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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2000)
Farm Workers Face Challenges 30 Years Later Every union had been vanquished. B ut C e s a r c h a n g e d h is to r y ’s course 35 years ago w hen he helped lead a five-year strike and boycott against D elano-area grape grow ers in C alifo m ia’s great Central Valley. It was one o f those 1 ittle m iracles o f our tim e w hen, on July 29, 1970, 29 table-grape g ro w ers cam e to the U F W 's D elano head q u arters and signed their first-ever union con- A rturo S. R odhigi fz for T hc P ortland O bstrstr Thirty years ago, C esar C havez and the farm w orkers did the im pos sible: They overcam e the aw esom e p o w ero fC alifo m ia agribusiness. In the 1960s, Cesar and the United Farm Workers (UFW) were struggling against history. During the preceding 80 years, every organizing attempt had been defeated. Every strike had been crushed. tracts. M uch has changed since then, and much has rem ained the same. Organizing fann workers today is a difficult and, at tim es, daunting task. But it is nothing com pared to the obstacles faced by C esar and the UFW in our early days. U nfortunately, there is still a lot o f w ork to be done to secure a decent life for the people w ho are responsible for bringing fo o d to o u rtab les. M any farm w orkers labor long hours in the fields for poverty w ages. A ccording to a recent report by H um an Rights W atch, nearly 800,000 children still w ork in agriculture. These young people can suffer even m ore than adults from exposure to potentially dangerous pesticides. F an n w orkers usually have no health benefits and often do not have access to toilets and fresh water. But som e things are improving. Since a new organizing drive began in 1994 - a year after C esar’s death - farm w orkers have voted for the UFW in 20 union elections and signed 24 new - or first-tim e - contracts with grow ers in a num b ero fcro p s, includ ing lettuce, roses and w ine grapes. U FW m em bership has grown to more than 27,000 m em bers, up from about Las+ Chance Summer Cleanup Carpel &- Ulphosiery cleaning $ % M artin C lean in g Service C arpet cleaning: 1 Hall Free and Pre-Spray Traffic Area • Vacuum $5.00 each area • Stairs $1.50 Ea. Additional Services Auto * Boat R.V. Cleaning * Deodorizing Pet Odor Treatment Dirt Resistant (Teflon) Protection Spot & Stain Removal Upholstery Cleaning • Sofa under 6 ft. $69.00 * Ottoman $20 Sofa over 6 ft. $79.00 - $99.00 * Dining Chair $20 Loveseat $49.00 * Chair $24.00 Recliner $29.00-$49.00 »Sectional $69.00-$ 119.00 • • • r 2 Areas Or More State Farm is continuing efforts to m eet the needs o f its custom ers with the new bilingual custom er response center. T he El Paso site is another $7 coo 2 A rea M inim um , , . . T in r Each Area F re e vice Center, a tax-exem pt organiza tion C esar founded in the 1960s, is now the largest non-profit hom e builder for farm w orkers and other poor people in the Southw est. In the last decade, it has built - and also Arturo S. Rodriguezis a veteran United Farm Workers (UFW) organizer. He became the UFW's second president upon the death o f his m entor and father-in-law, Cesar Chavez, in 1993. ______ _________________________________________ SQ C 00 Heavily Soiled Carpet Areas forw ard to better serving the needs o f our Spanish-speaking custom ers and adding a new dim ension o f service fo r S ta te F a rm ,” sa id D eb o rah extension o f the agent and is now taking after-hours calls in Spanish or English from custom ers nationw ide. “ W ith the El Paso CRC, we look I Healthy Minds in Healthy Bodies T he Latina Em pow erm ent N etw ork is sponsor ing the M ente Sana en C uerpo Sano (H ealthy M inds in H ealthy Bodies) on Oct. 21 at Centro Cultural, 1110N. A dair, Cornelius. This is a free event for Latino families to com e together for an afternoon o f fam ily activities, presentations and inform ation, in order to foster an understanding ofhealthy family dynam ics. The event is scheduled from 12:30 p.m . to 4 p.m. I___________________________________________________________________I U pholstery s Sofa & Loveseat Or Chair includes Dirt protection , ' __________ KSEE23Q Carpet & Upholstery m 109 00 15900 ______ ( M MARTIN CLEANING SERV/ce NEED A CELLULAR PHONE? ONLY $174.99* Tb Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning N O PH O N ÊA TH O M E? Simply Cellular S- Telephone fceeotmectiow 8040 NE Sandy Blvd, Suite 100B, Portland Local 280-8000 Toll Free 1-877-280-8100 $ A ny 3 A reas H allw ay Plus Sofa, Loveseat and/or C hair C le a n e d * - • -i. '■ ' ' .'. PHONE RECONNECTIONS $45 • • '> ' ' ■ i: ' ■ . . ■ rv ■ Keepyoursamef INCLUDES: Commercial & Residential Services • Cellular Phone Caller ID • Leather Case Voicemail M a rtin C le a n in g Service • Activation Paging C a rp e t & U p h o ls te ry C le a n in g • 1000 Free Minutes Car C h a rt» • Service in 24 dayt • < ritonCuj Xartvt . L ▼ 1 ■ P 0 il ¡I r ' I «r PROGRESSO — sour „ « Chicken Nooo>e/ Look For Your l Safeway Weekly Shopping Guide In Your Oregonian FOODday in the Portland Metro Area ...and save more by shopping at Safeway. Progresso Soup Rib Half Pork Loin lb. Custom Cut & Wrapped in One Package. SAVE up to 8 K lb. 18.5 to 19-oz. Selected varieties. Limit 6. Safeway Club Price SAVE up to $1.20 Safeway Club Price CLUB s ä V l l i I 1 Mon Tue I Wed “ 18 Fri [ 1 2 j 1 3 L?4 17 [ or Wings Foster Farms Jumbo Pack. 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Mente Sana en Cuerpo Sano , Each Area I L manages more than 2,500 high-qual ity hom es and apartm ents. The Service C enter also operates “ Radio C am pesina,” the farm w ork e rs’ radio netw ork. W ith eight sta tio n s in th re e s ta te s , “ R a d io C em pesina” boasts the largest lis tening audience o f farm w orkers in the country. It’s also the num ber-one Spanish-language radio station in the m a rk e ts it se rv e s, a c c o rd in g to A rbitran ratings. T oday, there are m any battles for farm w orkers to wage. For exam ple, the U FW is helping lead the battle for imm igration reform. It has called on the governm ent to g ran t am n esty to u n d o cu m en te d w orkers w ho are already in this coun try. A nd the UFW is seeking badly needed legislation in C alifornia to curb daily abuses by farm labor co n tractors. Too often, growers hire these m iddle m en w ho directly cheat and exploit farm workers. Then the grow ers absolve them selves o f responsi bility for the m istreatm ent. T oday’s farm w orkers are indebted to C esar and those brave strikers for their sacrifices. T hey w ere truly non violent w arriors on the long path to freedom. State Farm M eets N eeds o f S p an ish -Sp eak ing P olicyh olders 1 ^ I I HI] iiiiiiiiiiii _____________ l_ Includes 1 H a l l 20,000 in 1994. In addition to recent organizing gains, C esar C havez’s m ovem ent continues to push for progress both in and out o f the fields. The N ational Farm W orkers Ser- 0 98 t lb. Safeway Club Price AUTO HOME 0US/NFSS HEALTH LIFE ’ Golden Cantaloupes Toda la protección bajo un solo techo to . www.amfam.com Grown in Anzona. SAVE up to 3 9 ( lb. Safeway Club Price ©1997 AmerKon Family Mutual Insurance (ompany y sus subsidiarias Oficina (entrol Madison, Wl 53783 Now the savings are in the Card! r 4/00
