National Farm Worker Ministry

UFW Canadian Boycott: Winnipeg Office Records

kschmeling — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 16:18:34 -0500

The UFW Canadian Boycott documents the operations and activities of the Winnipeg branch of the United Farm Workers boycott operations between the years of 1970 and 1974. The two major boycotts of that era were, grapes and grape-products produced by employers of non-union labor, and another concerning non-union lettuce, as well as other smaller campaigns. Fred Schumacher headed the Winnipeg office.

Material found in this collection reflects the work of Fred Schumacher and office’s goal to organize the greater Winnipeg area and other Canadian regions to participate in larger boycotts against agricultural growers that employed non-union labor and engaged in what the UFW deemed “unfair practices.” Those the office tried to organize include local grocery and liquor stores, political figures, religious organizations and churches, as well as the general public.

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 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.

Philip Vera Cruz Papers

drice — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:07:32 -0400

Philip Vera Cruz (Dec 25, 1904 – June 12, 1994) was born in Saoag, Ilocos Sur,
Philippines. He worked on farms in the Philippines before traveling to the United States
in 1926. Vera Cruz worked several odd jobs around the Midwest, but was not active in
any union before moving to California in 1943 and becoming a farm worker. He joined
the Agricultural Worker Organizing Committee (AWOC) and soon became a leader in
farm workers rights. In 1965 he was an active force in the AWOC decision to strike
against grape growers in Delano, CA. The strike and boycott soon won the support of
Cesar Chavez and the National Farm Workers of America, and led to the eventual
merging of the two groups to form the United Farm Workers. Vera Cruz was elected a
vice president of the union, a position he held until he left the union in protest of Chavez
in 1977, though he continued to be active in his retirement. Cruz also formed the Farm
Workers Credit Union and created Agbayani Village, a retirement community for older
farm workers. Throughout his career Vera Cruz worked for migrant and farm worker
rights, and was very active in the Asian American, especially Filipino, rights movement
and community. In 1987 he received the Ninoy M Aquino Award in the Philippines, and
in 1992 he was honored by the AFL-CIO’s Asian Pacific American Labor Committee.

The papers of Philip Vera Cruz focus on his active years as a California labor leader. It
includes his correspondence, writings and notes, as well as his activity in the UFW and
other organizations and his work in boycotts. Cruz’s research, negotiations, and
collective bargaining work are also included as well as a number of ALRB cases and
resources he collected for farm workers and Filipinos.

Collection Spotlight: Robert F. Kennedy and the UFW

teller — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:42:21 -0400

U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy strongly supported the advance of human rights and in doing so he forged a relationship in the 1960s with the United Farm Workers, a union that sought to improve the lives and working conditions of migrant farm workers across the country. Kennedy supported the workers during a 1966 Senate Subcommittee on Migratory Labor hearing in Delano, California. In the spring of 1968, read more »

NHPRC Oral History Project: An Update from the (Wave) Field

rbizonet — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 11:57:13 -0500

In 2014 the National Historical Publications and Records Commission awarded the Walter P. Reuther Library its two-year Documenting Democracy grant to enhance access to the library's oral history collections, thus enabling my hiring. As Oral History Project Archivist, I’m lucky enough to get to “unearth” some of the great treasures of our collections. Thanks to the grant, I am arranging and describing more than 1,600 previously undescribed or “under-described” oral histories in our collections. read more »

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] 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 »

Newsletters and Pamphlets

kchinery — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:07:51 -0400

Unprocessed

NFWM News & Views

kchinery — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 11:53:01 -0500

NFWM Newsletter

kchinery — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:07:51 -0400

Unprocessed