Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Processing Information
Title: United Farm Workers News Clippings Collection
creator:
Velasco, Dolores
Identifier/Call Number: 0008
Contributing Institution:
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
10.33 Linear Feet
(9 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1972, 1982-2006, undated
Abstract: The United Farm Workers (UFW) is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States headquartered in Keene, California. The
news clippings collection was created by UFW staff member Dolores Velasco as a way to disseminate information to union field
offices. Velasco collected and copied the news clippings and then faxed them to the field offices before filing them away
for future reference.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives
3801 West Temple Avenue
Pomona, CA 91768
speccollections@cpp.edu
Immediate Source of Acquisition
In 2005, Dolores Velasco donated the collection to Professor José Calderón while he was working on a project on the history
of the UFW at La Paz, the UFW's Keene, California headquarters. Prof. Calderón brought the collection back to Cal Poly Pomona,
where it was stored in the César E. Chávez Center for Higher Education. The collection was transferred to the University Library's
Special Collections and Archives in Fall of 2006 for permanent storage.
Biographical / Historical
The United Farm Workers (UFW) was formed on August 22, 1966 with the merger of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee
(AWOC), led by Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), led by César Chávez.
In 1965, the mostly Filipino members of AWOC walked out on strike against grape growers in the Delano, California area. The
members of the NFWA voted to join the strike, sparking the five-year Delano Grape Strike that would end when union contracts
were signed with the major grape growers in California.
The United Farm Workers Clippings Collection was originally intended as a way to keep separate and distant UFW field offices
informed of news relevant to the organization in its efforts on behalf of farmworkers. UFW staff member Dolores Velasco collected
and copied the clippings and then faxed them to various UFW offices before filing them for future reference.
Dolores Velasco is the widow of Pete Velasco, who served in a number of positions in the UFW, including Director of the Stockton
Field Office, Director of the Strike Defense Fund, member of the Farm Workers Credit Union board, and the third Vice President
of the National Executive Board.
Scope and Contents
The collection includes clippings from a variety of publications. Most clippings are from newspapers, including the
Bakersfield Californian, the
Sacramento Bee, the
Fresno Bee, the
Los Angeles Times, the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the
Wall Street Journal, the Watsonville, California
Register-Pajaronian, the
Catholic Agitator, and several Spanish-language publications.
The clippings concern issues that impacted the UFW both directly and indirectly, including pesticide use, low wages, immigration,
bilingual education, affordable housing, and medical care. The clippings focus on California, but also include news items
from across the country.
Other materials include UFW press releases, martyr histories, flyers for events, and fundraising materials.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series: 1. Clippings and 2. Other Materials.
Processing Information
The collection was initially processed and cataloged by Alfredo Lafarga in 2007 with the support of a Title V Hispanic Serving
Institutions grant that was awarded to the University Library in 2005.
The collection underwent further processing in 2016 by Rodney Cox and Keena Hildebrandt under the supervision of Alexis Adkins
to enhance findability and access. The finding aid was revised in 2016 by Alexis Adkins and Rodney Cox.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
United Farm Workers
Chavez, Cesar, 1927-1993.
Agricultural laborers--California.