Summary
Highlights
In September 1965, Mexican-American farm workers in California, fed up with inhumane treatment and poor working conditions, initiated a strike. This 'welga' (strike in Spanish) became a battle cry for the Chicano movement, demanding fair wages, education for their children, decent housing, and an end to fear. This struggle, led by figures like Cesar Chavez, sought to change how Chicanos were viewed in America.
The San Joaquin Valley, a fertile agricultural region in California, was home to migrant farm workers who faced extreme misery and poverty. They endured long days of backbreaking work under the hot sun, exposure to poisonous pesticides, and substandard wages. The average life expectancy was 49 years, and children often had only 2-3 years of schooling due to working in the fields. This created a vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy, with workers treated as mere commodities rather than human beings.
Previous attempts to unionize farm workers had failed, but a new opportunity arose in 1964 with the termination of the Bracero program, which had allowed the legal importation of temporary farm workers from Mexico. This reduction in the available workforce gave California farm labor organizers a chance to push for change.
In the summer of 1965, Filipino workers initiated a wildcat strike against grape growers in the Coachella Valley. Their strike was successful due to the rapid ripening of the grapes, forcing quick concessions from the growers for an increase to $1.40 an hour. The workers then set their sights on the grape harvest near Delano, where a large Mexican-American workforce was present. Delano growers, however, refused their demands, leading to the Filipinos losing their jobs and homes.
The striking Filipinos realized they needed the support of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), a recently formed organization of Mexican-American farm workers. The decision to join the strike was difficult, as farm workers had no savings or strike fund, and feared financial disaster, job loss, and even deportation. Despite these fears, at a crucial meeting on September 16th (Mexican Independence Day), Cesar Chavez's speech ignited revolutionary fervor, convincing the NFWA to vote to join the strike with just $87 in its treasury. Workers and their families were prepared for a prolonged struggle, recognizing it was their only chance for change.
Some growers argued that farm work was a choice and that many were compassionate, having come from humble, hardworking backgrounds themselves. Many grape growers in Delano were immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe who had started with nothing. However, this perspective often overlooked the systemic exploitation and dehumanization of farm workers. Land, initially cheap, became highly valuable with federal government subsidies for water in 1951, transforming small farms into thriving agricultural businesses. Despite this prosperity, farm workers continued to suffer long hours in harsh conditions, being perceived as 'ignorant, lazy, stupid, and dirty,' which justified their poverty and exploitation.