◆ SpookStack

~. —-ogy." » times, 3 true. “taking its toll on the growers. discussions about the strike parly part of the afternc . «round 5:00 -3em. there usually is a siategy meeting in the park’ and then it if iome for sup- Jer and early to bed--mor!..ng comes fast. when we left the Coachella Valley June .23 the spirits of the strikers were high ““and they did not appear discouraged des- -aite the obstacles that they were facing. C. Why do meny remain in the fields “gnd work, even though ttey know there is By Cesar thevez-led strike? Sant we It hes been said that no strike among field workers could be successful and at perhaps the UFW wonders if this is Mexico ig only an hour's drive * from Coachella and so legal and illegal aliens can come up and make spme quick money curing they harvest time. These are poor pesple and are interestec in making = hock: the fect thet they are in the o UULA, wilt FG BRI he ee y Ste at 7 fields working does not necessarily mean they do not support Cesar Chavez. Also, it is no revelation to know that some of the lest people who find out ebout ex- So, the liberation cause that some farm- workers suppert is not always understood by their fellow workers. AS One person told us, "the poor want hread mot ideoi- Hence it is relatively easy for the growers and Teamsters to break the strike with people from Mexico. But as (Bo, the 1 ate the exploited themselves. _.we left the Coachella Valley, two fac- tors seem to indicate that the strike is First, the UFW organizers claim that increasingly they hear that the people in the fiele¢s are ready to come cut and juin the strike. There have been a lot of complaints abouthow they have been treated by the Teamsters. Second, the growers are mot getting a good price for tneir grapes and herce may just be break- ing even; thet indeed is not their goal! Here are some facts on this point. Grow- _eTS consistently stated to us that it | casts them about $7.00 to produce one -~<lug of grapes (22 lb. box). A #1 box of perlettes (type of grape) was selling Tor 3 creat det) sf the orapes sent to market vot they are roti whey E tins the #1 prices UFi: lead ers told us that #2 pe ~lettes: are getting $7.00 end $7.50 per lug and if this is tA Teacrters are seconds; tee et ene te eo arc Rect $28.00 a lug when we left the Coachel-, “la Valley, excording to Mr. Steinberg, 8 “l- grower who signed with the UFW. However, *ake up the 4 true the growers are not making any money -~just bre 4° even. Four cfowers, Steinberg, «id..n0, Karahadien, anc Keyan stated int ‘p Riverside County Deily ° Enterprise June 13, thet if prices go he- low $7.50 per lug they will lose money. All this is interpreted by the UF forces @s good news. They say grower problems Bre due to the fact that inexperienced pickers are working in the fields (the good ones are on the picket line}: the Qrapes are being packed poorly; the vines were mot thinned oroperiy in the ssring te ole . [oe ee 2 | Me ees ay ATT wii wp and so the growers are paying for it now in terms of quaiity grapes. Recent Violence in Coachella Cesar Chavez has long told his fol- lowers that they will win, but only if they stick ta their principles of non- violence. In recent days this philoso- phy of the UFW has really been put to the test. During our last week in Coecheila there were numerous minor scuffles and fights. Both sides were guilty of "dis- turbing the peace" to some cegree. Gut on the whole Lt. Jack Reid, spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff's of- fice, said that the recent incidents hac been generated by "unprovoked attecks" by Teamster security guards (N.Y.Times, June 27, 1973). We can attest to this last statement. The Teamster "gtoons" as the UFW strikers call them, were ar- Tested for beating up @ priest in a lo- cal cafe; fighting with local pecole at a neighborhood ice cream stand; kidnep and attempted murder; stoning the car Cesar Chavez was riding in. Surely, they have added to this list since we left Coachella, fortunately, with ne bruises. What is so ironical is that recently tho Tosametore faye Hired sa nuhlir tela a Telia kod avo iad ow o peas TEag- tions firm, Hoover-Gorin & Associgtss for $1.3 million to help them impreve their image! Incidently, one of the Teamster strong men beat up @ repre- sentative from this firm while we were in Coachella. Apparently, money car- not buy everything. Public relation firm notwithetanc- the Teamsters have an imaze alt ele ing ‘oy their own and it hangs out wherever trey go. The L.A. Times (curs 12, T5021. reeirteco on the army of “postr r mri” 2m ty Giil Grari, orgemizer fir we Western Conference of Teamsters. . pe