La Causa: Story of the Grapes
US History/Napp Name: ______
Analyzing Images:
Questions:
1-What is the message the bumper sticker is promoting? ______
2-What is the AFL-CIO [Previous Knowledge or To the Encyclopedia]? ______
3-What is the UFW? ______
4-Define a labor union. ______
5-What are three goals of labor unions? ______
6-Define a boycott. ______
7-How is this bumper sticker encouraging a consumer boycott? ______
8-Who would be hurt by this boycott? ______
9-Who would be helped by this boycott? ______
10-If you saw this bumper sticker, what would be your reaction to it? ______
Historical Context:
~ Adapted from Selected Case Studies in American History
The San Joaquin Valley of California is an area of hot, naturally dry, but fertile farm lands. Each year fresh fruits and vegetables are grown there and shipped to all parts of the United States. A continent away, housewives in Boston and in New York regularly purchase lettuce and grapes grown in this valley.
As agriculture expanded in the southern San Joaquin Valley, several sources of farm labor were available. In the early years Japanese and Filipino immigrants supplied most of the labor. Then as more and more Chicanos [a Chicano is a person of Mexican origin or descent] came to work in the fields, they soon became the majority of the farm labor force.
The growing and handling of table grapes on the seventy some ranches in the Delano area of the San Joaquin Valley require special care for nine to ten months of every year. Vines must be carefully cut back to insure the most productive growth for bearing fruit. Also, the vines must be tied right to avoid needless damage and loss of growing fruit. The soil must be cultivated with care. Several kinds of growth chemicals and pesticides are sprayed at different stages in the growth process. Also, grapes must be picked at just the right time. Even a week’s delay will result in a spoiled crop. The grapes will form blisters in the heat, burst, and the fruit will dry up on the vines. The tasks connected with the growing of grapes require knowledge and skill. They also require a good deal of back-breaking labor under a blazing sun.
Questions:
1-Describe the San Joaquin Valley of California. ______
2-Why is the San Joaquin Valley important for the nation? ______
3-Which groups supplied farm labor in the early years in the San Joaquin Valley? ______
4-Which group came to work in the fields later? ______
5-Define Chicano. ______
6-What must farm workers do to the grape vines to insure the most productive growth? ______
7-What is sprayed at different stages in the growth process? ______
8-Why must the grapes be picked at just the right time? ______
9-What will happen to the grapes if they are not picked at just the right time? ______
10-Describe work in the grape fields. ______
Despite his hard work, the farm laborer had none of the benefits enjoyed by workers in other industries. If he was out of work, he received no unemployment insurance. If he was sick, there was no health insurance to pay his doctor bill. He had no paid vacations and no retirement plan for the time when he was too old to work.
Workers in other industries had organized unions to work shorter hours and better working conditions. Under a law passed by Congress in 1935, employers had to bargain with their workers. But farm owners were excluded from that law; this meant that the workers did not have the right to organize and that their employers did not have to bargain with them.
In 1962, a man came to Delano who tried to change all this. He was CésarChávez, a Chicano who had been a migrant farm worker for most of his life. He came to start a union for Chicanos who worked in the vineyards around Delano. But this was not his only reason - CésarChávez also wanted to help the Mexican Americans win a fair share in America. He believed that Chicanos were at the bottom of the ladder and that the way to improve their lot was to organize, not only for better pay but for equal rights in all areas.
Chávez’ union, though, was not strong enough to win more concessions from most of the farm owners. The workers were very poor and could not afford to go long without pay. Convincing them that a long strike would be to their benefit was difficult. Also, when a strike occurred, the farm owners brought in new workers from other areas who were eager to work in the fields.
Questions:
1-What happened to a farm laborer who was out of work? ______
2-What happened to a farm laborer who was sick? ______
3-What benefits did farm workers not have? ______
4-What did workers in other industries have? ______
5-Define a “union”. ______
6-How do unions benefit workers? ______
7-Who was CésarChávez? ______
8-What had CésarChávez done for most of his life? ______
9-Why did CésarChávez want to organize a union for the farm workers? ______
10-Why did CésarChávez want to help Chicanos? ______
11-Define a “strike”. ______
12-Why could farm workers often not strike? ______
13-What did owners do when their farm workers went on strike? ______
Faced with these problems, Chávez decided to appeal to the buyers of the grapes. After all, farmers have to sell their produce. If no one buys what they grow, they will lose money and be forced to give in to the union.
Throughout the country people who supported the goals of the strikers got together, talked to store managers, and ran newspaper advertisements urging customers not to buy California grapes. These people frequently carried picket signs at supermarkets, talked to customers, and passed out leaflets explaining their actions. This effort was aimed at creating a boycott of table grapes. (A boycott occurs when people refuse to buy or sell goods.) Where enough people complained to store managers and where stores had unsold grapes spoiling on their shelves, they usually agreed not to sell any more grapes in their stores.
The strikes and the boycott created more bitter feelings between the workers and farm owners. The owners became angry over what they felt were unreasonable demands. To the workers, the dispute became la causa (the cause); it was not just a fight for higher pay but a struggle for equal rights for all Chicanos.
Questions:
1-Why did CésarChávez appeal to the buyers of the grapes? ______
2-Define a “boycott.” ______
3-How would a boycott of grapes benefit the union? ______
4-What did people who supported the union do? ______
5-What happened when enough people complained to store managers and where stores had unsold grapes spoiling on their shelves? ______
6-Why did the strikes and boycotts create bitter feelings between the workers and the farm owners? ______
7-Which side of the labor dispute do you think you would have supported: the farm workers or the farm owners? ______
8-Why do you think you would have supported this side of the labor dispute? ______
Analyzing Conflicting Points of View:
The Case for the Owners:
“The grape workers have overstated their case. I admit that they have to work very hard and that they don’t make as much money as people do in other industries. But they are better paid than other farm workers. In fact, they are the best paid farm workers in California. If the workers want to make more money, they should get more training and look for another job.
The strikers are behaving illegally. They do not have the right to organize into unions because farm workers are not given that right by the government. The use of the boycott is also illegal because it’s forbidden under federal law. Who does the boycott really hurt? It seems to hurt the grocery store owners because they have brought grapes that they thought customers wanted. If the grapes go unsold, store owners won’t buy anymore and then who suffers? The growers and the workers both will lose money.”
Questions:
1-According to the owners, why have the grape workers overstated their case? ______
2-According to the owners, what should farm workers do if they want to make more money? ______
3-According to the owners, why is the strike illegal? ______
4-According to the owners, who does the boycott really hurt and why? ______
5-According to the owners, which groups are ultimately hurt by the boycott? ______
The Case for the Strikers:
A Letter from CésarE. Chávez
Dear Mr. Barr,
I am sad to hear about your accusations in the press that our union movement and table grape boycott have been successful because we have used violence and other terror tactics. If what you say is true, I have been a failure and should withdraw from the struggle, but you are left with the awesome moral responsibility, before God and man, to come forward with whatever information you have so that corrective action can begin at once…
…You must understand, and I must make you understand, that our membership – and the hopes and aspirations of the hundreds of thousands of the poor and dispossessed that have been raised on our account – are, above all, human beings, no better and no worse than any other cross section of human society; we are not all saints because we are poor but by the same measure neither are we immoral. We are men and women who have suffered and endured much and not only because of our abject poverty but because we have been kept poor. The colors of our skins, the languages of our culture and native origins, the lack of formal education, the exclusion from the democratic process, the numbers of our slain in recent wars – all these burdens generation after generation have sought to demoralize us, to break our human spirit. But God knows that we are not beasts of burden, we are not agricultural implements or rented slaves, we are men. And mark this well, Mr. Barr, we are men locked in the industry that you represent. And this struggle itself gives meaning to our life and enobles our dying.
As your industry has experienced, our strikers here in Delano and those who represent us throughout the world are well trained for this struggle. They have been under the gun, they have been kicked and beaten and herded by dogs. They have been cursed and ridiculed, they have been stripped and chained and jailed, they have been sprayed with the poisons used in the vineyards. They have been taught not to lie down and die or to flee in shame, but to resist with every ounce of human endurance and spirit…They were not trained in a month or even a year; after all, this new harvest season will mark our fourth full year of strike and even now we continue to plan and prepare for the years to come. Time accomplishes for the poor what money does for the rich…”
Sincerely yours,
CésarE. Chávez
Questions:
1-What accusations has Mr. Barr made about the striking farm workers? ______
2-According to CésarE. Chávez, why have farm workers suffered? ______
3-How have the strikers in Delano been trained? ______
4-What have the workers in Delano endured? ______
5-According to CésarE. Chávez, what advantage to the poor have? ______
In the space below, write your point of view regarding the strike. Do you agree with the owners or the strikers? Support your point of view.
______
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“The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.”
~ CésarE. Chávez