Back to the Valley
During the fall, the strikers returned to the long, slow, difficult
task of building their Union, of organizing their fellow workers.
Migrants, who had left before the strike, returned to Starr County
and learned of the Union. In cafes, in bars, in door-to-door
efforts, the message of our cause was taken to every barrio and
hamlet in the county. But the county political machine, fearing
any change in the status quo, began an all-out effort to break
the strike and scare the people. And the growers turned to Mexico
for workers for their fall crops.
Imported Strike
Breakers
The single most effective tactic used by the growers to combat
the huelga in Starr County has been the employment of Mexican
" green card" commuters. The "green card"
( or Alien Registration Receipt Form, I-151, ) is an immigration
visa granted to aliens who desire to immigrate to this country.
Although Congress clearly intended that green card recipients
should reside in the United States proper, the immigration authorities
have chosen to so administer the regulations as to permit green
carders to live in Mexico and commute daily to jobs in the United
States.
Food, clothing, and housing are all considerably less expensive
in Mexico. Many commuters evade payment altogether of federal
income taxes even though their their place of employment is within
the United States. Because their cost of living is so much lower,
green card commuters have proved willing to work as strikebreakers
for wages with which American residents cannot maintain a decent
standard of living for themselves and their families.
The United Farm Workers, in objecting to the employment of green
card commuters, has always tried to make clear to the public
that it does not object to the immigration of Mexican nationals
or other aliens to this country. What it does object to is the
clear violation of the spirit of the law by the immigration officials
in permitting "immigrants" to reside outside the territorial
boundaries of the United States, and their employment as strikebreakers.
Showdown
at Roma
In order to focus public attention on the problem of "green
card" commuters, members of the UFWOC placed a picket line
on the international bridge at Roma on October 24, 1966. Cars
of green carders working at struck farms were persuaded to turn
around. Cars containing visitors and others not employed at struck
establishments were permitted to pass. When Eugene Nelson was
arrested for no apparent cause by sheriffs' deputies, the picketers
sat down on the bridge and blocked all traffic in protest. Thirteen
were arrested in all. Three ( Eugene Nelson, Bill Chandler, and
Tony Orendain,) were found guilty of obstructing a bridge ( a
traffic violation), and fined $25; charges against a 16-year-old
minor, Guillermo De La Cruz, weren't pressed; and charges against
the remaining nine adults were dismissed by the judge.
A Spring Full
of Hope
The strike entered 1967 full of hope and promise. Many workers
in the packing sheds had joined the Union. Union members were
learning how to convince the workers, even green carders, to
join the cause. The growers and county officials retaliated by
deputizing over 40 new sheriffs' deputies, including the assistant
manager of La Casita. And the arrests began again. " Disturbing
the peace" includes saying the Lord's Prayer in Starr County
(two arrests). Five priests and 5 workers were arrested for trespassing
and using "abusive language" (saying "viva la
huelga"). Arrests included 10 on January 26, another 10
on February 2, and selective arrests of Union members, organizers
and leaders throughout the spring. In spite of this, as May and
the big melon harvest neared, the Union was hopeful of a great
breakthrough. If only the green carders could be prevented from
taking the job...
International
Unity
On May 11, 1967, the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) put up a picket line on the Mexican side of the Roma and Camargo Bridges, while over 70 strikers picketed on the American side. The melon harvest had begun that week. The International picket line was 100% effective and not a single green carder crossed the border that day. Months of quiet talks had preceded this international picket line, as leaders of the state and national labor confederations worked out details for cooperation. And the local workers on both sides formed close friendships to solidify the solidarity. But politics got involved, especially in Mexico, and the Mexican workers were forced to take down their picket line after two days. Green card Mexican nationals, driven by the hunger and poverty of their own country, began again to cross the river and American workers became less willing to leave the fields, since they knew that there were unlimited numbers of Mexican to break the strike and take their jobs.
A Victory and a
Contract
The strikers were thwarted in their primary objective of stopping
the melon harvest and forcing the major growers to sign contracts.
The uninterrupted flow of green card strike breakers from Mexico
after May 13 assured the growers of adequate labor. This made
it difficult to convince American workers to quit their job.
The wave of arrest and terrorism in May and June , 1967, disrupted
the organizing efforts, exhausted the Union physically and financially,
and intimidated all but a few hundred of the workers.
But the Union did claim some victories. One grower, Virgilio
Guerra, recognized the Union and agreed to sign a contract for
his 60 workers. because of the farm worker' efforts, the Immigration
Department finally issued a ruling (on July 10--too late to affect
the harvest ) forbidding the recruitment for foreigners to break
a certified strike. The department of Labor certified the strikes
against the six majors growers in Starr County. This new ruling
will help all organizing efforts along the entire border. And
the events of May and June were so shocking to the nation that
four U.S. Senators came to the Valley in late June to investigate
the problems there.
New Hope from
Washington
On June 29,1967, the first official hearing of a committee of
the United States Senate to ever take place in Starr County was
convened in Rio Grande City. On that date the Senate Subcommittee
on Migratory Labor heard testimony concerning the broadening
of the National Labor Relations Act so as to bring farm workers
under its provisions. Senators participating in the inquiry included
Harrison Williams of New Jersey, Chair man, Edward "Ted"
Kennedy of Massachusetts and Ralph Yarborough of Texas (Paul
Fanning of Arizona joined the panel on the second day, June 30,
in Edinburgh).
Union witnesses described the difficulty of organizing farm workers
into unions because of the absence of official procedures or
guidelines by which labor an management can be brought to conference
table for mutual negotiations. They also testified about the
employment of "green card" commuters as scabs and the
innervation of the Texas Rangers in the dispute at the request
of the growers, and on their behalf.
Support for the inclusion of farm workers in the National Labor
Relations Act was voiced by a spokesman for Archbishop Robert
Lucey, representatives of the Texas Council of Churches, speakers
from the Texas State AFL-CIO, and even Starr County Attorney
Randall Nye. In a closing statement summing up the impact of
the two days of testimony, Senator Williams noted that it was
"the most powerful testimony this subcommittee has ever
received as to the need for extending National Labor Relations
Act coverage to farm workers.
Building a Union
It has always been difficult to build unions in Texas, even in those industries protected by the National Labor Relations Act. And no union has ever been successful in the harsh climate of Starr County. The UFWOC petitioned for an election at the Starr Produce Packing Shed, which is covered by the NLRA, and it was the first representational election ever held in Starr County. The result was a 14-14 tie, with three challenged ballots. The Union claimed massive interference and unfair labor practices by the bosses and County officials, including the assigning of a supervisor as a poll watcher and the patrolling of the polling place by anti-union County cops. The NLRB is studying the case.
Farmworkers do not have even the minimum protection and rights of the NLRA and of other workers. For this reason, the labor movement has, in the past, considered the organization of farm workers and impossible task. But we must organize. And we must organize now. We cannot wait for better laws, which might take years to pass. We cannot wait for an "ideal situation" to organize. For this reason, the strike must go on against the tremendous odds that now face it. We will continue and steadily increase our drive to organize the packing sheds of Starr County.
Similarly, we refuse to be disheartened by the callous greed of the growers and the wanton brutality of their Texas Rangers allies.
We have pledged ourselves not only to remain steadfast in our struggle to organize the farm workers, but to expand our effort by assigning our most able and dedicated members to the sole task of visiting workers in the fields, in their homes, and on the streets in order to win them over to the conviction that the union is the only solution to the oppression and poverty of the agricultural laborers of this county and of this country.
Rio Grande City, Texas, 1967.