"Today I pass on the Fast for Life•••"

Volume 5. Number 6

Food and Justice

September 1988

Magazine of theUnited Farm Workersof America, AFL-CIOLa Paz. Keene, CA93570 *~,

National ExecutiveBoard:Cesar E. Chavez:PresidentPeter Velasco:Secretary-TreasurerDolores Huerta:First Vice-PresidentDavid Martinez:Second Vice-PresidentBen Maddock:Third Vice-PresidentArturo Rodriguez:MemberArturo Mendoza:MemberOscar Mondragon:Member

Editor:Cesar E. Chavez

Associate Editor:Rev. Chris Hartmire

Writers:Fr. Ken IrrgangArmando Cerda

Photographer:Victor Aleman

Production Director:Paul Chavez

©1988 The title UnitedFarm Workers of America.AFL-CIO. Food andJustice, is re9istered withthe United States Patentand Trademark Office.

Food and Justice (ISSN0885-0704) is publishedmonthly for $5 per year bythe United Farm Workers ofAmerica. AFL-CIO. OldHighway 58. La Paz. Keene.California 93570.

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Message fromDolores Huerta

As this issue ofFood andJustice ~srtbeing written, Cesar Chavez ISslowly recuperating from the pun­ishing ordealofa 36-day, water-onlyfast he started on July 17 and endedon August 21.

There can be no doubt that two ofthe three goals of his Fast for Lifewere fully realized: the first, an actof "purification of my own body,soul, and mind" in order to feel moredeeply the "sufferings of farm work­ers and their children," and the sec­ond, "an act of penance for those...who know what is right andjust, whoknow that they could or should domore, who have become bystandersand thus collaborators with an indus­try that does not care about its work­ers." It was painfully clear to thos.eof us who observed his steady phySI­cal deterioration throughout the five­week fast that he had endured morethan enough purification of himselfand penance for others. . .

Remaining to be fulfIlled IS thethird and last goal: thatpeople every­where "will begin a great movementof non-cooperation with supermar­kets ...whopromoteand sell andprofitfrom California table grapes and whoare just as culpable as those whomanufacture the poisons and usethem on workers, on our land, and onour food."

Signs of the potential fulfillmentof that goal are presented in th~ lastpages of this issue - the cham offasting the Reverend Jesse Jacksonand many others vowed to continue as :well as. a host ofboycott actions people have begun carrymg out m front ofsupermarkets across the country. . . " .

We join Cesar in his h0IX: that mIllions of people WIllresist, in a myriad of nonvIOlent waxs, the presence ofgrapes in the stores where they shop. Y

In a dra11UltU: momentat the conclusion ofthe Mass ending Cesar Chavez' Fastfor Life, theReverend Jesse Jackson accepts the 36th wooden cross, kisses Chavez' hands and vows tofast three days before passing it to other leaders to continue the chain offasti~g.Joining inthe applause .are Chavez' wife, Helen (far left), and, next to her, Ethel Kennedy. Onlym.oments earlier, the late Senator RobertF. Kennedy's widow broke bread with Chavez to endhIS 36-day waterfast.

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ers" as well as silent partners with "super­markets who sell and profit from Califor­nia table grapes and who are just as cul­pable as those who manufacture the poi­sons and those who use them on workers,on our land and on our food."

And so for 35 days, Chavez sipped thewaters of purification and penance, med­itated and prayed, felt his body graduallygrow weaker from a loss of more than 30pounds, patiently tolerated the repeatedexaminations ofanxious doctors~watchedwith pangs of guilt as a loving wife andfamily suffered with him but did not try todissuade him from what he felt com­pelled to do, met with notable visitorswho promised support, acknowledgedgratefully hundreds of letters and tele­grams from friends and supporters, re­joiced at the growing number of farmworkers and friends who came each nightto pray with and for him, and, hard as itwas, resisted the well-meant advice frommany to end his dangerous fast by an­swering quietly but firmly, "When thetime is right, I'll know."

After 35 days, Chavez knew the righttime had come: time for the waters tosubside, time for bread. Y

ring the consciences of moral leaders andactivists who could and should have beendoing more to help relieve the sufferingof farm workers and their families. Thisfast, he knew from the beginning, wouldrequire more purging and more penancethan any he had undertaken before.

Chavez showed no reluctance to pointthe finger of shame first at himself. In astatement issued at the outset of the fast,he asked: "Do we carry in our hearts thesufferings of farm workers and theirchildren?...Do we feel their pain deeplyenough?" His answer: "I know I don't- and I am ashamed." The fast, then,would be first and forem.ost "for the puri­fication of my own body, mind and soul."He also expressed shame for his own staffand union members for taking too lightlythe dangers caused by "those who growand sell the poisoned food we all eat."

From self-purification Chavez movedto penance. His fast, he said, would alsobe an act of penance for "those in posi­tions of moral authority and for all menand women activists who know what isright and just" but who through inactionhave allowed themselves to "become by­standers and thus collaborators with anindustry that does notcare about its work-

,\

Throughout thefast,farm workers from near andfar came to Delano to pray with Chavezand offer encouragement. Besides many priests who came to celebrate Mass, Jewish serviceswere conducted by Rabbi Albert Lewis of Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles and Rabbi JerryGoldstein of the Hillel Foundation at Cal State University-Northridge and Protestantservices by the Reverend E. Garcia ofnearby M cFarland's La Iglesia del Buen Pastor. Otherparticipants included President Olgha Sierra Sandman and religious leaders of NationalFarm Worker Ministry.

Two-year-old Nicole Chavezshares a few moments of silencewith her grandfather during. ameditation period at the dOllyevening religious service.

For 35Days,

Water. · ·

There, in that little room for .35~ys­sustainedby water, immersed m sohUlde,kept company by the Bible and th~worksof Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr:,ministered to by his wife Helen, mom­tored by worried doctors, encouraged bycompassionate visitors, and, ~ost con­soling, strengthened by the daily.prayersofcrowds of farm workers and friends­Chavez fasted.

It wasn't the first time. Twenty yearsearlier, also at Forty Acres, C~avez hadfasted for 25 days in a do-or-~be eff?rt toget farm workers in his fled~llOgumon. toturn away from the temptation to use VIO­lence against those who were ~hen, andare today, their most oppresslve over­lords - California table grape growers.

But this time the fast wa~undertaken tocombat something more wldesp.read thanfarm workers seeing violent reslsta~ceasthe solution to their problems. ThIS fastwas aimed atshattering the apathy am(;>oghis own staff and union members and]ar-

A. fter struggling for several"mon~srt against a "powerful u~ge raglOgwithin him, Cesar Chavez fmally aban­doned resistance and on July 17 em­barked upon a water-only fast that wouldnot end until August 21, the 36th day,when Ethel Kennedy would break breadwith him and the Reverend Jesse Jacksonwould vow to fast three days as the firstlink in a chain of fasting that would becarried on by others throughout the U.S.,Canada, and Mexico. .

The day before he started fastlOg,Chavez left La Paz, headquarters o~ theUnited Farm Workers near Bakersflel~,and went to the UPW's Forty Acres mDelano, part of which is kno~n as Ag­bayani Village, a home for r~ured farmworkers. There he entered a slmple rO?mhe would remain in for more than flYeweeks, leaving it only for an hour e~chday to attend an evening Mass or J.ewlshor Protestant services ~t a hall lO theunion's nearby field ofhce.

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Besides visiting Chavez and callingfor boycott support at the press con­ference, the celebritiesjoineda pick­et line at a Delano supermarket andattended the evening Mass. Picturedduring a meeting after the Mass,Luis Valdez, founder of EI TeatroCampesino and organizer of the ce­lebrities' visit, leadsfarm workers insinging the traditionalSpanish birth­day song, "Las Mafianitas," toMartin Sheen and Emilio Huerta ontheir birthday on August8. Huerta isthe son ofUFWFirst Vice-PresidentDolores Huerta.

Declaring his sup­port for the grapeboycott as the bestmeansto restorefarmworker rights andfight the pesticidemenace is EddieOlmos of "MiamiVice" and star of"StandandDeliver."At his right are ac­tors Julie Carmenand Lou DiamondPhillips.

After their visit with Chavez and thepress conference, the Kennedys ­Kerry, Douglas (obscured),. K.athleenand daughter Maeve - JOin farmworkers on a picket line in front oftheSave Mart supermarket in Delano.

JLf·lr

Every day of the fast, one ofChavez' grand­children or afarm workerchild.-:on one oc- ~casion, J imnifer Shepherd, a vICtim ofleuke­miafron the cancer-cluster town of Fowler_ placed a homemade wooden.cross o!' thealtar backdrop during the offermg oft:.if.ts atMass. At right, during the Kennedy VISIt onthe 19th day of the fast, Kathleen KennedyTownsend's daughter Maeve hangs up thesymbol of suffering.

,,'-On August 8, a large contingent ofcelebrities visited Chavez on the 23rd day ofhis FastforLife and then held a press conference. Several stars issued individual statements before an­swering questionsfrom the medkJ. Above, actor Martin Sheen invites the celebrities to standand pray with him for an end to the pesticide poisoning that endangers farm workers andconsumers. From left to right are Lou Diamond Phillips, Charles Haid, Mike Farrell (backrow), Eddie Olmos, Eddie Albert, Ruben Blades (back row), Sheen, Robert Blake, JulieCarmen, Daphne Zuniga, and Carlos Palomino. Not shown are Emilio Estevez, Max Gail,

~_____ Rose Portillo, and several other stars seated near the table.

orRobert F Kennedyfamily paid thefirstoftwo visitsOnAugust4, members ofthe lateSenat 'th UFW First Vice-President Dolores Huerta are,to Chavez. picturedatapress conference~ d and Kerry Twenty years ago,just threeleft to right, Douglas, Kat~le~n Kennedy ;wnse; broke break with Chavez when he endedmonths before his assasSinatiOn, Senator enne Ya 25-day fastfor nonviolence.

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Protected from the blistering desert sun by a huge tent erected for the Reverend JesseJackson'sfirst oftwo visits with Chavez, several thousandfarm workers and supporters roartheir approval as he promises to fast three days when Chavez ends his fast: "1 '11 pu.:k up thebaton and carry it another lap; we'll keep passing that baton until justu.:e comes to theworkers!"

Dr. Augusto Ortiz, center, who attended Chavez during his 24-day fast in Arizona in 1972,examined him on the 16th day ofhisfast and told reporters about the high levels ofuru.: acidthat tests on Chavez revealed. Ortiz is medu.:al director of the Rural Health Offu.:e at theUniversity ofArizona in Tucson. Flanking him at the August 1 press conference are Dr.Marion Moses, who attendedChavezthroughout hisfirstfast(25 days) in Delano in 1968 andwho is a consultantfor the UFW, and Dr. Fidel Huerta, on the staffof the Kern Medu.:alCenter in Bakersfield. Huerta is the son of UFW First Vice-President Dolores Huerta.

Brian Wilson, peace activist who only a year ago lost both hislegs when run over by a train during a vigil at the ConcordNaval Weapons Station, visited Chavez in mid-August and re­mained at Forty Acres for a three-day solidarity fast. He ispu.:tured above on a picket line with Horace Singh, represen­Wive ofthe Canadian United Steelworkers, andSister CamillaVerret, a member of the administrative team ofthe Sisters ofMercy in Silver Spring, Maryland. Afew days before Wilson'svisit, former entertainer Dick Gregory came to Delano andfasted in solidarity with Chavez.

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Hundreds of NorthAmerican labor lead­ers sent messages ofsupport, includingLane Kirkland, na­tionalpresidentoftheAFL-CIO. At left aretwo of the scores ofloca~ state, and na­tional labor leaderswho wereableto bringtheir message ofsoli­

darity to Delano personally: John F. Henning (left), executive secretary-treasurer of theCalifornia State AFL-CIO, and Gerald W. McEntee, president of the one-million-memberAmerican Federation ofState, County, and Munu.:ipal Employees (AFSCME). With them attheir August 10 press conference is Dolores Huerta,first vice-president ofthe UFW.

On the 25th day ofthe fast, a group ofprominent Canadian labor leaders visited Chavez andpledged to continue what they have already begun: drastically cutting the sale ofCaliforniatable grapes in Canada. At their afternoon press conference at Forty Acres are, left to right,John Shields, president of the British Columbia Government Employees and representingthe National Union ofProvincial Government Employees, Canada's largest labor union;Ken Georgetti, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour; Ru.:hard Mercier, secretary­treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress; David Martinez, UFW boycott director inCanada; Julie Davis, executive vice-presidentofthe Ontario Federation ofLabour; HoraceSingh, staffrepresentative ofthe United Steelworkers; Dave Werlin, presidentofthe AlbertaFederation ofLabour; and Wilf Hudson, president of the Manitoba Federation ofLabour.

A large number of religious, minority,environmenta~ consumer, andcommu­nity organiZJltions sent delegations toDelano to show their support for thefarm workers' grape boycott. Pausingduring their pu.:keting at a Delano su­permarket with UFW First Vice-Presi­dent Dolores Huerta are, left to right,leaders of several California women'sgroups: Anna Ortega, president ofComisiOn Feminalde Los Angeles; Bil­lie Heller, representative ofWomen For:; GloriaAllred, noted LosAngeles attorney; Huerta;and Dady Blake, president of the Los Angeles chapter ofNOW.

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Helen Chavez quietly helped her hus­band dress, buttoning up the ceremonialFilipino shirt he wanted to wear in honorof the Filipino farm workers who hadsacrificed so much in the early days of thefarm worker movement.

Shortly before 11 a.m., sons Paul andAnthony all but carried their father out tothe car waiting to drive him across FortyAcres to Mass. There, under the tenttopped with the fluttering flags of theU.S " Mexico, and Canada, the crowd hadswelled to an estimated 8,000 and hadjust finished giving thunderous ovationsto Ethel Kennedy and her children, Rev.Jesse Jackson, Martin Sheen and Robert

Flanked by Chavez and ladson, 96-year­oldluana Chavez is pictured after the offer­tory when she presented the wooden crosssymbolizing the 36th day ofher son's fast.

5 others already in place.On the stage, meanwhile, a nervous

riest fidgeted with flowers and candlesand lined a series of communion bowlswith white linen napkins before carefullyfilling them with several thousand roundwheaten wafers. A few feet behind him,artist Barbara Carasco put the finishingtouches on a mural depicting the goals ofthe Fast for Life, finishing just as thechoirs ofOurLady ofGuadalupe in Dela­no and Sacred Heart in Lindsay, joinedby professional soloist Sister Rosa MartaZarate,assembled on stage and began torehearse.

Jumping on and off the stage checkingamplifiers and speakers and microphones,Hub Seeger pierced the air with endlesscalls of "testing, testing," while near thestage in a roped-off section, Lorena Par­lee patiently tried to fulfill all the requestsof a growing number of photographersand journalists pressing for more factsand jockeying for better positions.

Across the hot, dusty field, away fromall that noise and action, the atmosphere.in Chavez' room at Agbayani Villagewas subdued. Near the door, DoctorsMoses and Huerta, concerned about theirpatient's increased stomach cramps andvomiting the past couple days, quietlydiscussed how to handle whatever emer­gency might arise during Mass. Inside,

Prominent labor leaders and celeb­rities join hands for the "PadreNuestro" ("Our Father") at theMass. At the left, left to right, areGerald W. McEntee, president,AFSCME; JohnJ. Sweeney,presi­dent, Service Employees Interna­tional Union; Kenneth Young, ex­ecutive assistanttoAFL-CIO Presi­dent Lane Kirkland; lohn F. Hen­ning, executive secretary-treasur­er, CalijorniaAFL-CIO;andDavjdSickler, regional director, AFL­CIO.AttheendoftheMass, Chavez,with assistance, walked over to the labor kaders, shook hands with them, and thanked themfor theirpresenceandsupport.Allhe rightare actorsMartin Sheen andEddie Olmos. Behindthem, center, are Dolores Huerta, UFW first vice-president, and actor Robert Blake (partlyobscured), who spent several days helping out at Forty Acres during the fast.

· · · and onthe 36th,Bread

Barely able to lk ChandfromtheM::sh\Jh' avez w:;s assisted toAnthon B' J lssons,raul,left,and. CL y. ehmdandto the rightofAnthIS ,,"vez' brother, Richard. ony

oncedr,jumped in a more-than-used unioncar, Ove downtown to La M .Bake . eXIcanaI ry In ~elano, picked up the small~fof~mI~bread she ordered the night

littl~r~ffe~ryed~balcek. an~ placed it on a. In trom of the spac~~s.stage, thefinal addition to the simpl~g It already held: water wine and a~mall h<?memade cross of t~igs this oneor pasSIng on, not for pinning up next t'o

E~l~.on Sunday morning, August 21d e Irstofthousandsoffann worker;

an sUPp<?rters began arriving at FonAc~es, fIlling up the seats under the hu ywhIte tent that a week before had ge~~edcJtedes for

Jthe

kstirring visit of the Re~~

se ac son.At the sal?e time, Carmen Pe

one ofa harned staff ofUFW .1 nalber,all tryin . vo unteers

g to do fIve last-minute tasks at

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ly, the emotions that for an hour had beenkept under control were released, the si­lence that had dominated the Mass wasshattered. The huge throng rose and ap­plauded, a burst of applause that was sus­tained until Chavez' sons again moved tohis side to help him struggle back to hisroom - back to rest and recuperation,back to life.

The Mass was over.So were 36 days of fasting.But, in the hearteningprogram ofsongs

and speeches that followed, Jackson madeit clear that the Fast for Life had only justbegun: "Today,as I wear this cross aroundmy neck, as I bear this cross on my back,the fast does not end. The fast con­tinues...will expand...will grow!" Y

DuringtheprogramaftertheMass, the Reverend Jack-son brings the audience to ,its feet with his impassionedpromiseto keep thefastgoingand his call to "stop thegrapes and save the chil­dren." Joining in the stand­ing ovation behind Jacksonare, left to right, AFSCMEPresident Gerald W. McEn­tee; Chris, Ethel, and KerryKennedy; and SEIV Presi­dentJohnJ. Sweeney.

Blake and several other celeb ' ,prominent laborIeade M ntles, and erry Kennedy delivers a forcefula hush fell over th rs. oments later, peech and receives an enthusiasmhelped 0 t f . e crowd as C~avez was responsefromplatformguestsandthe

3£ brown u ,0 hIS .cm: and assIsted to a huge crowd: "The day is coming whenw't r

doc

9kmg chaIr sItuated between his Californw grapes will no longer be

I e an 6-year old mother, Juana. washed with the tears, the blood, andTh,en, at the opposite entrance Aurora the sweat offarm workers in the fields

Rodriguez raised a cross high id the' ... Don't buy grapes!" Seated behindLolo Flores and Ramon Trevin h . d her, kft to right, are Rory, Chris, andup a colorful banner of 0 ~~Iste EthelKennedy. Standing, leftlo right,Guadalupe and a roc ,ur y of are AFSCME President Gerald W.follOWed a~ the p eSSIOn of pnes,ts McEntee,EddieOlmos,LouDiamondSpanish the 0 e ~eop~e rose"an,d sang m Phillips, Martin Sheen, and FredRossAlegria S p ,~m? y~n? Vlenen Con Sr., from whom Chavez learned theseek' ' enor. ...smgmg with joy techniques of organizing.

mg a more humane world harbo' 'no hatred or viole' ' nng

The Mass w nce,m our heaz:ts." cooed toward the end of the Mass. Afterments Afte th a~a senes of touchmg mo- Communion, the little loafofsemitabread,read his f~h e, oSpel,FernandoChavez the same kind used to break Chav«z'ment, a messae~~, end-of-t~e-fast state- earlier fasts, was blessed and handed tomy bod is to g my heart IS too full and Ethel Kennedy, whocarefullybrokeoffafor fut/text)O~~oread".(seepage14 small chunk and smiled as she handed itChavez' m ili t t e offenng of gifts, to him. Thanking her, he held it in hisabouthisfas~ ~~i ~ho. had not been told fingers for a moment or two, staring at itmounted the u~ I emghtbefore,slowly almost as if he didn't know what it washelp of Fern s;ps to the altar with the for, and then began to chew it. Shortlypresented th a~ 0 and Rev. Jackson and afterward, the 36th wooden cross wasof the fast a

e 6~~~ last wooden cross blessed and given to Chavez, who slowlyon to Jack~o sym, . er Son wo.uld pass turned and handed it to Rev. Jackson.of the Fast fo

n~,~Igtt the contInuation Visibly moved,Jackson accepted it, kissed

Anthony wo rId I e.. ter, sons Paul and Chavez' hands, and softly repeated hishelp as Chavu ~ga~ be called upon to promise to fast three days and keep thetion insistedez, m.spIte ?f near exhaus- chain of fasting going until justice forreceive HoI Con nsm~ m reverence to farm workers is achieved. Then, sudden-

y ommumon.Two even more dramatic moments oc-

...... /

Dr. Fid,el Huerta kept a close watch onChavez condition throughout the Mass.

;/';;IZe~hedYintroducesherdaughterKerrye n avez before Mass begins.

Luis Valdez (center, right) founder oftheprogram thatfollowed;he Mass, int;;d::a::~~:;~esino and.Mast~r ofCeremonies for

osta, Mex/can Singer and movie star.

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DOLORES HUERTABEATEN AND HOSPITALIZ~D

onstrationagainsta campaIgn appear­anceby Vice-PresidentG~rgeBush.Huerta was not involved m the .P~­test but had gone to the hotel to distn­bute to the media a press release re­sponding to a vicious attack on theUFW and the grape boyco~tmade byBush at a campaign stop m the SanJoaquin Valley earlier in.the ~y.

A videotape of the pollee VIolenceby Station KRON-TV clearly showsthe attack on Huerta. Tha~ ta~ andadditional testimony pro~Ide.rrrefu­table evidence for investlgat~ons ofthe police and for legal action theUFW is certain to pursue. Y

Only hours before this i~sue ~fFood andJustice was to be prmted, Itwas learned that Dolores Huerta, 58,first vice-president and co-founder of

theUFW was severelybeaten by San'. 'd th StFrancisco police outsl e e .

Francis Hotel on September ~4.Repeatedly jabbed and struck WIthclubs, Huerta suffered a ~pturedspleen and three broke~ nbs. Herspleen had to be removed m an opera­tion the same night. After ~e opera-. doctors said she was m stabletIon, h .

conditionbutwouldhave tobe OSpI-talized at least a week. .

Thebeating occurreddunng adem-

Martin Sheen, wearing the crossoffasting passed onfromJacksonto the Reverend Joseph Loweryand from Lowery to him on Au­gust 28 in Washington, D.C., lea~s75 supporters in a seven-milemarch from a Mayfair supermar­ketto a Hughes store in Malibu.

food is once again a source of nourish­ment and life."

The fast that Chavez said "will multi­ply" and the Reverend Jesse Jacksonpromised"will expand and grow" quicklybegan to do exactly that. After a stop-offto join a large group of supporters picket­inga supermarket in Los Angeles, Jacksonreturned to Chicago and passed the crossfor three days of fasting to the ReverendJoseph Lowery, president of the South­ern Christian Leadership Conference.Then, during the commemoration of the25th anniversary of Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington,Lowery passed the cross to actor MartinSheen. Three days later, on August 30,Sheen passed it to fellow actor EddieOlmos in Los Angeles.

At this writing, plans call for Olmos topass the cross and three-day fast to EmilioEstevez in Los Angeles, Estevez to KerryKennedy in New York, Kennedy to LouDiamond Phillips in Boston, Phillips toCharlie Raid in Toronto, and Raid toTexas Commissioner of Agriculture JimHightower in Chicago. About 25 morewell-known persons are presently sched­uled to continue the chain of fastingthroughout the U.S., Canada, and Mex­ico.

But it was not only celebrities continu­ing the fast, nor was fasting the only thinghappening. Religious groups, labor un­ions, environmentalists, legislators, citycouncils, minority groups, and farm work­ers were initiating their own chains offasting, were organizing marches, werepicketing supermarkets, were sendingdelegations to supermarketowners, werebanning grapes in schools and hospitals,and were beginning, as Chavez hopedand fasted for, "agreat movementofnon­cooperation with supermarkets," resist-

"Today I Pass Onthe Fast for Life..."

______________________________\ ing "in a myriad of nonviole~t

ways, the presence of grapes I?,the stores where they sh0l."

True it was only a begm­ning, b~t already it w.as enoug?to make Bruce Obbmk, presI­dent of the California TableGrape Commission, ponder thewisdom of having arrogantlyderidedChavez, a few days ~fterthe fast had started, for futilely"wasting all his energy" o~ afast when he could be domgsomething useful. Y

D uring the Mass ending the fast onSunday, August 21, the following

prepared statement by Cesar Chavez wasread by his son Fernando:

"My heart is too full and my body tooweak to read this message. So I haveasked my oldest son, Fernando, to read itto you.

"I thank God for the love and supportof my family as well as for the prayersand hard work of the members and staffof our Union. I am grateful to the manythousands ofpeople who came to be withme and for the millions who have kept mein their prayers and who have taken upour cause in their own communities. Theyhave opened up their hearts, not just tome, but to the farm workers and the fami­lies who suffer from the unrestrained poi­soning of our soil, our water, our air andour people.

"Many generous people have traveledlong distances to be here during the fast.It is especially meaningful to me and allfarm workers to have Ethel Kennedy andher children here on this day. Twentyyears ago Bobby Kennedy stood with uswhen few had the courage to do so. Wewill always carry him in our hearts.

"Today I pass on the Fast for Life tohundreds of concerned men and womenthroughout North America and the worldwho have offered to share the suffering.They will help carry the burden by con­tinuing the fast in front of their localsupermarkets.

"The fast will go on in hundreds ofdistant places and it will multiply amongthousands and then millions of caringpeople until every poisoned grape is offthe supermarket shelves. And the fastwill endure until the fields are safe forfarm workers, the environment is pre­served for future generations, and our

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TAKE ACTION AT YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKETlJoin thousands of people who are demanding that theirlocal supermarket stop selling California table grapes.

RETURN THIS SIMPLE FORM TODAY ... in the envelope attachedto the center of the magazine.

D Please send me the Boycott Action Kit which tells me howto get the poisoned grapes out of my local supermarket.

01SAMUEL B TRICKEV723 NW 19TH STGAINESVILLE FL 32603