Workers United: The Delano Grape Strike and Boycott

Introduction

• The Delano Grape Strike began in the fall of 1965 with significant risks for farmworkers, including potential eviction from grower-owned housing.
• Thousands of workers voted to strike, leading to the exploration of both the strike and the subsequent successful consumer boycott.

Early Months of the Strike

• September 8, 1965: Over 800 Filipino farmworkers with AWOC struck ten grape vineyards in the Delano area.
• Demands:
  • Increase in hourly wages from $1.25 to $1.40
  • Increase in piece rate from ten cents to twenty-five cents per box of grapes
• Leadership: Larry Itliong and Ben Gines led the strike, continuing momentum from prior successes in Coachella Valley.
• Challenges:
  • Risk of eviction for living in company housing
  • Potential replacement by Mexican and Mexican American workers
  • Growers hired "scabs" from other regions

National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) Involvement

• Initially hesitant due to financial and organizational stability concerns.
• September 16, 1965: NFWA voted to join the strike.
• Leadership: Included influential figures such as Cesar Chavez.

Growers' Response

• Refusal to negotiate with striking workers
• Hiring of replacements from various regions

Transition to Civil Rights Movement

• The strike evolved into a broader civil rights struggle, advocating for farmworkers' justice.

The Boycott Campaign

• NFWA was more than a traditional union, emphasizing broader civil rights.
• Farmworkers' struggle linked to the Black Freedom Struggle.
• Boycott Strategy:
  • Called first boycott in December 1965 targeting Schenley Industries, a major grower.
  • Boycotts targeted businesses selling Schenley products, gaining union support.
  • Resulted in Schenley agreeing to a labor agreement.
• Legal Context: Farmworkers were excluded from federal labor laws, avoiding Taft-Hartley restrictions.

Expansion of Boycott Tactics

• Over a decade, the union utilized boycotts effectively, adapting strategies based on the situation.
• Shifted focus from wage increase to farmworker rights to organize and receive basic labor protections.
• Congressional Advocacy: Chavez's testimony in 1966 emphasized the fight against occupational discrimination.

Civil Rights Connection

• Farmworkers' movement intertwined with civil rights movement.
• Boycotts exerted economic pressure on growers.
• The movement highlighted farmworkers' rights as American workers.
• Utilized civil rights strategy of marching to draw national attention.

Conclusion

• The Delano Grape Strike and Boycott displayed a strategic intersection of labor and civil rights, significantly impacting both farmworker rights and broader civil rights movements in the U.S.

Bibliography

• Sources include works by Araiza, Bardacke, Jenkins, Levy & Chavez, and Shaw, highlighting historical contexts and analyses of the farmworker movement.