UFWOC Assistant Director Larry Itliong is led away to jail after Safeway Officialsordered his arrest in Oakland. See story~ page 5. Photo by Jon Lewis.

MARCH TO THE BORDER··see p.2·3

STRIKE IN COACHELLA··see p.l6

I

2jEL MALCRIADO

100-MILE MARCH IN 110 -HEAt

MARCH TO MEXICO BUILDS:

CALEXICO, May I8--Over 4,000farm workers and their friends join­

ed together in this border town to­night in a show of internationalsolidarity and unity forg~d betweenfarm workers of the United States

and Mexico. The rally, attendedby two U.S. Congressmen, three·U.S. Senators (including Sen. Ted.Kennedy of Massachusetts), a dele­gation of movie and television stars "--

. from Hollywood, labor leaders fromthe U.S. and Mexico, and thousandsof farm workers from the Coa­chella and Imperial Valleys andMexicali, came at the end of a100-mile march from Indio to theMexican border. The march wasorganized by the United Farm Wor­kers OrganiZing Committee, AFL­CIa, to demonstrate its committ­ment to improving wages and wor­king conditions for all farm work­ers, regardless of race or nation­

ality. The UFWOC led a strikein the grape vineyards of the Coa­chella-Indio area last year and an­other strike is about to break atthe end of May of this year.

The march from Indio to Mexi­cali was through some of the rich­est, and hottest, agricultural dis­tricts in the nation. Temperatures

rarely went below 100 and for mostof the day hovered near 110 deg­rees. Outsiders expressed ama­zement that farm workers couldput in a lO-hour or more workday in such heat. Yet farm wor­kers' wages and working conditionsalong the border are usually theworst in the nation, and growerstake cruel advantage of the povertyand unemployment in Mexico toforce down wages and working con­ditions in this country. Last yearCoachella Valley grape growersused thousands of Mexican nationals

to break the strike. This year,UFWOC is hopeful that Mexicannationals will join with the resi­dents of the Coachella Valley tomake the strike victorious.

Some 400 Mexicans staged amarch to the Mexican side of theborder, and delegations of work­ers from both sides met at theborder crossing to shake handsand pledge cooperation and soli­darity. But Mexican governmentofficials, perhaps under proddingfrom the Nixon administration, haddone all they could to prevent a mas­sive spontaneous demonstration on

the Mexican side of the border.Government officials made comple­tely unfounded warnings about "im­pending violence" and warned Me-­xican residents with green cards l

that their green cards could berevolked if they participated in the

rally.At the rally in a nearby park,

following the meeting at the bor­der, UFWOC Assistant Director

Larry Itliong introduced many of theguests, which included William Kir­cher of the national AFL-CIO, PaulSchrade of the Auto Workers, Con­gressmen John Tunny of the Impe­rial valley and Jqhn O'Hara of Mi­chigan, and Senators Walter Mondaleof Minnisota, Ralph Yarborough ofTexas, and Ted Kennedy of Massa­

chUSettes.Congressman Tunny was briefly

booed when he spoke, since TUnny. has refused to endorse the grape

boycott. UFWOC Director CesarChavez motioned for tolerance, andlater noted that Tunny's presenceat the rally might serve to bap­tize him into the "boycott spirit".

Senator Kennedy spoke of his

EL MALCRIADOj3

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

committment to improving condi­tions for farm workers. A coun­try that can spend $30 billion ayear on a senseless war, sendmen to inspect the wonders of themoon, and give farmers millionsand millions of -dollars in subsi­dies for crops that they do notgrow, can afford to raise the stan­dards for the farm workers whofeed this nation, Kennedy said.U~WOC- Director Cesar Chavez

spoke movingly of the sufferingthat farm workers must endure, andhow the growers have traditionallypitted bracero and green":carderagainst resident worker, Mexicanagainst Filipino, white against black,to divide the workers and breakthe unions and strikes of the past.Chavez, who as a young man livedand worked in Brawley and the Im­perial Valley, noted the long his­tory of unsuccesful organizing at­tempts in the Imperial Valley, whichwere usually met with bitter vi­olence and suppression by the gro­wers and public officials. Chavezstressed that this time the wor­kers would remain non-violent, inspite of provacation and lack ofprotective laws. And he stressedagain and again, as the main em­phasis of his speech and of thewhole rally, that the real enemyof the U.S. farm worker is notthe Mexican farm worker, but ra­ther the growers who refuse to paydecent wages.

"V" for Victory ...

A rest stop along the way ...

4/EL MALCRIADO

Safeway on the SpotPICKETS NUDGE, BUTSAFEWAY STILL WON'TBUDGE

Over 25,000 consumers demon­strated against safeway Stores andother large buyers of scab grapes'

on May 10, 1969, in the most wide­

spread and coordinated boycott aC­

tion ever to take place in NorthAmerica. Safeway Stores, the main

target of the boycott in the Wes­

tern states, felt the wrath of con­

sumer pressure in more than a

dozen states and at some 400 oftheir 2200 Stores•.

The United Farm Workers Or­ganizing Committee, AFL-CIO, had

called on everyone who supports

juStice for farm workers to ref­

rain from shopping at safeway or

any other store which continues to

purchase scab grapes, until grape

growers agree to negotiate a con­

tract with their workers.

safeway Stores, which buys over

$5,000,000 worth of grapes per year,

continues to. claim that they are

"impartial" in the dispute, that

their customers want grapes, and

that they will keep on buying them

regardless of the moral or eco­

nomic reasops for discontinuing the

purchases.Several major growers sit on the

Safeway Stores Board of Directors.

J.G. Boswell and Robert Magowan,Safeway Directors, are also mem­

bers of the Board of Directors

of Boswell Ranch, one of the lar­gest grape growers in Arizona.

Ernest Arbuckle, another Directorof safeway, is also Director of

Kern County Land Company, a bil­

lion-dollar agribusiness corpora­

tion with extensive Vineyards. Itseems obvious that these and o­

ther powerful agribusiness interestS

which control Safeway are encour­

aging safeway to enter into full

scale war with the farm workers

and through huge purchases of the

1969 grape crop, to break the grape

boycott and the Union.Unable to convince Safeway's Di­

rectors to act out of moral con­

cern for the plight of the farm

workers, UFWOC has pledged to'

exert all possible non-violent e­conomic pressure on Safeway in

order to force them to do what

they should have done voluntarily

--stop buying grapes.

In California on May 10, Safeway

stores were picketed in the follo­

wing cities: Arvin, Bakersfield, An­

tiOCh, PittSburg, Martinez, Moraga,

Concord, Walnut Creek, Hayward,Fremont, Santa Rosa, Napa, Va­

llejo, Davis, Delano, San Luis 0­

bispo, Paso Robles, Atascadero,

Pismo Beach, Santa Maria, Lam­

poc, Fresno, Livermore, Lodi, Sa­

cramento, Palo Alto, Merced, Mo­

desto, Oakland, Santa Barbara, Vi­

salia, Stockton, Selma, and Tracy.

SUpport for the boycott in therural towns was terrific. Thiswas the first time that farm wor­

kers have been out in mass to

picket safeway, and the support isgrowing steadily.

In the _Los Angeles area, 70stores were picketed. Consumers

and farm workers were aided by

a committee of movie stars who

had a traveling picket line fromstore to store.

safeway stores were also pick­

eted in Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Tus­

con, Arizona; Boulder, ColoradoSprings, and Denver, Colorado.(Three Colorado State Senators at­

tended the picketing.) Twelve stoJ;'es

were pick~ted in the Washington,D.C. area. In Iowa, safeways were

picketed in Ames, Council Bluff

and Ohama. In Kansas City and

Columbia, Missouri, Safeway Stores

were picketed all day. Safewaystores were picketed in Tulsa and

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Theboy­

cott was endorsed by the Tulsa

Council of Churches. Oregon boy­

cotters and supporters picketted

Safeways in Corvallis, Eugene, Kla­

math Falls, and Portland. In Al­

buquerque, New Mexico, 17 carloads

of consumers visited all safeway

stores with a roving picket cara­

van. In El Paso, Texas, 4 stores

were picketed. In Washington, Sa­

feways were picketed in Fort Thom­

send, Olympia, Seattle (over 100

people involved in demonstrating)

and Toppenish (several stores in

the Yakima Valley.)

UFWOC Director Cesar Chavezexpressed his appreciation to all

those who helped in the demon­

strations of support on May 10.

With the grape harvest due to be­gin this week, the boycott will now

be escalated whenever and where­ever scab grapes appear.

BALTIMORE, May 20--"Certainly' there has beenflagrant injustice for the Mexican migrant worker,"stated Robert Magowan, Chairman of the Board of Safe­way Stores, at an annual stockholders meeting in Bal­timore today. But, he stated, "We are not a partyto this dispute. That is between the growers and theUnion." He concluded by saying that Safeway wouldbuy millions of dollars worth of grapes this year.

Magowan had just cut short Safeway's annual stock­holders meeting, to avoid a press conference, or con­frontation, or discussion with 50 supporters of the U­nited Farm Workers Organizing Committee, led. byUFWOC Vice-President Andy Imutan. Imutan and adelegation of clergy, labor, and consumers were appeal­ing to the stockholders of the corporation to reversethe directors' decision on grape purchases. But ac­cording to a report in the Baltimore "Sun", Magowanand the other officers of the corporation abruptly ad­journed the meeting, scheduled as an all-day affair,after little more than an hour of reports. The press

was excludud from the brief meeting, but informedsources indicated that no discussion of the grape dis­pute was allowed.

Magowan and Safeway President Quentin Reynoldsinformed the stockholders that Safeway's sales reached

$3,685,000,000 last year and should top $4 billionthis year. The directors re-elected themselves, withvotes or proxies for 21 million shares out of a totalof 25 million shares.

But the confidant "business as usual" reports couldnot hide the fact that Safeway's directors are feelingUFWOC's economic pressure, even if they are notswayed by our moral arguments. As Magowan fled,'from his own stockholders meeting, he refused to talkto the press, T.V., the delegation of clergymen, orconsumers. "Oou attorney says that I might be tooloquatious, so I am going to duck out," the "Sun"reports him as saying before he stepped out into hislimousine and sped away from the problems and miserythat his corporate decisions were causing.

EL MALCRIADO SAYS: We will not let Mr. Magowanand Mr. Reynolds remain silent. We will persuadethem, if we must, with every bit of economic and non­violent power at our disposal, to sit down and take along, hard look at their own complicity in the oppressionof American farm workers. They a~e not neutral,and we will not let them pretend to be neutral. Andif, through their million-dollar purchases of scab grapes,they seem determined to break our boycott, we will makethem feel the economic consequences of their actionsagainst us.

"Neutral".IS

:SAFEW,AY CLAIMS

Buying GrapesOAKLAND, May 15--Safeway officials today ordered

the arrest of six members of a negotiating team whichhad come to Safeway's national headquarters hereto discuss the grape boycott and safeway's million­

dollar purchase of scab grapes.Those ar~ested included Larry Itliong, Assistant

Director of the United Farm Workers Organizing Com­mittee, Felix Ytom, a grape worker from Coachella,Father William O'Donnell, and Art Carter, RussellCrowell, and Richard Groux of the Contra Costa and

Alameda County Central Labor Councils.Safeway officials repeatedly refused to admit that

they were involved in the grape dispute. They claimedthat their customers wanted grapes and that this wasWhy they would continue buying grapes. This argu-·ment was disproved by Mrs. Dorothy Kauffman, aBay Area housewife, who pointed out that over 140,000consumers feel so strongly against grapes that theyhave signed petitions refusing to shop at Safewayuntil the grapes are removed. The petitions, withnames and addresses of the 140,000 signers, werethen presented to the Safeway management.

Signitures are now in the neighborhood, of 200,000

according to the UFWOC.Mrs. Kauffman asked how many customers had ac­

tually requested that grapes be sold this year. Safe­way officials had no answer. Obviously, Safewaymust have some other reason than "concern for theconsumers", if it would deliberately turn away 200,000customers by its continued purchase of scab grapes.

Continued on page 12

FeUx ytom~ a grape picker and stri-..,.., . "V' t "ker from Coache~~a~ g~ves ~c ory

sign after Safeway bosses ord~redhis arrest. photo by Lew~s .•.•.

;Fast Re;l;,n

Workers

ichlgan

SufferingDETROIT, May 19--Hijinio Rangel, a farm worker

from Tulare County and leader of the grape boycottin MiChigan, led a 45-mile march of nearly 100 per­sons from Ann Arbor to Detroit this week in supportof the United Farm Workers Organizing Committeegrape strike and boycott. Over 1000 people joined themarch and rally at its conclusion here on May 10 inKennedy Square. Rangel carried an 8-foot wooden crossduring the march, and at the conclusion of the marchbegan an II-day fast to pray for justice for farmworkers. Rangel was joined by Michigan State Sena­tor Roger Craig and Rev. Robert BaldWin, a leaderof the black community in Detroit, in the fast.

Rangel made public a statement which said, in part:"For the last 25 years, I have been a farm worker.was very dedicated on my job, but I found that some-

times I could not make enough money to support myfamily. Then I decided to join the strike in Delano

in 1965."For the last 3 1/2 years, we have almost felt de­

feated. but the American people have lifted us upwith their hands and their hearts.

"The boycott of grapes is the last hope to bring thegrowers to the bargaining table to negotiate with thefarm workers. If I have to crawl on my hands andknees, I will, if that is what it takes to ~in socialjustice for my people. We have struck many timesbefore. but this time we will win with your support:'

A&P and other major supermarkets in the Detroitarea seem to be getting the message, after being madeso graphically aware of the Union's determinationto win this struggle, and of the broad based supportfor the grape boycott by consumers.

March,

of Farm

6/EL MALCRIADO

NEW YORK, May lO--International Grape BoycottDay was as outstanding a success in the EasternUnited States and Canada as it was in the West, ac­cording to reports coming in from the dozens ofEastern states and Provinces where demonstrations

were held.Pittsburg's Mayor proclaimed International Boycott

Day and the Pittsburg Division of A&P announcedthat it would respect the wisheS of its customerson the grape boycott. Boston's 200 A&P stores alsogave a favorable response to their consumers' wishes.Baltimore boycotters and friends leafleted A&P s allover the City with a 200-car caravan. Mayor 0'Ale­sandro of Baltimore again endorsed the boycott andsaid that the City would not buy any grapes for pub­lic institutions again this year. And Governor Mandelof Maryland stated in a letter to UFWOC that "I wishyou success in your long fight for proper workingand living conditions for the people employed in the

grape industry:'In Columbus, Ohio, all 17 A&Ps were picketed, in

spite of rain and hail. In Chicago, supporters alsobraved bad weather to picket many Jewel supermarkets.In Philadelphia, 25 A&P stores were visited by carcaravans. Mrs. Hope Lopez of Fresno, mother of8 and leader of the grape boycott in Philadelphia,

began a fast to protest the local buying of grapes,especially by Philadelphia's A&P chain.

At Times Square in New York, Pete Seeger and otherfolk singers entertained at a rally. Over 150 peoplemarched and held a rally in Queens, and 4 storesin Brooklyn, 4 stores in New Jersey, and many others

were picketed in the New York area.In Canada, the largest supermarket chain in Eas­

tern Canada, Dominion Stores, announced publicallythat they would accept the wishes of their consumersand Stop handling grapes for the duration of the grape

boycott.Even in the South, consumers made their opposition

to grapes clear. Demonstrations took place in Mem­phis, New Orleans, Atlanta, Mississippi, and Alabama.Over 200 pickets, including a group of Florida migrantsfrom the organization OMICA, demonstrated at anA&P store in Coral Gables, outside Miami and repor­

ted to be the richest town in the nation.Consumers all over the nation have now made their

voices heilrd. But as the grape season begins, growersand their agents will be trying harder than ever tosell their grapes. The Union is appealing to everymember and supporter of the Union to help on theboycott in your area this summer. If you can help,and do not already know the address of the Grape Boy­cott office nearest you, please call. Juanita Brown,collect, at (805) 725-1314 in Delano (who will return

your call on our WATS line). '

INTERNATIONALBOYCOTT SUCCESS

EL MALCRIADOj7

CALIFORNIA

sugat sa kanila ay kung mapagbanta­an natin ang kanilang Diyos, at iyanayang kanilang salapi.

Kaya huwag nating bilihin ang ka­nilang ubas, at huwag tayong mamilisa mga tindahang nagtitinda ng ubas.Mayroon naman tayong puso, hindinaman nating gustong sila ay mag­hirap, ang gusto lang naman natinay laki-Iakihan naman sana nilaang ating bahagi at bigyan tayo ngmga karapatang tao, hindi sa hayop.

Ngunit paanong maIalaman ng mgatindahan na tayoy tumigil ng pamimi­li sa kanila dahil sa ubas? Saka sa­bihin lang nilang marahil ay naubu­san, lang tayo ng pera kaya nagtigilna tayong mamili ng pagkain mula sakanila. Kaya tayo ay maglagda sapetition na tayoy hindi na mamimilisa kanila hanggat di sila humihintong pamimili at panininda ng ubas.

Dito sa California, ang pinakama­laking mga tindahan ay ang Safeway.Sila ang utak ng mga tindahan. Kung

walang utak, patay ang katawan. Sayanihan lang ho sana, huwag natingkalilimutan ang ating kinagisnangpanulungan.

Res., 222-7544FRESNO

Henry R. Tafoya. Jr.- Office,

_268-8638

These farm workers formed the boycott committee ~n

Selrra.. California.. for the May 10 demonstrations.

ng katawan ng kalaban na tarakan.Sakit bihira ang torong makapanu­

gat ng torero? Dahil ang toro, sahalip na suwagin ang torero, ang kan­-yang pinag-iinitan ay ang mapulangpirasong damit na ginagamitng tore­rong pambulag.

Kung magpatayan ang dalawangpanig ng manggagawa, sino ang ma­sasaktan? WaIang ibakunghindiangmga manggagawa. Kung magkasaki­tan ng malubha ang dalawang panigng mga pobreng nakikipantrabaho,at nagdatingan ang mga pulis at angNational Guard, kaninong bungo angmagliliparan at kaninong katawanang magkabutas-butas sa punlo?Hindi naman ho sigurong ma-aaringang masaSaktan ay ang mga mayaya­mang may-ari. Nandoon silang na­kaupo sa malambot na kutson saha­rapan ng television, at tumutunggang pagkasarap-sarap na Cocktail.o kaya ay nandoon sa New York 0

sa Europa na dumadalo sa mga ka­

sayahan.Kaya ang ating sungay ay doon

natin ipanarak sa kanilang bulsa. Sa

mga mayayaman, ang pinakahapding

Ano AngGrape Boycott

Marahil, ang karamihan sa atin aynakakatalos sa kahulugan at sa kaha­lagahan ng boycott sa ubas. Ngunit,sa mga hindi pa nakakatalos, tayosana ay magkaliwanagan.

Ang boycott sa ubas, 0 sa ibangsalita, ay hindi pamimili ng ubas,ay siyang pinakamahalagang sanda­tang ma-aari ninyong maiyabuloy saating labanang pangkabuhayan.

Ang Union ay matagal nang humi­hingi ng kalinawan mula sa arihangpatanimang ubas:-Kami bang mganakikipantrabaho sa inyo ay mga tao,o kalabaw? Sakit ang ibang mga tra­bahador sa mga ibang industriya aymayroong mga Union at maramingkarapatan at kasaganaan?-

Ngunit ang arihanaypatuloyna tu­

matanggi. Ayaw nilang ang kanilangmga kalabaw ay maging taong maymga karapatan. Ngayon, sa hinaba­haba ng panahon, ang mga kalabaw

ay tumatanggi nang patadyakan 0

kayay madapuan ng pamaltik. Nag­simula silang magtanong-tanong sakani-kanilang mga sarili--Sakitna­tin pababayaan ang mga tigapamaha­lang mang-api sa atin ay kakauntilang naman sila, habang tayoy hindimabilang sa rami? At anong silbing ating mga sungay? Pababayaanba nating gamitin lang nilang sabitanng kanilang mga mamahaling samba­lilo? Sakit hindi natin gamitin anga ting mga sungay sa tamang kagami­tan? Ang sungay ay pinatubo ng Diyossa ating mga nooupanggamitinnatinna pantanggollaban sa sinumang aapisa atin. Sa maliwanag na salita, pan.,.suag.

Ang ating sungay ay tinatawagna­ting GRAPE SOYCOIT. Huwag sanatayong mawawa.lan ng pag-asa kungtayoy makarinig ng sabi-sabing angaklasan daw naitoaywalangkapara­rakan, na ang tamang paraan dawaypatuluan ng dugo at pamasagan ngbao. Sa loob ng baong tinubuan ngsungay, tayo ay mayroong kaunting

bagay roon na ating tinatawag nautak. Gamitin natin ang utakna yan.Ang utak -ang pabayaan nating magingtigapanuro sa pinakamabutingbahagi

R IF!. MAr ,CRIADO EL MALCRIADO/9

TAMING THE. AGRIBUSINESS GIANT

10/EL MALCRIADO

ILetters EL MALCRIADOp .0. Box '130Delano, Ca. 93215

car••• life ••• fire

. KENNETH J. LEAp, GENERAL INSURANCE

··'Spent $1,530with Safeway"

Viva 10 Causay

EI Progreso

efMVete4fl fJla.

'1IteUe4#e-;'/lIWUe4It

;'/tt~

Safeway Stores

4th and Jackson StreetsOakland, CaliforniaGentlemen:

In common with many thousandsof others, we have carefully re­frained from any purchase of tablegrapes for more than two yearsnow, in an effort to make ourcontribution to the effort of thevineyard workers to organize.

More recently, although we havenot taken part in the picketing ofyour stores, we have halted ourpatronage for the first time since

1946--twenty-three years now. Youwon't miss us, I suppose, becauseour family is down to three, plusthe dogs and cats--who are goodconsumers, too.

Mrs. Sweetland made a roughcomputation when she put togetherour income tax this Spring that'we spent just about $1,530.00 withSafeway last year--almost all of itat your Crystal Springs Marketnearby. We have now begun tobuy at other and much less con-

Fresno California

TELEPHONE 23:7·3532

in good conscience patronize mer­chants who refuse to support thestriking grape workers to even theslight extent of refusing to "han­dle scab grapes.

Sincerely,Emerson Symonds

San Bernardino, California

3222 East Mayfair Blvd.Mayfair Shopping CenterFresno, Calif. 93703

UFWOC Service Center,Wednesday to serve U-

Services avaliable everywhere •• ,No mat~

tet where you live, our price Is the same..•death.notlces In newspapers and onth~ radio are Included.•• we can makearr~ngements for every·economlc situation

Tetephone 23?-3532

1022 "8" STREET'

The only completely MexicanMortuary in northern California

SANCHEZ=HALL MORTUARYF"RESNO

Mr. Leap will be in the105 Asti, Delano, everynion members.

PHONES:Office, 485-0650,Resi~ence, 266-1349

SCAB GRAPES ARENOT WELCOME

WeCIChoemcke'"~ ~~31~

92' 059 979 *-lr*.SAFEWAY 251 084E SYMO~DS

Gentlemen:Returned herewith are my Wel­

come Cards, unused. It is unlik­ely that I will need them for sometime as all of our local Safewaystores handle California grapes.

As I was briefly a grape picker

in my youth, I find that I cannot

EL MA.~RIADO/ll

to shop-come' in

and see how.

economic

~I

You do not have

to be a member

WORKERS FROM

democracy works

The sign that tells

you peop Ie are

.working together

to fill their needs

.GREETINGS TO

THE UNITED FARM

"'Profilein Courage"

Dear Brothers in Delano:I would like to take this oppor­

tunity to commend yet another "Pro­file in Courage" from Delano, Fer­nando Chavez. Our local Catholicpaper, "The Tablet", ran a pic­ture of Fernando Chavez acceptingloaves of bread for social justicefrom Father Day, who I immediat­ely recognized, when they were inFresno at the time when he re­fused induction in the Army. Iwas so' impressed by his couragethat his noble father instilled inhim, that I wanted to give my per­sonal "Well Donel" through EL

MALCRIADO.I am so proud of him, especially

because he is carrying on in hisfather's footsteps. I am also proudof Cesar Chavez for bringing uphis children to respect human lifeand to 'abhor violence. If morechildren were brought up lovingall humanity and hating the thoughtof killing another person as Fer­nando Chavez was, then, perhaps,there would be peace in the worldat last.

VIVA CESAR CHAVEZ!

Y VIVA SU HUO FERNANDOIWith love in Christ,Bette-Marie Miller

Brooklyn, New York

lA MIXICANABakeriesLAMONT

111 21 Ma inSt •

NOW ALSOI N

venient markets because of yourobstinance in resisting the boycottwhich a number of other distrib­utors of the ';hot" !?;rapes do re­

spect. The inconvenience to usseems a small detail in contrastto the shameful and continuing dis­grace of sub-standard and un-Ame­rican existance of workers in thetable grape industry. Public wel­fare and the agricultural workershave subsidized the fruit and ve­getable industry for too long. May­by through. this effort of farm wor­kers and consumers we can getthrough to Safeway that you owe itto the Nation--which has been verygood to .you!--that these conditions

be changed.We have read your public state­

ments' but they are entirely un­convincing. If you have a pam­phlet or release with any detailedjustification of your stand, wewouldread it carefully. We have al­ways been very partial to 8afewaythe best market by far, and wedon't leave you easily or lightly!

Yours sincerely,Mr. and Mrs. Monroe

SweetlandSan Mateo, California

FOUR LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU IN KERN COUNTY

14ASCO'1000 "F" St.

758-5774

DAKERSFIElO630 Baker St.

323-4294

Egg Bread and PastriesAn Kinds of DonutsCakes for all Occasions

F'1'ench Bread

DElANO407-11th Ave.

725-9178

We rnz,Je a laJtge Se Zec­tion of Spanish Maga­aines l Books l and Reo­ords.

The Consumer

Cooperative

of Berkeley

ingful discussions of the real issues. Safeway thenordered the arrests.

Over 300 supporters of the grape strike and boy..cott, meeting in a Small park in Oakland, marchedin silent protest to Safewa:y's fortress ..like headquar"tel's after .receiving word that Safeway wou1d contlnueto support the grape growers. A six-hour picket lineformed around the Safeway office.

As police escorted Larry Itliong through the croWdof supporters, he raised his fingers in the IiVII forvictory sign and said with a determined smite, HWeillbe back, again and again, until they decide to Hstento us. We shall return. 11

0

JACOB; JACQUE;

oNo. 2 ,i' ~/ (c

1452 E. Whitton Ave.Phone 295-6080

JAIME;JAVIER;

~7i,e StfJlte" .

5-J MARKET ,(t·-;

JAy·;·L~·

Safeway on the Spot12/EL MALCRIADO

Continued from page 5Safeway officials then claimed that they were seeking

a solution to the farm labor problem by supportingFederal legislation. Workers pointed out that it might

tak~ years for such legislation to pass, that farm wor­kers have been trying for years to get legislativeprotection and equal rights with other workers for

30 years. And on further questioning of the Safewayofficials, it was revealed that Safeway was supportinga law which would outlaw strikes and boycotts andgive no guarantee that a grower would have to signa contract with a Union that won a representationelection. The supermarket executives even had thegall to suggest that farm workers should be cam­paigning for this type of legislation rather than tryingto improve their wages and working conditions andlives through the non-violent strike and boycott.

Finally, Safeway's officials terminated the meetingby saying that they were "neutral", that the miseryand suffering of the farm workers were not their con­cern or worry, and that they would continue to pur­chase the $5 million or more in grapes this year,regardless of what their customers or the Union said.UFWOC spokesmen said that this was a totally unsat­isfactory answer and six of the negotiators voted tostay in the Safeway office until $afeway agreed to mean~

No. 1200 S. King Rd.

VPhone 251-1315

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E L MALCR IADO/13

UFWOC's Arizona organizers" Manue l Chavez" GusGutierrez" Willie Barrientos" '~ancho" Botelloand Manuel Rivera.

STRIKE NEARS INARIZONA VINEYARDS

THEM OUT

TOWN

RUN

OF"EL PAISAN0", the Voice of

the Arizona farm worker, reportsthat Arizona growers have theirown plans for dealing with theUnion. The following is taken

from "EL PAISANO". (Subscrip­tions to "EL PAISANO" are $2a year, from UFWOC, P.O. Box155, Tolleson, Arizona 85353.)

..April 30--Harry, the foremanfor a grape grower in Harquahalasaid, "We heard about the union.Don't worry, we had a meetingwith the sheriff. They said thatas soon as the Union organizerscome in, they'll get a paddy wagonand extra help, and put them allin jail, and run them out of town."

The above statement was madeto Union organizers Manuel Cha\'ez,Pancho Botello and Vincente Mieron the morning of April 30. Theorganizers were looking over thevineyards in Harquahala when Harrycame along. They told him theywere looking for a job. "

More and more people are finding out that asubscription to EL MALCRIADO is the best wayto keep up with the farm worker struggle.Don't be left out--send in this coupon todayl

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And one of the largest grape vine­yards in Arizona is owned by J.G.Boswell Farms, the 'huge agribus­iness complex that owns over 32,000acres in California and collected

a modest $4,000,000 or more ayear in Federal subsidies for notgrowing cotton. Boswell sits on

the Board of Directors of Safe­way Stores, which is continuing tobuy scab grapes in spite of thetremendous consumer pressure onSafeway to discontinue buying thescab product.

Helping Gutierrez and the otherworkers in Arizona are UFWOC

organizers Manuel Chavez, Fer­nando Chavez, Willie Barrientos,and Pancho Botello. Manuel Ri­vera and his family, who left De­lano to head the Grape Boycott inArizona, are also helping in theorganizing drive.

PHOENIX, May 25--A two-daymarch by several hundre9 Arizonafarm workers into Phoenix, and arally attended by over 500 farmworkers and their supporters, setthe stage for the newest drive bythe United Farm Workers Organi­zing Committee, AFL-CIO, to bringjustice to American farm workers.

Gustavo Gutierrez, leader of theUFWOC in Arizona, reports thatUFWOC began stepping up its or­'ganizing drive in Arizona a yearago. Last year, he reports, wagesjumped from $1.25 or less to $1.35or $1.40 an hour. "Since we be­gan organizing in the grapes, thejump in wages has been fantastic."he reports. "I was tying vinesin February for $1.40 an hour atEl Dorado Ranch near El Mirage.

Now they're paying $1.65. Mato­ri's Arrowhead Ranch raised wages

from $1.35 to $1.65 when they heardthat we're signing up their work­

ers. But that's just in the grapes.Some of their tractor drivers stillget $1.35."

The Union is concentrating onArizona grape growers, since pres­

sure from the grape boycott canalso be brought to bear on them.Most Arizona grape growers alsogrow other crops and many of theranches are owned by big corpora­tions (agribusiness).

Dispoto Ranch of Delano ownsland in Arizona. Bianco has ano­

ther huge ranch where UFWOC al­ready has a strike in California,owns a large ranch in Arizona.El Dorado Farms, one of Arizo­na's biggest grape ranches, hasheadquarters in Dinuba California.

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Growers Launch Million 'DollarPropagand Drive

combat adverse publicity causedby the continuing grape boycott,"according to Supermarket News.And some supermarkets themselvesare entering the fight more dir­e~tly on the side of the growers.The NationalAssociation of FoodChains 'has run expensive ads' de­fending its continued purchase ofgrapes.

The first major drive of the P.R.firms was to publicize a libeloussmear statement by E.L. Barr,President of the California Grapea'nd Tree Fruit League, accusingUFWOC and Cesar Chavez of us­ing widespread violence to achievetheir ends. There has also beena rash of nationally sindicated co­lumns against the strike. sena­tor Dirkson of Illinois, closely' as­sociated with Whitaker and Baxterin the one-man,one-vote campaign,attacked the boycott in his cloumnand one national columnist, Jame~Kilpatrick, described farm work asbeing "picnic-pleasant" where theworkers took their wives and chil­dren to work in the fields because

it was so much fun, and wherethey all ate their lunches togetherin the fields, as in a pleasant Sun­day afternoon outing.

Spectator")(from

SAN FRANCISCO, May l--WhileCalifornia grape growers are tear­fully complaining to the public thiltthey cannot afford to pay a pennymore to their workers, they havealso begun a multi-million dollarpropaganda campaign aimed at pro­ving how poor and abused they areand how evil they feel the grapeboycott is.

The first step ,in this campaignwas the hiring of an expensivepublic relations firm, Whittaker andBaxter, to counter the internationalbotcott of table grapes. Whitakerand Baxter first attracted national,attention when the firm receive'da reported $1 million back in 1948to block former President Truman'spush for national health insurance.Medicare did not pass Congressfor 17 more years and Whitakerand Baxter claim credit for muchof the prejudice and hostility thatbuilt up against the program.

More recently, W&B was hiredto mastermind the nationwide lobbycampaign for constitutional con­vention to overturn, the SupremeCourt's "one-man-one-vote" rul­ing.

The California Table Grape Com­mission has also retained a P.R.firm, J. Walter Thompson Co., "tor--------

O:KRA GROWERSCLAIM PESTICIDE

DAMAGEINDIO, May l--Coachella Valley

okra growers are in an uproar over

the use of c1::~mical insecticides ~~~~~~which they claim have ruined a rL"' ...."u..~ry'l

sizeable portion of their crop. Indiookra grower RobertZilliotthas filed -/fll"~;j",J..w.:..;ril1VIIt\~;t.t'~a $250,000 damage suit on behalf F.:[j.If(Jtln~kt.t\f'V;"-~I]':J.:U

of himself and the other okra grow­ers against the State Department ofAgriculture, claiming that the Stateconducted a spray program to e- ~no;//,

r adicate the pink bollworm. The -.--! .•.-'State claimed that the okra was the ""'~I/~

host plant for the pink bollwormand that the crop had to be fumi~ c;:P't~'i4"gated to prevent the bollworm frommulitplying and then damaging thecotton crops.

l4/EL MALCRIADO

Farm Bureau

Backs Banon DDT

BERKELEY, May 25--The Cali­

fornia Farm Bureau Federatio~hasrequested that the State Direc~o~of Agriculture declare a morato­rium on the use of the chemicalpesticide DDT in California. TheFarm Bureau reacted to increas­ing consumer and public pressurecalling for action to regulate and

control the use of chemical pes­ticides and fertilizers which haveadverse long-range effects on thehealth of workers and consumersand are upsetting the' balanoe 0;nature in many parts of the state.

The United Farm Workers Or­

ganiZing Committee, AFL-CIO filedtwin laws~ts last month demandingthat the Health and Agriculture De­partments of California halt the useof DDT in California and confis­cate all crops which have alreadybeen sprayed with the chemical.

The conservative Los AngelesTimes and San Francisco Chroni­cal have editorially called for re­gulation of DDT and other pesti­cides, and the Chronical pointedout that agricultural pesticides have

polluted rivers feeding into the SanFrancisco Bay and are endanger­ing the fish and crab industriesof Northern California.

The Farm Bureau, acting defen­sively, said that a voluntary mo­

ratorium on the use of DDT would'be preferable to a court injunctionor legislative action banning it.

Meanwhile, in Washington, sena­tor Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsinhas· called for a nation-wide banon the use of DDT. "The ac­cumulation of DDT in our envir­onment and in fish and wildlife

'is reaching catastrophic propor­tions," he said. "The seisure of2~000 pounds of contaminated LakeMichigan Coho Salmon by the Foodand Drug Administration could bethe straw that breaks DDT's back."

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i!!!DELANO, M1}Y 31--With the grape 'ning better wages and contracts. VOL UN TEE R S :[[1'

::::harvest and strike already under- If we can convince the big chain TIle Union also needs volunteers :::;:tway in Coachella and soon to be- stores like Safeway to stop selling students, teachers, people on va-)::~::gin in Arizona and Arvin, United grapes (and many chains have al- cation, anyone with time to help):~~~:Farm Workers OrganizingCommit- ready agreed), then the grape grow- us on the boycott this summer.):)tee Director Cesar Chavez has made ers will have to sit down and ne- We are pushing the boycott from :~::

::~::a special appeal to all Union mem- gotiate contracts with us so we Montreal to Miami, from Seattle to}~~~:bers, friends, and supporters of the will end the boycott, by passing San Diego. We need people for ()farm workers' movement to rede-' the boycott petitions' and getting community organizing in support of{:~::diCate themselves to non-violence your friends and neighbors to sign the farm workers, people to run ::~:rand to help exert that extra effort them. off leaflets, to organize picket lines :~~~{needed to push us on to victory Finally, your Union desparately and demonstrations, and to spread::~:

}thiS season. needs your financial help to carry the word about conditions "down:~:~tm e m b e r s on the struggle. W.e know that on the farm". If yo~ can help, :~~~:~:~ Members of the Union have a you and your families need every please call Juanita Brown immedi- ::~:~~~~ special opportunity to aid the Union penny you earn. But we are ask- ately. Call collect, (805) 725-1314 ;~~~~:~: directly in this struggle. Each ing you to make sacrifices now, in Delano. :~:~

:~:~ and every member should become so that you will have a better FIN A N C I A L H E L P ~:~:~~~~ a Union organizer. If you work life in the future. When you re- With each year of our srtuggle, ~~~~i~~: at a ~on-Union ranch, tell your member that wages have already our debt to those 'of you who have :~~~:~:~: fellow workers about the Union and gone up from $1.20 an hour before aided us so generously grows lar- :~:~

~~~:what we are trying to do. Get the strike to $1.60 an hour now, be- ger. You have sustained us through ~~~~::i:: them to sign authorization cards cause of the strike, you realize so many crises that we might 0- ~:~:

:~:~: for the Union and encourage them how much the Union has already therwise have stumbled or fallen. (:~~1 to join the Union. you can pick affected your pay check. And mem- But once again, we are appealing :~::~~~~ up cards and information at your bers working where we have a to you for funds to help us con-}

::~: local UFWOC office. The dues of contract are now getting $1.90 or tinue and expand our efforts. Fran- ~:~:~~~~$3.50 a month are like an invest- more an hour. If each and every kly, we have been stretched to){ment which will benefit every farm one of us gave just 5¢ or lut the limit by the expenses of the {t worker and his family and chil- an hour, or $5 a week to help boycott, and the new organizing t:::: dren for years to come. our Union win this struggle, we drives in Coachella and Arizona. ;:::~~~~ And wherever you work, whether would have the extra money we need So this is a special appeal to you)

:J on a ranch with a Union contract to beat these table grape growers. to dig into your pockets again and (.(or not, you can help us on the Why not start a "$5 a week club" to donate whatever you can afford{} boycott, Which, after the strike, a t your ranch and all chip in to to our struggle. Please answer ::~:

(is our ma'st effective way of win- help us finish the job that we have our prayers. And again, gracias. {{begun. ):.:.~:::::~:::::::::::~:=:~:=:=:!:!:.:.:.:.:.:~:=:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:~:~:;:::;:;:::;:::;:::::;.:::;:;:::::::::::::::::=:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::~:::::::;:::::;:~:;:::;:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~.~:

was at least honest as what theUnion could expect. Ward statedflatly that his Department wouldnot interview workers who wenton strike. Though the Reagan of­ficials could be seen conferringwith the growers, they flatly re­fused to talk to strikers. Secon­dly, Ward said his Departmentwould accept the affidavits, signedby the strikers, but these affida­vits would then become availableto the growers. Averbuck pointedout that the growers could then getthe names and make a black list.But Ward refused to guarantee thatthis would not happen.

Averbuck also warned that locallaw enforcement officials were ta­king open sides with the growers.One constable from Mecca, Mr.

Bill Lester, has ordered shotgunshells and mace "to control thestrikers·, has vowed "I'm a gonnaget me one of them strikers.·

EL MALCRIADO will carry a fullreport on the strike and its ef­fects next issue. But as of thi~

writing, it looks as if, in additiorto fighting the immensely powerfugrowers, we will also be fightin:the Federal and State Governments

·w·....IJi,· ,""-,:,,.y..

Scab grapes ripen quickly in the desert sun

tage of the work force•Most of the workers going on

strike made signed statements in­dicating that they were going onstrike and noting for whom theywere working. Workers have goneon strike this season at DavidFreedman Ranch, Travertine Ranch,Richard Glass, Valdora, Valley Vi­sta, Marvel, C.I.D.. Farms, andHeggeblade-Marguleas.

But, though there are two "ob­servers" from the Department ofLabor in the Coachella area, theyare not allowed to interview wor­kers and are not allowed to lookat the declarations the strikershave made. The Department's re­gional director, Norm Lueck; sta­ted to Averbuck that "orders fromWashington" forbid him to inves­tigate' the strikes or certify them.Without Labor Department certifi­cation, the border will remain wideopen to green carders recruitedin Mexico to break the strike.

,Lueck told Averbuck that the Fe­deral Government would do no in­vestigating on its own, but wouldbase all its decisions on findingsmade by Governor Reagan's inves­tigators. It was Reagan's inves­tigators who came to Delano lastyear and refused to talk to theworkers and after interviewing afew growers, decertified most ofthe strikes in Delano.

Averbuck finally got through toMr. Jack Ward of the State De­partment of Employment and Ward

. COACHELLA, May 31--The strikehas begun in the Coachella vine­yards, and there is every indica­tion that the Federal Departmentof Labor and the State Departmentof Employment have a deliberatepolicy to aid the growers and breakthe strike. "It's a Nixon-Reaganconspiracy to screw the farm wor­kers and to help the growers re­cruit workers illegally,· said Da­vid Averbuck, attorney for the U­nited Farm Workers OrganizingCommittee, "It's so blatant it'sunbelievable" •

The strike began on Wednesday,May 28, with over 150 local wor­kers leading the picket lines, re­inforced by two dozen organizersfrom Delano. During the firsttwo days, over 200 additional wor­

kers joined the strike. Since theharvest is not yet in full swing,this is already a healthy percen-

16/EL MALCRIADO

FIGHTING THE FEDS, TOO

New Strike in Coachella Valley