Unionists Set Caravan to DelanoSee Page 6

Vol. VII, NO. 13 ~10 December 23, 1'974

RS

GSAS-ITEL

The Lamont field office and its members, under the direction ofPablo Expinoza, have taken on the dual task of carrying theUFW boycott to the. Alvin-Lamont and Bakersfield areas as theyalso pIcket grape fields that are being pruned. In the abovephoto, is the Lamont group at a picket lines they formed atGiumarra grape field . ..

... while at the field one young striker attempts to reason with thescab workers pruning the grape vines by telling them of thebeneflfs en;oyed by workers under the UFW contracts. (Photos byEL MALeR/ADO)

, :

UFW Hits PoliceConspiracy

San Luis Arizona--United Farm Wor­kers AFL-'CIO of Arizona hit the lemongrov~s and cou~troo!TI~ with a campaign inDecember to win electIons for the workersand to defeat a law enforcement conspiracyaimed at breaking the union's four and ahalf month old strike.

striking picketers at the Yuma-area le­mon groves won hundreds of new signatureson union authorization cards while UFWat­torneys went into state, federal and localcourts to stop a riot of police violence thatbegan Nov. 5 and continued to. Nov. 19.

The violence--a wave of clubbmg, tear­gassing, "brutal macil!gs" and felony ar­rests that UFW attorney Jim Rutkowskicalled 'ca conspiracy to break our strike"-- sparked a plea from union president Ce­sar Chavez to restore law and order, anda visit to the area by Congressmen investi-gating the conflict. .

UFW stike organizer Gilbert Rodngueztoured the struck groves Dec. 9and reportedto EL MALCRIADO:

"I saw very few pickers while the growersclaim they have 2,500 working; the tl'ees inmany groves were loaded down with fruit,even though the growers claim the harvest is60 per cent completed; today the growers arebroadcasting radio spots across the borderin Mexico asking for pickers, an indicationthey must be hurting real bad.n

Rodriguez reported many pickers are stillcoming out of the groves to sign union au­thorization cards. "I think we will win thisstrike soon, as soon as the new governorcomes in and we get rid ofthe present farmlabor board and hold union elections,H hesaid.

E iection AgreementThe union strategy was aimed at forcing

the 1,000 area growers to follow through ontheir so-called "agreement" reached withvisiting Congressmen to hold informal elec­tions in the groves to decide the strike'soutcome, since the UFW opposes officialelections under a state farm labor law thatexcludes seasonal and migrant workersfr aIn voting.

Rep. George Brown, Jr., D-Calif., andRep. Edward Roybal, D- Calif., visited thegroves Nov. 30. Rep. Brown reported anagreement was won from Steve Shadle,growers attorney. for representationalelections to be held under state auspicesbllt outside the framework of the contestedlaw.

Shadle confirmed reaching an agree me nt,maintaining the growers are confident "theunion does not represent our workers'"

In a telephone interview, Shadle said "Wesa.id we would cooperate if the union canshow evidence it represents our workers andcan go to the governor and iind out how tocircumvent the farm labor law."

Meanwhile. as Rodriguez, Maurilio Uriasand other organizers collected the authori­zation cards under the direction of ManuelChavez. brother of Cesa.r Chavez, the UFW

(Continued to Pg. 15)

Gilbert Padilla Hits KernCounty Farm Bureau

"And it·s real clear in lawthateach side has the right to knowabout the other's evidence, thereare not supposed to be PerryMason surprises at areal trials."said Haberfeld.

The subpoena filed Nov. 25 byHaberfeld calls on Gallo's cus­todian of records and Robert J.Gallo to produce ··records. peti­tions, lists, authorization cards,ballots or any other Item. ••which (Gallo) contends to consti­tute proof that a majority of ItsfUll-time employees stated pref­erence in June, 1973, for repre­sentation by the Teamsters andstated rejection of representationby United Farm Workers of Am­erica, AFL-CIO."

Haberfeld saId it is his beliefthat Gallo ··will content that de­fendants (Rodriguez and Perez)had no lawful business to performat its property because the Team­sters represent its workers. Itis defendants' contention that theCompany's claim is a lie. There­fore, the evidence•• .Is relevantto the defense."

Haberfeld said Rodriguez andPerez are suffering discrimina­tory prosecution because they aremembers of the UFW.

Gilbert Padilla, UFW Secretary­Treasurer, denounced lost week a moveby Fred Starrh of the Kern county FormBureau to put form workers under theiurisdietion of the Notional LaborRelations Boord. In the photo, Padilla isseen speaking at a roily in Fresno dur­ing the 1972 campaign againstProposition 22. (photo by Glen Pearcy)

borer earns a meager $3,000 ayear.

Columnist Anderson said inpart: "Probably the worst offarethe migrant farm laborers•• Jorthese wandering workers, who

move from crop to crop in beat­up trucks, the gasoline pricerise has been a disaster. Evenmore serious has been the in­crease in the price ofbeans from18 to 69 cents a pound.

Peter Haberfeld announced hewould seek an order from a high­er court commanding Lane togrant the defendants' right ofdiscovery.

"They're real scared," saidHaberfeld. "They're going togreat lengths in this petty mis­demeanor ca.se to make sure theydon't ha.ve to produce that evi­dence. But this is our majorcampaign here, trying to exposeas fraudulent and false the Galloclaim that the Teamsters reallyrepresent their workers."

Gallo LiesThe complaints against Rodri­

guez and Perez stemmed fromGallo's claim that the Teamstersalready represent its workers sothat UFW organizers had no rightcalling for a strike at the vine­yards in Septe mber, when ap­proximately 240 workers walkedout-

Haberfeld said the union whilecontesting the claim that Galio'sworkers asked for Teamster rep­resentation in June, 1973 isciting California state laws'thatexempt lahor organizers fromcertain trespass provisions. TheUFW says farm labor organizersshould be si milarly exe mpted.

because it's not going to happenin Washington, they're not inter­ested. In California, however,

now we have a chance for a goodbill for farm workers with a goodgovernor coming in."

Padilla responded. ·'That's atypical grower reaction. But don'tput any faith in NLRB legislation

OCAW BlamesOil Companiesfor Hardships

The Oil, Che mical and AtomicWorkers union blamed the oilcompanies for much of the na­tion's economic woes in a full­page ad in last Monday's editionof the Los Angeles Times.

The ad stated, for example,"Increased oil prices were re­sponsible, directly or indirectly,for almost half of last year'sincrease in the cost of living,according to a congressional stu- "dy•••While the industry hasprospered, we"ve suffered. In1966, our average wage was $3.45.an hour. Today, we get $3.27an hour in 1966 dollars."

The ad concluded by saying,"Many migrant workers, who "We can't let the oil industry

help make America the best-fed get away with blaming workersnation In history, are themselves and consumers for our nation'sundernourished. Some are too ills•••if we allow corporations

Padilla was quoted by Anderson poor to afford even the govern- to continue playing off one seg-in a Dec. 1column about the "Hu- ment stamps to buy cut-price segment of the pUblic against an-man Side of Economic Distress" food, and they exist on a diet other, we'll never get to the realas saying the average stoop.1a- of starches and water." root of the problem."

UFW Challenges Gallo for181 'Evidence in' Court Case

lie. Kern County farmers arevery concerned with maintainingan adequate and responsible laborforce."

Livingston, Calif.--The UFWlegal department this month suc­ceeded in getting the Gallo com­pany into court on a case whichmay force the winery to produceevidence that the Teamsters un­ion actually represents Its wor­kers.

Gallo sent a high- powered law­yer from Fresno, the Delanogrowers' legal ace Bill Quinlan,to a hearing in a petty misde­meanor case in Livingston Dec.13 where UFW demands for theTeamster evidence were heard.

The UFW aSked Justice of thePeace Walter Lane to grant a sub­poena for discovery of evidencethat is needed to defend two unionorganizers, Gilbert Rodriguezand Juan Perez, against chargesof trespass, malicious mischiefand assault. The charges stem­med from an alleged incidentSept. !l during the UFW's 1974strike at Gallo's vineyards nearLivingston.

Quinlan and the district attor­ney told Justice Lane, who isnot a lawyer himself, that ··Youcan't do it. it would be improper"to grant the UFW's request for·evidence. Lane agreed to denythe request, and union attorne

their farm workers to economicpoverty. which is a total and gross

lay-off 8,800 workers or 2% ofthe city's payroll. In addition,cities such as Austin, TexasDetroit and Cleveland were plan~ninl': lav-offs as high as 10% byNew Year's Evp._

Keene, Calif.-- UFW Secre­tary- Treasurer Gilbert Padillasaid Dec. 17 the union will oP-.pose a move by Kern CountyFarm Bureau chief Fred Starrhto put farm workers under Na­tional Labor Relations Board(NLRB) jurisdiction.

Starrh, president of the KernCounty Farm Bureau and dele­gate to the recent CaliforniaFarm Bureau convention, an­nounced Dec. 16 the state FarmBureau would seek support forNLRB coverage of farm workersat the national Farm Bureau con-

vention in New Orleans nextmonth.

Starrh, who criticized the in­formation Padilla recently gave

to national columnist Jack An­

derson about the plight of farm'\'orkers, said the state FarmBureau seeks Congressional sup­port for the NLRB move.

·'The NLRB is no good forus, .. said Padilla. "What un­ions have been able to organizesince the NLRB amendments?"He referred to amendments inthe NLRB act which limit a un­ion's right to strike and conductboycotts to enforce its contractdemands.

Padilla rejected Starrh's cri­ticism, which was voiced in aletter to the editor of the Bak­ersfield Californian on Dec. 12.Referring to the nationally distri­buted Anderson column, Starrhsaid "From the tone of the articleit appears that all farmers arelolling by their swimming poolswith highballs in hand subjecting

Economic CrisisHits City Workers

Do Not BuyA II trade unioni8t8 and

their families are requestedto support consumer boycottsagainst the products aDdservices of companies which,becau8e of their anti-unionpolicies, don't deserve unionpatronage.

The following li8ting issubject to change but a8 ofpress time hoyCOlts of thesefirms were in effect:

TABLE GRAPES ANDLETTUCE, that do not bearthe unioD label of the UnitedFarm Workers of America.(United Farm Workers ofAmerica).

PLASTIC PIPE AND FIT­TINGS. R & G Sloane Manu­facturing Corp., Sun Valley,Cal. On strike siDce March11, 1973. (Local 621 UnitedRubber, Cork, Linoleum andPlastic Workers).

FURNITURE. Rowe Furni­ture Co., Poplar Bluff, Mo.On strike siD c e July 11,1973. (Upholsterers Interna­tional Union).

CIGARETTES ANDTOBACCO. R. J. ReynoldsTobacco Co., producers ofWinston, Saletq, Cam e I 8,

Doral, Vantage. Winchester(liule Cigars) and Prince Al­bert Smoking Tobacco. (To­bacco Workers InternationalUnion).

PRESCRIPTION EYE­GLASSES, CONTACT LENSESAND OPTICAL FRAMES.Eyeglass frames and lenses,contact lenses, 8unglasses andsafety glasses manufacturedby Dal-Telt Optical Co. Theseproducts are sold by Dumer­ous retail opticians, optome­trists, vision centers, depart­ment stores, etc., includingVision Centers I n c.; LeeVision Centers Inc., Lee Opti­cal Corp., King' Optical Co.,Missouri State Optical, Doug­las Optical, Opti-Cal of Cali­for D i a, Goldblau OpticalService, Capitol Optical andMesa Optical. (InternationalUnion of Electrical, Radio,and Machine Workers.)

LIQUORS. Stitzel-WellerDistilleries, producers of OldFitzgerald, Cabin Still, OldElk, W. L. Weller. (DistilleryWorkers).

P R I N TIN G. KingsportPress, producerS of WorldBook, and Childcraft. (Print­ing and Graphic Communica­tions Union; Graphic ArtsInternational Union; Interna­tional Typographical Union;International AssociatioD ofMachinists) •

Los Angeles Herald Exam­iner. (Ten unions involvedcovering 2,000 workers).

Encyclopedia Britannicaand Britannica Jr. (Interna­tional Allied Printing TradesAssociation) •

The deteriorating economic si­tuation will hit municipal em­ployees hard in the next comingweeks according to the UPI re­port released this oast week.

The report announced, for ex­ample, that New York city would

2-December 23, 1974-El Malcriado

Double-Edged Sword

LAMONT STRIKERS PICKET VINEYARDS

Enduring the bitter cold that has struck the Arvin-Lamont area near Bakersfield, Calif., a UFW member stands guard on a picketline at Giumarra vineyard that is presently being pruned. Pruning started three weeks ago and since then 15 to 20 UFW membershave been spending their work week picketing the fields and the other half picketing stores in Bakersfield that carry scab products.(Et- MALCRIADO photo)

is because the 6 percent penaltyis cheaper than to borrow moneyto pay the taxes. But the smallproperty owner can't even affordthe small penalty and so he mustpull not only his weight but alsothat of Roberts, Smith and Coen.

Trade Unionists WorldwideRenew UFW Backing

El Malcriado-December 23, 1974-3

According to Tom Bavin, General Secretary of the Interi..national Federation of Plantation, Agricultural and AlliedWorkers (of which the UFW is a member), the unions inDenmark, Scandinavia, Germany, Tokyo and Holland expres­sed a great deal of interest in assisting the UFW boycott.

Brussels, Belgium--The International Confederation of FreeTrade Unions (ICFTU) Executive Committee unanimously pas­sed a resolution November 22 endorsing the UFW-sponsoredboycott of scab grapes and lettuce:

"The Executive Board is invited to authorize the GeneralSecretary to ask the ICFTU affiliates, especially those inEurope, to express their solidarity with the United Farl1\

.Workers of America by organizing consumer boycotts ofCalifornia grapes and lettuce durin~ the period of Januaryand February, 1975 and by taking any further action that.may be appropriate In their national clrcumstances.1t

their property taxes but they arealso responsible for such hightaxes being placed on inflatedland values In the first place.

The reasons given by somesources for large land ownersnot paying their property taxes

Interests HoldBock School Funds

The DiGiorgio School Districtsoutheast of Bakersfield has feltthe hardest impact, according toSuperintendent George Rule, whosays he had to cut the district'sundistributed reserve from$20,000 to a "ridiculously low"$12,000.

The cut in the reserve, accord­ing to RUle, placed the districtin a precarious position in thatit has very little to fall back on,in. case of a financial emergency.

Another effect the unpaid taxesare -having in the districts,according to official sources, ispushing up the tax rates that arepaid by the majority of the countytaxpayprs.

The DiGiorgio district' taxrate, for example, has risen fromlast year's $2.49 per $100 ofassessed valuation to this year'shigh of $3.25. Pond district's ratehas been upped 22 cents andth Delano district 57 cents from .last year's rates.

One official in the financialcommunity says the increase intax rates when large taxpayersdon't pay comes about becausethose who do pay must take upthe slack. This is usually thesmall taxpayer.

"the same amount of dollarsmust be raised." says Dr. FrankE. Dyer of the Delano SchoolDistrict.

Other observers believe thatthe Roberts-Smith-Coen groupalso distorted real land valuesin their dealings and thus in­nated the assessed valuationsof agricultural lands. This ofcourse led to higher taxes beinglevied on the lands.

So. according to these obser­vers, Roberts and his cronies

Forming

Keene, Calif. - Kern Countyschool districts are sufferingserious financial cutbacks andcounty taxpayers are experienc­ing higher tax rates because asmall group of large corporationfarming interests are delinquentin paying their taxes.

Deltnquent tax lists, pUblishedin 15 county newspapers inSeptember, show that 25 com­panies owned ar controlled byHollis Roberts of McFarland,C. Arnholt Smith of San Diegoand Michael J. Coen of KansasCity, Missouri owe the countyhundreds of thousands of dollars

in delinquent 1973 property taxes.

The amounts owed by theRoberts-SmUh-Coen enterprisesand their associates--who wereInvolved in questionable landdeals in the last three years-­total $913,289.43, which com­prises about 18 per cent of thetotal delinquent taxes published.

Hardest hit by the unpaid taxesare the Kern County school dis­tricts, with the Roberts-Smith­Coen group owing sums totalingmore than $10,000 in delinquenttaxes In each of 11 elementarydistricts.

The districts and total backtaxes owed are :

McFarland, $ 217,949.22:DiGiorgio, $ 64,155.37:Lakeside, $ 52,544.56:Panama- $ 48,785.31Taft, $ 47,048.95;Wasco, $40,544.51:Pond, $ 27,002.81:Gen Shafter $ 23,825.30;El Tejon, $ 19,025.67:Richland $ 10,515.74.

stOCkton, Calif~ ose Salcedo­Gonzales, UFW member and to­mato striker, was acquitted ofcharges of assaulting a policeofficer and resisting arrest, inthe stockton Municipal Court onDecember 2, 1974.children, was accused of throw­ing a board at a San JoaquinComity Sheriff, during the earlydays of the Stockton tomatostrike.

The sheriff admitted on thewitness stand, however, that henever saw any board thrown athim nor that he had even seenSalcedo-Gonzales that day. Thearresting officer was the onlyone who claimed he had seenSalcedo-Gonzales throw theboard an incredible 45 feet try­ing to hit the other officer.

While on the stand, Salcedo­Gonzales explained to the courtthat during some arrests of pic­keting strikers he became con­cerned for the safety of histwelve year-old son and took anag pole half an inch thick a­way from him to avoid anyonegetting hurt with it. He thensaid that he threw the stickover a fence Into an empty to­mato field and was promptlyarrested for assault.

~residing JUdge Giffen noted,after hearing all testimony, thatthere was no evidence of Intentto injure anyon~, and acquittedSalcedo-Gonzales.

Tomato.Striker

Acquitted

Lamont, Calif. - Asmall groupof hard-working, dedicated huel­gistas, working out ot the fieldoffice here, is carrying on adetermined fight against the go­liath grape growers in the areaand against Gallo wines.

About 20 hard-core strikersare devoting their time andenergy in clearing the Arvin,Lamont and Bakersfield marketsand liquor stores of all Gallowines. Recently they have alsobegan setting picket lines in thegrape fields which are presentlybeing pruned.

The farm workers have beensuccessful, with the use of picketlines, in clearing almost all theretail stores in Arvin and La­mont, just outside Bakers­field, of all Gallo wines. Whilein Bakersfield itself they havesuccessfully discouraged close to40 store owners and managersfrom carrying Gallo wines. •

The boycotters are presentlypicketing ThriftyMart stores inBakersfield, the first three daysout of the week, and the nextthree days they spend picketingthe area grape fields.

Pruning started three weeksago on the grape fields aroundArvin-Lamont and now the huel­gistas are enduring the coldweather which has hit the areatrying to convince the pruners togo out on strike.

Here too they have beensuccessful and they report thatlast Monday they managed to talk25 workers out of one field alone.They also report that one dayhasn't gone by in which they havenot been able to convince someworkers into leaving the grapefields.

These relentless huelgistasare more than determined in theirstruggle and field organizerspromise that they will neverrest until all of Kern county iscleared of all Gallo wines.

Pablo Espinoza, field office di­rector, says that "enthusiasm ishigh among the strikers and thattheir only direction is forward."

"strikes and the boycott are the Union's front line of defense.P'. - Cesar Chavez, June, 1974

The National Conferenceof Catholic Bishops, meetingin General Assembly, reaf­firmed its support for thefarm worker struggle forjustice and called for im­mediate legislation assuringthe right to secret ballot elec­tions among agriculturalworkers.

The General Assemblypassed the followingresolution on November 21stating:

We the bishops of theUnited States, reiterate theseriousness of the farm laborproblem and believe theurgency for its solution is asgrave as ever. It is a nationalscandal that at both thefederal and state level suf­ficient pressure is not beingbrought to bear uponlegislators to pass legislationthat will be just to all parties.

That legislation mustassure the farm workers theright to elections by secretballot of a union of theirchoice. We therefore acceptas a pastoral necessity our ac­tive concern in the solution ofan evil that has gone on fartoo long.

Catholic 'BishopsReaffirm FormWorker Support

unions such as the CementLime and Gypsum Workers,the Service Employees Inter­national Union and the localAmerican Federation ofTeachers.

Picket organizers say thatthey will continue to educatethe Tehachapi public aboutthe boycott. They -also saythey will continue picketinguntil all scab products areremoved from the store.

Joson, a La Paz resident boycotting Tehachapi's Town and CountryMarket rests after stomping and yelling against Gallo scab wines. Joson,along with all the other La Paz UFW members, plans to picket T&C until itremoves Gallo wine and non-union lettuce and gropes from its displaycounters. (Photo by EL MALCR/ADO)

Class StruggleHits Teho(hopi

It was found later in thesummer, however, that thescab products were nevercompletely removed and LaPaz residents decided to senda delegation to speak to themanager.

Along with the delegationwent a bus load of UFWmembers with boycottplacards. While the bus fullof pickets waited outside thedelegation went and spokewith Bob Mitchell, part­owner and manager, whorefused to remove the Gallowines or the scab grapes andlettuce. He explained that hewas making more money withthe products on the shelvesand without the La Pazbusiness.

When the pickets heard the_untoward news they left thebus and began marching infront of the store chantinganti-Gallo slogans.

The picketing has con­tinued everyday since, andthe UFW members arereceiving support from local

Tehachapi, Calif-Townand Country Market wasstruck with a double wham­mie here Friday Dec. 13,when more than fifty UFWmembers from UFWheadquarters in La Paz show­ed up at its doors and formedthe first major picket linecince 1954.

The UFW members arepicketing the Tehachapistore, which is one of the fewshopping spots Jor La Pazresidents, because it broke anagreement reached lastspring when the managementagreed not to carry Gallowines or scab lettuce andgrapes. The store owners,however, only removed thegrapes but not the lettuceand promised to allow theirstock of Gallo wines to runout without re-ordering.

DeKalb Police Chief F.D. Handand DeKalb police officer C.E.Brewer, Jr. as defendants.

According to the suit, whichwas filed in mid-November, UFWsupporters were threatened witharrest if theY did not leave thesidewalks outside the two gro­cery stores after A&P officialscalled police.

The distribution of handbills"is the only effective means ofcarrying plaintiff's message tothe potential customers of theA&P food stores."

City Terrace park in EastL.A.

Donation for the' fiesta wasa toy for a farm worker child

-or a can of food for a strikingfarm worker. Eight popularbands performed and thewhole affair was broadcast byradio station KALH.

The East L.A. committeeis also organizing a caravanto San Luis, Arizona, scene ofthe current UFW lemonstrike, to take toys to thechildren of striking farmworkers for Christmas.Among the contributors tothe drive is Cardinal Mann­ing of Los Angeles, who con­tributed $100 for thepurchase of toys.

commitments to join theboycott.

On Saturdays the UFWboycotters set up picket linesin front of the city's largesupermarkets that still carrynon-UFW products. Theboycotters are concentratingtheir efforts more in trying toget customers to honor theboycott than in trying to per­suade store operators toremove Gallo wines, grapesand non-UFW lettuce.

Large rallies are also partof the East L.A. boycotters'fundraising and organizingdrive. On Dec. 15, a "Christ­mas fOf Farm Workers'Children" fiesta, which drew4,000 persons, was held at

UFW HITS A&PIN COURT SUIT

Atlanta, Georgia-- The UnitedFarm Workers union has filedsuit in Federal District Courthere over alleged atte mpts by theA&P supermarket chain to stopthe boycott against non- UFW let­tuce and grapes.

UFW volunteers and employeesdistributing leaflets were or­dered by DeKalb police to leaveA&P stores at two local shoppingcenters in violation of the UFWworkers' constitutional right tofree speech, the suit charges.

The suit names A&P, DeKalbCounty solicitor John Thompson,

Signs like these shown above are iust two of the seventy which are dis­played in front of churches and schools for the people of Toronto to easi­ly see the boycott message of the .United Form Workers. (Photo byToronto boycott committee)

"Cesar's Greetings" in East L.A.East Los Angeles, Calif.­

"Cesar's Greetings" is themessage with which the EastLos Angeles Boycott Com­mittee has kicked off its holi­day campaign.

Large festive placards heldby East L.A. boycotters haveappeared along the city'sstreets asking passers-by toboycott Gallo wines and non­UFW lettuce and grapes. Thegreen holiday posters alsoconvey UFW presidel)t CesarChavez's Christmasgreetings.

. The posters are the latestbrainstorm of resourceful LosAngeles area boycotters,whose ingenuity for reachingthe public in unconventionalways has fired the im­aginations of UFW sup­porters in many other cities.

The East Los AngelesBoycott Committee, headedby former Gallo strikerBobby De la Cruz, is workingespecially hard to get theboycott message to holidayconsumers. The committee isholding house meetingsalmost every day of the weekto expand its organizing ef­forts.

Besides the housemeetings, the East L.A.boycotters are spending Sun­days going to churches wherethe help educate the generalpublic about the UFWboycott and ask supportthrough contributions and

4-December 23, 1974-El Malcriado

Maryland UFWPartisan III

The produce center demon­stration was in conjunction withEastern Massachusetts' boycottcommittee campaign to "stopthe Grapes" which is aimed atsmall grocers and fruit stands.

ticipated in the demonstration in­cluding the Packing House work­ers (Amalgamated Meat Cutters),the ruE, eight members of theAmalgamated Clothing WorkersNational Executive Board, tradeunionists from the Harvard TradeUnion School, the UE, HospitalWorkers local 1199,andtheUAW.

In addition, members of theR-H Third World Organizationand several Catholic preists par­ticipated.

According to Nick J ones, NewEngland hoycott director, Team­ster union members at theCenter received the demonstra­tion favorably, raising fists andapplauding. However, one Team­ster threw a snowball.

Bowie, Maryland MikeGreene, strong supporter of thefarm workers movement in Wa­shington, D.C. is seriously illwith advanced cancer. BrotherGreene, while working for a lo­cal dairy, contributed fresh milkfor children of farm workers ac­tive on the boycott.

El Malcriado-December 23, 1974-5

BOYCOTTGRAPES

ANDLETTUCE

was the first time in four yearsthat UFW supporters had enteredthe premises. Four years ago,when UFW boycotters marchedinside, several persons were ar­rested and some people were in­jured.

By the time the police ar­rived, the picketers were alreadyleaving the center and accordingto Police Sgt. Thomas Duggan,the demonstrators were "a nice,peaceful group," but he said themarchers would have been ar­rested had they remained insidethe market.

•InBostonians Demonstrate

Snow Blizzard

UFW SupportersConvi(ted

NEW ENGLAND PRODUCE CE

Springfield, Massachusetts-­Five UFW boycott supporterswere convicted of trespassing oncharges stemming from a Nov.16 de monstration against the saleof grapes in a BigY supermarkethere.

In addition, two of the five in­volved were also found guilty ofdisturbing the peace, based onthe fact that the demonstratorswere singing while inside themarket.

The presiding judge handeddown a fine of $10 for tres­passing and $12.50 for distur­bing the peace. The boycotters,however, refused to pay the fineas a matter of principle and thejudge has now sentenced the fiveto 30 days in jail for conte mptof court.

The ruling Is now under appeal.

A cold snow blizzard hit Massachusetts and so did the boycotting of grapes and lettuce. A crowd of over 400people gathered outside of the New England Produce Center demanding the removal of scabbed lettuce andgrapes. Jim Rodriguez, son of J. J. Rodriguez, President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor is shownin the crowd with the boycotters.

Boston, Massachusetts -Some400 persons marched throughearly morning snow in 25 de­gree weather November 26 atthe New England Produce Cen­ter (Chelsea Market) to demon­strate support for the UFW- spon­sored boycott of grapes and headlettuce.

At 6 a.m. , the boycotters ga­thered at Chelsea Market to con­vince local shop keepers to re­move the scab oroduce from theirstock. .

The protesters went inside themarket to talk to the buyers. It

Issue

market in Europe. InNorway, the NorwegianTransport Workers Unionhas already urged a boycottby importers, retailers andconsumers.

A has the opinion that Bacts ethically wrong whenhe sells the products. B onthe other hand has theopinion that he is complete­ly neutral; he just followsthe mechanics of marketingand acquires the productsthere is a demand for. Thefinal decision must be up tothe consumer, not to him,he says.

Propose ethical reasonsfor the point of view of oneof the two parts. Start thisanalysis on the basis of fun­damental norms that youformulate in the light of oneof the philosophers you haveread about in thecurriculum, and argue onthe basis of these norms.How do this philosopherjustify that exaclty thesenorms can assure an ethical­ly right decision?

What would you assumeto be the strongestargument by the opponentagainst this in-depthreasoning?

Would you say that one ofthe two parts are more rightthan the other, ethicallyspeaking? How do youjustify your position?"

Boycotters

In Oslo, Norway­Thousands of students herereceived an essay questionon the UFW boycott ofgrapes and lettuce as part oftheir pre-university examsNovember 21.

Normally, only largenational concerns arechosen as topics for thetwice yearly exams. The un­iversity system is part ofthis country's publiced uca tion; therefore,students throughout

orway were presented withthe same question.

Following is a translationof the exam question:

"Customer A is dis­satisfied that retailer B donot support the boycott ofnon-eagle labelled grapesand iceberg lettuce that areimported from California.One of the American unionsfor farm workers has urgedthis boycott as a nonviolentinstrument in their strugglefor social justice. Theproducts the union wants toboycott are produced anddistributed by companiesthat ignore the demands ofthe farm workers. The farmworkers are among thepoorest groups in Americansociety. The boycott isalready very effective in theUSA and in Canada, butmuch will depend upon thedevelopment of the export

As a step toward alleviating this injustice we are askingpeople to continue fasting from lettuce, grapes and Gallowines ... and perhaps tomorrow the self-determination offarm workers will be a reality.

Tom Booth, Val Booth, Rev. Frank Dorman,Kathleen Duffy, Stephen Rivers.

In this time of famine throughQut the world, we mustacknowledge that there is hunger in America, too. .It is a terri­ble irony that the bounty of this land comes to our tablesthrough the hands of some of the most hungry Americans.

Pre-Trial Statement

Our action was a response to a trail of broken promises onthe part of Big Y to the United Farm Workers. It seemed out­rageous that Big Y should use the holi~ay season to put profitsbefore people.

Private negotiations had failed; picket lines were notenough, and so as a last resort, we entered the store, hopingour non-violent witness would result in the removal of thegrapes from Big Y's produce shelves.

Our small effort might also be considered as a publicappeal to consumers not to accept Big Y's lack of integrity inthis matter, and to further support the United Farm Workers'boycott.

We are aware of the consequences of our actions. But aslong as Big Y continues its policy of exploiting farmworkers,non-violent protests such as ours will continue.

UFW MakesAcademia in Norway

Our intent was not malicious or criminal. Nor did weenter to cause harm to Big Y or its customers. We entered toprotect the basic civil rights of farm workers.

Today we are going to trial to face charges stemming froma November 16 demonstration at Big Y supermarket. On thatday we did willfully enter the store with the intent of remain­ing until grapes were removed from all Big Y stores.

Christmas Caravan

L.A. "COUNTY FED"GOES TO DELANO

Security Guard AttacksUFW Members in Stockton

Sigmund Arywitz, Secretary. Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, will lead a Christmas food caravan toDelano in a show of solidarity with the UFW. Brother Arywitz is shown here (wearing glasses) with UFW President Cesar Chavezduring dedication ceremonies'at Agbciyani Village, the union's retirement village. (photo by Bob Fitch)

Jim Drake, L.A. Boycott Di­rector, said the caravan showshow committed the "County Fed"is to the farm workers movementsince many unionists are will­ing to make the 300- mile round­trip in spite of gas shortagesand high fuel prices. .

Drake also said that unionslike the International Associationof Machinists (AM) were leaf­leting their respective plantsurging workers to go on the cara­van. In addition other unionsactively supporting the drive in­clude: the CommunicationsWorkers of America (CWA), theAmerican Federation of Teach­ers (AFT), the International Bro­therhood of Electrical Workers(BEW), the United Steel Workersof America (USWA), the Inter­national Longshoremen's andWarehousemen's Union (ILWU),the United Auto Workers, and theLoA. Public Employees Union.

The caravan will depart L.A.at 10:00 AM and will arrive inDelano for a rally at 1:30 PM.

Los Angeles, Calif.- SigmundArywitz, Secretary-Treasurer ofthe Los Angeles County Fed­eration of Labor (LACFL), willlead a 200-person Christmas ca­ravan to deliver food to the UnitedFarm Workers in Delano this Sa­turday, according to BarbaraNardella. executive assistant tothe LAC FL.

The caravan, staged for thesecond year in a row, will in­clude repre sentatives from thearea's major unions and willarrive in Delano, the birthplaceof Cesar Chavez' movement, fora meeting and rally with theNational Executive Board of theUFW.

According to Ms. Nardella,an attractive trade unionist andstaunch UFW supporter, the ca­ravan will bring over $400 worthof toys for farm worker chil­dren, as well as several hun­dred dollars worth of food. Inaddition, said Ms. Nardella, theLACFL will be contributing 500turkeys to the UFW for theChristmas season.

The LoA. "County Fed," asthe 850,000 me mber federationis called, has provided activesupport under Sigmund Arywitzfor the far m workers cause sincethe early days of the Delanostrike in 1964 ( which led tothe formation of the UFW).

Said Ms. Nardella, "We wereactively supporting the UnitedFarm Workers in the beginningbut we never got any of the head­lines like some of the other laborunions and organizations did."

Garza's 13-year-old son alsosuffered at the hands of Hardig'sgoons last summer when he wasattacked for allegedly tres­passing into a tomato field. Hesuffered three broken ribs, anda brain concussion as a resultof the attack.

In reporting the DA's actionagainst Miranda, one UFW at­torney said that this was typicalof the Stockton DA's discrimina­tion against the UFW and its me m­bers. He continued by saying thatthe UJ:Cw will be filing a civil law­suit for money damages againstMiranda.

The UFW lawyer concludedthat "the security guards' reignof violence continues even in thewintprtime, after the strike haslong since ended in Stockton. Yetit is our members and our Unionthat gets blamed for violence.JJ

to have multiple stitches in theirscalp wounds and both have ex­perienced considerable pain anddizziness since they were re­leaspd from the hospital.

While Garza was still in thehospital, Muniz, Ismael Munoz(head of the Stockton UFW servicecenter) and UFW attorneys went totalk to the District Attorney abouthaving charges brought againstthe attacker but the DA refusedto bring anything more seriousthan a misdemeanor against Mir­anda.

The agency Miranda works foris owned by Gerald Hardig. nownotorious as a growers' goon dur­ing the tomato strike in Stocktonthis last summer. Hardig is also.the man who sadistically pistol­Whipped and permanently injuredGilberto Cardona, another tomatlstriker, at a bar during the strike.

However, he said, as a matterof practicality, the court couldn'tgrant every change of venue mo­tion just on the basis of pre-

. jUdice. He said he would ruleon the motion in mid-January.

"Our responsibility'" saidHaberfeld, "was to change thisparticular case, to test whetherthe defendants could get a fairertrial a way from a county wherethere is a reasonable likelihoodthat prejudice could influence theverdict!·

trial prejudice among the pop­ulation in the rural areas wouldhurt the chances of the UFWdefendants getting a fair day incourt. He said District AttorneyTangle is relying on anti-UFW,anti-Chicano bias to help hImwin a verdict, yet is willing tolie in court by saying no pre­judice exists.

The judge conceded during twoweeks of hearings on the changeof venue motion, however, thatsome prejudice is bound toexis~

Stockton, Calif.-Harman Garzaand Demetrio Muniz were quietlyhaving a beer at a local bar hereon the evening of Nov. 24 whenthey were brutally assaulted bya private security guard hiredout to the bar owner by HardigSecurity Services~

Eyewitnesses say that theguard, Damian Miranda, made aninsulting remark to Garza andMuniz as they were leaving thebar. He then followed them out­side where a discussion ensuedthat ended with Miranda savagelybeating both UFW members andtomato strikers with a long flash­light.

Both Garza and Muniz had to betaken to a hospital for treatmentas a result of the beating. Whilein the hospital Garza was put onthe critical list because his heartstopped due to heavy bleeding ofa head wound. Both strikers had

The union said it studied thenewspaper reports published inSan Joaquin, Sacramento, Fresnoand Kern counties because theattitude survey Showed 81.9 percent of the rural people question­ed got theIr Information about thestrIke from the papers. Only 46.2per cent in the urban samplinggot theIr strIke Infor mation fromnewspapers.

Attorney Haberfeld said• ."Thenews papers only carrIed cover­age about the violence, the ar­rests but nothing about the union'sissues. no human interest storiesabout the lives of the strikers,nothing about this tremendouslyexciting story of farm workerstrying to improve their econo­mic condition."

The attitude survey, conductedaccording to scientific samplingprocdures by Dr. Stanley AugustaFrance, Jr., showed that 44.8per cent of the rural respon­dents believed the strikers andnot the police were responsiblefor violence on the picket lines.Only 16,2 per cent of the urbanrespondents believed the strikerswere responsible.

The survey also showed that86.7 per cent of the rural peoplequestioned heard about strike­related violence, compared toonly 35.4 per cent of the urbansample. In San Joaquin County,46.1 per cent expected strikingfarm workrs to be violent, whileonly 14.3 per cent in AlamedaCounty had such expectations.

Haberfeld said the surveyshowed that such extensive pre-

UFW Charges Pre-TrialPreiudice Against Tomato Strike

stockton, Calif. - The UnitedFarm Workers, AFL-CIO putconclusive evidence before theSan Joaquin County SuperiorCourt Dec. 16 that striking farm.workers charged with crimesprobably can't get a fair trialin California's predominantlyagricultural Central Valley.

Judge William Biddeck said hewould study the union's requestto move out of Stockton a fel­ony trial involving charges ofassaults on law officers. Thecharges stem from violent inci­dents d\lring the recent tomatostrike.

Union attorneys Peter Haber­feld, Barbara Rhine and JordanStanzler asked that the trial offive UFW members, scheduledfor February in Stockton, bemoved to an urban county suchas Alameda to give them a betterchance for a fair trial.

According to Haberfeld, JUdgeBiddeck declared at the finalhearIng ·on the change of venuemotion: "I have some realdoubts that they can get a fairtrial here!'

ThE' attorneys presented an ex­tensive attitude survey conductedby personal interviews in Ala­meda. and San Joaquin countiesto prove massive prejudiceagainst farmworkers in the agri­cultural communities, comparedto the cities. The court also heardthat a union survey of CentralValley newspapers publishedduring last August's .Stockton to­mato strike showed the mediaconcentrated exclusively on re­ports of violence associated withthe strike.

6-December 23, 1974-EI Malcriado

STALLED IN THE VINEYARDSReprinted from Ramparts Magazine;

THE TEAMSTER RAID

El Malcriado-December 23, 1974-7

front 9perations,but at least some of itgets to its members. So goes the myth.

The truth is that rank-and-file mem­bers- particularly farmworkers- are suf­fering grievously at the hands of theirunion. For California's growers, havingthe Teamsters represent their workersis easily the next best thing to havin~

no union at all.Oddly, the mass media, which were so

quick to point out many of the real (andimagined) problems of the UFW, such asdues, hiring hall, and seniority, havetaken at face value the puffery servedup by Teamster publicists. Were they toscratch the surface, they would find afar different organization than is revealedin press release portrayals.

The Teamsters give distinctly secon­dary consideration to the seasonal work­ers who make up the bulk of the state'sfarm percentage of permanent workerswho pay dues more often.

The Teamsters have encountered nu­merous problems in administering con­tracts and collecting dues, both becauseof their approach of organiZing workersfrom the top down and because of theseasonal nature of the work.

Major administrative problems havecrept into at least one medical insuranceplan for Teamster farmworkers, who oftencan't qualify for benefits under the strin­gent eligibility requirements. If they doqualify, they often receive late paymentor none at all.

Above all, though, the Teamsters havestripped the farmworkers of the self­determination and power they had wonthrough a decade of struggle and sac-

(Continued on page 8)

A not-50-friendly Teamster displays high moments of union diplomacy during the7973 Coachella strike, (EL MALCRIADO photo)

experience, are the faces of people whohave suffered much. Yet each sprim~.

as the weather warms and the fruit ripensin California's farming valleys, they trampthe state, from Calexico to Yuba City.n is dirty. miserable, unrewarding work,but work they must.

Most often the struggle for power inthe state's vineyards and fields is castin terms of the Teamsters versus theUFW or Fitzsimmons versus Chavez, ifyou will. This is unfortunate, because thereal struggle is that of the workers.seeking to better their social, economic,and political life.

The cult of Chavez being what it is,the UFW-Teamsters battle naturally takeson the aspect of the black hats against·the white hats. But it is the workerwho has the most to lose or gain. It isthrough the UFW and Chavez that farmlabor has marched out of the 19th cen­tury and it is for this reason that thestruggle represents one of the truly clas­sic labor fights in America today.

Gains Could Be Wiped OutNot until Chavez and his followers set

off the time bomb of unionism that hadbeen' ticking for years, did anyone paymuch attention to farmworkers. Now theTeamsters, having connived with the grow­ers, are loving the workers to death.In fact, it is' hard to imagine a unionmore out of touch with its membersthan the Teamsters are with far mworkers.Myths die hard and one of the m is thatwhile the Teamsters may be infested bycorruption and run like a Latin Americandictatorship, they at least deliver mili­tantly for their rank and file. The union mayfunnel some money into mob-connection

Ralph Cotner, described by fellowTeamsters as virulently anti- Mexican­American, was named to head a newly­created farmworkers division within thethe Western Conference, replacing Grami,who apparently crossed conference direc­tor IfJ.E. (t< AndyU) Anderson. In additionto Grami being booted upstairs, about30 local employees, organizers, and of­ficials who were loyal to him were alsogiven their walking papers. It was notimmediately clear what the upheaval por­tended, but to one of the Teamsters whowas fired the future of Local 1973 is indoubt.

Cono Macias, who was responsible formost of the grape contracts, said hebelieves the Teamsters will eventuallydisband the local and shift tts contractsto existing Teamster locals throughoutthe state. "They are going to disband;that's what I think," Macias said. "Theyare afraid of it; it's grown too much,it will get bigger and they are afraidof its power. They fear the power ofthe workers."

He called Cotner a "racist" and notedthat most of those persons removed wereMexican- American. Instead of. having asingle local union embracing all Team­ster farmworkers, Cotner plans to dis­me lTlber the local giving locals in Sa­linas, Fresno and other cities the oppor­tunity to take over the contracts and,of course, the collection of $8 a monthdues, Macias said.

It would be a clean sweep. Far mworkerswould be swallowed up into local unionsdominated by truc.kdrivers, wiping out anychance of electing their own leaders orrepresentatives.

Anderson denied there were any plansto break up the local, calling such state­ments Hridiculous!' But he conceded theTeamsters have had problems in enforcingcontracts with growers. "What we realizewe've got to do is to do a job for themembers," a spokesman for Andersonsaid. "We are going to continue to or­ganize, but right now we've got to pullthe union together and service contractsto the best of our ability to retain thesupport of the farmworkers."

Teamster WhimsRegardless of what occurs in this Byzan­

tine maneuvering, the farmworkers, whomthe Teamsters are supposed to represent,have no say in it. All that is happening,though directly affecting them, is donewithout their consent or even advice.Like pawns in a giant chess game, farm­workers are moved back and forth atthe whim of Teamster power brokers.

Despite the upheaval, Castro, 51, re­mains one of the brokers. A farmworkerin his younger days, he moved up throughthe Teamster ranks to head a cannerylocal In Hayward. In Septe mber, when hewas shot twice, but not seriously injured,heavy rumors ofTeamsterin-fightingcir­culated. Castro, a short, stocky man withstyled black hair and heavy-rimmedglasses, is a flashy dresser, which mayexplain why he has a tough time relatingto his brother farmworkers. Consciousof the contrast between himself and themonastically- garbed Chavez, Castro feltcompelled to explain to newsmen, "Eversince I could afford it. I like to weara suit. And in all my days working inthe fields I was never hungry or dirty."

Indeed, Castro's pleasant recollectionof his days working the fields must comeas a sweet surprise to members whoharbor less fond memories. Instead ofcavorting on golf courses, as the Team­ster officials are wont to .do, real lifefarmworkers are more llkely to be foundlaboring beneath the blistering Californiasun, picking grapes or lugging a 50­pound bag of cantaloupes. Their faces,creased by the glaring sun and bitter

The setting was more appropriate fora coming out party than a farmworkers'meeting. For a backdrop at the plushDel Monte Hyatt House in Monterey, therewere lush green fairways lapping at thereception room. On this day, when farm­workers were officially welcomed intothe Teamster fold, the fairways were ameasure of the gulf between the unionand farmworkers. But there they were,Teamsters Union· President Frank E.Fitzsimmons, William Graml, and otherunion dignitaries rubbing elbows withfarmworkers who had been specially busedin to celebrate the chartering of Team­sters' Farm Workers Local 1973.

It was a well- staged event, calculatedto Impress the public and media withthe Teamster's commitment to organizingfarmworkers. Henceforth, it was grandlyannounced, Local 1:973, based in nearbySalinas, would be the vehicle used by theWestern Conference of Teamsters to re­present farmworkers. It was going to putCesar Chavez' United Farm Workers ofAmerica, AFL-CIO, out of business. AndDavid 8. Castro, hand-picked to be thenew local's secretary- treasurer, would bethe equivalent-of Chavez.

by George Baker

(Editor's Note: Following is the fulltext of a Ramparts Magazine articleabout the UFW5s struggle against theTeamster- grower conspiracy. It waswritten by George Baker, San JoaquinValley news reporter and free-lancewriter. The report has been recommendedto EL MALCRIADO readers by CesarChavez, President of the United FarmWorkers, AFL-CIO.)

One-day WalkoutBut down the road a few miles, another

event was taking place that June 1974day, that could hardly please the Team­sters. The UFW called a one-day walk­out against lettuce growers, most of whomhave Teamster contracts. The resultswere not reassuring for David Castro;the daily harvest was slashed in halfas more than 1,000 workers joined inthe strike.

You may not have heard of Castro,but then he has only been organizingfarmworkers since that installation cere­mony. And given the inept performanceturned in by his local in dealing withfarmworker problems, It.)s understand­able' that he speaks with so little con­fidence of his place in the organization.

Since January 1973 the Teamsters havebeen representing farmworkers in deal­ings with growers, but Castro doesn'tknow when workers will be allowed toelect their local's executive board. Nor

'is he sure when the first membershipmeetings will be held.. And the electionof local officers? Well, that is a specialmatter to Castro who feels supremelythreatened by, of all things, the workers.

"Suppose we held an eiection and itwas stacked and I lost, IS he told mequite earnestly one day over a cup ofcoffee. "To be very honest, I have tomake sure the local is going to make It."explaining that only if he heads it canthings go smoothly. "I have to be betterknown among the workers," he continued,and if the men serving below him "can'tse11 me, I'll lose the election." Thus,he conclUded, workers will be able tohave union elections only when he is as-'sured of winning, which will be abouttwo years.

Yet it is unlikely that such electionswill ever be held, for as Castro wasspeaking out another group of Teamsterswas plotting to take over the farmworkerslocal. The coup, executed in early No­ve mber. will insure that farmworkersnever have a voice in their union affairs.

about is who has the workers," he said. in an interview. As a practical matter,he concedes there are workers who pre­fer the Teamsters to the UFW, and thereare others who simply want to work,owing allegiance to no union. But giventheir choice in an election. workers wouldvote for the UFW over the Teamsters,Chavez said. Already this year, workershave voted with their feet numerous times,EXPRESSING THEIR DISSATISFACTIONTeamsters.

But the workers - it all comes back tothem. "People have no understanding ofthe power of the workers," Chavez de­clared. ·'they look at power in terms ofmoney; prestige, and friends. That cer­taInly is power. But public opinion andworker solidarity give us more power inthe end. If you were to write that withall the problems we have now, thatfarmworkers have more power thanbefore, people wouldn't believe you. Soit's easier for people to just say that thefarmworkers don't have'any power."

Chavez, whose organizing schedule endsat infinity, remains supremely confidenthis cause will win In the end. One ofhis favorite expreSSions Is, "We havemore time than money."

"Normally, a small, struggling unionlike ours would have been destroyedby the combined opposition of the power­ful union... and growers with great in­fluence in their community. But it isnot going to destroy us. Our boycottwill be more effective than ever. WVEare going to beat themn"

For years Chavez has opposed the kindsof state and federal legislation for secret­ballot elections that have been proposed.But recently he .changed his mind. Lastyear, with strong state AFL-CIO backing,the UFW sponsored a secretballot electionbill which did not carry the usual ridersrUling out boycotts and harvest-timestrikes. Ironically, the growers andTeamsters, who have made much of theirdesire for elections, lobbied successfullyto kill the bill in the State Senate afterit had won in the Assembly. Chavez hasalso opposed inclusion of farmworkersunder the National Labor Relations Act,from whIch they are now excluded, becausethe NLRB would also restrict the use ofboycotts.

There is an excellent chance that an un­adulterated election bill- whivh would givethe workers the rIght to choose theirunion - wlll become law, especially sinceUFW all Edmund G. mbrown Jr. wlll bethe new governor. With such a bill on top

of the strikes and boycotts, says UFWcounsel Jerome Cohen, "We will be ableto kick the Teamsters out of the fields."

That is, if the workers don't do it first. .

"The union's greatest strength,he says is the worker."

previous month. This is fine during thepeak harvest season when a worker mightwork six days a week, eight hours a day.

But when work slows down in the falland w.inter the benefits lapse, leaving theworker unprotected just when he may bemost needy. For permanent workers, whowork more or less year-round, It is notso bad.

By contrast, the UFW's Robert F.Kennedy Medical Plan permits workersto accumulate up to 250 hours so thattheir coverage can extend up to ninemonths of the year.

The second-class treatment of seasonalworkers extends to another fringe bene­fit - pensions. The Teamsters have loUdlytrumpeted the fact that early next yearfarmworkers will be eligible to retireon a pension of $150 a month at age65, something not abailable to membersof the UFW.

But the requirement of hours accumu­lation helps permanent workers and hin­dres seasonal employees. The pension ad­ministrator, Michael Thomacello, said theplan "was designed for permanent em­ployees, not seasonal workers. The short­term guy pays for the long-term guy.You've got enough turnover, enough peoplecoming in and going out without collecting(benefits) so you can pay the benefits."

Cesar Chavez faces another long winter,WAITING FOR THE PIECES TO FALL nThe boycott must take its toll on thegrowers' pocketbook; legislation for se­cret-ballot representation elections willhopefully be enacted in the Californialegislature next year; and perhaps, theworkers will be more able to assertthemselves against Teamster misrepre­sentation.

But Chavez has faced these kinds oflong odds before and there has been atendency by the growers, the Teamsters,and the public to count him out pre­maturely.

The union's greatest strength, he says,Is the workers. "What it Is really all

knew that when he first began organizingand the Teamsters are slow to learn it.

As far as Castro can tell, everythingis fine. "There's always room for im­provement and I think we have improvedthe overall picture of the Teamsters'farmworkers union," he said. -

An army of Teamsters goons were part of the Coachella strike. The goons resemble the mercenary armies in otherparts of the world who also are used to terrorize other workers from unionizing.

But he hasn't improved it to the sa­tisfaction of Mrs. Esther Mendoza ofMexicali. Last January 15, Mrs. Men­doza'S husband, Manuel and three oftheir children, were riding a labor con­tractor's bus on a two-hour drive fromMexicali to a lettuce ranch near Blythewhich had a Teamsters' contract. Justoutside Blythe, the bus careened arounda corner and crashed into a ditch. Nine­teen of the 58 farmworkers on the buswere killed, including Manuel Mendozaand hIs teenage sons.

(The incident pointed up the perniciousrole contractors play in far m labor.The Teamsters have tried to explain awaythe fact that they permit them to operate.No amount of rationaliZing can justifytheir continued existence.)

Since Mendoza was a Teamsters'me mber, his widow was eligible for $2,000in life insurance benefits. For morethan nine months, she waited for hercheck, finally getting it after the re­peated intercession of an attorney. Thetreatment according to Mrs. Mendoza,who finally had to call on the UFW forhelp, is not an isolated example. Numerousfarmworkers have complained of shabbytreatment at the hands of the Teamsterswhen they try to collect on promisedbenefits.

The situation deteriorated to the pointthat the Western Growers Association,whose Teamster members fund one ofthe major medical insurance plans, hadto change administrators because of thecontinual complaints of workers.

One worker, Ramon Gallo of Fl Centro,said he developed a sore on his legwhich had to be treated by Mexicalidoctor. Though the Teamsters helped himfill out his insurance forms, there ",asa snag after that. "In June 1973 I re­ceived $5 from the Teamsters. I am stillpaying the doctor bill of $80 because the$18 is still owing."

Another Imperial Valley worker, Hum­berto Flores, working under a Teamstercontract, tried to get the union to pay$60 of his wife's medical bills that heunderstood was due him. The bills weren'tpaid because the Teamsters said he didn'tqualify for benefits after all.

This is not unusual, however, becausethe eligibility requirements are so re­strictive that many workers, especiallyseasonal and migratory, can't qualify.

To be eligible, a Teamster membermust have worked 80 hours during the

yThat might work out better if there were

actually representatives around, but thereoften aren't. Workers complain that theonly time they see the representatives,(called, variously, organizers or businessagents) is when they collect dues. Thereare no ranch committees, no hiring halls tomaintain a direct link between the mem­bership and the union.

Said Dora Sanchez, a lettuce cutterfrom Mexicali, "Since we signed we havebeen pushed harder by the foreman. Wetold a Teamster we needed somebodyelse on the (lettuce cutting) machine.They promised to get somebody but neverdid. The Teamsters only come to thefield one time a month to sign up people.They never talk to the people or try tohelp them out."

Leonides C. de Rodriguez, a womanwho was refused work at one Teamsterranch by a labor contractor, said more ofthe companies and contractors are re­fusing to hire women "because they can­not be pushed to do as much work asmen."

The Teamsters' system is one of tra­ditional trade union practices, but in Ca­lifornia's vast expanse of land, where theworkers move with the harvest, the sys­tem is fraught with problems. Chavez

describing the role farmworkers wouldplay in running their own union. His con­clusion: none. One need only quote Mohn'sremarks, which stand as a monument toboth racism and indifference.

"It will be several years before theycan start having membership meetings,before we can use the farmworkers'ideas in the union," Mohn told an inter­viewer last year before he retired. "I'mnot sure how effective a union can bewhen it is composed of Mexican-Amer­icans and Mexican nationals with tempor­ary visas. Maybe as agriculture becomesmore sophisticated and mechanized, withfe wer transients, fewer green- cardersand as jobs become more attractive towhites, then we can build a union thancan have a structure and that can ne­gotiate from strength and have union par­ticipation."

yThe Teamster philosophy of labor re­

lations is not likely to keep growersawake at night. In fact, the union dis­courages farmworker strikes for obviousreasons - Teamster workers in relatedagribusiness occupations might be af­fected.

As Castro put it, "All the Chavistasdo is strike. That's not using their talents.That's why we talk to growers so thatwe can iron out situations before grie­vances are filed. They (the UFW) justte 11 people to stick it and that's that."

Apparently Castro has not been able toimpress this gentle' brand of union m1ll­tancy on his members. This year therehave been numerous walkouts at ranchesworking under Teamster pacts, similarto the one at Gallo.1

Last February, for example, in theImperial VaHey, hard by the Mexicanborder, several thousand asparagus cut­ters walked off their jobs in the middleof the harvest. Upset because they hadnot received a raise in two years underthe Teamsters and because growers re­fused to pay on a piece-rate basis, theworkers shut down the harvest completelv.

The growers reacted swiftly. The nightof the walkout, February 18, three ofthem, along with a labor contractor,decided to meet the workers' demandswhich were being pressed by UFW or­ganizers. Oddly, the Teamsters, who sup­posedly represented the workers, wereneither told of the meeting nor partici­pated In it. The growers, out of hand,sImply changed the rate of pay writtenIn contracts.

One of the growers, John Jackson Jr.,summed up the situation: "There had beena lack of effort on the part of the Team­sters to communicate to the worker whatthe (pay) rate was. There was an educa­tion process that needed to be involvedthat wasn't."

This generally follows the philosophythat Castro and his cohorts are imple­menting, taking care to insure workersdon't get too involved in their own affairs."The membership's primary responsi­bility is to familiarize itself with thelocal office and to ask questions aboutthe local. We want workers to completelyread contracts and if they have any ques­tions about the union to ask their repre­sentatives."

The Teamsters were able to take 0\P.f

Gallo's and other contracts in 1973, partlythough an organized campaign of tenorthat began with the Unleashing of goonsquads on priests and pickets In the CG3.­chella Valley and ended with the shootingdeath of UFW member Juan de la C uzon a picket line near Bakersfield. It vas

/ a brutal sum mer, the state's most violentfarm labor battle since the cotton strkesof the Thirties. More than 3,000 UFWme mbers were arrested for viola:ingrestrictive court I,!junctions sharplylimiting picket activities at the nanystrike sites.

Throughout that summer of discortentand continuing into this year, the Tearrsterrationale for what amounts to urion­busting on a scale nearly unmatchErl inAmerican labor history, was that theywould use their power to improve thelot of farmworker. The Teamsters want" to better wages and, workin~ cmdi­tions," Fitzsimmons says.

But the falsity of this position wasdemonstrated earlier this year by nolessthan William Grami, the architect d thefarmworker raiding drive and one-timedirector of organizing for the WesternConference of Teamsters.

Speaking candidly, as he seldom does,Grami was asked under oath at a fepo-'sition what the greatest benefit cf or­ganizing farmworkers was. Of the Wes­tern Conference's 400,000 members, hereplied, 100,000 of them are empl07ed insome aspect of agribusiness - drt/ing atruck out of a field, working in a c:nneryor frozen food plant or operating farmequipment.

"'The organization of field workerstremendously enhances our bar€"iiningpower for the rest of those worters,"Grami declared. "That's one broefit Ican see, an Immediate beneftt." Then,almost as an afterthought, he addee, IIAndalso it's our purpose to extend thosebenefits we've established for ill in­dustries to conform 'to any unorranizedindustry."

If Graml sopke candidly of the Team­ster~ real motive for unionizinr farm­workers, his one-time boss, Einar C.Moho, director of the Teamsters West­ern Conference, wen~ hi~ one tetter in

"It was a brutal summer, thestates most violent farm battlesince the cotton strikes in the Thir­ties. "

lettered workers. Not only.did Gallo dis­like the way the hiring hall and ranchcommittees were run, citing cronyism andfavoritism as two failings, but he saysthe workers also rejected them. It wasfor these reasons, he says, that he signeda contract with the Teamsters.

Gallo's account did not include the firingof workers, loyal to the UFW, who pro­tested when the company allowed Teamsterorganizers to come into his vineyards.Nor' does it take into account the com­pany's unwillingness to bargain over theissue of the hiring hall. Bargaining withthe Teamsters on this point was simpli­fied because the Teamsters don't havehiring halls.

If the Teamsters genuinely representedthe workers as Gallo claims, offering asproof the 158-1 contract ratification vote,a funny thing happened when the UFWcalled a strike on June 27, 1973. Mostof the Gallo workers joined the strike.In fact, 71 families living in shabby,unsanitary Gallo- provided housing refusedto go to work, preferring instead to jointhe picket line. (Gallo claims there wereonly 31 families.) But regardless of num­bers, Gallo fired all those workers whowent on strike, and the contract was ra­tified by a vote of the strikebreakers.

HO"1 are Gallo workers being repre­sented by the Teamsters these days?Not too well. One day this summer, twreporters walked through Gallo's 10,000­acre vineyard in the San Joaquin Valle}and asked workers about the laborstru~gle: Several of them thought the re­porters were Teamster representativessince they are seldom in evidence. 1family from Mexico thought a companrfarm sUgervisor, who is there every day,was the Chief Teamsters' spokesman.Jmtthe day before, Gallo workers told IE

grape pickers at another Gallo rancl',INCENSED OVER LOW WAGES, had rt~

day-long walkout without the benefit oUIPassistance from their new union.

yThe case of the E & J Gallo Winery

Co. offers a stark example of the issuesinvolved in the three-cornered UFW­grower- Teamster battle. The Gallo Com­pany. headquartered in Modesto, Cali!.,is no small-time operation. One out ofevery three bottles of wine sold in theUnited States is produced by Gallo.Whether it's labeled Red Mountain, Ripple,Thunderbird, Spanada, Madria- MadriaSangria, Boone's Farm. or Andre Cham­pagne, Gallo makes it. And now Gallois reaching out with a higher-class,higher-priced wine, hoping to capture aneven larger share of the market. ThoughGallo buys most of its grapes from in­dependent growers. it has 10,000 acresof its own grapes, employing 600 sea­sonal and permanent grapepickers.

From 1967 to 1973, the UFW repre­sented Gallo's farmworkers and in 1970when the initial contract expired, Gallorenewed the pact without difficulty. Butlast year was a different story. As thecontract neared expiration in March, theTeamsters had let it be known they werewilling to sign contracts also. Knowingthat the Teamsters were around, Gallotook a hard line In negotiations with theUFW. It wanted any new contract to doa way with the union's hiring hall and todiminish control that the union exercisedover who Gallo could hire.

These were crucial issues to the union,issues which are at the heart of thegrower- UFW struggle. The hiring hall isan integral part of the UFW method ofoperation and one of the chief differencesbetween it and the Teamsters. The powerto allocate jobs and determine seniority,once left solelY in the hands of farmsupervisors or contractors,now rested inthe hands of the farmworkers themselves.To get a job, a worker received a dis­patch from the hiring hall, and dispatcheswere assigned on the basis of seniority.

Instead of the grower controlling thefarm labor force through his hiring andfiring power, the union controlled it,supplying workers through the hiring halland protecting them via the local ranchcommittee. While this tended to stabilizethe work force, it also removed the grow­ers from the daily control of workers'lives and lessened their power to intim­idate and dominate. Growers found thismost unpalatable.

Additionally, each ranch, includingGallo, had ranch committees elected byworkers to deal with problems such asworking conditions~ levels of pay and day­to-day grievances•.

These are the cornerstores of theUFW, elements seen by Chavez and othersas necessary not only to give workersthe power of self-determination, but alsoto give them the experience and con­fidence of ministering to their own af­fairs. But for Ernest Gallo, the companychairman who runs the $250 million bus­iness, dealing with untraining, worker­selected committees and hiring halls wasnot hIs idea of corporate efficiency.

"There was never enough supervision(from Chavez) and leaving it up to theranch committee was entirely imprac­tical," the nor mally reticent Gallo said ina rare intervIew, granted in an effortto minimize the effect of the boycott.'There seemed to be nobody above the'anch committee who gave a damn. When;ou leave it up to the worker, how en­ergetic are they going to be?"

It was clear that Gallo did not under­stand the union brand of democracy andthat he preferred dealinl!: man- tn- mll n

with Chavez rather than a bunch of u~-

Gallo wines. White the effectiveness ofboycotts is al ways difficult to judge, thisone appears to be significantly affectingthe sales. and therefore indirectly thepr ices, of both lettuce and grapes. Keysupport for the boycott has come fromGeroge Meany and the AFL-CIO andvarious religious groups, most Important­ly the Catholic Church.

By all accounts, the Gallo boycott, beingkeyed to brand names,ls the most success­ful. California wine sales figures showthat Gallo's share of state wine productionduring the first six months of this yeardipped seven percent from the sameperiod in 1973. other developments inthe wine industry complicate the picture.but the Wall Street Journal, for one,has at least partially attributed a re­ported nine percent decline in Gall<!ssales to tlle effects of the boycott. Gallohas launched an extensive anti-boycottca mpaign. an indication that things arenot going well for the g;iant company.

rlflce under Chavez. It is an intangiblequality of unionism, but Castro managedto put his finger on it when he said hemight lose the election. No doubt he might,and this is what the Teamsters fear most­the power of the workers. It is a fearshared by the growers who have neverreally quibbled about paying workers thewages they know they deserve. It is raw,unadultered power - the right to determinewhat's good for oneself - that bedevilsboth the Teamsters and the growers intheir dealinl';s with the farmworkers.

This is why Chavez has been so vig­orously opposed by the state's agri­ness structure, which went running to theTeamsters in 1973, looking for a wayout.- what Chavez built is more thanjust a trade union. It is a union move­ment and a social movement (in thebroadest sense), of enormous power andconsequence, a fresh breeze waftinr; inthe stultified air of stagnant labor move­ments. His is a movement as concernedwith community organization as with thesanitary working conditions, as interestedin cooperative grocery stores as in me­dical insurance plans.

All this could be wiped out if theTeamsters should succeed in destroyingthe Chavez movement. And one can takelittle comfort in cold, hard sta.tistics.The UFW, which once had close to 55,000dues-paying members and nearly 200contracts, is down to a current member­ship of 10,000 and a mere dozen con­tracts. In 1973 it collected $600,012 indues, compared to $1.2 million in 1972and this year the figure is even lower.At the end of 1973 it had $259,983 cash onhand, compared to $1.1 million the yearbefore.

By contrast, the Teamsters have some50,000 farmworker members under about350 contracts, though about 170 of thosewere' signed before the Teamsters movedto put the UFW out of business. Theirannual income from $8 a month duestotals some $800,000 to $1 million. Andthe International is said to be spendingnearly $200,000 a month financing thefarmworkers local while it tries to getoff the ground. Last year the internationalcontributed more than $2.4 million.

Clearly, the UFW has its work cut outfor it. Chavez is confident it can bedone within the next few years, whileothers are not so sure. He is countingprimarily on a boycott of table grapes,the tactic that brought the initial vic­tories in the late Sixties.

And to its boycott list, the UFW hasadded iceberg lettuce and the various

IN

(Continued from page 7)

THE

STALLED

VINEYARDS

VIVA LA HUELGAI A farm worker woman demands recognition of the UFW in amilitant protest during the Coachella strike. (EL MALCR/ADO photo)

EDITORIAL "You can bring him in for his eye examination now."

It has been almost twenty months since the growerssigned "sweetheart contracts" with the Teamsters union andno doubt they have had plenty of time to reflect if theromance has been worthwhile.

If we are to believe the USDA statistics, then there isalso good reason to think that the Teamster-grower affair hasturned sour in one of the most costly honeymoons in recentmemory.

<,

'>ft'.!-AH.--CIO

,J6.l:~

families and friends makeindividual contributions.

Please give this appealyour ear lie s t possibleattention. We urge you tocarry the importance ofthis appeal to your mem­bership.

Checks should be madepayable to the R & GSloane Strike Relief Fundand should be forwarded tothe URW District 5 Office,100 EaSt Ocean Boulevard,Sui t e 429, Long Beach,Calif. 90802. I n order tomeet the purpose for' whichthey are intended, all con­tributions should reach usby Dec. 15, 1974.

Certainly your generosi­ty will be greatly appre­ciated and long rem e m­bered, not only by those atSloane whom you will havebenefited directly, but byall citizens who hold to thetruth that those who toilhave a just right to negoti­ate with their employersthrough their unions forthe wages, working condi­tions and other benefits towhich they are entitled.

<,.'

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months of 1974, our mindsand consciousness arefaced with another immi­nent need. Christmas thisyear can be bleak indeedfor the families and chil­d r e n of the strugglingSlOane workers unless helpcomes from their brothersand sisters throughout thelabor movement.

The URW is launching anationwide appeal for con­tributions to asp e cia IChristmas fun d SO thatSanta Claus may be able to

_make his V-isit to the littleones whose parents aremaking such a tremendoussacrifice in support of thehigh principles which arethe h ear t of the tradeunion m 0 v e men t. Thisappeal is also going 0 u tfrom the AFL-CIO to allits affiliates a c r 0 s s thenation.

We call upon your localunion to make as great acontribQtion to this causeas is possible, and we alsoask that union officials,union members and their

By Peter BommaritoURW International President

- Since March 1973, morethan 300 members of URWLocal 621 have waged adifficult struggle i n theirstrike against the callous,unfair treatment Of the R& G Sloane ManufacturingCo.

Many URW local unionssuch as yours as well asour brothers and sistersthroughout the labor move­ment have rallied t 0 thec a use of these workersw h i chis, in truth, thecause of all members of thet r a d e union movement.Contributions to the strikefund for these URW mem­bers have combined withstrike assistance in the~orm of s t r ike benefitsfrom the URW to make itpossible for the s e loyaltrade unionists to continuetheir struggle for decencyand justice. However, theStrike Relief Fund is nowdepleted.

Now, in the closing

Christmas Fund Launched:Striking Sloane Workers1974

1,6251,378

67749518638

Carlots sold as of the week of December 6:

1969Los Angeles 1,809New York 1,524San Francisco Bay Area 707Philadelphia 527Denver. .. . . . . . .. 201Providence 75

EL MALCRIADO, the Official Voice of the UnitedFarm Workers of America, AFL-CIO, is published inKeene, California under the direction of the ationalExecutive Board of the union:

Cesar E. Chavez, PresidentGilbert Padilla, Secretary-TreasurerDolores Huerta, First Vice-PresidentPhilip V. Vera Cruz, Second Vice-PresidentPete Velasco, Third Vice-PresidentMack Lyons, Executive Board MemberEliseo Medina, Executive Board MemberRicardo E. Chavez, Executive Board MemberMarshall Ganz, Executive Board MemberCorrespondence with the newspaper should be

addressed toEL MALCRIADOP.O. Box 62Keene, California 93531

A TIME FORRECKONING

The growers must be pondering the next move in theirrelationship with the Teamsters. They should be. For now isthe time for reckoning and deciding whether the "sweetheartcontracts" with a disreputed union must be worth anationwide boycott of their grapes.

Last month, moreover, there were signs that the affair isjust about kaput, except for the alimony, amidst rumblingsof a purge in Teamster farm workers Local 1973 in which atleast 30 of top teams were stood up and left out in the cold.

The Teamsters have apparently been unable to satisfythe growers and are now in deep trouble thus having to shakeup their entire farm worker command. The growers, on theother hand, are rapidly approaching a debacle only slightlyless humilating than Custer's shutout at the Little Big Horn.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for example, hasrevealed in its weekly statistics that yearly grape sales are{lown significantly throughout the country. In the country'stwo largest grape markets, for example, sales are down from1,524 carlots in 1969 to 1,378 in New York while in LosAngeles the number of carlots is down from 1,809 to 1,625 forthe same time period.

10-December 23, 1974-El Malcriado

--=---

The American economy is dangerously closeto disaster.

Infiation continues to mount, wih the sharpestrise in living cost since 1947, after the end ofWorld War n.

The recession that started inlate 1973 is deepen­ing. Production and sales are falling,: Layoffsare spreading and unemployment is rismg. Evenworse there is no end in sight. This recessionis rapidly becoming the most prolonged and deepestsince the 1930's.

The banking system is severely strained, over­extended and increasingly vulnerable to troublesat home and abroad. It has already suffered thelargest bank failure in American history, after$1.75 billion of government loans could not saveit from insolvency. Fortunately, most depositorswere protected by government insurance.

The peril to the American economy from therestrictive Burns-Nixon policies, of which we havewarned consistently, has grown much greater,partiCUlarly with the increased complications anddangers that now from the world- wide oil crises.Yet these policies of tight money and high interestrates remain in effect. with no indication of anybasic change.

These facts are an indication of the nationaleconomy's grim condition:

Unemployment has already climbed 1.4 millionin the past 12 months - from 4.1 million or 4.6percent of the labor force in October 1973 to5.5 million or 6 percent last month. On thebasis of present trends, unemployment is headingto 7 percent or approximately 6 1/2 million joblessbefore the middle of 1975.

The accelerating rise of living costs-up 12.1percent in the past year- is reducing the liVingstandards of retired people and low and middle­income families with children. It is washiny: outworkers' wage gains. The buying power of thea verage worker's weekly take-home pay. in Sep­te mber, was down 5.2 percent from a year agoand 7.4 percent from the peak reached in Oct­ober 1972. Buying power is now below the levelof 1965.

In contrast corporate after-tax profits, led by thesoaring rise' of oil company profits, jumped 17percent in the first half of 1974, despite therecession. Preliminary reports indicate an evengreater increase in the July-September quarter­essentially based on price-gouging. hoarding andprofiteering by many companies. These fabulousprofits, in the midst of a deepening recession.follow boosts of 17 percent in 1971, 25 percentin 1972 and 26 percent in 1973.

Renecting the drop in buying power. the realvolume of retail sales, after accounting for higherprices. began to move down in the summer of1973. In recent months, it has been about 4 percentto 5 percent below the same month of last year.Moreover consumer confidence is at a recordlow. The'real volume of retail sales is unlikelyto pick up significantly until workers' buying turnsup and confidence is restored.

Home-building, which was hit first and hardestby the Federal Reserve's tight money and highinterest rates. began to decline in the spring of1973. Today, it is in a depression. Housing startsare down more than 50 percent from the earlymonths of last year. This condition has brought

0 .....

,

u.s.

ECONOMY

NEARS

DISASTER

falling sales, production and employme~t t~ com­panies engaged in the production and distrIbutionof building materials.

The real volume of business investment in plantsand machines, which was the only sector of theprivate economy to move ahead in the first halfof this year, declined a bit in the JUly-Septemberquarter. Further declines are under way. Hit byhigh inttrest rates and infiated fuel prices, manycompanies - especially pUblic utilities - havecancelled or postponed plant expansion and modern­ization programs. This drop in business invest­ment is hitting heavy construction-with the unem­ployment rate among construction workers up to

12.2 percent-and resulting in cutbacks of ordersfor machinery and equipment.

With no strong economic sector, and severalin sharp decline. business curtailed additions to itshuge inventories by cutting back orders, production,working hours and employment. In view of theirbloated size, such spreading cutbacks of inven­tories, with their depressing impact on the economy.may continue for many months.

Under intense attack from almost every groupin the population, the Federal Reserve has shiftedits policy slightly and the prime interest ratehas moved down from 12 percent to 11 percent.But this slight shift is woefully inadequate. Itis concentrated on short-term loans and thereis not yet any decline of peak interest rates onmortgages and other -long-term loans. A signi­ficant shift in the Federal Reserve's policy, awayfrom tight money and high interest rates, hasnot yet occurred.

The Federal Reserve's policy is adding con­siderably to mounting innation. High interestrates have added to costs and prices throughoutthe economy. The deepening recession, createdby this- policy, is suppressing the advance of pro­ductivity and adding to pressures on unit costand the price level.

Lax regulation and the pursuit of quick profitsin the past decade- have weakened the bankingsystem. This weakness has been complicated bythe mushrooming growth of international bankingoperations to 750 branches of U.S. banks abroadand 143 foreign bank branches in the U.S. Thefloating of the world'S major currencies. followingtwo formal devaluations of the American dollarin 14 months. has been accompanied by gamblingin foreign currencies. with losses of tens of mil­lions of dollars and bank failures overseas. aswell as severe strains at home. Short-term in­vestments of Arab oil funds in domestic and foreigncommercial banks, as well as tight money anddeclining ~conomic activities, are increasing thevulnerability of America's overextended bankingsystem.

Against this background. we have weighed Pre­sident Ford's economic message to the Congress.last month.

He offered no measures to halt the recessionand only promises to curb innation.

The President's proposals of aid for the in­creasing number of unemployed were shockinglyinadequate.

His proposed $3 billion in widened, permanenttax loopholes for the corporations and the wealthywere combined with tax relief of 54~ a week forthe working poor and temporary 5 percent sur­tax on individuals with incomes of over $7.500and families whose incomes are over $15,000and on corporations.

These proposals fail to face up to the realitiesof America's deepening economic mess. They areinequitable and unbalanced.

A decisive change in the government's economicpolicies is needed immediately-to begin to curbthe rising price level and to turn the economyaround towards expanding sales, production, buyingpower and employment. Only such decisive chan~e.

besed on fairness and equity and balance, can beginto restore public confidence in the government'sability to manage the nation's economic problems.

SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES ATTACKpicketing Machinists outside the Da/moVictor Co. plant in Belmont, Calif. Oneplain-clothes officer aims a gun atother pickets who attempt to assist astriker knocked to the ground by a un­iformed deputy. lAM members havebeen on strike at the Textron Corp.division's plant since June 2 in an ef­fort to negotiate a pattern three-yearcontract that more than 470 otherarea firms have accepted this year.(AFL-CIO NewsService Photo)

El Malcriado-December 23, 1974-11

u.s. THWARTS

FAMINE RELIEF

EFFORT AT

WORLD FOOD

CONFERENCE

of the 12 to 1i million tons of foodhungry countries will need by next June.

n is noteworthy that the U.S. govern­ment had no qualms about inflation whenit sold 28 million tons of grain to theSoviet Union in the famous secretly­negotiated 1972 grain deal. This dealresulted in the raising of U.S. grainprices from $60 to $200 per ton on theworld market and the doubling of breadprices on U.S. supermarket shelves.

The fact is that the U.S. food policyis constructed solely to insure high pro­fits to agribusiness concerns, not to pro­duce and distribute food equitably. Ifthere is a high food demand, but lowfood supply, a higher. price can be de­manded for the food.

By paying subsidies to agribusinesscorporations for not growing food, andby refusing to commit itself to increasedfood aid in 1975, the U.S. insures a highprice for its agricultural commoditieson the world market.

The U.s. delegation did indicate thatit would consider contributing to an in­ternational food reserve, but only if the011 producing countries would finance themajor part of it. The oil producing na­tions indeed possess a great deal ofuninvested capital (they are expected tonet $50 billion this year alone), butthey strongly resented Henry Kissinger'scharge at the Conference that "a majorresponsibility must rest with the oilproducers, whose actions aggravated theproblems of the developing countries."

The oil producers pointed out that world­wide infiation was not precipitated by thelate 1973 rise in oil prices, but by theearlier sharp rise in food prices in 1972.Had the United States produced more foodin the past few years. the oil producerssaid, not only would there be more foodat prices hungry nations could afford,but the whole world- wide inflationarycycle would not have been so severe.

The oil producers further charged thatthe fertilizer shortage had less to dowith the higher cost of petroleum, thanit had to do with the wasteful practicesof Western oil com'panies.

The companfes normally burn off nat­ural gas at oil well-heads in the MiddleEast. With a little capital investment,this gas could have been converted intofe rtilizer, the oil producing nations said.Instead. the oil companies have followed apolicy which decreases the supply of fer­tilizer. thus increasing its world marketprice.

Several long-range ventures were es­tablished by the Conference which havebeen badly needed in the past. Data sharingon climate changes and crop forecastswere established for the first time. In­ternationally financed programs designedto help developiig nations increase theirfertilizer production and agricultural re­search were also launched.

But at the end, the Conference couldonly adopt a distinctly hollow resolu­tion that "all governments able (should)SUbstantially increase agricultural aid(and) reduce to a minimum the waste offood and of agricultural resources."

Fooel, of course. is sold by the U.S.for the price the market can bear. whichmeans it goes to nations that can m03tafford to pay for it. In 1973, 65% ofU.S. agricultural exports went to deve­loped countries. principally Japan ann theE~"1"<)pt:'l.n Comm011 Market.

Orly five countries on the U.S. "un­derdeveloped nations" list could affordto buy signHicant amounts ·Jf U.S. agri­cultural exports. And all of these cou:!­tr ies-Spain ($390 million) South Korea($300 million), Talwa:1 ($220 million),Brazil ($110 million) and Israel ($100million)"- could afford to bUy the foodonly because of the mas'5!.ve economictransfusions the U.S. provides to otherareas of their economies.

At the same time that the U.S. hasincreased its sale of food to wealthycountries, it has drastically redu::ed foodaid to needy countries, from a high or18 million tons per year in the mid­1960's to 3.3 million tons in 137'3. De~

spite a full- scale famine in the Sahela:ld the making of o:te in Bangladesh,the 1973 food aid total waS the lowestin the 20-year history of the U.S. foodaid program.

President Ford has rebuffed efforts inCongress to increase food aid to for­eign countries by one million tons nextyear. He said such a commitment wouldbe "inappropriate" and inflatIonary. Ac­tually, such a "commitment- would beinsil!;nificant and would only bring totalU.S.- food aid to 4.3 million tons (halfthat of 1972 level) and would be far short

"FOOD IS A WEAPON. IT IS NOWONE OF THE PRINCIPAL TOOLS INOUR NEGOTIATING KIT."

A week before going to Rome, Butz wasconfronted by a reyorter who had pointedout that Americans use more fertilizerson suburban lawns. cemeteries and golfcourses than India uses for its entireagricultural production. (Had India beenallowed to use this fertilizer, it couldhave increased its national yield bv sixmillion tons. thus becoming" agricu"ltur­ally self-sufficient). Butz countered bysaying. "I think Americans want theirgolf courses."

Blitz had also advised other membersof the American delegation. "Let's notget hysterical" and had earlier toldTime magaZine, "Food is a weapon. Itis now one of the principal tools in ournegotiating kit..•

And the U.S. has mur,h with which tonegotia.te, for U.s. influence on food ex­ports far out distances Ihe Arab coun­trl:!s' influence on oil exports. TheU.S. Is the exporter or over one~half

of the world's cereal grains., and of9510 or the world's soybean export crop.U.S. income through agricultural exportshas risen from $5 billion in 1964 toover $20 billion in 1974.

It was just this question of the distribu­tion of the world'S food resources thatbrought out the most serious criticism ofthe United States from the other delega­tions. Over and over again, delegates fromthe Third World rejected the notions putforth primarily by the U.S. that popula-Jon. bad weather, and high fertilizerprices were to blame for the foodcrisis.

"Centuries of colonial rule have distor­ted the pattern" of agriculture in the ThirdWorld." the delegate from India pointedout. "Even the industrial raw materialsexported by the developing countries werepurchased at prices which hardly coveredthe cost of production.

''Restrictive trade and tariff policieswere further devised to deprive the poornations from earning any proper incomethrough exports."

In a message tothe Conference, AlgerianPresident HOllari Boumedienne describedthe food crisis as a result of the "pol­itics of domination" by "certain devel­oped countries" and called for fundamentalchanges in international commerce toaccompany efforts of developing cooun­tries to increase production.

A delegate from Argentina concludedthat "by way of reparation of the damageit has caused thE world. the U.S. shouldallocate a significant portion of the foodit produces towards the needs of the poorercountries."

The American delegation, in the personof Earl Butz, however, said that the ThirdWorld countries were not pulling theirshare. "During the two decades of the1950's and the 1960's. grain increased 63percent in developed countries and only 32percent in developing countries." Butztold the conference. ignoring that this dif­ference was largely due tothe vast amountof fertilizers the developed countries use.

Iastead. Butz gave the conference a lec­ture on the" American Way."

"To produce requires incentive/' Butzsaid. "In my country, farmers respond tothe incentive of profits. I strongly suspectthat this is true in other countries as wellas my own. Is it not true that your farmersrespond best when they are rewarded withthe means to live better and provide betterfor their own famflles? Call it profit. Callit by another name. It's still a response toeconomic rewards."

Finally. on the specific proposal of aworld food reserve large enough to ensurethat no starvation took place, Butz said theproposal just wouldn't provide the "incen­tive" farmers needed.

HWe do not favor food reserves of themagnitUde that would perpetually depress

prices, destroy farmer incentives, (or)mask the deficiencies in national (ThirdWorld) production efforts."

In fact, Butz had previously tried todenyin the U.S. that there even was a world­wide food crisis.

"The doomsayers say we are already introuble," Butz told the Future Farmers ofAmerica in mid-OCtober. "I say this isfalse, that most of the world's people eatbetter than any other time in history. Weare not in dood crisis in this country or inthe world."

12-December 23, 1974-El Malcriado

The famine is extremely widespread.People in thirty-two different countriesface an imminent threat of starvationand, the World Food Conference warns;20 million people may starve to death inthe next year unless massive emergencyfood deliveries start immediately. Toavert such a spectre, the Conference saysthat a minimum of eleven to fifteen mUliontons of food must be shipped to famineareas by next spring.

The causes of the current situation areextremely complex. It is true that cropfailYres were world- wide in recent yearswith droughts in the United States (theworst since 1936), Africa's Sahel region.India and Indonesia. The Soviet Union, Ar­gentina. Canada and Australia, all largegrain produces. also suffered large croplosses. while Peru, whose flshmeal in­dustry has the capacity to feed half of La­till America, suffered a near collapse.

In addition. fertilizer shortage, esti ma­ted by delegates at the Conference to be10 percent less than what is needed world:wide. was also responsible for low produc­tion yields, especially in the Third World.

The main cause of the current famine.however, is not due to production, but ra­ther to unequal distribution. Even with thisyear's crop loss and with an additional1.5 billion more people in the world. theworld's grain production per capita, hasincreased 10 percent since 1954.

Rome. Italy (LNS)--Thousands of angryItalians protested the appearance ofHenryKissinger November 5 at the l2-dayUnitedNations World Food Conference in Rome.Kissinger laid out a complicated schemefor a long- range plan to combat world hun­ger. but refused to discuss the amount ofe merRency food aid countries affiicted withfamine could expect from the U.S.

It was this refusal--ironicaUy. sinceexperts agree that the U.S. can itselfeliminate the world's entire food deficit-- that thwarted the conference's attemptsto provide emergency food assistance tofa mlne- str icken areas.

"No tragedy is more wounding," Kis­singer told the delegates from 130 gov­ernments and four liberation organiza­tions, "than the look of dispair in theeyes of a starving child." Later that ev­ening, Kissinger ate caviar and sippedwine at a reception thrown by MexicanFresident Luis Echeverria, on the marblerooftop of the luxurious Palazzo dei Con­gress!. Kissinger then departed for Wash­ington, leaving the U.s. delegation in thehands of Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz

The crisis that prompted the conference"is urgpnt and obvious. Famine is at itsmost critical level in decades. The dele­gate from Bangladesh estimated that over100,000 of his country people have starvedto dpath alrpady this year.

In the northwestern provinces of India,thousands have died for want of food inthe past few months, and in the Easternregion of Africa's Sahel (from Senegal toEthiopia) an estimated 50,000 have star­ved to death since the spring of 1973.And the UN Food and Agriculture Organ­ization calculates that 5,000,000 childrenha ve died already this year from diseasesassociated with starvation.

CHALE CON EL GALLO! Some young hue/gistas exhort workers to not break the Gallo strike during the 1973fIght against the Teamster-grower alliance. (EL MALCR/ADO photo)

In 1974 Gallo bought less than was ex­pected from other growers, sending re­verberations throughout the Industry.Gallo's contracts with growers Includean escape clause that cites labor strikesas a reason for backing out.

Among the contract growers have beenBonadelle Development Co. and Joseph E.Gallo of Merced County: John HancockRealty Co. Ar-Kay Vineyards. R.V. CloudRanch a.nd Ronald Cloud Ranch of MaderaCounty; and Edward Johnson, PironneWine Cellars, L.R.B. Ranch and l{ & JRanches of Stanislaus County.

All these financial relationships are ofcourse beyond the ken of a small growerlike John Mitchell, whose modest farm onNorth Griffith road in Livingston sits ad­jacent to one of Joseph E. Gallo's prop­erties.

"This Is the sin of all sins.H saysMitchell. "The extremely wealthy areprotected In every way, money's poweris concentrated in capital monopolies,for whom the growers become merehirell~s'"

El Malcriado-December 23, 1974-13

The winery also held 515.55 acresowned and 180 acres leased at FresnoRanch. The winery Itself and support­ing facilities are located on a lt9-acresite in Modesto.

The Modesto Bee newspaper filesshow the Gallo concerns "growing fan­tastically" and "almost continually ex­pa.ndin~' in the mid-Sixties, but the news­paper provides no details supporting thesecharacterizations other than what Gallochose to tell in its press releases of thetime.

Among the several Gallo subsidiariesis Gallo Glass Company of Modesto, whichowned 3,385 acres at Livingston Ranch2,217 acres at Snelling Ranch and 252 acre~at Modesto Ranch.

Ernest and Julio Gallo's younger bro­ther Joseph E. Gallo owns Gallo VinevardsInc., which held at least 748 acres at Liv-'ingston Ranch. Vincal Vineyards, Inc., with1,318 acres at Snelling Ranch, is owned byErnest and Julio's children, Robert J.Gallo, Susan Gallo Coleman, David G.Gallo and Joe E. Gallo.

The Gallo brother. Joseph E. Gallo.also owns the Gallo Cattle Companrwhich held 983 acres at Livingston Ranchand 765 acres In the stanislaus Countymountains.

Joseph E. Gallo himself is listed inpUblic records as owner of 3,522 acresand leasor of 4.967 acres, as ofJuly 1973.

The Mitchells say they hear Joseph E.Gallo now is buying ranches along Highway140 on Lander Avenue between the townsof Turlock and Los Banos. Reports are thatthousands of acres of marshland south ofthe Merced River are being reclaimed.

Although the 'senior Gallos insist thatJoseph E. Gallo is not part of their oper­ation, he is listed as selllng grapes to E& J Gallo Winery.

While the subsidiary Gallo Glass Com­pany produces the bottles for Gallo'swines. the affillates Mid-cal AluminumInc. and Fairbanks Trucking Inc. of Mod~esto produce the bottle caps and haul theproduct.

Although Gallo grape vineyards are un­der 10,000 acres out of more than550,000 grape acres in California, Gallobuys at least 70.000 acres worth of grapeproduction from contract growers.

Its costs in vineyard development throughthe lease-purchase arrange ments. In add­Ition, Gallo is able to directly affect thefield prices of grapes with a grape outputbelow the small growers' cost of produc­tion.

The Gallo businesses are privately held,or family- owned. corporations so theyare not required by law to issue publicstatements on their assets.

Editors at the Modesto Bee newspapersay the Gallos have al ways been "verytight-lipped" about their business andoperate like a "medieval fiefdom -- theydon't follow anybody, they lead."

The newspaper's rues for the past 30years show no public record whatever ofGallo's land acquisitions. But courthouserecords show the results of Gallo's ex­pansion:

At least 159 land acquisitions are listedsince 1946.

The E & J Gallo Winery company ownsat least 3,236.245 acres, plus 369 leasedacres as of July 1973. The total includes2,640 acres owned at Livingston Ranch,and 189 acres leased from Merle Mc­CUllogh Coffill and Edith and Allen Good-- land owners who are not known to long­time residents of Livingston and who arenot listed in the Livingston phone book.

Mitchell's mother was to get an assured$3,500 per year rental of the 74-acre farmfor five years, then a top-dollar sale priceof $900 per acre.

During the five-year rental period, theGallos were able to level the land and set­up a grape vineyard -- an expensive in­vestment -- without paying the usual cap­Ital gains taxes since the improvementswere made on someone else's property.The sale contract provided no back-outclause for the seller, only for the buyer.

John Mitchell, now trying to survive asan economic unit with a new venture intoalmond trees, sums up the land situation:

"Gallo is not good for the small pro­duction unit, the family farm, which isbeing destroyed. That's why they're notgood for the area. They've swallowed uprougbly 100 farms.

"In this immediate area, Gallo has dis­placed 40 families that lived hereworked here, spent their money here'and sent their kids to school here _:It was a balanced neighborhood com­munity. Now we have a corporate com­munity, with the Gallos buying directin bulk from wholesalers, Instead offrom local businesses. Livingston isbecoming a 'Grapes of Wrath' type ofplace."

Jake Kunihara, a Japanese-Americangrower who resisted Gallo encroachmentby sticking with his producers' coopera­tive, says Gallo has vast sums of moneyto play with in buying lands, and is ableto use its own grape acreages as a"wedge" in driving hard bargains ongrape prices. He says Gallo "buries"

Livingston, Calif.-- More than threemillion family farms have sold out toagribusiness corporations from 1945 to1974, inclUding some 100 small growersswallowed up by Gallo in this grape-pro­ducing area.

The effect on this once-typical Amer­ican farming town, according to a long­time resident, has been to change a com­munity of neighborhoods into a "corpor­ate community" no longer responsive tolocal needs.

The Gallo family held only two smallvineyards before World WAR II. In 1946,Gallo merged with Valley AgriculturalCompany and not long afterward boughtout American Vineyards, then the big­gest Thompson grape grower in the areawith roughly 1,200 acres.

Since then, Gallo family members plusthe giant Gallo winery and its subsidiarybusinesses have acquired at least 16,000acres in Merced, Madera and Stanislauscounties. The land expansion goes on to­day.

The John Mitchells are a typical smallfarm family that saw their tradltlonalhomestead succumb to Gallo's big moneyand aggressive business tactics.

John Mitchell's grandfather establishedthe family farm In 1862. By 1964,Mitchell's elderly mother was faced withgrowing tax problems and a lucrative offerfrom the Gallos to sell out. The questionof selling divided the sons and daughters,with the latter urging the sale.

The deal they were offered probablytypical of Gallo's land buying tactics.

GalloLandgrabsIncrease

AgribusinessMonopoly

The .ftlrmworkers NeedYouNow

"Join the struggle!" Subscribe to EI Malcriado, theofficial voice of the United Farm Workers of America,AFL-C10, and read of the day to day struggles of theUFW in its search for a new life of dignity and justicefor farm workers.You can become a part of this movement by receivingfirst hand reports on the many strikes and organizingdrives launched by the UFW in its fight to end the ex­ploitation of farm workers by U.S. agribusiness.

DEngliSh

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AID TO FAMILIES WITHDEPENDENT CHILDREN

Keene, Calif. - Until farmworkers are covered by unem­ployment Insurance- and that dayIs coming - the jobless farmworker and his family can applyfor cash help from a programcalled "Aid to Families withDependent Children" (AFDC).

This government program isfor children and their parents

(or whoever takes care of thechild) if they are poor.

For a family to qualify, thechild must be without supportbecause of the death, absence.incapacity, or unemployment ofone or both parents. If the fatheris working, the family can st!llrecieve AFDC if he works lessthan 23 hours a week or lessthan 100 hours a month.

The family must be needy toqualify. Being needy Is deter­mined by how much the familyneeds, how much income it hasand how much property It owns.If a family has less income andproperty than it needs, then itqualifies.

The family's child must be un­married and, if between the agesof 16 and 18, must regularlyattend school or a training pro­gram, or be employed to helpsupport the familv unless he orshe is disabled. A child may beeUgible up to age 21 If reRUlarly

attending school or a trainingprogram.

A family can apply for AFDCif it has only lived In the stateor in the country for one day.There is no residency require­ment. Also, there is no require­ment for citizenship to qualify.

Generally, the eligible familycann0t own real property (realestate) with an assessed valueof more than $5,000(1ess amountowed on it), household furnishingsworth more than $1.600.

Employable parents must beavailable for and seeking work.or be training for work. Thismeans registering and co­operating with "EDD" (Employ­ment Development Department).You do not have to accept a job"made available by a labor dis­pute".

AFDC is financial aid (and ser­vices, if wanted) for needyfamilies with children until thefamily can again become self­supporting.

The county welfare departmentdetermines the monthly amountof money needed by the familyfor food, housing. utilities, cloth­ing and other necessities. The aidpayment (grant) is determined bySUbtracting the total monthly In­come (If any) from the amountneeded.

The limit to the amount ofmoney a family can recleve de­pends upon the size olthe family.

Medi-Cal and Food stamps arealso available to the AFDCfamily.

How To Apply

The family can apply to thecounty welfare department Inperson or by phone or letter.Every person has the rie:ht toapply. The date of application isthe date the verbal request ismade, or If by letter, when theletter is received by th.e county.

A welfare form called the WR-lis a one-page application formwhich a person signs when re­questing aid.

The county welfare departmentmust process a claim within 30days of the application. A multi­page form called the WR-2 alsois required for AFDC. Help withthis form is given by Campe­sino Centers. When the form Isreturned to the welfare depart­ment in person, an official willask about the information andperhaps for documents to verifyft. A Campesino Center workerwill go to the welfare depart­ment to help.

When immediate need exists,aid payments can be made Imme-

dlately. Immediate need Is whenthe family doesn't have enoughmoney for food, clothing, shelter,medical care or other "non­deferrable" needs during theperiod of evaluation for AFDC.

There are at least six basicrights to which welfare recipientsare entitled. These are:

Basic American rights. TheCalifornia Welfare regulationsstate: "Assistance is to be ad­ministered in a manner whichIs consistent with and will helpachieve basic program purposes;which respects individual rightsunder the United States Consti­tution, State and Federal lawsand which does not violate in­dividual privacy or personal dig­nity.

The right to recieve welfare.Welfare is not a "hand-out" ofcharity but a government pro­gram estabUshed by law.

The right to fair treatmentaccording to welfare regulations:In administering welfare pro­grams the county welfare depart­ments must adhere to laws, re­gulations and guidelines dictatedby state aM Federal govern­ments.

The right to Information fromthe welfare deoartment. Re-

cipients have a right to Inspecttheir case records at the wel­fare department.

The right to representation.Welfare recipients have a rightto designate an "authorized re­presentative" to help get infor­mation from the welfare depart­ment or to serve as an "ad­vocate" protecting a recipientsrights. It is extremely importantfor a Campesino Center workerto go with the applicant or re­cipient to the welfare department.The Campesino Center workerserves as a witness to the treat­ment the recipient recleves andacts as an advocate in talking todepartqJent officials.

The right to appeal actions bythe welfare department. A re­quest for a hearing can be madewhenever there is disagreementwith any action of the depart­ment. Any person can be desig­nated to represent the applicantor recipient in the hearing re­quest. If the welfare departmentsays that aid Is going to be cut­off call or go to the nearestCampesino Center. If a hearingIs requested within ten days ofthe cut- off, aid will be given backuntil the hearIng and decision bythe welfare officials.

El Malcriado-December 23, 1974-15

San LuisElections

(Continued from Pg. 1)

attorneys battled law enforcement attempts.to prosecute union members under a riotlaw never used before; to deny union mem­bers the right to. jury trials; and to harassunion members with "bad faith" arrests~

Rutkowski reported how the conspiracy tobreak the strike came about:

-- After scores of union members chargedwith crimes won acquittals from jury trialsin OCtober. Yuma Justices William Steenand Herman Flaufelder stopped grantingjury trials in November.

-- On Nov. 5, 24 union picketers were ar­rested and charged with felonies under anArizona riot statute limiting assemblies oftwo or more persons. Asimilar Chicago lawhas been declared unconstitutional.

-- On Nov. 14, police attacked picketerswith clubs and teargas, then on Nov.19theyattacked with chemical mace, trapping stri-

'We All Have to

-;TN{f~~

.. '&" - ••" •A/~.'cI··

kers in their cars and spraying the dis­abling weapon through the windows. Chavezpublicly denounced the "breakdown of lawitl Yuma County" that same day and theCongressmen visited a week later to investi­gate.

Rutkowski said the union has delayed thetrial of the riot felony cases with motionsfor dismissal that claIm the riot law is un­constitutional and that the arrests were dis­criminatory because the law was never usedbefore•. Another motion asked that the trialsbe moved to Phoenix, if held at all, becauseof prejudicial pre-trial publicity in the Yumanewspapers.

The UFW also has asked the State SupremeCourt to rule on the constitutionality of Yumaauthorities denying jury trials to UFW de­fendents in at least 12 Instances. Yuma Dis­trict .Attorney Mike Smith recommeded thedenials, saying jury trials are not guar­anteed for petty misdemeanor cases, butthe union claims the various trespass, peacedisturbance and assault charges carry six­month jail penaltIes worthy of a jury's de­liberation.

Rutkowski said some 200 union membershave been arrested so far. with 24 trials stillscheduled to be held. He said 120 of thosespent time In jail awaiting bail, includi!!g the54 persons arrested Sept. 25 who did fivedays and were late acquitted, and the 24person~ charged with felonies who were heldin jail for nine days before winning releaseon their own recognizance.

The Phoenix UFW attorney cited the caseof 26 picketers who were arrested Sept. 16as evidence of "bad faith" prosecution.Those union members were chased down ahighway at 4: 30 am and forced to sit on thepavement with hands over their heads, butthree months later the charges were droppeda~inst all but one huelguista. The singlestriker was convicted Dec. 10 of disturbingthe peace after being denied a jury trial.

Yuma Superior Court JUdge Carl Mueckeon Dec. 6 denied the union's clal m of badfaith prosecution in refusing to grant a" re­straining order against the district attor­ney and Yuma Sheriff Bud Yancy. Therestraining order would have prohibited

them from the use of excessive force and un­necessary arrests.

Judge MueCke ruled that the union mem­bers who were arrested did not suffer ir­reparable injuries that would justify such anorder.

He said they can still win damage claimsas part of the $10 million suit the union filedagainst the growers, Smith and Yancy onNov. 19 that cited their conspiracy to breakthe UFW strike.

Rutkowski said the union now is proceed­ing with the damage suit, taking depositionsfrom "good witnesses" about the tacticsemployed by the sheriff's department andthe district attorney.

Sheriff Yancy, meanwhile, warned UFWorganizer Rodriguez on Dec. 7 to be on thelookout for scabs armed with clubs whomight attack union members. UFW busdriver Ray Chavez reported tmelgulstashave been injured through beatings andsling-shot attacks by such goons.

The Yuma Chamber of Commerce, how­ever. charged the union on Dec. 2 with en­couraging "inflammatory and dangerous ac­tivities" but offered no specifics to justifyits rejection of Cesar Chavez' call for apeacefUl resolution of the strike.

The reason might be the growerS- in­creasing anguish over financial losses suf­fered in the strike. Attorney Shadle con­ceded Dec. 8 that his previous estimates ofa $3 million loss were "too low, and sincethe early hlgh- market we've spent a lot ofmoney on all those fine trips to the court­house as well as extra recruiting costs.»

Though Shadle claimed the harvest was60 per cent completed with 2,500 pickersworking in the groves, the EL MALCHIADOtour of the groves Dec. 9 found only five tosix scab cars at each site, usally bearingOregon, Washington and utah license plates.

The trees were loaded down with fruitand UFW picket captains estimated only20 per cent of the crop was picked.

A squad of two to three deputies andthree to four goons, often armed, followedthe UFW pIcketers from grove to groverigidly enforcing a September court orde:limiting to 25 persons the number of pick­ets allowed at each grove.

El Malcriado23 1974-n -cember ,16- e