The Texas Farm Worker's Strike
Jose and James Garza, members of the Texas Farm Workers Union, provide an eyewitness account of the farm workers strike in Raymondville Texas in April 1979. The strike began on April 4th, when farm workers at Charles Wetegrove’s packing shed refused to work for a 50% pay cut. Over 1500 workers are striking for better wages and working conditions and for union recognition. The two brothers discuss the police brutality they witnessed at the picket line and the provocations the strikers endured both from police and Wetegrove, himself. They mention that the few journalists who covered the event clearly favored the growers.
They explain that the conditions in Wetegrove’s fields are typical of those found among the largest growers. They also discuss House Bill 227 and its bid to legalize collective bargaining for farm workers. They say that Mexican American organizations like LULAC have not offered much more than verbal support. They explain that the strikers need food and financial support as the coffers of the Texas Farm Workers union are spent bailing out several strikers the police have arrested. Without more support, the strike will be unable to last much longer.
KEYWORDS
American GI ForumAntonio Orendain
Austin
Bill Clayton
Catholic Church
Centro del Pueblo
Cesar Chavez
Charles Wetegrove
Child Labor
Community Support
Corpus Christi
Dallas
El Paso
Forrest Green
Fundraising
House Bill 2227
Houston
Jose Moya
Juanita Valdez
Labor Unions
League of United Latin American Citizens
Lubbock
LULAC
Nuns
Odessa
Park Rangers
Police Brutality
Puerto Rico
Raymondville
Raymondville Onion Strike
Right to Work
Rio Grande Valley
San Antonio
Sheriff Department
Strikebreakers
Strikes
Taft Hartley Act
Texas
Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas Farm Workers
Texas Legal Aid
Texas Rangers
Tony Garcia
Transnational Activism
Union Organizing
United Farm Workers
Wagner Act
Workers’ Rights