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-EditorialDoable Defeat For The 8rowers

In the November 7th elections, the farmworkers movement won a great victory bydefeating Proposition 22 by a large majority ofvotes.

What does this victory mean?In the past we have fought and defeated the

growers with strikes and boycotts. And now wehave beat them in their own territory,in thearea of political action: we trapped them intheir own trap.

They pretended to offer farm workers "secretoallot ll elections. They used fraud and deceitto fool people into votin~ for Proposition 22.They cried for a IIsecret ballot ll

• They got it andlost by 1,236,608 votes.

The decisive victory in the elections projectsthe political strength of the United Farm Workersthroughout the entire country.

Where does the power come from for a farmworkers 'movement made up of men and women of theoppressed minorities, many of whom are notcitizens, do not speak English, of men and womenwho have to carry out their campaigns only aftersacrificing days and even weeks of work andwages?

Our political power is not based on moneyas is the political power of our enemies. Our

political power is based on people, on our will­ingness to sacrifice, on our director Cesae Chavezand other leaders of our movement and on the jus­tice of our cause, which inspires the support ofdecent citizens across the nation.

The million dollars spent by the growers onthe thousands of fraudulent billboards thatpoll·uted the roads and the cities were outdone byour hearts of our people~ The result: a decisiveNO to Proposition 22 and a clear Yes to theUnited Farm Workers as the one and only unionfor farm workers.

With their shameful campaign, the growers andtheir allies ambushed and defeated themselves.They spent a million dollars to outlaw strikesand boycotts and what they really did was toawaken in the citizens of the state an awarenessof the justness of our cause.

Their dollars turned against them: they havegiven us the publicity we need to renew thelettuce boycott, on which we will now concentrateour efforts.

The victory in California was a victory forfarm workers everywhere. It showed that SI, SEPUEDE, it can be done. We can build a union androut the forces that oppose us if we are willingto struggle and sacrifice. WE WILL INTENSIFY OURORGANIZING EFFORTS. i ON WITH THE LETTUCE BOYCOTT!

I celebrate with you the defeat of Proposition 22.You have proven to the people of California thatno amount of money can equal the strength ofpeople united for justice.Viva la Causa.

Sincerely

(This letter was written to a local paper inthe salinas Valley. -. EL MALCRIADO)

Dear Editor:This is in regards to a bumper sticker which

read "FWOC-U". As a UFWOC member Ithought it very rude to transpose these initialsin such a bad manner. I'd also like to bringup that during a boycott we were called •'un­educated" by anti-union people. If they thinkthey are so educated why are they transposingthe United Farm Workers Organizing Committeeinitials in such a way. We might have our mindson boycotting and picketing for better causesbut we don't transpose bumper stickers in a dirtyway. These anti-union people who called usuneducated should take better look at them­selves.

Nosotros Venceremos. Si Se Puede y VivaNuestro Lider Cesar Chavez! NO on Prop. 221

Be~triz ValenzuelaGreenfield, Ca.

On Tuesday, OCtober 24, the General Board ofthe Pennsylvania Council of Churches passed theenclosed resolution.This action was iniciated by a request fromthe Migrant Ministry Committee to the SocialRelations Committee, asking for a study of thelettuce boycott.We heard testimony from a .spokesman for thegrowers and a spokesman from the harvesters.We want all the readers of El Malcriado toknow that we believe the cause of justice willbest be served when farm workers can bargainfor their rights and secure a contract OVE!"

which they have some control. We declare ourbrotherhood and sisterhood with you in yourefforts.Hopefully, many Christians will now feel even.more compelled to help you as you seek justice.by eating head lettuCe only after contracts havebeen secured through collective bargaining.

Sincerely,

Debbie TattoLos AngelesCal.

Paul D. Gehris(The Union's formal name is now United Farm Special Assistant to Executive DirectorWorkers or UFW. -- EL MALCRIADO) for Social Relations

Sisters and Brothers,I want you to know how much

we appreciate your help in de­feating Proposition 22. The out­pouring of support from peoplearound the state was beautiful.Farm workers, the AFL-CIO Cali­fornia State Federation ~nd ~f­

filiates, the Longshoremen andother unions, minority groups,students, political organiz~tions

and many others joined to smashProposition 22.

The 22 campaign convincedus once again that when we h~ve

the people with us, no amountof money, deceit or co~litions ofright-wing groups can defeat us.

There is still a long strug­gle ahead. Only a small percentageof farm workers enjoy the dignityof a union contract with betterwages and working conditions,health insurance and job security.Poverty and powerlessness is theday to d~y reality for most farm

2 • Decem er I. 1972 • EL MALCRIADO

workers.But th€ decisive victory on

22 reaffirms our right to non­violently boycott to bring thosebenefits to all farm workers. Themajority of people in this statebelieve in justice for farm workersand it is time to bring that mes­sage home to the lettuce growers.

Our people ar e in the citiesnow organizing the Lettuce Boycott.It will t~ke a lot of us workingtogether to make our lettuce boycotteffective. The growers will useevery means ~t their dispos~l totry to stop us. Will you ple~se

c~ntact the ne~rest boycott officeand offer them your ~ssistance?

Whatever work you can do on behalfof farm workers will bring victorythat much closer.

Si se puede ~

BOYCOTT LETTUC E~

~ //1c::- -.... c. C .?--atCesar E. Chavez

IL alLelllDO

Published every two weeks as theOfficial voice of the:

UNITED FARM WORKERSAFL-CIO

•La Paz P.O. Box (>2

Keene, California 93531

•No subscription orders accepted

Bulk order of 50 prepaid only $5.00

P lease specifySpanish or English edition

PROPOSITION 22 VICTORY ANALYZED

On With The Lettuce Boycott

,----------------------------,

289,885251

3,20522,541.3 081;r,7q9

137,2162,471

10,93361,395

2,72627,2278,9623',7g8

48;6917,5114,7453,850

1,590,1494,744

59,1341,565

10,81912,980

1,3781,229

33,47917,716

6;581333,346

Hl,8713,323

94,069164,21:3

2,221135,580325,630184,108

50,62623,353

151,17670,461

265,43136,16419,576

6616,535

30,40051,28134,475

6.3975,29:31;798

20,4705,48:3

82,10924,866

5,693

148,684286

2,79324,128

3,0642,~

107,7792,4848,514

88,0494,428

15,77213,010..2,74566,1309,9586,3382,770

1,061,4839,217

38,3881,7319,697

16,5271,8111,220

45,04219,5837,034

280,00315,089

2,3237."5,610

108,2904,4]3

91,748239,901

86,82333,68724,39486,53843,889

176,07830,43114,277

4746,397

23,05749,42726,6888,9006,2041,407

36,7354,594

62,22116,5HI

5,387

VOTING RESULTS ON PROPOSITION 22County Yes No

Alameda .Alpine .........•..Amador .Butte .......•.....Calaveras ....•....Colusa ........•...Contra Costa .Del Norte .El Dorado ...•••...Fresno .Glenn .Humboldt .Imperial .Inyo .Kern .Kings .IJake .Lassen .. , .Los Angeles' .Madera .:'Iarin " .Mariposa .Mendocino .Merced .Modoc .lVlono .Monterey .Napa .Nevada ..Orange .Placer .Plumas .Riverside .Sacramento .San Benito .San Bernardino .San Diego .San Francisco .San Joaquin .San Luis Obispo .San Mateo .Santa Barbara ; .Santa Clara .Santa Cruz .Shasta .Sierra .Siskiyou .Solano .Sonoma .Stanislaus .Sutter .Tehama .Trinity .Tulare .Tuolumne .Ventura .Yolo .Yuba ..

• New tactics were developed for the LettuceBoycott.

4,554,380 voted NO. We won by a majority d1,236,608 votes, 58% against 42%.

Out of the 58 counties in the state of Cali­fornia, we won in 35 and lost in 23. But 12 ofthe counties in which we won are the mostpopulous in the state, haVing 80.4% of the voters,while the 23 counties in which the growers wonhave only 19.6% of the vote (see chart at right).

• Strikers and Union v olunteers were givennew assignments as boycott organizers in thelargest cities of thee ountry (see p. 11).

• White River Farms strikers decided to go mthe boycott and planned the next stage in thefight against White River Farms.

WITH RESPECT TOTHE LETIUCE BOYCOTTthe following was done during the conference:

• A close analysis. of thehistoryof the boycott. '

I pledge not to eat lettuce. Unless it bears theUnited Farm Workers' Black Eagle label.

I pledge to tell all my friends about the lettuceBoy cott.

I pledge to raise the issue of the lettuce Boycottwherever I see lettuce (conventions, fund raisers,church dinners, airplanes, restaurants, collegecafeterias, hospitals, etc,)

Deareesar, I sup port you r Non -v i0 len t ef for t s to bringjustice to migrant farm workers.

iIIIIIIIIII

IIIIII ~ NameI VIVA & Address Zip _

: LA L~lir City State _

: CAUSA Phone Date ....-,--__ IL ~

The support and mobilization of the oppressedminorities of the state, the unions, the Churches,political organizations and other groups.

The human billboards.

The final election results were:Of 7,871,152 votes, 3,316,772 voted yes and

From November 13 to 16, the Union held aseries of sessions in which the campaign againstProposition 22 was analyzed to see what tac­tics were the most effective, and plans weremade for the massive continuation of the lettuceboycott.

It was concluded that the historic victoryagainst Proposition 22 was the result of theenthusiasm and sacrificies of our people andthe effective use of the following tactics:

The person-to-person distribution of leafletswith correct explanations' of Proposition 22.

Honest and direct communication with the public'through radio, television and ~he press.

EL MALCRIADO. December I, 1972 • 3

IHIlI RIVIR fARMS SIRIIIRS SPIAI IN PROP. 22

Refugio Guajardo, President of the Ranch Com­mittee at White River Farms: The victory againstProp. 22 was good for us because it would havekept us from having a strong union, it wou1tl havekept us from organizing and would keep us fromstriking during harvest time. That is why we arehappy we defeated 22.

***Jesus Guajardo, Vice-President of the RanchCommittee at White River Farms: For us ithas been a pleasure to destroy Proposition 22.It means our Union can now go forward again.We had never been on a campaign like -this one.Now we know how hard our sisters and brothershad worked for us. We had never really strug­gled before and now we are. Now we also wantto carry the Union to our sisters and brotherswho have never enjoyed the benefits we have

. had.

* **Miguel Garza, Ranch Committee Secretary atWhite River Farms: We defeated this initiativewith help of citizens throughout the state of Ca­lifornia That moo ns we have a lot of supp:>rtwith which we will win in the end.

* * *Hermenegildo Angel Loredo, Tresurer of theRanch Committee at White River Farms: Manyscabs and labor contractors came to pick thecrop. They gave us much to do. The scabscan't seem to understand the benefits to begained with a Union. A Union is for winningbetter working conditions, better protections,and for treatment a s human beings, but theydon't unders tand.

But we are giving the company a good fight.The companylost more thana million dollars tryingto crush us. After the harvest we went to LosAngeles and other cities to fight Proposition 22,which the companywas hoping would pass so itwouldn't have to sign a Union contract with us.But we won.

***Pablo Lopez, Advisor to the Ranch Committeeat White River Farms: For us the fight agains:Proposition 22 was a precedent, because we wereunder a contract and it hOO cost us nothing.Now we are learning what it takes to win a Unioncontract and the sacrifices we must make. Wehave learned a lot, but we cannot stay with ourarms crossed, because that way nothing is gained.

Miguel Garza Pablo Lopez

~, f • • I.

OIL IN THE WINEThere's oil in the wine at White River Farms.The parent company of White River Farms,

where our strikers have ben struggling sinceAugust 28, is Buttes Gas & Oil Company. Asthe cartoon illustrates, this land-grabbingconglomerate has built a sprawling empire ran­ging from Abu Musa in the Arabian Gulf to Poplarand Delano on the White River.

Gas, oil, and minerals used to be its principalbusiness. Buttes controls 34,000,000 gross acrest»th 628 oil wells and III gas wells throughout

Ie United States and Canada, plus oil concessionsin Tunisia, Ghana, Liberia, Malagasy, Indonesia,and Sharjah. Its operations embrace all ofNorth America, especially Mexico, in searchesfor gold, uranium, nickel, platinum, gypsum,sulphur, and potash. Its partners in severaljoint ventures include Atlantic Richfield, ShellOil, Kerr-McGee, and Ashland Oil.

While holding on to its 18 oil. gas, and miningcompanies, the Buttes octopus has reached itstentacles out to grasp a cattle ranch in Texasand eight agricultural subsidiaries in California.It now owns more than 25,000 acres of land inthe San joaquin Valley in vineyards. Citrus,nut trees, cotton, and tomatoes.

Buttes expansion into agriculture has all takenplace since 1968 and more is planned for thefuture. The agricultural coordinating arm of thecorporation is Buttes Farmland DevelopmentCompany.

White River Farms is by far the most valuableof all the holdings of Buttes Gas & Oil, repre­senting nearly 30% of the income of the companylast year. It is the center of our struggle.

Buttes purchased this 5,OOO-acre wine graperanch when SChenley sold out in February of1971. SChenley had been the very first companyto recognize our union in April of 1966. Its300 workers enjoyed the dignity of a unioncontract for six years until Buttes refused tore-negotiate in an attempt ~o break our union.

Guild Wineries and Distilleries is a cooperativeowned by 750-1,000 growers, of which White

River Farms is the largest owner-member, re­presenting 14% to 20% of Guild's total pro­duction. Guild owns eight wineries, (threepurchased from SChenley, as well as SChenleyslabels) , and is the third largest wine companyin the United States (after Gallo and Heublein'sUnited Vintners).

Buttes Gas & Oil is a little oil companygetting fat off foodstuffs. Its empire is far­reaching and its influence substantial. But itlacks the strength of the people. That is whywe will win.

By jim Horgan, Union Research Dept.

- \

ARABS CONVICTEDOther Charges Dropped

Farm Workers'Don't

Patronize List ....

WLARE COUNTY, California -- Charges a­gainst 125 of 173 United Farm Workers membersand supporters arrested during the strike atWhite River Farms have been dropped by TulareCounty District Attorney Jerry Sanders for lackof evidence after a trial in which fifteen Arabworkers were convicted of violating a courtinjunction.

--~

The Arabs were cOQvicted as a result of thefirst mass arrest from the White River Farmsstrike. On Monday, September 25, RichardChavez and Dolores Huerta led more than threehundred strikers and Union supporters in a prayerVigil on a road adjacent to the Poplar ranch ofWhite River Farms to protest the massive useof illegal aliens by White River Farms to breakthe strike.

None of the Arab workers had been at the-'hite River Farms picket line or participated" the prayer vigil, and were just arriving as

the arrests began, according to sources in theUnion's legal department. Mnay were arrestedjust as they were stepping from their cars.

judge M. W. Del Re presided over the trial,and Union lawyer Steve_ Englehardt defended theArab brothers. jury selection took a full fivedays , as Englehardt and District Attorney San­ders each had almost 100 opportunities to ex­cuse jurors, most of which were used.

Attorney Englehardt asked judge Del Re toexcuse a number of jurors who expressed pre­judice against the Union, Chicanos or strikes,but the judge almost always refused.

Thus, as soon as the jury was selected, En-

glehardt challenged the trial immediately, sayingthat the Arab brothers could not possibly geta fair trial from the segment of the populationwhich made up the jury. The average age ofthe jury called was 56, but the average age ofthe Arabs was 28. There were no Arabs on thejury, no farm workers, and no non-citizens of theUnited States. Englehardt said that this couldhardly be called a "trial by peers", as isrequired by the Constitution, but judge DelRe rejected his challenge.

District Attorney Sanders , who was requiredto show that the Arabs had been made aware ofand understood the court order, and had wil­fully violated it, called thirteen policemen aswitnesses, many of whom had never seen thedefendents. Eight of the Arab defendents testi­fied through an interpreter. that they neitherheard of the court order and that they had nottaken part in the prayer vigil.

But all fifteen were nonetheless convicted bythe jury on Friday afternoon, OCtober 27. judgeDel Re sentenced each defendent to a fine ofone hundred dollars or five more days in jail.The case is currently being appealed to theSuperior Court.

The reamining 33 people against whom chargeshave not been dropped are for the most partUnion organizers and leaders.

There were additionally 50 people arrested inKern County on September 25. judge Mc ­Nally of the Delano-McFarland District has post­poned their trials until january.

The legal department reports also that' 'thereis a definite pattern concerning the injunctions.We got two against White River--one to preventthem from using strike breakers uninformed ofthe existence of a strike, a second against WhiteRiver, Bill Tabor and Butte Gas & Oil to try toprevent a recurrence of the Poplar office vigilanteattacks. When these two injunctions came backup before the Superior Court for reconsideration,they were thrown out. When their (White River's)injunctions came back up, they were all retainedand made worse."

(Information:Tom Dalzell, Union Legal Dept.)

The Union urges all farm workers and supportersnot to patronize wire s and liquors bearing thelabels of Guild Wineries and Distilleries untilWhite River Farms signs a- new Unin contractwith it5 workers:

TABLE AND DESSERT WINESWinemasters GuildTavolaRomaF amiglia Cribarij. PierrotLa BohemeCresta BlancaMendocinoGarrettAltac..V.C.Virginia DareLodiLa Mesa (Safeway only)

SPECIALTY WINESOcean Spray Cranberry RoseVin Glogg(Parrott & Co.)

SPARKLING WINESWinemasters' GuildTres GrandCook's ImperialRoma ReserveCribari Reservejeanne D'ArcLa BohemeCeremonyVersaillesCresta BlancaSaratogaj. Pierrot

BRANDYCeremonyGuild Blue RibbonRomaSt. MarkCitationOld San FranciscoParrott V. S.

E L MALCRIADO • December I, 1972 • 5

I

7. The meeting ended with music and singing before everone went tobed early to prepare themselves for the next day. The 'voters respondedto the campaign of the human billboards by overwhelmingly defeatingthe fraudulent Proposition 22.

2. The Human Billboards. Originally used byfarm worker-organizer Marcos Munoz during theGrape Boycott in Boston, the strategy of humanbillboqrds had never before been used in a politicalcampaign. The growers and their politiciansspent millions of dollars on their political cam­paigns, but farm workers and their supportershad only their hands, their feet and their heans.

3. ine hours a day they stood with their billboards.Some days were cold and wet. Other days were so windyit tock every ounce of strength to keep the billboards up.The $mog was hard on the lungs, the fumes from the heavytraffic stung the eyes and the noise from thousands of cars.buses and trucks was endless. But the voters saw thesacrifice and they responded.

proposition 22beating

4. From 9:30 to 12:00, breakfast, restand a meeting. Some repaired their bill­boards, others rested or got to know theirsisters and brothers from other areas bysharing the experiences they had out in thestreets.

1. Farm workers from all over California went to the state's largestcities to fight Proposition 22. In Los Angeles they camped on a lotprovided by the United Auto Workers near Lincoln Park, el "PuebloCampesino", many with their families. Every day they rose beforedawn to get their assignments.

6 • December I, 1972 • EL MALCRIADO I I I t ( , ) EL MALCRIADO. December 1,1972 .7f

BEATING PROPOSITION 22

",ad,

DEBATING FARM BUREAU STYLE, Ray Benning, Pre··sident of Santa Clara Farm Bureau, debated United FarmWorkers organizer Kit Bricca, in San Jose:

Benning: Why didn't you get your own initiative on theballot?

Kit: Because we don't have a million dollars to throwaround.

Benning: Why don't you use fraud, lilce we've done?

After that evenings' exchange, the Farm Bureau local chief­tan refused to debate opponents of Prop. 22, and sent hisvice president instead. But eventually even the vp refusedto face us under the grueling light of public scrutiny.

Cesar was on an LA street corner during the campaign

passing out leaflets as the traffic stopped for a red light.Cesar routinely leaned down to say NO on 22 through thecar window, but this time the occujJants protested, saying"Oh no, we're voting YES, Cesar Chavez says to vote YES."Cesar tried vainly to convince them that HE was CesarChavez, and he wanted them to vote no, but they drove offin disbelief.

San Jose Boycott Office:

A well~dressed woman entered the SJ Boycott Office duringthe campaign and asked for every kind of literature, buttonbumper ~ticker, t- shirt and F?ster that they had. She bought$12.00 worth of Taller Grafico items. It was only underthe constant prodding of curious staff member Jim Lieber'that she finally admitted her husband was an officer of theF arm bureau, and she was fed up with all of his propaganda.He was having a party that evening for all of his friends,and she wanted to wear all of the Union materials and showhim once and for all how she felt.

What Prop. 22 MeansOn November 7th California voters rejected

Proposition 22, agribusiness' sweeping attempt atdestroying the United Farm Workers. It seemsclear that the initiative's defeat means more thana mere temporary disarmament of the growers inthe political arena in California.

For one thing, as a result of the intense orga­nizing effort that preceded the election, thelettuce boycott in California almost certainlyhas been strengthened. Thousands of Californiansparticipated in canvassing, leafletting and phoningon behalf of the Union. Almost all of these peoplewill be willing to help with the boycott. Also, itwill be helpful that our strongest organizationsand the bulk of our supporters are in greaterLos Angeles and the Bay Area, tye first and thirdlargest lettuce marketing areas in the country.

Perhaps more significant, more than 4.5 millionvoters, fully 58 per cent of the electorate votedagainst the initiative. Probably, a no voterepresented a person's first decision in supportof the movement. Because the ice was brokenat the polls, it won't be as difficult to convincepeople to support us at grocery stores and super­markets.

Another important facet of the 22 campaignis that the growers undoubtedly have lost facewith the public. The outrageous fraud committedby the initiativ's proponents in order to placetheir measure on the ballot is now well-known.The grower's media spots and billboards whichtoute~ Proposi~i~!\27 as a ~:ans ~~wards justice

~ December I, 1972 • EL MALCRIADO

Nowfor farm workers only served to advertixe theabsence of such justice in their fields. -

Twenty-two's outcome also suggests that theUnion is nearer to reaching a contract with ButtesGas and Oil. It makes sense to assume that thecorporation would not come to terms with Strikersat its SUbsidiary White River Farms until afterthe election. If 22 had passed, most of theworkers would have been prevented from votingfor a bargaining representative and all contraC­tural relationships would have been repudiated,and Buttes has lost $1.5 million by stalling.

Hopefully, its only a matter of time until thestrike ends and the farm workers at White Riverregain their Union contract.

Finally, the victory over 22 demonstrates thatthe Union is a force to be reckoned with inthe electoral arena. The dozen most populouscounties in the state account for over 80 per­cent of the vote. Despite diverse political com­plexions (San Francisco and Orange are amongthe counties), the proposition was trounced inall twelve.

The results are a testament to the value ofsolid community organiZing. Our movementtook the time, effort, and pain to educate arounda complex issue. We faced the wealthiest,most powerful interests in the state, and thehalf-truths and paranoia on which they rely.The voters responded to us and acted with de­cency. We have ample reason to be optimistic.

by Jim Lieber

Elaine Brown, Black Panther Party candidatefor Oakland City Councilwoman, held a pressconference with farm worker Jose Rubio themorning after the defeat of Proposition 22.The Panthers, along with the Mills Collegechapters of the Black Students' Union and MECHAhosted farm workers to a victory party atMills College, as well as prcviding sleepingand eating accomodations for everyone in col­lege dormitories during the last week of thecampaign.

LETTER FROM FLORIDAEL MALCRIADO,

On Wednesday, 10/25/72, we sent about 60people to U.S. Sugar and about 40 people toTalisman to apply for jobs. The growers havebeen placing big ads in newspapers saying theyare re~dy to hire any Americans for cane work,and telling people to report at any of the eightmills for immediate employment.

OUr experience on Wednesday was just anotherindication of the growers' Willingness to do any­thing to keep us out. At Talisman, armed guards....

refused the workers entrance to the mill, tel­ling them the employment reps were not inand that they did not know when they wouldreturn. At U. S. Sugar, people were made tostand around in the parking lot in the hot sunwaiting to be interviewed. They were shuffled

Sugar CompaniesContinue

Harrassment ofWorkers

PLANT CITY, Florida--Eliseo Medina, direc­tor of organizing for the United Farm Workersin Florida, has told the United States SenateSub-Committee on Migratory Labor that theFlorida sugar cane growers are continuing toresist hiring American workers and are pay­ing what workers they do hire substandardwages.

Medina included photocopies of pay stubs withhis letter to the Committee which recordedvarious workers' wages at $1.00, 75.5¢ and62.5¢ per hour.

More important, Medina says that the var­ious companies, and especially the United StatesSugar Corporation, have continually harassedAmerican workers who seek employment, hopinginstead to be permitted by the U.S. Departmentof Labor to import cheaper labor from jamaica.

"American workers are made to fill outlengthy application forms, take physical exams,and undergo extensive interviews with companyofficials," Medina said...American workers hiredto cut seed cane by U. S. Sugar earlier thisyear were not required to fill out applicationforms or take physicals to get a job. Thissudden change in company policy, and other bla­tant discriminatory actions, are clearly designedto keep American workers from securing em-ployment at U.S. Sugar." ,

Medina released four affidavits to EL MAL­CRIADO, reprinted below, substantiating his char­ges.

"Talisman SUgar Corporation. South Bay, Flor­ida, October 25, 1972: UFW organizer RobertoAcuna confronts an armed guard at the Talismangate. RQberto was among 45 other farm workerswho had gone to Talisman to apply for work ascane cutters. This guard, and two others whoalso had shotguns and pistols, met the workersat the gate and refused them entrance ontocompany property. They told the workers thatthere were no jobs available."

--Dorothy johnson

Affidavit of Benny Smith:On Saturday, Oct. 28 me and 4 other people

went for an interview for a job as a tractordriver at United States Sugar Corporation. AU. S. Sugar official proceeded to tell us howhard the job was, and that the union (UnitedFarm Workers) was no good. He also said thatif we turned in our union cards, that he wouldgive us all a good job in the mill at $2.30 perhour. He said that if he caught us with a unioncard in his plant, that he would put us in jail.

On Tuesday, the 31 of October. I went tothe same office to be sent out to work. I didn'thave my paper for a physical exam, so he saidthar I couldn't work today. He said that I wouldhave to ge back the next day for a physical.

He told me that when I came the next dayto bring my union card so he could tear up mycard personally. He said that he wouldn't hireme if I didn't tear up my card.

He told me to bring my suitcase if I'd bringmy card so he could tear it up before I got ajob.

about the job of cutting cane; about the shinand hand guards. He talked about cane beingthe hardest and most dangerous job around. Hetalked a lot about how you could cut yourselfor how the man next to you could damage you.He was very discouraging about the job.

He said we'd have to take a physical tomor­row (Wednesday). He said we'd have to bethere at nine; no sooner, no later. He said evenif we passed the physical, there would be nowork available until Thursday.

We asked him if we could call in a liscencedphysican to examine us today. I asked him whywe would have to come all the way from Immo­kalee four days to get a job. Mr. Edwardssaid that they didn't have money to hire a doc­tor. We said we'd pay for the doctor, but hesaid a company doctor would have to examineus. Only a company doctor could tell us if wecould cut cane. the only one who could know whatphysical defects to look for because cuttingcane was the hardest and most dangerous job inthe world.

.9z~ [U{~~tv-~

\"3 ~ \l n~ S~) it hEL MALCRrADO iDecember 1,1972. 9• t.~ ... "_ ...... •• I I ' \ •

... and AfterAffidavit of Homer and jean Walker:

We have been trying to get a job cutting canefor U. S. Sugar Company. On October 25, 1972 atabout 9:00 in the -morning, we went to theU. S. Sugar office in Clewiston and filled outapplications. We waited to get interviewed, butno company person ever called ,us. We weretold to come back on Friday to take a physical,we think by a Mr. Morrison.

They said they weren't going to provide anytransportation, so we couldn't get back untilTuesday, October 31, 1972. We got to the per­sonel office about about 8:15 and found out theyhad lost the applications we had filled out be­fore. We had to fill out new applications andasked some questions. Then he explained to us

Before

Affidavit of Reuben Morris:About the third week in August 1972 a crew

leader by the name of George Baker came tomy resident and ask me did I wanted to cutseed "cane" for U.S. Sugar Corporation. Mywages was eighteen dollars a day, and $1.75 anhour. When he went to hire me I didn't have tofilled out any form or take any physical, justonly my name and Social Security No. I ama america citizen an I worked from 6 a.m.to 4 p.m. for a period of two months.

The End.

Affidavit of Evans Perdu:I worked for U. S. Sugar Corporation cutting

seed cane. I started about the first of September,1972.

I was standing around the hole in Pahokee andasked George Baker, crew leader for U. S. Sugar,if I could work. He started me that morning.

George Baker had somebody to show me howto cut the cane because 1 had never done itbefore. Later, about the second day I was working,Baker came out and took my social securitynumber and my name. 1 worked for him forabout one month. I am 17 years old.

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Most of the people had come from Immokalee,80 miles away. They had wasted a whole dayand the companies refused them any sort ofcompensation, and refused to pay for theirtransportation on Friday, or reimbursement fortransportation on Wednesday. At Talisman, theywere not even allowed on the property.

It is getting harder and harder for our people,because they are farm workers and they relyon each days' wages for survival.

Union organizers are continuing to be harras­sed. Four were arrested this week for "tres­passing." They were visiting jamaican brothersat a camp in Morehaven, Florida (Saunders'camp). The four, Roger Mitchell, Larry jeffrey,Becky Hurst and Huey Tague had been invitedby some of the jamaican cane cutters to visitthem at the camp. When they went there onOctober 28, they were told by a company super-visor that they would have toleave. The organ­zers said to the supervisor that they were with­

in their rights to stay. The sheriff's deputiesarrived on the scene shortly after, and told theorganizers to leave. They did so. The sherifrsdeputies followed them back to the Union housein Clewiston, Florida, demanded identificationfrom all four, and threatened that he wouldbe back to arrest them. On Tuesday, October31 the sheriff's department arrested Roger Mit­chell at the Miami Locks Camp of U. S. Sugarafter he had finished attending a church service.Warrents were out for the arrests of the threeothers.

john Purnell, the Palm Beach POST reporterwho has been covering the sugar problems, hasbeen arrested twice.

So things are still hot here.--Dorothy johnson

from one room to the next inside, made tofill out a four page application form, -and toldthey had to return Friday for physicals.

Credit Union Launches lew Membership Drile

Susie Chavez attends Mariano Santiago, a retired farm worker,who comes regularly to the Credit Union office in Delano tomakehis savings deposits.

Candido Feliciano, Credit Union member, says:"I am depositing my money in the Credit Unionto help the other farm workers and youngergenerations who'll need•••and maybe, too. mewhen I need it."

New members are being accepted into the Farm Worke rs Credit Unionso they can save in the Credit Union and benefit from their savings.

No applications for loans are being accepted until further notice.

First of all, one must be a member of UFW in order 10 qualify for thebenefits of the Credit Union. Next, one applies and deJD sits one share($5,00 plus $1.00 entrance fee). This is done when one initially becomes am~mber. After that, one deposits accordingly.

A group of officers carefully elected by members of the Credit Union,by elections at an annual meeting of its members. These oficers arealso farm workers and while they are officers they cannot make loansin excess of what they have in their shares (deposits.)

The money is deposited by the Credit Union into a large comrrercialbank and is therefore covered and insured by the Federal Deposit In­surance Corporation.

If the member works under contract, he can aJthorize the "company thathe works for to deduct a certain amount from his check to -be depositedin the Farm Workers Credit Union oy the employer. This method is cal­led Payroll Deduction. Also deposits can be made in person or by rmil•

THE PURPOSE OF THE NEW CAMPAIGN AND THE OBJECTIVE OF THEFARM WORKERS CREDIT UNION.

To inform the workers of the importance of saving in their own creditunion to join in the cooperative effort. This will give us a strong economicbase on which to develop our first farm worker cooperative bank.

If farm workers save in the Credit Union instead of in the commercial'banks, the day will soon corne when we will have a bank that serves otn"own needs and not those of large financial interests.

BANCOCOMMERCIAL

IiCOMMERCIAL

BANK

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rHoW 'u interest r~.e1ved1":::

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In order to avoid this we need our own Farm Workers Credit Union.According to the money the Credit Union makes. The Credit Union paysyearly dividends when the members vote to do ~. The Credit Union isa cooperative. ----

Kennedy Plan PaysS2,OOUOO

KENNETH J. LEAP-

Insurance1759 Fulton StreetFresno, Cal. 93721

Ph: 485-0650

. nort FarD1lVo~l_'O\\\>r " .f£e".S

VIVA LA CAUSAJames T. Hunter

10 • December I, 1972 • EL il.IALCRIADO

PA PAZ.California -- Marfa Saludado, an ad­ministrator of the Robert F.Kennedy Farm Wor­kers Medical Plan. reported to EL MALCRlADOthat the Kennedy Plan has paid out more than$ 2 million in benefits since it began Augustof 1':J69.

Marfa Saludado said the Kennedy Plan paid­$1.000.700.88 from January to September ofthis year (in only nine months) to farm wor­ker families who are Union members and whoworked enough hours under Union contracts toqualify for Kennedy Plan benefits.

Marfa said the Plan has grown so fast be­cause "people are learning who to fill outtheir applications for benefits from the Plan.Out of the 100 applications we receive each

day. between 60 and 70 are completely andcorrectly filled out and can be processed morerapidly."

She said there is more enthusiasm in lear­ning how to apply for Kennedy Plan benefitsbecause farm workers are receiving more andbetter benefits from the Plan.

During theireampaign to fool the public intovoting for Proposition 22, the growers andtheir allies like Reverend Michael Cross,(known among farm workers as the "scabpriest' ') of Salinas.claimed the Kennedy Planhad given out only $32,000 in benefits andthat it really did not help farm workers. Butthe progress of the Kennedy Plan comple"telyrefutes their lies.

l

White River Farms Strikers

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS SANCHEZ

Windy Day in L.A.by Pat Bonner

The day was cold ~nd windy though the sky w~s crystpl blue.We held tightly to our signs procl.-liming "No On Twenty Two."The wind was howling, trees were f~lling, signs would brepk in two.But holding firm, we all insisted, "No On Twenty Two!"

Hiring Illegals

Challenged

And as we saw her flyaway, aloft into the blue.The last thing that we heard her say was "No On Twenty Two!"

Our captain, to avoid disaster, if our strength might f~il

Said "Everybody hold your place, but lower down your s~il."

So everyone pulled in their signs and flew them ~t h~lf mast.To hold firm in position 'til the hurric~ne h~d p~ssed.

by Marie Cain

SANTA MAR lA, California--Hiring ille­gal aliens to work in agriculture, a com­m on practice in the Southwest, is beingte s ted in court in santa Maria under anew se<!tion of the California State LaborCode.

A complaint for damages and an injunc­tion for relief alleges some 200 "localf arm worker fathers" were jobless orunderemployed because of such practicesduring the fiscal year just ended, and thatthe illeg;>l aliens in the santa Maria areanumber about 400.

The suit is being filed by the localoffice of California Rural Legal Assistanceagainst Anthony Bica, listed as a SantaMaria labor contraCtor. and his assistantJuan Silva.

Relief sought in the suit is a restJItof new labor code legislation made effec­tive this year by action of the state legis­la ture, according to Burt Fretz, directorof the Santa Maria office of CRLA. Thelabor code section 2805 provides for bothcriminal and civil punishments for viola­tors of the code.

AlleWlti'J'ls in the suit indicate Bica'screws were raided by the U. S. Border Pa­trol four times since August 10 and that• •no fewer" than 40 illegal aliens wereapprehended.

Plaintiffs in the suit are Miguel Canasand his wife Leonax: Alberti de Canas,• 'et al:' Both Canases are listed as legal­I y here from Honduras. and both had workedfo r Bica, the complaint said.

The defendants offered the couple jobs,which lasted from June 5 to Sept. 28,and then on several subsequent occasions,when they requested more work, they weredenied renewed employment, according tothe suit.

The suit says that Canas had asked forWor k and had been refused two days priorto an alleged border patrol raid on oc­tober 17 of one of Bica's work crews.Eight men from Mexico were caught inthe raid and three others fled. Canasrepeated his request for employment threedays following this raid and was again re­fused, the sut alleges.

The suit further claims that at leasttwo thirds of Bica's crews are comprisedof Mexican men in the United States il­legally.

In addition, the complaint cites statisticsa lleging that in 1971 there were 420,000a liens stopped by the border patrol as theytried to enter the country, and that twotimes tht many, or more than a millionpersons, evaded apprehension, and duringany rec ent year form some 20 percent ofth e state-wide labor force.

The 200 local men without jobs or under­employed cost the area soe $256,000in taxes for welfare and related benefits,and cost those workers soe $800,000in lost wages, the complaint alleges.

Damages of $5,000 are asked for eachnamed plaintiff. The suit further statesth at it is based on law requiring that noillegal alien be employed, to the detrimentof lawful resident workers, and that suchacts could result in fines of $200 to $500per offense.

A temporary restraining order com­m anding the defendants to desist from thealleged hiring practices and setting a hear­ing for Nov. 8 was issued by the SuperiorCourt in Santa Maria.

June 1911 - November 1972

In Memory ofLuis Rios

On Friday, November 17, our brotherLuis Rios, a member of the Union andof Trabajadores Adelante, died of a suddenheart attack while attending a meeting ofT rabajordes Adelante at La Paz, California.A t a special memorial service farm workersand Union volunteers joined in solidaritywith his family, relatives and friends whowere close to him.

Luis Rios will be remembered as aman who served his sisters and brothersuntil the moment of his ·death and, becauseof th at, a man who died in peace.

Quinto Sol Publications, Inc.Publishers ot Chicano Literature

P. O. Box 9275Berkeley, California 94709

Publications Now Available

1. EL GRITO-Quarterly Journal, social science, literature, art.Now in 6th year. Subscription: $5.00 per year. Foreign $6.00.

2. Romano/Rios: EL ESPEJO-Bilingual Anthology of ChicanoLiterature. 18 Chicano authors, 288 pp. Paperbacks: $3.75;Hardcover: $6.75.

3. Tomas Rivera: ... Y NO SE LO TRAGO LA TIERRA­Bilingual collection of short stories, 200 pp. Paperback: $4.50;Hardcover: $6.50.

4. Octavio I. Romano-V, Editor: VOICES-Collection of essays,13 Chicano authors, 241 pp. Paperback: $3.50.

5. Rudolfo A. Anaya: BLESS ME, ULTIMA-Novel, 264 pp.Paperback: $3.75; Hardcover: $6.75.

6. Sergio Elizondo: PERROS Y ANTIPERR08--Epic poem,bilingual, 76 pp. Paperback: $1.75.

California residents add 5% sales taxPayment must accompany ordersMake check payable to Quinto Sol

QUINTO SOL PUBLICATIONSCable: Quinsol

But the new diet was only about 900calories a day, about only one-third ofthe amown a normal adult male requires.

The man began to feel worse and begancutting our more and more items in hisdiet until all that was left was lettuce.

It gave him a daily quota of two gramsof protein, two of fat, nine of carbohydrateand 46 calories--barely enough for a babyrabbit.

The doctors said he developed kidneydisease symptoms because he was "can­nibalizing" his own body to stay alive.

Eight weeks on a normal died and hegained 45 pounds. Now, said the doctors,he is in perfect health.

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STUDY IN CUERNAVACA, MEXICO

The wind was howling, the cars were whirring, Ruth he~rd not the cpll.And, valiantly, she held her sign though it stood twelve feet t~ll.

And still she did not lose her grip, and still she did not f~ll.

And then a sudden burst of wind grabbed sign, ~nd Ruth, pnd pll.

LONDOO (UPI)-The Belfast business­man shrank from 154 to 112 poinds in oneyear. His heartbeat was barely audible.His doctor said he was in the last stageso f kidney failure.

But doctors at Belfast City Hospital soondiscovered his trouble--LEITUCE.

It was all he was eating.The doctors reported on what turned

out to be a case of unwitting self-starva­tion in the British medical journal TheLancet.

The unidentified businessman saw anos te opath a year ago about stomach trOuble,th ey said. The osteopath recommended avegetable diet.

E L MALCRIADO • December I, 1972 • 11

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