Child labor

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.

Bob Barber Papers

aergas — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 09:25:40 -0400

Bob Barber worked as a journalist, writing for the United Farm Workers publication, El Malcriado, reporting for KSAN and KPFA radio stations in California’s Bay Area, and as a freelance writer. His papers center on his activities as a reporter covering California farm labor election issues during the years 1973 to 1977. The collection includes over sixty hours of taped interviews with UFW organizers, union members, Teamsters, growers and others. In addition, the collection contains a unique assortment of leaflets published by the UFW, the Teamsters and some California growers during the first summer of union elections under the NLRB in 1976.

Florida Christian Migrant Ministry Records

drice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:22:04 -0500

Subjects include: Latino migrant workers; sugarcane industry; UFW; Florida agriculture; rural poverty; black migrant workers

Michigan Farm Worker Ministry Coalition Records

Tue, 05 May 2015 16:07:54 -0400

The Michigan Migrant Ministry Coalition was organized in 1978 under the leadership of Sr. Theresa Grekowicz. The immediate successor to the Michigan Farm Worker Ministry and the Michigan Migrant Ministry, the MFWMC aimed to assist farm workers in organizing for better wages and working conditions, as well as to improve farm worker access to health coverage and education.

The records of part 1 and 2 of the Michigan Farm Worker Ministry Coalition consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, publications, research studies and other material documenting migrant agricultural labor in Michigan and the United States.

National Farm Worker Ministry Records

kschmeling — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 09:26:14 -0500

The National Farm Worker Ministry (predecessor name California Migrant Ministry) is an agency of the Southern and Northern California Councils of Churches and is affiliated with the Migrant Ministry of the National Council of Churches. It carries on a direct and active ministry of service to farm workers and their families in the following areas: Education, health services, worship, recreation, literacy classes, voter registration, community development, and vocational counseling and training. The NFWM also assists local clergy and congregations in their relationships with farm workers.

In addition, the National Farm Worker Ministry has played an active role in the organization of farm workers, in promoting national and state legislation, and in lending support to striking farm workers.

National Sharecroppers Fund Records

drice — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:07:34 -0400

The National Sharecroppers Fund grew out of the "National Sharecroppers Week," an annual event to rally support for the fledgling Southern Tenant Farmers Union. It was founded to provide financial assistance and information on government aid programs to organizations dedicated to improving living conditions for the rural poor. Their records include the papers of Fay Bennett and her work with the NSF, the National Advisory committee on Farm Labor, the Migrant Children's Fund, the National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor, and the Citizens' Crusade Against Poverty; material documenting NSF's efforts to provide technical and organizational assistance to the rural poor; and personal experience of sharecroppers in the southern United States.

Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid the Farm Workers Records

drice — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:01:52 -0400

The Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farm Workers was a branch of the National Farm Workers Ministry. NFWM began in 1920 as a ministry of charity and service, providing food, clothing and day care to the farm workers. When United Farm Workers founder César Chávez began organizing in the 1960's, he called on the religious community to change its emphasis from charity to justice. NFWM became the vehicle for people of faith to respond to that call.

The collection consists of newspaper clippings and pamphlets detailing the struggles of the UFW during much of the 1980s.

Ronald B. Taylor Papers

kschmeling — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 16:29:06 -0500

Ronald B. Taylor’s career as a journalist and photographer spans over forty years. Many of his articles and books focused on the farm labor movement. During Taylor’s working life he had been in the employ of the "Fresno Bee" and "The Los Angeles Times." His free-lance articles have appeared in, "Time," "Nation," "Argosy," "Farm Journal," and other noted publications.

In addition, over the course of his writing career, Mr. Taylor published award-winning fiction and other works. His first two published works dealing with migrant labor, Sweatshops in the Sun, 1973, delved into the problems of child labor and its effect on the migrant farm worker’s children and family; and, Chavez and the Farm Workers, which focused on the history of the United Farm Workers Union early years and the people involved in its growth.

The papers consist of interviews, reports, and other materials used as background research for Taylor’s child labor book, Sweatshops in the Sun, and interviews, clippings, articles, and other material relating to Taylor’s book, Chavez and the Farm Workers. Files also contain other Taylor articles on farm labor topics.

UFW Administration Department Records

drice — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:05:34 -0500

United Farm Workers grew out of several farm workers organizations of the 1960s and was led by Cesar Chavez for over thirty years. The Administration Department records reflect the wide range of people and groups with whom the UFW corresponded. The work of the union itself is well represented, including U.S., Canada, and Europe boycott files, El Malcriado files, and negotiations with southern California grape growers.

Part 3 of the records represent the second decade of the union’s progress toward the goals of improving wages and working conditions for farm workers. Included are major legal cases, including UFW vs. Teamsters, UFW vs. DiGeorgio, and the Blythe Massacre; boycotts, including the Lettuce Boycott and Grape Boycott; and correspondence, including Cesar Chavez personal correspondence.

UFW Arizona State Office Records

drice — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:41:58 -0400

Subjects include: strikes - grapes, lettuce, sugar

UFW Central Administration Records

drice — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:30:00 -0400

Subjects include: California boycotts; migrant laborers; immigration and farm labor legislation; farm worker health; Prop 22; Dolores Huerta; California agribusiness

UFW Information and Research Department Records

drice — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 10:56:32 -0400

The UFW grew out of several farm workers organizations in the 1960s and was led for over thirty years by Cesar Chavez. The Information and Research Department serves as the research center for the union, collecting materials of interest in many areas importantin to the organization. Their records reflect the range of services which the union provided for its members, including legal and immigration assistance, workman's compensation claims, healthcare, and grievance mediation. Other subjects include: boycotts; contract negotiations; strikes; Teamsters dispute.

UFW Massachusetts Boycott: Boston Office Records

drice — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 12:41:26 -0400

The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee’s Boston Boycott Office (UFWOC) opened in 1967, one of several regional branch offices of the UFW formed to organize communities to participate in a consumer boycott of lettuce, grapes, wines, and other agricultural products. UFWOC was the predecessor name of the UFW. The primary activity of the office involved outreach efforts (mailing letters, hosting rallies and events) aimed at prominent members of the greater Boston area, including political leaders, church leaders, and business leaders, as well as college campuses and the general public, urging them to refrain from buying non-union products. Employees and volunteers also performed routine visits to grocery stores and other places where produce was sold to investigate whether or not they were carrying boycotted products. Additionally, the office was also responsible for the distribution of fliers, pamphlets, and posters in support of the boycott and to promote farm worker events and fundraisers.

The records of the Boston Boycott Office chronicle the activities of the office, which were primarily concerned with organizing the national consumer boycott of California table grapes and non-union lettuce. Materials found in this collection reflect the office’s goal to organize the greater Boston area to participate in larger nationwide boycotts against agricultural growers that employed non-union labor, ill gotten Teamster union representation or engaged in what the UFW deemed “unfair practices.” Targets of the UFW Boston Boycott Office include local grocery and liquor stores, political figures, local universities, religious organizations and churches, as well as the general public

UFW New York Boycott Records

drice — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:13:29 -0400

The activities of the New York Boycott office focused on the national consumer boycotts of California table grapes and lettuce initiated by the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, UFWOC (predecessor of UFW) in 1967 and 1971 respectively. The boycotts were in support of striking California farm workers seeking union recognition under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the UFW.

The records consist of files from various New York boycott offices that include: New York City, Buffalo, Brooklyn and a few others. These records highlight the activities of the New York boycott coordinators efforts to publicize the California farm worker’s strike and boycott.

UFW Office of the President: Cesar Chavez Records

drice — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:34:57 -0400

Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, later known as the United Farm Workers, in 1962 at a convention he called. Growing up a migrant farm worker he honed his skills as an organizer with the Community Services Organization in California before splitting with them to form the NFWA. He would serve as president of the UFW until his death in 1993. These records reflect Chavez's beginnings with the CSO and the formative years of the NFWA, United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, and the UFW as well as some milestones in his personal life.

UFW Pennsylvania Boycott: Pittsburgh Office Records

kschmeling — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 16:02:46 -0500

The Pittsburgh boycott office was set up and coordinated by the United Farm Workers Union to handle the organization of boycotted products and establishments in the state of Pennsylvania and its surrounding region. The office, headed by Frank Ortiz, Sr. Carol Dougherty, Barbara Macri and a number of others, 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 operating in Pennsylvania, pesticide abuse and the lobbying for or against specific legislation being proposed at the state and federal levels.

The records of the Pittsburgh Boycott office relate to the grape and lettuce strikes that were initiated by the United Farm Workers Union and the national boycott efforts that followed.

UFW Public Relations: Jocelyn Sherman Records

drice — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:48:48 -0500

After college, Jocelyn Sherman started at the United Farm Workers (UFW) as a public relations representative and has been with the UFW for over 20 years. Sherman served as a documentary photographer for the UFW and as manager of the UFW’s public relations department before becoming the UFW’s Internet Communications Director.

Sherman’s records consist of the UFW public relations department’s files from 1988 to 2001 and reflect her work with UFW campaigns during that era, including grape boycotts, organizing campaigns, raising awareness of the consequences of pesticide use, and fund-raising. The records cover public relations department administrative matters and persons and subjects of interest to the department and the UFW. The records also contain newspaper clippings of articles referencing the UFW, its members, campaigns, and other activities, and people and subjects of interest to the department and to the UFW.

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 Texas Records

drice — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 13:49:00 -0400

Part 1 of the UFW Texas Records contains boycott papers from the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the UFW was organizing boycotts against companies like Safeway Supermarkets, and against products like Heublein wines and California grapes and lettuce. They also consist of office files of the UFW which document the establishment of the UFW, particularly the Service Center in Mc Allen, Texas and the UFW's involvement with a variety of local organizations including STACO (South Texas Association of Community Organizations) and La Raz Unida, a Chicano political group. The files show the Texas farm workers concern with the environment and the health of their members when one of their organizations, Nutritional Enrichment, Inc. became involved with a legal suit against the Texas Air Control Board (TACB) over the issue of sugar cane burning. Included is material from Texas organizer Tony Orendain's radio program La Voz Del Campesino.

Part 2 covers the period from 1975 to 1999 and consists of files primarily relating to the UFW boycott of the 1980s, pesticide usage and reports, crop information, organizing in the Rio Grande Valley, and UFW conventions.

Mary Heaton Vorse Papers

drice — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:37:50 -0500

Literary manuscripts and related papers, correspondence, daily notes and journals, reference and research material, notes, clippings, pamphlets, personal and family papers, and memorabilia, collected by Mrs. Vorse, writer, labor journalist, and social critic of the U.S. She also covered strikes, civil and labor disturbances, wars, revolutions, and political upheavals in other parts of the world. From the textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts (1912) to the textile strike in Henderson, North Carolina (1959), her writings and activities include the International Women Suffrage Convention (1913); the IWW; child labor; Consumers League; the organization of the Provincetown Players (1915); mining strikes in Michigan and Minnesota (1916); the rise of Hitler; invasion of Poland; postwar conditions in Europe after both world wars; the Scottsboro case; the steel strikes of 1919 and 1936-37; organizational drive of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers (1920-21); the Sacco-Vanzetti case (1920); Palmer raids and criminal syndicalist cases (1921-23); textile strikes in Passaie (1926) and Gastonia (1929); Farmers Holiday Association (1932); migrant workers; automobile sit-down strikes (1936-37); UNRRA (1945-47); the Sinarquistas in Mexico (1949); crime on the New York-New Jersey waterfronts (1950-54). Correspondents include John Dewey, John DosPassos, Dave Dubinsky, John Edelman, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, William 2. Foster, John F. Kennedy, John L. Lewis, Sinclair Lewis, Robert E. Peary, Walter Reuther, Theodore Roosevelt, Lincoln Steffens, and many other prominent persons in the labor, literary, and political fields.

Workers' Defense League Records

drice — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:17:41 -0500

This collection of correspondence, press releases, newspaper clippings, speeches, trial briefs and transcripts, and published pamphlets and leaflets, thoroughly documents the Worker's Defense League's efforts to obtain justice for labor organizers, government critics, victims of racial and economic discrimination, and conscientious objectors, through established, legal processes.

Series V: Farm Workers, Migrant Workers, Sharecroppers and their Unionization, Boxes 154 to 172 available only on microfilm.

(210) Child Labor, Field Work, California, c. 1960s

eclemens — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:17:16 -0400

Children and adults harvest onions in a field, California.

[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 »