While attending Cal Poly in the late 60's and early 70's I took a class in Chicano Studies. It was one of my first experiences in learning about something as it was happening -- Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers were organizing in the San Joaquin Valley as I was studying the shameful history of farm labor. I had a classmate who grew up on a farm in Delano, so one day I joined her in picking cotton in the morning and grapes in the afternoon. That was a back breaking eye opener that has stayed with me to this day.
These memories came back yesterday as I heard about cabbage laborers threatening a sit down work stoppage in the Salinas area. I am more aware of the employer perspective than I was in 1970, but still know this is incredibly hard work for $8.00 an hour. As far as I know, short hoes (so a foreman could spot at a glance any worker standing up straight -- and therefor, not working) are gone, along with deductions for rent and food that lowered the hourly wage to pennies.
And now we have heat illness safeguards to protect the workers.
And I also know that unions can be as guilty of greed as any farmer ever was.
Is this cycle ever going to end?
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