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Show Winter 4 - Venceremos photography by Ryan Miller, Salt Lake Tribune olores This 15 part two of a two-part oral history of the United Farm Workers, founded by Ceasar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in 1967. This imterview took place between Greg Marcial and Dolores Huerta on 14 October 1996. Marcial: How much progress has the United Farm Workers Union made for migrant farm workers? Huerta: A lot. We're now in five states. In Florida, we have a big strike goimg on where the mushrooms are picked in Quincy, near Tallahassee. lt's a prime mushroom site. Our first new contract in Washington State is Chateau Michele, which is very good union wine. We're also in Arizona and in Texas. In Texas, we were able to get unemployment insurance, minimum wages, and workers' compensation for farm workers. And we have about 26,000 farm workers under contract and under the protection of the union contractor. There may be another 20,000 that are associate members. We have built about 2,000 homes for workers with money drawn from a non-profit arm of the National Farm Workers Service Center and these are very nice homes with wall-to-wall car- peting, built-in refrigerators and dishwashers. We have six radio (ía. Arizona and .1n - stations California). We have about 2,000 farm workers getting a pension from our Juan de la Cruz Pension Fund. So, we think it is a miracle that we exist. When you consider that many of these farm workers are immigrants and non-citizens — though now there's a lot of them becoming citizens —most of them are powerless and yet we have been able to fight the power of agribusimess and the power of Reagan-Nixon and Wilson. Governor Wilson of California has not been able to crush this organization. We've passed many laws in the state of California. We've got the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which is the best labor law in da sa. So, I think the fact that we're still here and we have a foundation to be able to continue to build on, means that eventually we'll have a national union. We're still alive. Marcial: You're alluding to voiceless people. We're talking immigrants that enter a new system that they don't even understand. We're talking about people who don't have power such as Y media and banks, and who have the power of hiring, firing and lobbying. What I was getting at 15 that in the United Farm Workers Union, there often are times when corporations try to bust up what yon have organized. Huerta: Oh, they do it all the Ll corporatioms have, like the power of the we have when you talk about orga- time. And that's the comfort that nizing farm workers —farm work- ers now are organizable. The problem is the employers. Once the workers get organized, its like these strawberries that I was talk- 3 € be QA mn Y UE! ing about — once they get organized, they go on strike or they organize for a union election and many employers use it to bargain. So that's where the problem is — how do we get the employers to bargain? We have to find their vulnerable points to get them to the bargaining table. Marcial: So, in the past, they could change ownership. And one way of busting up a union contract is for a company to change its name, sa), from“Jobn Smith” to “Peter Smith. ” Huerta: Yeah, they do that all the time. They do the corporate shuffle. They just change their name. What is needed is strong labor law enforcement which we don't have. In fact, it's weakened tremendously over the past 14 years under the Republican administrations. Marcial: Let's discuss politics. We now have an entire whole barrage of laws goimg being passed, such as welfare reform — education for children. That's one issue. Are there other issues you want to bring up? Huerta: Well, education hs children was taken out of the Weltare .. Reform Aect... The Immigration Law — 'm trying to . think of which one it was — I guess it was both of them. What happened was the big Immigration Law of 6 85 them were about one and one-half million farm Workers, most of vom lived in California. They Y werees 1 getting their complete residency, but many of them brought their WI1IVes and their children Into the United States once they got their residen- cy, so slave labor force? Huerta: It is so scary what is happening. This is Fascism. Think about the laws that are to be passed like “Three Strikes and Youre. Que. —Eyerythiñg 1s a crime now and they're privatizing the prisons. They're actually manufacturing goods in the prisons right now. Wilson increased the prison budget by 13%. I mentioned earlier that they're going to build 34 new prisons in the state of California. What actually is happening right now is scary. At the same time, they're exporting the jobs. The reason that they're doing all of this is they're exporting jobs. Jesse Jackson was. with us on a Freedom Bus Tour — we're call- 200 which. 18. go to a congressman. However, there is no limit for ballot initiative. So they're using Proposition 209 to launder money from the Republican Party and from the contractors in order to try to keep the Gingrich Congress in place. And we think an investigation should be launched because what they're doing is illegal. And, it's incredible how destructive this .can be. The University of California just issued a statement — they're not going to publish it — that if Proposition 209 passes, the African-American registrations will drop by 70% and Latino registrations by 79%. Marcial: That's a major drop. Using the University of Utab as an Republicans. Huerta: There's a lot to clarify. We're really choosing between conservatives and Fascists. That's really what we're talking about. 1 mean, we know the Fascists are about death, right? 1 dont think Clinton is there. He's in a different place and that's what this vote is about. Hopefully, after Clinton gets re-elected, he will undo some of the terrible legislation that's already passed. But, again, speaking organizationally, we know that nothing happens unless we make it happen. It's got to be organized from the bottom. I mean the Civil Rights Law that was passed actually was not passed — it wasn't created by Lyndon Johnson. It hap- pened because of the Civil Rights Movement. The Vietnam War was not ended because of Congress. It 1N had a factory there with 6,000 people making Nike tennis shoes and getting paid 30 cents an hour. Nike has 110,000 jobs overseas. Those jobs are not in South Central Los Angeles or East Los Angeles, California. They are shipping the jobs overseas. In order to divert the American public so that they won't be angry about this, they're saying that chese jobs are going to immigrants or they're going to women or people of color. It's a diversionary tactic to get the American public to not focus on what the corporations are doing. And the companies don't care how much racism or hatred that they create. There was a young Latino . action yet me under-represented at the university. By keeping people uneducated, the Legislature keep Latinos in “their place. ” the media — that will tell ¿his side of Huerta: In prison, 1t's almost the story? genocide by legislation too. You Huerta: It's so important. The put people in prison and they can't media merges and grows and it's so have children. You put people on scary, because we often can't get the street and they die. What is information to the public concerngoing on is scary. And this ing what we do know. In Proposition 209 — they're not California, we have KPSA and calling it what it is. Instead, KPSK. It's interesting, because they're calling it the Civil Rights where you don't get KPSA and Initiative. I mean, they're using the name of the Civil Rights _KPSK, the listeners are really conservative. Take Kern County — movement and it's just a lie. This that's where we have our UFW proposition will also eliminate office. There, you don't get any of women's sports. It will change the the liberal stations, so what do you standards for sex discrimination have? You have the Christian staagainst women. They're [the government] «is saying 1t 1s now an : tions, and of course you have the Spanish stations and the operational standard, which could be whatever the boss decides it is Country/Western stations, right? That's it. So, people there don't going to be and it's going to subknow what is happening. Of ject women to a lot more sexual course, the same thing happens harassment. So, if there are people with the television media. They who can help us at all on this, just don't really broadcast any of the call IESOOESTOP . 209. +1 California. If they have relatives in important news thats going on. They focus on the crime reports, so California, they should call them people don't know what's going on and tell them “don't buy the lie. ” in the world. When you figure People in Utah have got to orgathat with the media merges that nize and help us organize to defeat are going to take place, it's imporProposition 209 and of course to tant that the community stations vote against it. 1 know you need money for your registration here, “be supported to the point that it hurts. As soon as 1 drive out of but if any Utahns can also send Bakersfield, the first thing I do is 1 money to 1-800-STOP 209, we'd on the County e attacked and was by skin- him this cause man was standing. on the pier fish- ing. Au o this racia Peones Wilson and N,< ww + on the Vietnam they Gén grich Wefe On a conference call with 60 corpotate - leaders and a reporter happened to also be invited — I don't know how — on this conference call. Wilson was asking Gingrich to raise money for Proposition 209, the purpose of which is to take away civil rights — women's rights and civil rights. They were not talking about affirmative to end War. You have to remember that change comes from the bottom and that means that we have to work together in organizations. We've got to join something. We've got to get the true word out and we've got to make it happen. We can't depend on the politicians. Marcial: How important it 15 to have radio stations and newspapers — the Latino population is 26%. E30y, M3 turine goods in the prisons right . The reason that theyre doing all ol this is theyre exporting jobs. 22 ended because of the millions of people who hit the streets and - demonstrated are over-represented at the prison, knifed him — beat him up and knifed be passed like Three Strikes and Youre Out, Everythine is a crime J o MON and theyre privatizing the : prison, hey pe re actually manulac- example, though Latinos comprise 9% of the Utah population, only 4% is represented at the University of Utab. Huerta: Well you're doing better than 1 places in California because there, the percentage is even less proportionately. Marcial: At the Utab State prison, that was fish- piero adn pe Think about the laws that are to. they can California. Jesse Jackson pointed out that he went to Indonesia and they : hi : : appenins. [ IS 15 Fascism. Esb a. 1 y members] are undocumented. So, the Immigration Bureau wants to keep those children out of the schools; in other words, they want to force these people to go back to their countries, yet, at the same time, they said “you can come back, but you have to come in as a slave under our Bracero Program. "Luckily, that [clause] was taken out. The Clinton administration was a key part of removing that the federal election laws, a limit as to how much ing to save the Freedom Ibis so scary whats h Under there's = money Bus Tour on Proposition cs andimpson"86 che Rodino Bill. Many people got their residency status under that bill. Among and I believe Orrin Hatch of Utah also was instrumental in getting that provision taken out of the Immigration Bill. Marcial: Don't politicians such as Newt Gingrich or Pete Wilson believe that ¿f you can keep a population uneducated, it would be ideal to have these uneducated people working in the 1997 this conference call though. They were talking about how can they get more money to influence the congressional races. Basically, what they're doing is laundering the money. appreciate it. tune in KPSA or KPSK because I Marcial: So, to sum up Proposition 209, were talking about Newt Gingrich and the Republican-comtrolled Congress — even though many (Utah) Democrats seem to be want to find out what's going on in the world. Marcial: It also is important that we watch our regular television stations and read our regular daily newws- - |
