Movies

MOVIES

Farmworkers Strike Moves to Michigan in Documentary Style

By Ellen Hoffman

Fighting for our Lives: The United Farm Workers 1973 Grape Strike, a production of the National Farm Workers Service Center, photographed and edited by Glen Pearcy.

Spirit is the essence of Fighting for our Lives, a documentary of the 1973 grape strike in the valleys of California. The singing-chanting marchers carrying their red UFW flags are reminiscent of anti-war demonstrations years ago. While the Vietnam War has come to a close, the Farmworkers' struggle continues.

In 1970, the United Farmworkers signed their first industry-wide contracts with California's grape growers. But by the end of 1972, as the contracts were just about to expire, Teamsters President Frank Fitzsimmons approached the growers with a proposal to shut out the UFW. The UFW contracts ended and the growers signed new contracts with the Teamsters. All the reforms the UFW had fought for since the early sixties, from elimination of certain dangerous pesticides and hiring by seniority, to an end of child labor went out with the expired contracts.

"Few people realize that the effort to organize farm workers has been going on in California for 85 years," says William Kircher, then national director for organizing for the AFL-CIO (with which the UFW is affiliated), "and never at any time during those 85 years have the Teamsters been interested in helping poor field workers."

The film documents the UFW strike during the harvest season of 1973, which began with peaceful picketing outside the farms and ended with the deaths of two farmworkers at the hands of sheriff deputies and Teamster goons.

'The summer of 1973 was one of the roughest we've had," begins Luiz Valdez, the film's narrator. "Two of our strikers were killed. Dozens were beaten and thousands were arrested and thrown in jail. And all because the growers made one more desperate attempt to crush our union."

As conditions grow worse on the picket lines, the strikers retain their spirit and commitment. In one scene, sheriffs deputies are processing strikers for arrest at top speeds and loading them into an already overcrowded bus. The handcuffed strikers on the bus have it rocking with song as it heads off down the road towards the jail. Later in the day as the arrested picketers are released on bail, they are greeted by union supporters as victorious heroes outside the county jail.

The songs, the narration and the scenes of picketers marching in the hot California sun are guaranteed to pull the audience directly into the situation. The films viewers share the strikers' anger at taunting Teamster "guards" surrounding the fields, and sorrow over the pain of the beaten or murdered strikers.

The harvest season and the film end together, with strikers scattering to major cities across the country organizing the boycott. '

We're not afraid." declares Cesar Chavez, UFW president. "If this is what it takes to build a union- a free and democratic union and a good union for good people-we're willing to do it. As long as there's one ounce of strength left in our bodies, that ounce of strength will be used to fight for this good cause. And in the end, we will win!"

Chavez's prediction of 1973 is closer to becoming a reality now in 1975, with the passage of a bill in California granting state supervised, democratic elections to farmworkers. With every survey and election operated in a impartial and democratic manner in the past, the UFW has received overwhelming support of the workers. The new bill will go into effect in late August, coinciding with the harvest season. Through elections, which have never been guaranteed for farmworkers under previous legislation, the UFW should win back its lost contracts from the Teamsters.

The grape, lettuce and Gallo boycotts all helped the passage of the California bill. However, the union vote does not guarantee the growers will sign a contract and renew the provisions granted in l970. The national boycott is still needed lo pressure growers into honoring the wishes of their workers.

As part of the continuing effort to publicize the boycott, and raise support for the United Farm Worker struggle, Fighting for Our Lives is being shown in Ann Arbor on Friday, June 20. Scheduled to begin at 7:30 in the University of Michigan Trueblood Theatre (in the Frieze Building, S. State and E. Huron), the program will be hosted by Mayor Albert Wheeler. EI Teatro Estudiante, a U-M Chicano theatre group and Robert Escutia, a striking grape worker from California are also on the evenings program.

Fighting for Our Lives is an outstanding documentary, and worth more than the S2.00 donation being charged June 20. Tickets are on sale at the door, and the money goes to the UFW. Be sure to go.

A picture reads: UFW Leader Cesar Chavez among strikers