National Farm Workers Association

Agricultural Workers History Collection

drice — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 09:16:17 -0400

The United Farm Workers of America (predecessor name, United Farm Workers Organizing Committee) is a 20th Century union, created when the National Farm Workers Association and Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee merged to form UFWOC, to further the rights of farm workers. As the union developed, it led strikes and organizing campaigns to advance their efforts.

Parts 1 and 2 of the Agricultural Workers History Collection are comprised of articles, publications, crop and migrant studies, farm wage rates, UFW grape and lettuce boycott newsletters, legislative reports and other materials documenting the history of agricultural labor in California and a few other states.

Kings-Tulare Counties Migrant Ministry Records

kschmeling — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 10:43:02 -0500

The Kings-Tulare Counties (California) Migrant Ministry was formed by the Christian Migrant Ministry in 1959. Its purpose was to administer the Christian gospel to seasonal farm workers with a direct focus upon religious education, child-care, teenage and adult vocational and literacy training. Religious and community organizers who worked with the K-TCMM hoped that organized farm workers could exert influence, challenge established injustices and improve conditions on and off the job.

The files reflect the work of Rev. James Drake of the Christian Migrant Ministry, and National Farm Workers Association union activist, Gilbert Padilla. The collection contains correspondence, newsletters, by-laws, poverty studies and personal notes of Drake and Padilla covering their work with the Kings-Tulare Counties Migrant Ministry and the Tulare County Farm Workers Organization.

National Sharecroppers Fund Photographs

drice — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 16:19:03 -0400

The National Sharecroppers Fund (NSF) was incorporated in 1943 and grew out of “National Sharecroppers Week,” an annual event intended to rally support for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. NSF was founded to provide financial assistance and information on government aid programs to organizations dedicated to improving living conditions for the rural poor. The photograph collection consists of images documenting NSF activities and the lives of sharecroppers and their families from the 1940s through to the mid 1970s.

National Farm Workers Association Records

drice — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:37:38 -0400

Founded by Cesar Chavez and a precursor to the United Farm Workers organization, the NFWA was formed to focus on the problems of Spanish speaking migrant workers. Their records cover the formative years of the association, marked by membership drives, grape and lettuce strikes and boycotts. Much of the material is in Spanish.

UFW Publications

kschmeling — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 14:29:30 -0500

UFW Publications is primarily comprised of serials and unique publications created by, or collected by the United Farm Workers of America, the National Farm Worker Ministry and support organizations, which assisted the UFW with its cause. Included in the collection are convention proceedings dating back to the official inception of the UFW, constitutions, bylaws and serials.

UFW Publications is an artificial collection, its contents have been pulled from other UFW collections and UFW related collections to create a single grouping of farm labor publications.

UFW Virginia Boycott Records

kschmeling — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:02:50 -0500

The Virginia Boycott office was set up by the United Farm Workers to handle the organization of boycotted products and/or establishments in the State of Virginia and its surrounding region. The office dealt mainly with the boycotting of stores, which sold non-union products or were involved in anti-union activities. As well, the office involved itself with other UFW interests including migrant workers, illegal aliens, pesticide control, and the lobbying for or against specific legislation being proposed at the state and federal levels.

(232) National Farm Workers Association, Founding Convention, 1962

eclemens — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:43:52 -0400

The founding convention of the National Farm Workers Association, Fresno, California. From left to right: Antonia Rios, Dolores Huerta, Antonio Orendain, Cesar Chavez.

(238) National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), Convention, Dolores Huerta,1962

eclemens — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:52:15 -0400

Dolores Huerta signs up new members at the founding convention of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), Delano, California.

Podcast: Speak to the Earth and it Shall Teach Thee: Catholic Nuns, the United Farm Workers Movement, and the Rise of an Environmental Ethic, 1962-1978

teller — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:25:22 -0400

John Buchkoski explores the role that religious women had in grassroots social activism in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly organizations of Catholic women religious. He explains how these groups supported United Farm Worker strikes by publicizing the environmental and health effects of pesticide use and popularizing produce boycotts across Catholic communities. Buchkoski is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oklahoma. read more »

[Podcast] Awaiting Their Feast: Latinx Food Workers and Activism from World War II to COVID-19

teller — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:48:27 -0500

Dr. Lori Flores discusses food systems in the US and Northeast region specifically, illuminating how the nation has developed a growing appetite for both Latinx food and Latinx food laborers, who are often underpaid and under-nourished as they help grow, process, transport, prepare, and serve food across the country. read more »

[Podcast] Hidden in the Fields: Invisible Agricultural Child Labor in the American Southwest and the Limits of Citizenship

teller — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 11:17:54 -0500

Ivón Padilla-Rodríguez explains how labor laws helped define the modern boundaries of childhood and citizenship for both internationally and domestically migrant Latinx children working on American farms. read more »