Spring, 1997
Strawberry Workers Organize
by Mark Sharwood
In 1993, Silicon Valley Toxics ACTION published a memorial tribute to United Farm Workers (UFW) founder Cesar Chavez, who died that year in Arizona. For years, the UFW's efforts to organize farm workers had been frustrated by conservative California administrations and the anti-worker, anti-immigrant atmosphere of the country. However, under the leadership of the new President Arturo Rodriguez, the UFW has organized tens of thousands of new members since 1993, rallying under the slogan "Every Member an Organizer".
Yet the UFW has a lot of lost ground to make up: according to the Union's figures, farmworkers are in many ways worse off than they were when the 1970 Salinas lettuce strike began. According to the UFW, U.S. per capita vegetable consumption, retail prices for produce, and agricultural productivity all rose during the late 1980s and early 1990s. But real wages have fallen from $7700 per year in 1970 to $6900 today.
The UFW's current focus -- in fact, one of the largest organizing drives by any U.S. union - is the strawberry industry centered in Watsonville, Salinas, and other coastal areas. Even by farm labor standards, conditions for California's 20,000 strawberry workers are miserable. Men, women and children work 10 to 12 hour days, often on their knees in the mud and the rain. Strawberry workers often earn as low as $8,000 during the entire annual growing season, without medical benefits. Many workers live in caves, shacks or cars, and until the UFW began organizing in 1996, hadnŐt had a raise for 10 years. The strawberry industryŐs response to the UFW has been brutal: last June, organizers were assaulted at a strawberry farm in Watsonville, and workers have been fired for showing support for the Union. Yet the Union's demands would not have a major impact on consumers: analysis by the California Institute of Rural Studies at U.C. Davis found that a 50% increase in most of the workers' wages would result in no more than a $0.05 increase in the price of a pint of strawberries. UFW President Rodriguez has stated "Given the profitability of this crop - over $650 million a year gross -- the industry can easily afford to provide a living wage for its workers."
The UFW began its strawberry campaign when 8,000 farmworkers and supporters marched through Watsonville last May on the third anniversary of Chavez' death. On August 14, AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils throughout the U.S. held a National Day of Action for Strawberry Workers. In San Jose, 300 people rallied in front of the Federal Building; South Bay CLC head Amy Dean declared, "We're going to make sure the injustices strawberry pickers endure become common knowledge".
At its Convention in Fresno on Labor Day, the UFW laid down its challenge to organize the entire industry. Delegates greeted 200 strawberry workers at the convention by chanting "Freseros unidos jamas seran vencidos" ("Strawberry workers united will never be defeated"). The UFW is focusing pressure on the 'coolers' which purchase, store and market the strawberries harvested on individual farms.
Drawing on its long history of support from unions, churches and progressive communities, the UFW has also mobilized the community to help win justice for the strawberry workers. On September 16, 1996, the UFW and Labor Councils held the second National Day of Action. Labor and religious leaders visited supermarket chains, winning pledges of support from such stores as Winn-Dixie in Georgia and Florida; as well as chains in New York City, Seattle and other areas. The next day, September 17, another massive march by 7,000 workers poured through the streets of Watsonville. In November, the UFW and the AFL-CIO formed the National Strawberry Commission for Workers' Rights to counter the industry's California Strawberry Commission.
In San Jose and the Bay Area, the focus to win pledges of support for strawberry workers is on Lucky Stores and PW Supermarkets. The biggest upcoming event is the March for Strawberry Workers in Watsonville on Sunday, April 13. SVTC strongly encourages its members and supporters to help win justice for these most exploited of workers, who toil in the fields practically next door to the Silicon Valley.
Mark Sharwood is a member of SVTC Board of Directors.Participate in the March in Watsonville on Sunday, April 13; Buses leave 7:30 AM from 70 W.Hedding or Central Labor Council and return at 4:00 PM. Cost $5.00. Call Anabel Ibanez at 408-266-3875 for more information.
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