Tell students that in this lesson, they will be learning about a strike organized by farmworkers on vineyards in Delano, California. A photograph of Delano Grape Strike picketers in Delano, California, February 1966. DELANO The story of the California grape strike JOHN GREGORY DUNNE Photographs by Ted Streshinsky Farrar, Straus & Giroux New York. In her book "The Farmworkers' Journey,"Ann Aurelia Lpez writes that by 1977, the United Farm Workers won over 180 separate contracts in several industries, including grape, lettuce, tomato and strawberry. Some growers drove their cars towards the protesters and swerving just as they reached the strikers. The strike and the boycott continued until July 29, 1970, at which point the strikers declared victory as California table grape growers signed union contracts and agreed to give workers better pay, benefits, and protections. The strike also catapulted its leader . And unbeknownst at the start, it would become a pivotal movement for agricultural workers. The Global Nonviolent Action Database writes that picketers were attacked by dogs, sprayed with pesticides, threatened by cars. Delano Grape Boycott and Strike What was it? He once wrote, However important the struggle is and however much misery, poverty and exploitation exist, we know that it cannot be more important than one human life. Cesar also quoted Gandhi, who said, Do something! The International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, whose members were responsible for loading the shipments, cooperated with the protesters and refused to load non-union grapes. 1079-81, Killing of 22 Vietnamese civilians by US forces during a SnD mission, led by William L. Calley Jr. for the murder for "at least" 22 Previous: United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta at the Delano grape workers strike in Delano, Calif., 1966. The Delano Grape Strike represents one of the most important labor movements in American history and demonstrates an intersection between the Civil Rights Movement and the movement initiated by the Mexican-American and Filipino-American communities. Within two weeks of the start of the strike, Filipino grape workers were joined by the Latinx workers. Delano grape strike (1965-1970), US v. Wheeler (1978) . America View Delano Grape Strike from HISTORY MISC at Loyola Sacred Heart High School. But 1965 was not the past. There were different conflicts between groups and people participating. ed., 1971), examines the labour and social issues surrounding the grape pickers' strike of the mid-1960s. The boycott had the potential to exert real economic pressure on the growers, perhaps even enough to finally bring them to the negotiating table. Much after the strike, Itliong decided to leave the UFW due to disagreements and different views. But the group asked for help in the form of noted Hispanic labor leader Cezar Chavez, who led the National Farm Workers Association, which primarily consisted of Hispanic-Americans. The Volunteer writes that many of the strikers were older and single Filipino men, known as Manongs, who remained unmarried due to anti-miscegenation laws. The most significant of these was the deteriorated relationship between the Filipino and Mexican farm workers. ELIBR0152, Box 1, Folder 4, The California Grape Boycott, circa 1968. Reminds Us of their Bravery. The following day, over 2,000 Filipino farm workers walked off the grape vineyards and set up picket lines at the ranch of every grower. Hundreds, then thousands, came. Just three years old, the young organization was still finding its footing - both financially and in the community. Lasting five years, the Delano grape strike and boycott became known to workers as "La Huelga," or "the struggle" (per Records of Rights, posted at the National Archives). Many consumers were sympathetic to the strike and refused to buy grapes, and grocery stores followed suit by refusing to stock non-union grapes. Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, Larry ItliongLupe MartinezCesar ChavezDolores Huerta, The Delano grape strike was a labor strike organized by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), a predominantly Filipino and AFL-CIO-sponsored labor organization, against table grape growers in Delano, California to fight against the exploitation of farm workers. The strike of lettuce pickers and packers in . Huerta was born April 10, 1930, in the town of Dawson, New Mexico. The group was successful in its course of action, and this resulted in the spoilage of a thousand ten-ton cases of grapes which were left to rot on the docks. Includes: Interviews, speeches, congressional testimony, diary entries, and firsthand recollections from the early 1960s to the present An open letter to Los Angeles supporters asking them for their continued support of the Grape Strike, 1968. He asked strikers take a solemn vow to remain nonviolent. In 1966, Chavez led the Delano strikers on a 300-mile long march from Delano to Sacramento, according to Asian American Activism. In this lesson, students will learn about the initial phase of the grape workers strike that occurred in Californias San Joaquin Valley from 1965 to 1966. [23][24][25] September 16, 1965 marked the day that Filipino and Mexican farm workers officially joined forces to picket together and fight for farm labor justice. This is the untold story of the Delano grape strike. In the beginning, it was only Filipino-American labor organizer Larry Itliongs creation of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), mostly made up of Filipinos. 2. California Grape Workers Strike: 196566. For the first time in American history, Cesar and the United Farm Workers (the result of a merger in 1966 between the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and the National Farm Workers Association) decided to use a boycott in a major labor dispute. For Cesar, nonviolence couldnt be understood in the abstract. On September 7, 1965, Filipino grape workers in Delano, California voted to strike rather than accept the reduced wages proposed by grape growers. According to the film. The decision to strike was full of risk for farmworkers and their families. California Grape Workers Strike Timeline, Gallery Walk Images: Farmworkers Movement, California Grape Workers Strike Viewing Guide, California Grape Workers Strike Viewing Guide. National support for the UFW continued to grow in 1968, and hundreds of UFW members and supporters were arrested. [18] In the initial contracts, the UFW implemented the hiring hall system. This decision was a big risk for Delanos grape workers. Labor activists, spearheaded the organization of Chicano agricultural workers into the United Farm Workers, UFW, the first successful union of migrant workers, 1965, strike of grape pickers in the fields around the Delano, CA and a nationwide boycott of table grapes brought Chavez and the UFW into the media spotlight, advocated nonviolent . During the Delano grape strike, strikers at the picket line faced incredible violence. [30], The DiGiorgio Corporation was finally pressured into holding an election among its workers allowing them to choose the union they wanted to represent them on August 30, 1967. They were building a movement and did not know if they had the resources to commit to a strike. In 1965, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, young Mexican American union organizers, brought Mexican and Filipino workers together to form the United Farm Workers (UFW). Throughout his life, 1927 to 1993, Chavez was a prominent civil rights activist who fought for the rights of farm workers. Repeat with the remaining two clips from the film (7:18-12:25 and 12:25-18:30). However, most of the growers continued to refuse to negotiate with the union, and the United Farm Workers organized a national boycott of grapes to place additional pressure on the growers. against vineyard owners that spread north to Delano and helped spark the national. In 1967, UFW supporters in Oregon began picketing stores in Eugene, Salem, and Portland. But Cesar knew the strikers greatest weapon was simply their decision not to quit, to persevere no matter what the odds or how long it would take. In 1969, support for farm workers increased throughout North America. In 1966, Mexican and Filipino grape pickers in California joined together to strike for better working conditions. Other articles where Delano: The Story of the California Grape Strike is discussed: John Gregory Dunne: Dunne's first book, Delano: The Story of the California Grape Strike (1967; rev. Smithsonian Magazinewrites that Itliong would also negotiate the construction of Agbayani Village, a senior home for retired elderly Filipino workers who had no family, and a "percentage of each grape box picked would support the retirement facility.". Print]. Write about a time you felt invisible to others. The boycott connected middle-class families in big cities with poor farm worker families in the California vineyards. Broader Terms. What made you feel invisible? NFWA leadership knew that picket lines and local protests would not be enough to achieve their objectives. A poster calling for a boycott of Delano grapes detailed some of the violence that strikers had experienced, which also included being prevented from entering labor camps to talk with other workers, and being forced to attend anti-UFW meetings, or else risk losing their jobs. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the farmworkers were asking for "$1.40 an hour, 25 cents a box, and the right to form a union" in exchange for coming back to work. ", The NAACP also stood behind the boycott, distributing posters calling for a boycott of California table grapes, which were "picked by people working 10 hours a day in the fields with no breaks and no toilets [] The family is forced to go on welfare while the growers earn millions.". Use your graph to work on the problem. Interaction He believed nonviolence forces you to be creativethat it lets you maintain the offensive, which is crucial to winning any contest. Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa. Mapping UFW Strikes, Boycotts, and Farm Worker Actions 1965-1975 shows over 1,000 farm worker strikes, boycotts, and other actions. He led by example. How can people work together to raise their voices and demand the rights they have been denied? Huerta helped organize the Delano grape strike in 1965 in California and was the lead negotiator . The farmworkers movement was inseparable from the movement for civil rights. 6 terms. Recent flashcard sets. [11][12][13], Preceding the Delano grape strike was another grape strike organized by Filipino farm workers that occurred in Coachella Valley, California on May 3, 1965. Educators will create a practice of student journaling to help their students critically examine their surroundings and make informed judgments. In the time that followed, the picket lines were routinely attacked. At Delano, Kennedy wore on his left lapel a version of the UFW's black and red Aztec eagle button , perhaps given to him by Peter B. Edelman, one of his legislative aides and speechwriters, who was Kennedy's point man on the UFW's boycott against table grape growers. What might be the consequences if an entire group is made to feel invisible or ignored? A primary, or direct, boycott, which targeted the employer involved in a labor dispute, was generally allowable. Two and a half years into the strike, during the winter of 1967-68, some strikers, especially some young men, were impatient. The boycott changed the scene of the battle from the fields, where the odds were stacked against farm workers, to the cities, where farm workers could appeal for help to the American people, whom Cesar called our court of last resort.. 1082, A break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington was carried out under the direction of White House employees, disclosure of the White House involvement in the break-in and subsequent cover-up forced President Nixon to resign in 1974 to avoid impeachment The documentary The Wrath of Grapes mentions that the Delano-based company, M Caratan Inc., hired criminals to break up farm workers voting to unionize. The strike set in motion the modern farmworkers movement. Chavez led by example and followed through on his ideas of nonviolent protests, coming up with other ways to get support behind the union. i CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA MINORITIES AND POLITICS: Understanding the Common Cause of Their Rise in Political Power A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science By Nam Kyu Kang March 2016 [13] To prevent the strike from ending in failure, Itliong sought out the help of Cesar Chavez, who was the leader of the newly established NFWA. It ended with, It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives to we find life. They demanded a raise both in their hourly wages, from $1.25 to $1.40, and in the piece rate (the pay a worker earned for each box of grapes packed). Sketch a market demand curve [16], On September 8, 1965, Itliong, Vera Cruz, Gines, Imutan, and more than 1,000 Filipino farm workers walked off of vineyards and began their strike against Delano table grape growers. In 1966, Csar Chvez led a march from Delano in the San Joaquin Valley to Sacramento, to draw attention to the strike. [8] Chavez initially declined Itliong's request because he believed the NFWA was not financially stable enough to join the strike. Chavez stated "we can change the world if we do it nonviolent". But the farm workers understood. The Politics of Insurgency: The Farm Worker Movement in the 1960s. Johnson made the decision to engage the US in a major war in Vietnam, at first hoped to stay on course, faced presidential election in 1964, knew major military setback would cripple his election campaign, determined to avoid Truman's fate, worse conditions in South Vietnam, Johnson laid groundwork for a sustained campaign against North Vietnam, in August found pretext to set plan in motion, US destroyers in Gulf of Tonkin reported attacks by North Vietnam, Johnson ordered air strikes against bases in North Vietnam, appealed to Congress to pass resolution giving him authority to take all necessary measures and steps to defend US forces and protect SE Asia, Tonkin Gulf Resolution passed the Senate on Aug 7 with only two dissenting votes and moved unanimously through House, call for restraint in Vietnam, assured voters, this helped him win a landslide victory over conservatives Republican Barry Goldwater of Arizona, faced hard decision, limited bomb raids against North Vietnam did not slow the Communist Vietcong across the border into the South, president chose to increase US involvement in Vietnam massively, Request to Congress from President Lyndon Johnson in response to North Vietnamese torpedo boat attacks in which he sought authorization for "all necessary measures" to protest American forces and stop further aggression, Tonkin Gulf Resolution passed the Senate on Aug 7 with only two dissenting votes and moved unanimously through House, Johnson ordered immediate reprisal bombing and one week later, authorized Operation Rolling Thunder , campaign of gradually intensifying air attacks against North Vietnam, once begun Johnson found it hard to speak frankly with the American public about his policies, Network coverage of the war damaged Johnson's popularity, scenes of death and devastation undermined moral justification for the war, coverage in the print media came more skeptical of Johnson over time, Scenes of human suffering and devastation recorded by TV undermined the admin's moral justification of the war, 1960s, network news had ignored Vietnam or supportive of US policy, news of reporting changed, CBS showed pictures of marines setting fire to homes of civilians, President Johnson complained bitterly about news director, 1967, every subject tended to become Vietnam, TV news reports told of new methods of American cluster bombs and showed the effects of the forces, coverage in print media, vocal critics, Various alternatives to mainstream values and behaviors that became popular in the 1960s, including experimentation with psychedelic drugs, communal living a return to the land, Asian religions, and experimental art, Young adults takes out a new form of community, a counterculture, Drugs played large part in this counterculture, Music played large part in defining the counterculture, rock n' roll in 1950s, popular music expressed in the generational identity, Beatles in 1964, NY, more than 400 K people gathered in Aug in 1969 for a 3-day rock concert and to give witness to the ideals of the counterculture, many drugs, Most ambitious reform program since the New Deal, office of Economic Opportunity launched a War on Poverty, program had mixed results, 1964 State of the Union message, Johnson announced his plans to make a Great Society, used political momentum of the civil rights movement and Democratic majorities in the House and Senate to push the most ambitious reform program since the New Deal, 1964 the Economic Opportunity Act launched the War on Poverty, North Vietnamese and their Vietcong allies launched the Tet Offensive, Vietcong pushed into the major cities and capitals of the South, US troops halted the offensive, North Vietnamese and Vietcong suffered more than 40K deaths, civilian causalities ran to hundreds of thousands, about 1 million South Vietnamese became refugees, Tet Offensive shattered the credibility of American officials who repeatedly claimed the enemy to be virtually beaten, TV and press coverage dismayed the public, US had chalked up a major military victory during the Tet Offensive but los the war at home, polls showed strong opposition to war, 49% saying it was a mistake, majority believed that the stalemate was hopeless,Tet Offensive opened a year of political drama at home, Black Power-philosophy emerging after 1965 that real economic and political gains for African Americans could come only through self-help, self-determination, and organizing for direct political influence, NY Police raided the Stonewall Inn, next day Gay Power was seen in the neighborhood, Young Mexican Americans adopted the slang term Chicano, to express a militant ethnic nationalism, demanded equality with whites and recognition of their distinctive culture and history, Students played a large role in this movement, blowouts or strikes to demand educational reform and a curricular emphasis on the history, literature, art and language of Mexican Americans, 15K students from LA schools went on strike against poor educational facilities, police did mass arrest, 1969, Mexican Independence Day, high schools skipped classes in the First National Chicano Boycott, students organized to demand Mexican American studies in classes, 1969, sit in at UCB, Chicano nationalism inspired a variety of regional political movement in the 1960s, Mexican American activists found that economic power remained out of community hands, poverty and many fell back into apathy, collective identity forged among Mexican Americans, Labor activists, spearheaded the organization of Chicano agricultural workers into the United Farm Workers, UFW, the first successful union of migrant workers, 1965, strike of grape pickers in the fields around the Delano, CA and a nationwide boycott of table grapes brought Chavez and the UFW into the media spotlight, advocated nonviolent methods for achieving justice and equality For Delanos grape workers were joined by the Latinx workers Loyola Sacred Heart High School 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