1970s Farmworkers' Movement

Abstract:

The Rio Grande Valley is a melting pot of cultures, industries, and individuals. Located in South Texas along the US-Mexican border, its geographical location also brought forth racial and gender divides meant to maintain the status quo: Anglo Americans as the financially empowered minority and Mexican Americans as the economically disempowered majority. However, between the 1960s and 1970s, activism from the region’s agriculturalists worked to repel these divides and provide a more equitable future for the region’s workers and their children. Although men are depicted as the major agents in the movement, women were also in the fields and leadership. In many ways, the Farmworker Movement of the 1970s would not have been successful without the women involved.

Introduction:

Texas is often left out or reserved as a footnote for the farmworkers movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The focus is on Cesar Chavez, the 1965 Californian grape strike, and the strides made there. This was true in the past as well as the present. Similarly, the coverage of the movement usually focuses on men, with women as an afterthought. However, the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and the women who helped the movement there were important, and the work done in the Valley in the ‘60s and ‘70s has ensured better conditions for farm workers today. The farmworkers' movement in the Rio Grande Valley is pocked by adversity: conservative backlash, dwindling support, and minute achievements. Despite that, organizers and laborers continued to work to make themselves seen, ultimately making a difference.

Texas was—and remains—a leading agricultural producer in the United States. Texas is big for livestock and cotton but outside of that, there is still much to be harvested. Texas has a large variety of soil types, climate conditions, and rainfall, making it one of the nation's most diverse agricultural states, housing sixteen different field crops and seventeen major vegetables. Onions, melons, and pecans make up some of the state’s most important crops. These crops are also featured in the Valley’s strikes.

According to a report published in 1984 for the International Conference on Migrant Labor, “Texas has had labor laws least favorable to farm workers.”1 Compared to other states, Texan farm workers were “explicitly excluded” from Workers’ Compensation Laws. Workers “[lacked] legal protection,” lower pay, and limited benefits.2 In NPR’s article on the 1966 Strike in Starr County, workers described conditions as “the stuff of nightmares,” there were no bathrooms, medical services, or even drinking water, and one man said that they would “drink from puddles.”3 Migrant workers who lived in Texas would “refuse to do farmwork at home,” because of the poor wages and working conditions.4

Surveys revealed that in 1979, approximately 90% of the workers were Hispanic. Because of this, farm workers' rights in the Rio Grande Valley also became a fight for Mexican-American rights. For Mexican-American women, the fight came from all sides. In Stephanie Schacherer’s thesis, “Overcoming Triple Oppression: Identity, Power and Feminism among Women on Mexican Ancestry in Texas, 1960-1980,” Schacherer notes that women made valuable contributions to these movements, worked alongside men, and had to deal with the “double day existence of the mother,” laboring in the fields only to return home to domestic chores.

Additionally, women were initially excluded from organizing protests. Women who wanted to be involved were delegated to the “private” sphere, working at the United Farm Workers (UFW) office and its “social services” sector rather than organizing protests and leading marches. Wendy Jepson writes about this in her article regarding women in the labor movement and argues that “machismo in union leadership ranks released women from the political scene until women,” who had built a space for themselves in the office, “negotiated and reformulated the movement’s social geography, which contributed to the more intense political involvement of women in UFW activities in the region.”5

In the 1960s, the farmworkers movement in Texas was somewhat removed from the movement in California. Californian organizers attempted to use their state’s model but were unprepared for the conservative backlash and the largely migrant population of workers.6 Consequently, the Starr County Strike met resistance from law enforcement, county officials, and the Texas Rangers, ending in violence.7 Following that, a split in the movement and dwindling support caused it to gradually dissolve until the 1970s.

Despite attempts at organizing in the '60s and '70s, by 1982, farm workers still did not have “the benefit of collective legislation,” and union membership only covered around five percent of farm workers in the Valley.8 In the migrant labor report, the lingering conditions of the 1960s and ‘70s are apparent, and the effects of the protests are as well. The author writes that “prospects for changes in laws and regulations more favorable to farmworkers appear strong.” While the activities of the farm workers in the ‘60s didn’t see many concrete results, they went on to inspire later activists in the 1970s, who faced similar conditions.

Going into the 1970s, wages continued to be one of the workers’ biggest concerns. Landowners paid their workers based on what they believed was adequate.9 This put hardship onto not only the farmworkers but also their children who were often brought to the fields to increase their family’s income instead of attending school.10 Landowners also failed to meet the sanitation necessary to ensure their workers remained hygienic when collecting crops.11 Because of this, farm workers in the Rio Grande Valley organized strikes in Hidalgo, Crystal City, and Raymondville.

Hidalgo’s strike began in May 1976. There, farmers aligned with the Texas Farmworkers Union (TFWU) and revolted against some of the region’s largest melon producers.12 This, however, was not an isolated event. A month later, the strike moved to Crystal City and lasted an additional fourteen days until the region experienced a rainstorm that ruined the melon crop.13 In response to their victory, El Cuhamil stated “With Mother Nature on Your Picket Line, It Is Difficult to Lose!”14

Then, in 1979, Juanita Valdez started a strike against Raymondville’s major onion producer to contest the 45¢ per onion sack pay rate, which prevented farm workers from supporting their families. Ultimately, the protest gained prominence because of Valdez’ activism against the region’s inhumane working conditions.15 Yet, her contributions are overlooked in sources detailing the event. For example, Paul Jennings reported on the strike in 1980 but failed to include Valdez’ initial call to action.16 Instead, Jennings recounted how a “small group…[of] primarily women” brought the workers’ issues to the TFWU.17 Jennings’ erasure of Valdez illustrates the dismissal of female leaders from historical events during the 1970s.

Along with Valdez’ contributions to the movement, two other women heavily impacted the Rio Grande Valley’s activism in the 1970s: Rebecca Flores and Genoveva Puga. Flores grew up in a family of migrant workers and understood the associated challenges. Her knowledge of the workers’ exploitation led her to volunteer with the UFW and eventually direct the Texan branch. While Flores’ inspiration came from personal experience, Puga’s came from personal tragedy. In 1977, her son, Juan Torres, died after being crushed by a pallet on a Donna Fruit farm.18 Following the discovery of his body, Donna Fruit refused to pay workers’ compensation because he was a contracted worker.19 Refusing to accept this, Puga brought her case to the courts. Initially dismissed by the judge, Puga continued to fight and won before the Texas Supreme Court.20

Ultimately, unionizing farmworkers in Texas was a challenge. Texas’ short growing seasons and small farms meant workers frequently moved and made organizing less practical. Facing a lack of support and continued resistance, Orendain resigned as TFW director, and the union dissolved. Following Orendain’s resignation, Rebecca Flores and the United Farm Workers of Texas carried on the work. Flores and others improved sanitation and influenced key pieces of legislation, including the Workers' Compensation Bill, the Unemployment Compensation Bill, and the Pesticide Right to Know Bill. Additionally, the union efforts focused on empowering farm workers by increasing awareness of their rights and strengthening their ability to advocate for themselves. Women, heavily involved in the social side of the union, were leading these efforts. Laborers became educated on pesticides, their rights at work, and methods to reduce bodily strains. Knowledge was important for farm workers who felt they could not strike or rebel because their job was all they had. All of these accomplishments came together to make a crucial impact on the lives of Texas farm workers.21

Endnotes:

1. Glover, Robert W. “Texas Agriculture and Migrant Labor,” for the International Conference on Migrant Labor in Davis, California, 23 May 1984, 2-31.

2. Glover, 18.

3. Diaz, Joy, “Texas Farmworker: 1966 Strike ‘Was Like Heading Into War’.” National Public Radio. 12 August 2016.

4.Glover, 1.

5.Jepson, Wendy. "Spaces of Labor Activism, Mexican-American Women and the Farm Worker Movement in South Texas since 1966." Antipode 37, no. 4 (2005): 679-702. Accessed October 11, 2024, 691.

6.Mary Margaret McAllen Amberson, “‘Better to Die on Our Feet than to Live on Our Knees’ United Farm Workers and Strikes in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1966– 1967” from Texas Labor History, edited by Bruce A. Glasrud, and James C. Maroney, Texas A&M University Press, 2013, 387.

7.Amberson, Mary Margaret McAllen. “‘Better to Die on Our Feet than to Live on Our Knees’ United Farm Workers and Strikes in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1966– 1967”. From Texas Labor History, edited by Bruce A. Glasrud, and James C. Maroney. Texas A&M University Press, 2013, 389.

8.Glover, 20.

9.“New Minimum Wages?” El Cuhamil, October 20, 1977, accessed November 7, 2024, http://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/elcuhamil

10.“Children of God? Are the little ones the Children of God?” El Cuhamil, August 23, 1976, accessed November 7, 2024, http://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/elcuhamil

11. Rebecca Flores, interview by Aaron Culpo, March 31, 2006, University of Texas at San Antonio Archives and Special Collections, San Antonio, Texas.

12.“Melon Strike Begins,” El Cuhamil, May 20, 1976, accessed November 7, 2024, http://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/elcuhamil

13.“TFW Strike Moves On To Crystal City,” El Cuhamil, July 8, 1976, accessed November 7, 2024.

14.“And the Rains Came…” El Cuhamil, July 23, 1976, accessed November 7, 2024.

15.Valley of Tears, directed by Perry Hart. (2003; New York, NY: Perry Films Inc., 2003); Charles Wetegrove was the onion producer. Wetegrove is not included in the main text to maintain the movement’s focus on the numerous farm workers who put their livelihoods on the line for better working conditions.

16.Paul Jennings, “Class and National Division in South Texas: Farmworker Strike in Raymondville,” Humanity and Society 4, no. 1 (1980).

17. Jennings, “Class and National Division in South Texas.”

18.James C. Harrington et al., “Genoveva Puga: Texas’ Woman of the Year,” Rio Grande Guardian, December 10, 2020.

19. Harrington et al., “Genoveva Puga: Texas’ Woman of the Year.”

20. Harrington et al., “Genoveva Puga: Texas’ Woman of the Year.”

21.Bowman, Timothy Paul. “What About Texas? The Forgotten Cause of Antonio Orendain and the Rio Grande Valley Farm Workers, 1966-1982.” Master’s thesis, University of Texas at Arlington, 2005.

Discussion Questions:

1. What does Juanita Valdez’ erasure from Paul Jennings’ dissertation show about women’s history and the way it is reported? Have you witnessed the erasure of women in other historical movements?
2. How does police violence fit into the Rio Grande Valley farm workers' movement? Who did the police support? Who did they oppose? What does that tell you about relations between Mexican Americans, their employers, and the police force?
3. In “Spaces of Labor Activism, Mexican American Women and the Farm Worker Movement in South Texas Since 1966,” Wendy Jepson talks about how women were often relegated to the social services side of the moment. Read Rebecca Flores’s 2006 interview with the University of Texas at San Antonio, pages 8-11. Does Flores struggle with this relegation? What is her experience like in the movement? Do you think it is the typical experience of a Mexican-American Woman working as a migrant laborer?

Further Reading:

• Arise, Chicano! By Ángela de Hoyos.

• Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza By Gloria Anzaldua

• Covert Politics of Competing Leadership: Antonio Orendain, Cesar Chavez, and Union Politics in the Rio Grande Valley, 1965-1982 by Mario Venegas.

• Texas Public Radio series looking at the history of the Texas Farm Workers Union

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Bishop John J. Fitzpatrick to Farmworkers. 24 February 1979. Sam Trickey Collection,

Farmworker Movement Documentation Project. UC San Diego Library. https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/ufwarchives/ufwtexas/04Folder/Message%20to%20Farmworkers/Message%20to%20Farmworkers.pdf

de Hoyos, Angela, “Group of protesters walking down the street during the 1977 Texas Farm Workers Union protest,” Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections, accessed October 23, 2024, http://usldhrecovery.uh.edu/items/show/1977.

El Cuhamil (San Juan, Tex.), May 1976. Accessed November 11, 2024. UTRGV Digital Library, The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley. http://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/elcuhamil

El Cuhamil (San Juan, Tex.), July 1976. Accessed November 11, 2024. UTRGV Digital Library, The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley. http://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/elcuhamil

El Cuhamil (San Juan, Tex.), May 1979. Accessed October 11, 2024. UTRGV Digital Library, The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley. http://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/elcuhamil

Flores, Rebecca. Oral Interviews. University of Texas at San Antonio Archives and Special Collections, San Antonio, Texas. https://digital.utsa.edu/digital/collection/p15125coll4/id/2021/

Glover, Robert W. “Texas Agriculture and Migrant Labor,” for the International Conference on Migrant Labor in Davis, California, 23 May 1984.

Harrington, James C., Juanita Valdez-Cox and Rebecca Flores. “Genoveva Puga: Texas’ Woman of the Year” Rio Grande Guardian, December 10, 2020, accessed October 11, 2024. https://riograndeguardian.com/genoveva-puga-texas-woman-of-the-year/

Jennings, Paul. "Class and National Division in South Texas: Farmworker Strike in Raymondville." Humanity and Society 4, no. 1, Feb 01, 1980. https://manowar.tamucc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/class-national-division-south-texas-farmworker/docview/1309363630/se-2

Organizing Convocation of Texas, Resolutions. United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO. 25 February 1979. Sam Trickey Collection, Farmworker Movement Documentation Project UC San Diego Library. https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/ufwarchives/ufwtexas/04Folder/UFW%20Convention%20Feb%2025%201979%20RESOLUTIONS/UFW%20Convention%20Feb%2025%201979%20RESOLUTIONS.pdf

“The Rangers and La Huelga.” The Texas Observer, 9 June 1967. Texas Observer Archives, p. 13-28. https://archives.texasobserver.org/issue/1967/06/09#page=13

“Little People’s Day” Texas Observer, July 21, 1967. University of California San Diego Library. https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/ufwarchives/elmalcriado/84-89/06_Dec86_001.pdf

Secondary Sources:

Alonzo, Raul. “Digging Into the History of the ‘César Chávez of Texas.’” Texas Standard, October 14, 2024. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/orendain-texas-farm-workers-union-tfwu-chavez-split-ufw/.

Amberson, Mary Margaret McAllen. “Better to Die on Our Feet than to Live on Our Knees” United Farm Workers and Strikes in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1966– 1967”. From Texas Labor History, edited by Bruce A. Glasrud, and James C. Maroney. Texas A&M University Press, 2013. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/tamucc/reader.action?docID=1180047&ppg=378

Bowman, Timothy Paul. “What About Texas? The Forgotten Cause of Antonio Orendain and the Rio Grande Valley Farm Workers, 1966-1982.” Master’s thesis, University of Texas at Arlington, 2005. https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/essays/essays/Timothy%20Bowman%20Texas%20Essay.pdf

Diaz, Joy, “Texas Farmworker: 1966 Strike ‘Was Like Heading Into War’.” National Public Radio. 12 August 2016. https://www.npr.org/2016/08/12/489491157/texas-farmworker-1966-strike-was-like-heading-into-war.

Jepson, Wendy. "Spaces of Labor Activism, Mexican-American Women and the Farm Worker Movement in South Texas since 1966." Antipode 37, no. 4 (2005): 679-702. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0066-4812.2005.00521.x

Perry, Hart, dir. Valley of Tears. 2003; New York, NY: Perry Films Inc., 2003.

Schacherer, Stephanie. "Overcoming Triple Oppression: Identity, Power, and Feminism among Women of Mexican Ancestry in Texas, 1960–1980." Order No. 1449805, The University of Texas at Arlington, 2007. https://manowar.tamucc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/overcoming-triple-oppression-identity-power/docview/304707253/se-2.

University of Texas at Austin. “El Cuhamil: Documenting the Farmworker’s Demands for Justice.” University of Texas at Austin Exhibits. Accessed 20 November 2024. https://exhibits.lib.utexas.edu/spotlight/ya-basta/feature/el-cuhamil-documenting-the-farmworker-s-demands-for-justice.