They never really want­ed free elections for farm workers,"Assemblyman Richard Alatorre hassaid, and we agree.

Fortunately, the people of Californiahave indicated their rejection of thegrowers' flim-flam arguments 'bylending their signatures - more than720,000 strong - to qualify the famiworkers initiative for the Novemberballot. We're confident they will rejectthe arguments again on Election Day.

Still, the arguments need to bestudied closely by well-meaning voterswho run the risk of being conned byhysterical distortions and outright lies.

To allow union organizers to reachworkers on ranch property during a fewspecified non-working hours on alimited number of days before represen­tation elections hardly represents the

September 17, 1976 EL MALCRIADO Page 5

'The last shall come first

Putting perspectiveon the convention(Continued/rom page 4)

dorsement convention, and that a can­didate for President of the United Stateswould call from across the countryseeking _their endorsement, whilenumerous other candidates forCongress, the state legislature and somecounty boards of supervisors would at­tend the convention with the samerequest.

It was mOore than symbolic, too, thatthe convention was held at the giantFresno Convention Center in the heart­land of California agribusiness power.

Back in 1910, when IWW organizerswere attempting to organize farmworkers there, Fresno closed all its hallsto the Wobblies. When they tried toorganize the workers on street corners,all who participated were arrested, andthe Fresno jail was filled past capacity.

The jailed workers were treatedbrutally, denied decent food and

John Maher is founder and presidentof Delancey Street Foundation, Inc., aSan Francisco rehabilitation center forex-convicts. His nine-minute speechSept. 5 at the UFW's First PolWcan En­dorsement Convention in Fresno wasthe most eloquent of the day and was in­terrupted 12 times by applause. Wethink it's worth printing.

The last time that I had the greatprivilege to speak before the Farm­workers, the New York Times an­nounced that the Farmworkers andCesar Chavez were dead. If the NewYork Times does not learn a betterlesson than that, the New York Timeswill be dead.

Whenever I have the opportunity tospeak to you I always check with certainother people, and I've been instructedby the Irish Republican Army to conveyto you the sympathies of all the Catholicfarm workers of Europe and to assureyou of their prayers.

I have been mildly alarmed as I've sathere today because many politicianshave come to us and before us andamong us. And they have indicated thatthey would like to be our leaders. Isuggest to you that in our Constitution,politicians are not our leaders but ourrepresentatives. And that in order to getthe support that you have earnedthrough your blood and the labor ofyour fathers and your mothers and yourchildren and yourselves, that they beforced to understand that our leader isCesar Chavez and that our leader isDolores Huerta, and that these are thepeople we follow.

Even the good politicians - it is theirjob to look upon these men and womenhere in this democracy as our leader-

adequate sleeping gear. They werebeaten and hosed down in their cells byhigh-pressure hoses.

Two weeks ago, there was no violenceno hostility. The convention hall wasdecorated with colorful, hand-madeunion banners and a giant mural. LocalTV stations and press covered the event.

Unlike most conventions, thedelegates, representing more than80,000 farm workers, sat attentivelyduring the 11 hours, listening to thespeeches and _participating in thebusiness at hand. They took their rolesseriously, aware that effective politicalaction could make a big difference intheir lives. .

They nodded with understandingwhen Don Taylor of the Steel Workerstold them that their bosses,agribusiness, had been active in politicsfor a long time, and this was why farm

ship. And that what comes from thesetables - and behind it your sweat in thefields - are the policies on which weembark. And that we will charge them,if you help them, to carry out thosepolicies and not to lead us in a differentcourse.

Slavery was outlawed in our countrya century ago. But as you know,economic slavery persists. The Blackslaves picked the cotton and worked thedocks in New Orleans and the Whiteslaves dug the mines of West Virginia.And the Puerto Rican -slaves sweat inthe South Bronx of New York City.

Proposition 14, to me, goes farbeyond the qu~stion- of the farmworkers of California. It brings tofruition the Bil;1lical prophecy that thefirst shall come last and the last shallcome first. Because when we win this wewill win it for all the Hispanic peoplewho in their own lands have beenconquered and enslaved. We will win itfor all the black people who've beenbrought here in chains in the holds ofslave ships. And we will win it for all thewhites, even tQose who have forgottenthat their grandfather was 'strappedfreezing cold and wet on the deck of animmigrant lugger to be brought here'todig a railroad.

When we win, the word will pass inSouth Africa, and in Ulster, and inSouth America, and in the mines ofWest Virginia, and everywhere wheredecent men struggle for their freedom.

-The word will go out that there is still achance for justice, that there is stilljustice in God's earth because the farmworkers of California have proven thatthe faith is still kept, victory is still

workers - who had not - had for solong been denied their rights.

They understood, too, when JerryWhipple of the United AutomobileWorkers told them that everything theydo is connected with politics - the priceof bread, the price of gasoline, how thesheriffs treat them, what happens tothem and their families.

And they cheered each time theyheard another, endorsement ofPropositio~ 14, for it meant that thistime the voices of farm workers werebeing heard, and their needs were beingheeded.

Particularly sweet was the en­dorsement of Proposition 14 by the citycouncil of Parlier, for it meant thatfarm workers and their supporters nowhad control of a San Joaquin Valleytown in Fresno County.

Endorsements, too, came fromPresidential candidate Jimmy Carter,U.S. Senators Alan Cranston and JohnTunney, California Gov. Edmund G.Brown Jr., Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally,the mayors of Los Angeles, San Fran­cisco and Sacramento, among others.

This, then, is the significance of theUFW's first political endorsement con-,• • •

possible, and the swine can be put intheir place.

When tli.ey come and they talk to usof what great leaders they are, weshould tell them: "Abraham Lincoln isour leader, and Martin Luther King isour leader, and Bobby Kennedy is ourleader, and Nan Freeman is our leader,and Juan De La Cruz is our leader, andthrough them Cesar Chavez speaks!

They are afraid of you in a way thatthey are not afraid of the big labor thatlurks in New York. And they are afraidof you in a way that they are not afraidof students. Becau e we have nothing tolose, and men who have nothing to losewill always win. We will not only winProposition 14, but the Dole company,the Castle & Cooke company, the WestFoods company - the same people whohave enslaved the Hawaiian pineappleworkers will be brought to justice!

It is for other men, and other women,to speak in long phrases in English or inSpanish or in German. It is for you, thepeople who have proven your moralstability, the people who have proventhe righteousness of your cause, to dothe world's work. If we should loseevery battle that faces us, we should stillwin the war. Because we havesomething stronger than them aroundour tables. We do not need money, weonly need a sack of beans. We do notneed to win every contract becausesomeday they will all come to us.Because the thing that you have made,the thing that the Spanish people ofCalifornia have kept alive in the darknight of Nixonism~ that thing will raiseits head among the poor white workersof Boston and the Blacks of Detroit andthe Puerto Rican people of New York,and among the Cubans of Miami.

vention. Part of Cesar Chavez' vision in1969 is now a reality. The farm workers'influence is being felt in many placesthroughout the state and nation. Farmworkers are effectively involvedpolitically.

But back in 1969 Cesar Chavez alsosaid that political power alone is. notenough. "Effective political power isnever going to come, particularly tominority groups, unless they haveeconomic power. And however poorthey are, even the poor people canorganize economic power.

"As a continuation of our struggle,"he said then, "I think that we candevelop economic power and put it intothe hands of the people so they can havemore control of their own lives, andtben begin to change the system. Wewant radical change. Nothing short ofradical change is going to have any im­pact on our lives or our problems. Wewant sufficient power to control ourown destinies. This is our struggle. It's alifetime job. The work for social changeand against social injustice is never end­ed."

In this area, too, the UFW has takenthe first steps towards its goal.

John MaherFirst, we shall triumph in California,

and then Cesar Chavez and yourselveswill triumph in the United States, andthen your children can go after theTeamster cowards who cannot find outwho killed Mr. Hoffa because theydon't choose to, because they can onlykill from ambush. And - we willstraighten these yellow dogs, and whenthey are straightened, we shall bringwhat the founders of this nation calledfor from you and I.

When we came here, whether wecame north from Mexico for a job, orwhether we came at the tip of a Cossackwhip or a Prussian boot or an Englishbayonet, we came here to build a NewJerusalem. And they will laugh at us \for rhetoric, but we will have our NewJerusalem. And they are welcome tojoin us, and if they do not, then we willdestroy them so that all children in thiscountry can be free and so that the Con­stitution becomes real.

And Ood bless.

Agricultural Labor Relations Act

A year of controversyBy Bob Datz

Staff WriterNews Analysis

Although most American Workerssince 1935 have been guaranteed theright to hold job site elections on theunion of their choice, agriculturalworkers didn't enjoy such legal rightsuntil the adoption last year of Califor­nia's Agricultural Labor Relations Act(ALRA).

The act, passed in the face of the kindof stiff opposition from agribusinessthat traditionally has excluded farmworkers from protective legislation, wasdirectly linked to the emerging power ofthe United Farm Workers of America.

But if winning passage of the ALRAwas difficult, keeping the law operatingproved to be almost as tough. Just fivemonths after the Agricultural LaborRelations Board (ALRB) began over­seeing ALRA elections, politicalpressure from dissatisfied growers in­duced the legislature to block additionalfunding the board needed to keepoperating.

The board, overwhelmed in its firstfive months by more than 300 ranchelections to supervise, quickly exhaust­ed the $2.5 million it had been allotedfor its first year.

While a majority of the legislaturefavored re-funding the ALRB, a two-

thirds vote was necessary to provide the$3.7 million budget supplement theboard needed to remain functional.Agribusiness interests managed to getjust enough votes to put theALRB out of business, continuing apattern of antiunion activity that beganwith farm laborer's first attempts toorganize more than 80 years ago.

Why would growers favor cutting o'ffthe ALRA after they had agreed to sup­port the law at the time of its adoption?

Gov. Edmund J. Brown Jr., in­strumental in getting the act passed,found a simple explanation: "A groupof people who never had any powerbefore were getting it." -

That they were. Almost 40,000 farmworkers had voted in ranch electionsfrom early September until the boardclosed its offices in early February, andthe UFW won a majority of those elec­tions,

Balloting resulted in UFW victories at192 ranches, compared to 119 victoriesfor the Teamsters and 25 for "nounion." Another 43 elections were un­decided because of complaints by allparties involved of unfair pressuring ofworkers and other questionable prac­tices. The UFW expects to win most ofthose elections once hearings have beenheld to rule on the complaints.

(Continued on page 7)

Page 6 EL MALc;R/ADO September 17, 1976

Our kids work in·thefields like adultsJuly 19.76. 108 degree heat.Child labor for most Americans is an inhumanepractice to be read about in the history books of the/nqustrial Revolution. But for these childrenin the onions at the Garin Ranch in Mettler,· Calif.,and the strawberries at Oshita Farms in Prunedale,and for thousands offarm worker families inthis country, child labor is still afact oflife.

The photo on our cover shows a girl working withan empty pesticide container. Thephotos onthis page are equally representative ofa day in thelife ofa farm worker child. Part of the UFW's Causeis to enable farm worker adults to earn a decentliving without using their children.

UFW photos and pagedesign b,y Cath,y murph,y

September 17, 1976 EL MALCR/ADO ' Page7

ALRAupdate

Fo"~wing picketer's death

ILWU launches boycottHow to .volunteer

-Long BeachConsult Directory Assistance

-Orange-San Bernadino-Riverside(714) 530-1944

-San Francisco, (415) 567-1562-Oakland, (415) 533-3477-San Jose, (408) 292-4651-Sacramento, (916) 455-9494-San Diego, (714) 233-5648

Dr., about four miles from thecooperative.

Also scheduled for the 10 a.m. to 10p.m. renacimiento are mariachis,theater groups, a dance, ceremoni-es toinnaugurate the cooperative, plus com­mencement ceremonies for the 1976graduating class of Colegio de la Tierra(Earth College)" a two-year' farmworker college in Del Rey offering 13different associate degree programs.

The day's events are open to thepublic at no charge and are cosponsoredby the three Fresno-area organizations- the cooperative, tJ1e society, and thecollege.

-Make the board's access rule a partof the ALRA itself.

-Up the number of workers needed tocall for decertification of a union to 50from 30 per cent of the workforce.

If the measure passes in Novemberthe financial rug can never again bepulled out from under the law and noamendments to it enacted withoutanother vote by the people of Califor­nia.

Farm workers and volunteers movedinto the streets during the month ofApril to fill petitions With at least312,404 signatures needed to place theinitiative on the ballot. More than twicethat number' - 728,000 - weregathered in just 29 days, setting a recordfor any such effort. The tremendouspublic response startled and angeredagribusiness but delighted farm workersand UFW supporters everywhere.

With the initiative easily qualifyingfor the ballot, the Union turned its at­tention to the fall campaign. Chavezsaid he was confident that the voterswould act more positively than had thelegislators in Sacramento.

"We don't confuse the Americanpeople with their politicians," he said."We are convinced that when the peo­ple are 'faced with a direct appeal fromthe poor, struggling against great oddsfor a just cause, that they will respondpositively. The people of Californiayearn for justice and it is to that yearn­ing that we appeal."

Persons interested in volunteeringto work on the Proposition 14 cam­paign may call the following numbersfor information:

- Los Angeles Central,(213) 381-1136

-Los Angeles East, (213) 254-6768-Los Angeles West,(213) 393-0680

La Tierra Nueva (The New Earth)Cooperative, a 60-acre farm run by 40farm worker families in Yettem, Calif.,will be the site Sept. 19 of an all-day"Renacimiento Campesino" (FarmWorker Renaissance) programfeaturing UFW President CesarChavez.

Chavez will speak in the morning af­ter attending a public seminar beginningat 8 a.m. in nearby Monson on ways tobuild the farm worker Movement. Theseminar, sponsored by La SociedadEconomica Campesina (Farm WorkerEconomic Society), will be held at thesociety's headquarters at 38845. Monson

what it was supposed to do - it hadbrought peace to the fields and orchardsof California."

If proof of this was needed, it came,on Jan. 31 when the UFW signed thefirst new, contracts negotiated as theresult of ALRA election victories. Thesigning came, ironically enough, justone week before the board went broke.Almost 2,000 workers were covered bythe agreements, which represented thebest total package of wages, benefits,and working conditions negotiated inU.S. agricultural history.

"These contracts show that theALRA is a necessary and important in­strument for both farm workers and theiRdustry," Chavez said after thesigning.

But without a functioning ALRB, theUFW was forced to move on its own toget the new law working again. TheUnion's Executive Board launched botha boycott of products by companiesleading the antifunding fight (see storyon page 8) and a balloi initiative tobring the issue of maintaining farmworkers' rights to the California voters.The initiative contained its own list ofALRA amendments that not onlywould require the legislature toadequately fund the board each year,but would also:

-Authorize more severe penalties forunfair labor practices.

- Require growers to more readilyprovide the board with employe lists.

DOIN TUNES FOR JUSTICE - Country and pop artists Kris Kristofferson andRita Coolidge shared the stage with UFW President Cesar Chavez on Sept. 3 at abenefit concert for the "Yes on Proposition 14" campaign in Santa Barbara, Calif.Coolidge and Kristofferson did all the singing. Chavez was the special guest_speaker. (Photo by John McGrail) .

'Renacimiento'scheduled

Bridges and Goldblatt asked otherunionists to support the ILWU's effortsto win the strike by calling on EdisonBrothers in writing to bargain in goodfaith, urging the San Joaquin CountyDistrict attorney to indict Laeger orconvene a grand jury, supporting theboycott, and making a contribution tothe Norman Lewis Memorial TrustFund for the five Lewis children.

Edison Brothers' address is P.O. Box14020, St. Louis, MO 63278. Con­tributions to the trust fund may be sentto the ILWU at 1188 Franklin St., SanFrancisco, CA 94109.

issue a criminal indictment based on thefacts.

Handyman of California, Inc., is asubsidiary of retailing conglomerateEdison Brothers Stores, Inc., of St.Louis.

Edison Brothers' subsidiaries alsotargeted for the boycott include Leed'sShoe Stores, Chandlers's Shoe Stores,Baker's Shoe Stores, Burt's ShoeStores, Size 5-7-9 Shops, The Wild Pair,Joan Bar Boutiques, and United Sport­ingGoods.

In a letter to labor leaders throughoutthe country, ILWU President HarryBridges and Secretary-Treasurer LouisGoldblatt wrote that, "The death ofNorman Lewis is the direct result ofHandyman's and its parentorganization's policy of unyielding op­position to the organization of its em­ployees, its refusal to sign a fair unioncontract, and its efforts to break astrike. We cannot, nor can any union,allow a revival of a policy of employer1error against our picket lines. The fightcontinues. Our picket lines are solid.We are determined to win the strike forwhich Norman Lewis gave his life."

-Required the application ofNational Labor Relations Act preced­ents to ALRB decisions except where"clearly not appropriate to agricul­ture. "

- Required the ALRB to designate thebargaining units (ranch or area covered)for each election before it is held.

-Eliminated ·the law's requirementthat employers give back pay raises toworkers if found guilty of negotiating aunion contract in bad faith.

-Scrapped the board's access ruleallowing union organizers to talk toworkers in the fields and camps for anhour before work, and an hour afterwork, and an hour during lunch a.ndrest periods.

Satisfaction by the governor, amajority of the legislature, andthousands of farm workers with the per­formance of the ALRB had no effect onthe legislative minority. That groupclaimed that the board was biased infavor of the UFW and spent its previousbudget too quickly. Many observersquestioned both the, wisdom and the

- motives of the agribusiness politicians.

"The changes they want are manyand major," a Los Angeles Timeseditorial pointed out, " and would workmost directly against the organizing ef­forts of Cesar Chavez and his UnitedFarm Workers of America... Th,erecan be no doubt that the intent of theamendments is to weaken the rights ofworkers and strengthen those ofgrowers, while retaining the pretense offair collective bargaining."

Calling for further' ALRB fundingwithout amendments to the law, theSacramento Bee concluded, "The fact isthat the farm labor bill, with the ALRBworking to implement it, had done just

Anti-Propos;tion 14 spokesmanHarry Kubo may be able to raisemillions of dollars from agribusinessto work against the initiative, but cityfathers in his own home town ofpari'er have voted to endorse it. The

7 I f I

4-0 ote on the resolution at the Sept.3 city council meeting made Parlierthe first city to take a stand on theproposition.

Councilman Arcadio Viveros saidthe resolution was passed becausemany Parlier residents are farmworkers or come from farm laborbackgrounds. Kubo, a local grower,also worked in the fields as a youth,but now heads Citizens for a FairFarm Labor Law, the leading anti-14organization.

Do you get themessage, Harry?

The InJernational Longshoremen's &Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) latelast month threw up picket lines andstarted a nationwide boycott against allHandyman locations in retaliation forthe August killing of ILWU picketerNorman Ray Lewis.

Lewis, 'who the ILWU says waspeaceably pick~ting the Handymanwarehouse in Tracy, Calif., as part of astrike action started Aug. 3, allegedlywas run down by company supervisorLeslie Laeger.

Lewis left a wife and five childrenranging in age from 4 to 14 years.

The union has called on the districtattorney of San Joaquin County to in­dict Laeger for murder or to convene agrand jury to investigate the killing and

,(Continuedfrom page 5)

The Teamsters joined the growers infavoring an end to elections. They knewthat many of their victories came onlyafter workers had been fired,threatened, and even assaulted to forcethem to vote against the UFW.

Writing in The' Nation, veteranFresno labor reporter Ron Taylor ob­served "For the Teamsters and thegrowers - whose interests have alwayscoincided in the farm labor struggles ofthe past decade - the results were unac­ceptable. A search was begun for a new

, anti-Chavez weapon."Their weapon was political leverage

and, as the board went broke, theydecided to use the leverage to forcechanges in the law that would make itnearly impossible for the UFW to winunion contracts through fair collectivebargaining procedures.

UFW President Cesar Chavezprotested that the growers' proposedamendments were a breach of the com­promise reached when the 'law waspassed and would "take the teeth out ofthe ALRA." BuJ pending the changes,growers refused to authorize theirminority of loyal legislators to approvefurther funding for the board. Theirproposed amendments would have:

-.Allowed growers or unions .to ap­peal ALRB decisions to the courts,potentially tying up final election resultsfor months or even years.

- Allowed growers to petition for elec~

tions as representatives of a "no union"campaign, even if a union had yet to ap­pear to organize their workers.

-Delayed the elections by extendingthe time limit for balloting to 21 daysfrom 7 days after an election petition isfiled.

-Included labor contractors as "em­ployers" under the terms of the ALRA.

Page 8 EL MALeR/ADO September 17,1976

Huelga School accredited

Three growers addedto UFW boycott list

Special programs being organized in­cl~de Movement history, and field tripsto Union clinics, offices, and facilities;and studies of cultures found in theDelano community, including Mexican,Filipino and Anglo-American, Spiegelsaid.

Individual attention is important tothe philosophy of teaching at theHuelga School, with most learning donein small "learning centers."

threats and firings of Chavistas, noULP charges were filed against thecompany, enabling negotiations tobegin as soon as possible after ALRBcertification in late December.- . -

The company's decision to negotiatethrough Associated Farmers.pf Califor­nia should have been an indication ofthings to come. Since 1937, when thegroup was founded - in its own words- to "protect farmers from the Com­munist influx into the agricultural areasof California," Associated Farmers hasused its tax-exempt income to lobbyagainst the interests of farm workersand break legitimate strikes. In morerecent years, the organization has takenstrong stands against the ALRA and theextension of unemployment insuranceto farm workers.

Only three meetings were held in thesix months before the McFarlandboycott was called. In those sessions,the grower rejected vital union securityand recognition proposals. McFarland,through attorney Fred Morgan, alsorejected the concept of the absoluteunion shop and offered hourly wageshikes of just 10 cents per hour withanother 5 cents to be added a fewmonths after the agreement took effect:Current houFly wages begin at $2.75.

Huerta, first vice 'president of theUnion, was involved in the earlier nego­tiations and recalled Morgan as being"just insufferable.

"He wanted me to send him 'ourpriorities' in writing," she said, "and,well, the whole contract is important tous so I just said, 'let's do theboycott.' "

Her recommendation was adoptedand, of the companies currently on the"unfair list," McFarland andAssociated Farmers of California haveshown the least willingness to bargain.

A subsidiary of George J. Ball, Inc.,McFarland Roses distributes its flowersthrough the parent company's threedivisions: Jiffy Products of WestChicago, Ill.; Pan American Seed ofFlorida; and Ball Superior ofMississauga, Ontario.

UFW leaders say the boycott pressureis having an impact, despite the lowprofile of the three growers' products.

"It should not" be let up," said Bur­ciaga, "because if it were, we'd stopmaking any progress with thesenegotiations.' ,

forgotten by the Union, although ULPrulings are' still pending from theALRB.

Maggio-Tostado grows carrots, let­tuce, cucumbers, and cabbage, shippingto all parts of the United States andEurope under the "Mr. California (M­T)" and "Sun World" labels. Boycottvolunteers should have little troublefinding distributors of Sun World cab­bage, Carr said.

MCFARLAND ROSESComing into bloom in late October,

McFarland's roses grow jungle-like,creating attention-snatching bands ofcolor about 10 feet wide.

Last November's harv.est requiredabout 140 workers, mostly localresidents who had just finished workingthe Delano grapes. Many were anxiousto sign UFW authorization cards as theycame to work with huge leather glovesto protect themselves against the roses'brambles.

A solid organization committee atMcFarland made the Nov. 28 electionan easy victory for the UFW, with theUnion receiving 36 vot'es to 11 for "nounion". Despite charges of employer

Language classes also are taught inthe after school program, as are sessionsin photography, science, math, pup­petry, and dance.

A variety of 'skills classes rangingfrom mariachi to basic auto mechanicsare available to adults through theevening program. While daytimeprograms are full, openings are stillbeing filled in the adult classes until theystart on Sept. 20.

THE UFW·SPONSORED Huelga School sits in the heart of the Union's firstheadquarters in Delano. (Photo by Bob Datz)

Workshops will cover such issues asland and the law, energy-intensive farm­ing; current legislative approaches to

-land reform; alternative ownership pat­terns; and means of moving from farmworker to farmer (this workshop will beconducted in Spanish).

Participants also will take a first­hand look at the effects of the federalReclamation Act of 1902 on theWestlands Water District near Fresno.

Registration will cost no more than $5and will end Oct. 8. Further in­formation is available from Mack War­ner, 2160 Lake St., San Francisco, Ca.,94121. •

A State Conference on Land Reformwill be held by the California FoodPolicy Coalition October 15-16 inFresno, Calif.

The conference is the third in aseriesof six being sponsored by the coalitionand'will focus 011 the control and use ofagricultural land in California.

Subjects to be examined include therelationship between land reform andagricultural production and the extentto which the control of land affects thedevelopment of food policy. Thecoalition wants to develop a continuingissue-oriented task force at the con­ference.

with the Teamsters. Coincidentally, theWestern Conference of Teamsters alsohappened to be one of his frequentclients.

Three years later, representing once­Teamster-organized Maggio-Tostado,Inc., Smith moved to have the UFW's43-34-vote representation election vic­tory over the Teamsters decertified onthe very same March day he met in apreliminary negotiating session with theUFW.

No further meetings were held foranother four months because "they justweren't returning our calls," said IleneCarr of the Union's NegotiationsDivision. Notes of July and Augustsessions held after the boycott beganshow informational exchanges but littleactual bargaining.

"More recently, we've been movingtoward a settlement," Burciaga said.

Contract articles aside, accommoda­tion on four ULP charges from the fallelection campaign remains an issue.Company supervisor Eddie Norte'salledged firing of four workers forrefusing to sign Teamster authorizationcards and his threats and actual firingsof UFW supporters have not been

Land reform conferenceset in Fresno next month

The Sept. 9 reopening of the HuelgaSchool in Delano, Calif., marked thebeginning of the school's first year as anaccredited alternative school.

Twenty-one full-time kindergartenand first grade students are attendingthe school, which in past years con­centrated largely on supplementary af­ter-school activities for farm workerchildren.

Started in 1969 by the National FarmWorker Ministry, the Huelga Schoolconsiders itself "a real integral part ofthe Movement," said Director ShellySpiegel.

Spiegel came to the school in Julyand is teaching climes along with Maria .Gonzalez, also a certified teacher. BobReam runs the evening adult program.

After-school programs continue forchildren in the second grade and above.

With a lot of help from pa~ents, thestaff worked the summer to refurbishthe school building at First Avenue andAsti Street. where the Union had its firstoffice until 1969. The UFW's first serv­ice center and hiring hall were located inother buildings on the same in-tersection. .

Daytime classes emphasize bi-lingual,bi-cultural education in addition tomath, reading, and other primary­school subjects. "We hope all thechildren who leave our school will beliterate in two languages," Spiegel said.

By Bob DatzStaff Writer

In mid-July UFW contract talks withH. P. Metzler Products, a Fresno fruitgrower, were broken off after fivemonths of futile exchanges and virtuallyno progress. Just three w~ks later TanisYbarra, UFW Selma Field Office direc­tor, got word that the company wantedto settle as soon as possible.

A meeting was set up for Aug. 11,after which company- attorney JordanBloom confided that the Union' 'wouldprobably get everything you want" ifthe workers would accept a minor com­pany demand on hiring.

"I'm almost positive their suddenresponse was from the boycott,"Ybarra said later, and recentnegotiating sessions seem to support hisview. Both sides are meeting regularlyand making progress, said UFWNegotiations Director David Burciaga.

The UFW has used boycotts Since1968 - when it launched a nationwideboycott against grapes - as a device to •pressure growers into good-faithbargaining. Since 1973 the Union hasboycotted Gallo wine and non-UFWhead lettuce, and in July started boy­cotts against four firms, including H.P.Metzler, it contended were bargainingin bad faith.

One of those firms, Dole Co., wasremoved from the list after a contractsettlement last week at West Foods inVentura, a fellow subsidiary of Castle &Cooke, Inc.

Boycotts continue against Metzler,Maggio-Tostado in the CoachellaValley, and McFarland Roses in theDelano area. Contract negotiations arecontinuing with all three.

H.P. METZLERWith no previous union contract,

workers at the Metzler Ranch voted inthe UFW on Sept. 24, giving the Union68 votes to 13 for "no union." Twenty­eight ballots were challenged and unfairlabor practice (ULP) charges are stillpending. Firings that the company con­tends were layoffs occurred both duringand after the election, hitting workerswith UFW loyalties, Unemployment in­vestigators looking into the "layoffs"were told by a company official that,"We don't want any union people onour ranch."

"If you have your way you'll getresults to destroy the company, isn'tthat right?" Metzler attorney Bloomremarked as negotiations faltered inJuly.

UFW negotiator Dolores Huerta'sresponse was immediate, " 'You guysdon't want to negotiate." Talks werefrozen solid for three weeks.

This. was two weeks after the Metzlerboycott began. The company had stoodfirm against a hiring hall after "playinggames" during the earlier meetings,Ybarra said. "At one meeting theywould give us the hiring hall and at thenext they'd take it back," he said. Andpiece-rate and other informa"tion oncurrent conditions requested from thegrower hadn't been provided.

Yet the talks' new tone in August putboth sides "very close on seniority, thehiring hall, and the grievanceprocedure," Ybarra said.

As the boycott continues, consumersare being asked to avoid Metzlerproducts - grapes, almonds, andpeaches under the "Sun-Met" and"Mr. M" labels - in marketing areas in­cluding New York, Chicago, Detroit,Toronto, and Denver. The firm sells tothe A & P supermarket chain in theeastern United States.

MAGGIO-TOSTADOIn 1973 Indio attorney David Smith

counseled Coachella Valley growers todump tpeir UFW contracts and sign on

September 17, 1976 EL MALeR/ADO Page 9

r-----When the board ,went broke-----

I UFW has 49 contracts I

Recent Teamster agreements with E.& J. Gallo and Dalton Richardson paygeneral laborers $3.26 and $3.15,making the latest UFW contract thebest-paying grape pact in the state. Italso provides employe fringe benefitssimilar to other recently negotiatedUFW contracts.

Each member of the Valley Vineyardsnegotiating committee made briefremarks that included praise for theUnion's volunteer staff.

"The work you do is of your own freewill while farm workers do it out ofnecessity," said Committee PresidentNicolas Arroyo.

Recalling the workers' efforts toorganize for their September 1975 elec­tion, committee member and formerGallo striker Rodolfo Gonzalez said,"The Union responded with its savinghand. When the company saw the(UFW) eagle coming, they began tohave nightmares, their knees becamewobbly, and they placed security guardsin the fields. But the Movement couldnot be stopped."

President Cesar Chavez. Chavezdemanded that the council accept the$2,500 statue - a gift from the localFilipino community - and apologizefor its "inexcusable behavior" .

City officials who said there were "noground rules" for accepting the statueare unable to reverse their position. TheCity of San Francisco readily accepted itfor placement it) Golden Gate Park.

"Little concern was voiced for'ground rules' 50 years ago whenDelano agribusinessmen began im­porting thousands of single Filipinomen to labor in the fields," Chavez saidin a letter to the city council. Chavezsaid growers subjected Filipinos to"cruel economic and racialdiscrimination.

"If Dr. Rizal came to Delano todayto struggle for freedom, he wouldprobably experience the same op­position from the Delano city council ashe faced from the Spanish colonialists,"Chavez added.

products became the target of a UFWboycott in 1973 after the company

'signed a Teamster contract - still ineffect - instead of renewing theUFW contract that had been in force.Almost all the workers then walkedout on strike.

Strikers were allowed to vote in theSeptember Gallo election underterms of the ALRA but their ballotswere challenged by the Teamsters.Final ruling on that election awaitsthe completion of suspended ALRBhearings to determine the exact de­finition of an "economic striker."

Observers say the board should befully operational by next month.

LA PAZ - A year after workersbegan organizing themselves for a unionrepresentation election at Valley Vine­yards S'ervices, Inc.. the ranch nearLivingston, Calif., became the 48th un­der UFW contract and the 39th sinceCalifornia's farm labor law was passedlast year.

Negotiations committee members andUFW president Cesar Chavez signed the.pact Sept. 1 at the Union's headquartershere in ceremonies attended by about100 headquarters staffers. An Aug. 23ratification vote had gone 113-5 in favorof the agreement.

"This is perhaps our best contract,"Chavez said before introducing the five­member negotiating committee fromthe ranch formerly named "Mon­te(!illo." The company employs 600workers during peak harvest season.

The agreement, which is the first newgrape contract signed as the result ofstate-run elections, provides an initialbase wage of $3.35 per hour for generallaborers and $5.00 per hour formechanics.

FirstALRAgrape contract

The Delano, Calif., city council'srecent rejection of a statue honoringPhilippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizaldrew strong criticism from UFW

Members of the Valley Vineyard Services ranch negotiating committee meetwith UFW President Cesar Chavez in his office. From left: Rigoberto Costillo,Hipolito Ramos, Livingston Field Office Director Juliana DeWolfe, Nicolas Arroyo,Carlos Hernandez, Rodolfo Gonzalez, and Jim Drake, Proposition 14 campaigncoordinator. (Photo by Cathy Murphy)

Chavez hits Delano'srejection of statuewine grapes

lettuce, row cropstomatoes, celerylettuce, row crops

broccoliwine grapes

cauliflower

wine grapes

celery, plants

lettuce, row crops

lettucecitrusalfalfa, melons,row cropsrow cropscitruslettuce; row cropstable grapeslettuce

grapes, raisinsvegetableslettuce, row cropsmushrooms

Crops

lettucecelery, plants,flowerscelery, plantswine grapeswine grapes

grapes, tree fruitgrapes, tree fruittomatoes, celery,row cropscelery

strawberries,tomatoestomatoesartichokeswine grapesartichokeswine grapesmachine tomatoes

still waiting for the board's go-aheadto enter contract negotiations.

The Union's Negotiations Divisionreported that the board's closing wasimmediately reflected. in slowernegotiations with growers who knewthere was no board to enforce good­faith bargaining provisions of theALRA.

Representation elections also havebeen curtailed. More than 6,000Coachella Valley workers, for exam­ple, have signed UFW authorizationcards but haven't been able to voteon a union since the' board shutdown. \

Election results at the E. & J. Galloranch still are undetermined. Gallo

funds for the Agricultural LaborRelations Board, bringing the board'scertification activities to a halt. Con­tract talks cannot begin until an electionhas been certified.

Agreements reached with the certifiedcompanies have meant the UFW labelcan now be found on a wide range ofcrops. Before last fall's elections, Unioncontracts were mostly in wine grapes.

Among the contracts now in forceare:

OxnardKing CityNapa/Fresno

Area

SalinasOxnard

Watsonville

FresnoOxnardWatsonvilleVentura

Livingston

WatsonvilleCoachellaSalinasCoachellaSalinas

FresnoFresnoOxnard

SalinasOxnardSalinasOxnard,Calexico,Santa Maria,Phoenix,BakersfieldKing City

Oxnard

SalinasFloridaCalexico

Salinas

Oxnard

SalinasKing City

Salinas

King City. Salinas

DelanoCastrovilleLos GatosStockton

Company

Admiral PackingAkitomo Nursery

J.J. CrosettiDRMR.T. EnglundDavid Freedman & Co.Green ValleyProduce CoopHarden FarmsH&MFarmsInterHarvest

Akune NurseryAlmaden VinyardsChristian Brothers(Mont La Salle)California CoastalCoca-ColaColace Brothers

Las ColinasVineyardsMann PackingPaul MassonVineyardsPik'd Rite

Meyer TomatoesMr. ArtichokeA. Perelli-MinettiMolera AgriculturalNovitiate WinesReclaimed IslandLandSalinas MarketingCoopSanta ClaraNurseryJ. H. Smeds & SonsW.H. Smeds & SonsTanaka Brothers

United CeleryGrowersValley HarvestDistributingValley VineyardsServicesWYTFarmsWatanabe RanchWest Coast Farms"West Foods

Latest ALRB and UFW statisticsshow how the death of the ALRA inFebruary left California farmworkers in a state of suspension.

-ALRB elections held: 414-Elections awaiting certification:

223-Undecided ranch elections: 57-UFW victories awaiting cer-

tification: 83

-Unfair labor practice chargespending: 652

-UFW unfair charges pending:520.

The uncertified UFW victoriescover about 20,000 workers who are

Elections held between Septer:nber1975 and February 1976 under Califor­nia's Agricultural Labor Relations Actresulted in signed contracts with 40growers, bringing the total number ofUFW contracts to 49, according tofigures obtained from the Union'sNegotiations Division.

Contract talks are proceeding withmany of the 82 remaining ranches whereUFW victories were left uncertifiedwhen the California legislature cut off

Page JO EL MALCR/ADO September J7, J976

Ad uses argumentjudge ruled faulty

Convention spiritedSalinas delegation sets the tone

THESE DELEGATES from San Ysidro in San Diego County typify the kind of spiritexpressed th roughout the Fresno conven\ion. (Photo by Cathy Murphy)

historical development. SerafinQuojaya, for example, was the lonedelegate from E. & J. Gallo Ranch. A1973 striker, he's presently employed atanother Livingston ranch while waitingfor certification of the representationelection held at Gallo last September.The 54-year-old Quojaya was elected torepresent the 128 mostly Portuguesestrikers who didn't return to theirhomeland after the 1973 strike andvoted in the Gallo election. He listenedto the proceedings quietly, seatedbehind a delegation sign that remindedpassers by of a Union struggle stillunresolved.

The six-member West Foodsdelegation from Ventura was excited. Itwas their first UFW convention andUnion President Cesar Chavez tooktime to point them out to the otherdelegates, who delivered cheers and ap­plause of solidarity for all West Foodsworkers who at that moment werestriking for a UFW contract.

Delegates had gathered from ranchesand Union offices, clinics, and servicesfrom every farming area in California.

The largest area delegation camefrom Salinas, where the Union has mostof its contracts.

"The ranches made all new bannersfor this convention, the majority ofthem," said Salinas Field Office Direc­tor Roberto Garcia. The area's 136delegates, and visitors from 26 nearbyranches headed to the convention in acar caravan, Garcia said, but hecouldn't guess how many cars that ad­ded up to. All he could say was, "That'sa big caravan."

But one argument the growers haverevised since Carr's ruling is theiroriginal contention that Proposition 14would create a law that couldn't bechanged without a constitution amend­ment. The truth is that the law could bechanged only through a statewidepopular vote.

Union leaders expressed surprise thatthe growers launched such a large adcampaign so early. They said itprobably came in response to theUFW's massive bumper sticker effort,in which stickers had been affixed to140,000 cars in California by Sept. 1.

Ganz added that the early blitz bygrowers indicates that their campaignchest is bulging. He said he expectsthem to spend $3-4 million againstProposition 14 before the Nov. 2 elec­tion.

Relations Act and requires thelegislature to "appropriate fundsnecessary to carry out the act. "

"I think they're groping," said Mar­shall Ganz, UFW executive board mem­ber and director of the statewide Yes on14 campaign, in response to the first ad."It's very hard to argue with the right tovote. The only way you can do it is bylying, and that's what they're doing."

Ganz branded as one lie the ad's con­tention that the proposition would per­mit "governmental confiscation of per­sonal rights and private propertyrights. "

"What personal rights would be con­fiscated?" he asked.

While the court decision resulted inchanges in the anti-14 arguments for thestate booklet, it had no authority overthe content of advertising.

"The farm workers' endorsementwould be very helpful," said-Republican State Senator Milton Marksof San Francisco. Involved in a closerace for reelection, Marks said there isgreat support for the UFW and theboycott in his urban district that hewould like to have on his side in Novem­ber. But since both he and his opponentseemed equally favorable to thedelegates, Marks' efforts for the dayproduced nothing. No endorsement wasmade in the race for his ninth senatorialdistrict seat.

The farm workers weren't arrogantabout being the objects of suchsolicitude, but many were aware of thesignificance of the event.

"I think it's very important that Jim­my Carter wants to talk to us," saidClarence Bradley, a cauliflower cutterat InterHarvest in Salinas for the pastfive years. "It shows he's thinkingabout us, anyway.

"This is the first time we've hadanything like this. 'The more we have'em, it enlightens everybody. By doingthis, we know who's right and who'swrong. But the grower, he' thinks he'salways right.

"The most important thing is to getProposition 14 passed. The next thingwe should do is get rid of those peoplethat keep cutting our funds," Bradleysaid in referrence to state legislators,who blocked supplemental funding forthe Agricultural Labor Relations Actearlier this year.

The 1,047 delegates formed amicrocosm of the Movement and its

that the arguments be revised beforepublication of the booklet by the state.

Among the arguments Carr foundfaulty was the growers' assertion thatthe UFW-sponsored proposition wouldremove budgetary control of theAgricultural Labor Relations Board(ALRB) from the state legislature.

Yet the ads call the proposition "anattempt to circumvent the I normalbudgetary controls on governmentspending.' ,

To the contrary, Proposition 14amends the current Agricultural Labor

It was late Sunday afternoon inFresno's Selland Arena, and delegatesto the UFW's First Political En­dorsements Convention were tired.

Many had driven during the night toreach Fresno by 6 a.m. to register, andthey'd spent all day in business sessionsin the humid convention center.

But they had enough energy to riseenthusiastically - at Executive BoardMember Marshall Ganz' request - toexpress support for all the full-timeworkers for Proposition 14. As they gotto their feet a commotion broke out inback of the arena.

Right away it was clear what was hap­pe·ning. The high-spirited Salinas-areadelegation had started a "spontaneous"demonstration - reminiscent of thekind you see at political conventions ­complete with banners and a mariachiband.

As they paraded through the aislesother delegates joined the procession,and soon virtually all seats had emptiedand more than a thousand farm workersand supporters were winding throughthe arena, clapping in unison, wavingbanners, and chanting, "Catorce, SitCatorce, Sit (Fourteen, Yes!)"

"This is for everybody, every race,every religion - and this convention isthe way to change everything," saidFrancisco Solorza, a delegate fromChula Vista Farms, while the paradecontinued sucking delegates from theirseats into the overcrowded aisles.

"I'm against violence because I wasin a war and that changed nothing."The sparkle in his eyes as he talked saidthat he'd rather be participating in thedemonstration and that he had com­pletely dismissed any weariness fromthe long day preceded by an all-nightdrive from San Diego County.

Rudy Reyes had been to both UFWConstitutional Conventions and hasbeen an active Union member since thefirst grape strike in 1965. In Fresno thistime as a delegate from the Freedmanranch in the Coachella Valley, Reyessaid he was moved by the new heights ofinfluence his Union has reached.

"Before, when we went to strike, theywouldn't ask any farm workers whatthey think. In the early days, I neverthought it would come to this," he said,referring to the procession of poli­ticians from Jimmy Carter to localcandidates that sought support from thedelegates. "I thought maybe we couldget some contracts, and that's it."

While the VIPs and political heaviesreached the rostrum at various pointsduring the day, lesser political lights sathopefully in the back of the hallawaiting their chance to speak tosmaller caucuses of delegates from theirrespective areas. If politicians couldever be seen as humble, this was theplace to catch them. All were delightedto talk to EI Malcriado.

Growers split?California's agricultural industry

is approaching November's vote onProposition 14 "with its housedivided, its shots scattered, and itsleaders galloping off in all direc­tions. "

That's the assessment expressed ina recent California Farmer editorialbeseeching the industry to "closeranks" against the proposition.

"We face a single adversary ofnearly overwhelming dimensions inthe form of the Chavez initiative inNovember," the editorial acknowl­edges.

"We have no money, time, noenergy to waste on fragmentation,duplication of effort, or ruffledfeatherS'," it continues, noting thatpotential supporters among urbanpoliticians, the news media, andbusiness leaders "are growing tiredand confused by what appears to beinternal disagreement and bickeringin agriculture."

Full-page newspaper ads opposingProposition 14 are still using at least oneargument ruled fraudulent more than amonth ago by a Sacramento SuperiorCourt judge.

The ads, apearing on Sept. 1 in mostmajor California newspapers, were thefirst major salvo in an anti-14 campaignbeing waged by agribusiness under thebanner of "Citizens for a Fair FarmLabor Law."

An Aug. 4 ruling by Judge FrancisCarr upheld the UFW's contention thatsome of the anti-14 arguments writtenfor a state ballot issues booklet were"deliberate lies." The decision directed

Growers filefunds report

The anti-Proposition 14 organization<;::itizens for a Fair Farm Labor Law hadraised $20,920 by June 30, according toa campaign statement the group filedwith the state Aug. ~.

The voluntary statement listed ex­penditures through June 30 of$6,651.78, including a $5,000 legalretainer to the Los Angeles law firm ofGibson, Dunn and Crutcher. The firstfiling required by law is due Sept. 28.

Most of the 81 contributions listedwere for $250 and came from growers inthe Woodland area. Donations of$1,000 apiece were made by L.R.Hamilton, Inc., of Reedley and theNapa County Farm Bureau.

Marshall Ganz, statewide director ofthe Yes on 14 campaign, said the con­tributions list will help the UFW.

"We want to send letters to thegrower/contributors saying, 'We'retargeting your farm for organizing ac­tivities. Thanks for giving us your ad­dress,' "Ganz said.

On July 28 the Fresno-based anti-14group filed an amendment to itsstatement of organization, replacingTim Bone of Fresno with Harry Kuboof Parlier as president. Kubo ispresident of the Nisei Farmers League.Patricia "Corky" Larson, com­munications director of CaliforniaWomen for Agriculture and wife ofCoachella Valley grower K.K. Larson,was listed as vice president. Grower PRrepresentative Don Curlee is secretaryand Bone, treasurer.

The other major anti-14 organizationis the California Farm BureauFederation Political Action Committee,headquartered in Berkeley. Its officersare leaders of the California FarmBureau Federation.

, I

September 17, 1976 EL MALeR/ADO Page 11

Carter likes 14(Continuedfrom page 1)

Labor Relations Act (ALRA), Taylortold the delegates. "Instead, I find farmworkers fighting for the right toorganize. "

Business Manager Bill Soltero ofLaborers Local 383 of Phoenix, Ariz.,speaking in animated Spanish, exhortedthe delegates to work hard forProposition 14 and asked all who wouldcommit themsel es to do so to raisetheir hands.

Near the end of the day, after aspirited 14-minute floor demonstrationin support of Proposition 14, dozens ofdelegates took their turn at floormicrophones to announce ple'dges ofmoney and time for the initiative cam­paign. More than $20,000 was pledged,mostly in increments of a few hundreddollars.

Carter, whose telephoned commentswere broadcast over the arena's Ii .A.system and simultaneously interprettedinto Spanish through closed-circuitportable radios furnished most of the

.delegates, told the assemblege thatthough he was far away in distance,"I'm close to you in spirit.

"The achievements of Cesar Chavezand the United Farm Workers ofAmerica have already added a greatchapter to the history of labor," he con­tinued. "You've shown... that yourpeople can achieve self-determinationthrough the struggle for the right ofcollective bargaining. Yet throughoutthe struggle you have maintained yourcommitment to nonviolent change.

"You've had special problems inCalifornia among the farm workers.And the farm labor law passed by thelegislature and the governor recently isnow. being tried and tested throughoutyour state. But for 11 months (sic) thelaw that had been passed was renderedineffective. For that reason I support

----....he objectives of Proposition 14... "At that point the whoops and cheers

began.Carter concluded with a few sen­

[ences in Spanish in which he said helooked forward to being in Californiasoon and meeting with Chavez.

Chavez then asked Carter whether' he 'was unequivocally supporting theproposition, and the candidate said yes.

Endorsements were considered onlyfor candidates who requested them.Candidates or their representatives wereinvited to speak before area caucusesmeeting throughout the day, which for­warded recommendations to an en­dorsement committee of 27 delegates.The committee in turn sent its recom­mendations to the entire convention forapprovaL All of the committee's en­dorsement suggestions were accepted.

The committee's sessions were closed,but one participant said candidates'

support of Proposition 14 and pastsolidarity with the farm workers werethe key criteria used in making en­dorsements. The delegate said the com­mittee's decisions on Carter and Tunney.were unanimous but unenthusiastic.

The UFW actively worked for Tun­ney's primary election opponent, TomHayden, and has, regarded Tunney as alukewarm supporter at best.

But all but a handful of delegatesseemed happy to accept the committee'srecommendations.

Other endorsees, all Democrats,were: San Joaquin County Board ofSupervisors District 1, Ralph White;Alameda County Board of SupervisorsDistrict 5, John George;

State Assembly District 12, TomBates; 13, John Miller, incumbent; 17,Willie Brown Jr., incumbent; 37, ArlineMathews; 38, Betty Mann; 39, JimKeysor, incumbent; 44, Alan Sieroty,incumbent; 51, Charles J. Post III; 55,Richard Alatorre, incumbent; 56, ArtTorres, incumbent; 58, Fred Chel; 60,.Joseph Montoya, incumbent; 61,Patricia Ostrye; 63, Bruce Young; 69,Neal Gibbons; 73, Dennis Mangers;

State Senatorial District 29, BillGreene, incumbent; 23, David A.Roberti, incumbent: 39, Bob Wilson;

U.S. Congressional District 4, RobertLeggett, incumbent; 8, RonaldDellums, incumbent; 10, Don Edwards,incumbent; 12, David Harris; 13, Nor­man Y. Mineta, incumbent; 25, EdwardR. Roybal, incumbent; 27, GaryFamilian; 28, Yvonne BrathwaiteBurke, incumbent; 33, Ted Snyder; 37,Douglas Nilson Jr.; 39, William Farris.

The Union's Executive Board wasempowered to decide on endorsementsin certain other districts .because thecommittee lacked sufficient· in­formation. Decisions referred were forAssembly Districts 43, 72, and 80;Senatorial Districts 5, 7, and 37;and U.S. Congressional Districts 9, 15,16, and 40.

The Executive Board also wasauthorized to make endoresmentsduring the interim period until the nextendorsements convention.

The adopted resolutions includedsupport for passage of Proposition 15,replacement of the U.S. Immigrationand Naturalizati·on Service with a newagency "capable of Qbserving the Con­stitutional and human rights" of allU.S. residents, condemnation oflegislators who voted against abudgetary supplement for the ALRB,suffrage for non-citizen residents of theUnited States, freedom for four in­carcerated Fresno Bee reporters anddefeat of a dog racing, proposition onthe California ballot.

UNCONVENTIONAL BEHAVIOR followed Jimmy Carter'sspeech via telephone (top) as UFW President Cesa rChavez, Secretary-Treasurer Gilbert Padilla and ExecutiveBoard member Marshall Ganz (from righf to left above)slap each other "five" upon hearing Carter's endorsement

.of Proposition 14. Below, delegates cause the day's biggestruckus during a late afternoon floor demonstration thatreleased the day's energy.

(Top photo by Paul Chavez, others by Cathy Murphy)

Cranston campaigns for TunneyFRESNO - Overcoming a polite but

unenthusiastic response to his praise forSen. John Tunney (D-Calif.), seniorDemocratic Sen. Alan Cranston got anenergetic ovation for his direct en­dorsement of Proposition 14 from theUnion's Sept. 5 state Political En­dorsements Convention,

Tunney, whose Democratic primaryopponent, Tom Hayden, was supportedby the UFW this year, was the subject.of much of Cranston's speech, which I

also praised Democratic Presidentialcandidate Jimmy Carter.

Pointing to Tunney's liberal votingrecord and recent endorsement ofProposition 14, the senior senator calledhis colleague "a courageous leader whooften sticks his neck out to fight forwhat he believes." He urged delegatesto "be realistic" and endorse Tunney inhis bid for a second U.S, Senate term,which they later did.

One of the morning's most spiritedreactions came when Cranston men-

tioned Hayden's name. Cheers,whistles, and sustained applause in­terrupted the speech.

"But you can't vote for him; he's not·on the ballot," Cranston continued."The way we're going to defeat(Republican candidate) H. L Hayaka­wa, who opposes Proposition 14, is toelect my colleague 'who supports it,John Tunney."

The Palo Alto native himself thenjoined the list of major political leadersendorsing the proposition. Two daysbefore the speech he reportedly had notworked out a position on the issue.

"I endorse Proposition 14," said thedetermined-looking senator as he leanedforward toward his audience. "I'll notonly vote for it, I'll not only support it- I'll work for it up and down the stateof California between now and electionday."

The initiative's passage wouldguarantee the continuation of "a

working democracy" for the state'sfarm workers and be a benefit to allCalifornia citizens, Cranston said. Headded that the ALRA may become amodel for farm labor legislation on thefederal level and lashed out atRepublicans in the legislature "whocooked up a scheme to stall andsabotage" the law.

"Everlasting strife between farmworkers and growers is a losingproposition for both, "·Cranston added.

In an interview with E/ Ma/criadobefore his speech, Cranston denied thata Tunney endorsement from the UFWwould be a difficult subject. He addedthat he had "been working on thisspeech like fury for four days" andcalled his remarks on Tunney "a verybig part of this speech."

Cranston began his address byblasting President Gerald Ford'seconomic policy and urging an en­dorsement of Democrat Jimmy Carter.

"Ford is not only an economicdisciple of Richard Nixon, he's outdonehis masteF in wrecking our economy,"Cranston said. He called the Nixon andFord policies those of "deliberateunemployment and economic decay",citing nati'onwide unemploymentstatistics since 1968 and observing thatthose figures leave out many who havegiven up looking for work, "millions ofour brothers and sisters thrown out onthe scrap heap, ignored, forgotten,wasting away in poverty.

"The fact is that the very best unem­ployment figures under Ford are worsethan the worst unemployment figuresunder Nixon," he said.

The Senator also urged farm workersto take advantage of the state's newbilingual post card voter registrationsystem to register 500,000 new voters tohelp ensure the passage of Proposition14 and the election of Jimmy Carter andother candidates who will advance thecause of workers.

..

£1 MaJeriadois IIaell'"Now you can get aU of thenews of the Farm WorkerMovement from the UFW'sofficial publication.

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