Finding Aid to the Elizabeth Schilling Watsonville Canneries Strike Collection
Finding aid prepared by Devin McGeehan Muchmore.
Labor Archives and Research Center
2022
San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco 94132-1722
Business Number: (415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Title: Elizabeth Schilling Watsonville canneries strike collection
Collection number: larc.ms.0428
Accession number: 2019/012
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English.
Physical Description:
0.8 Cubic Feet
Extent:
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1985-1988, 2017
Abstract: This collection includes materials collected and produced by journalist Elizabeth Schilling in the course of researching and
reporting on the Watsonville canneries strike between 1985 and 1988. Materials include Schilling's research and interview
notes; newspaper clippings documenting the strike and its aftermath; flyers, leaflets, newsletters, and press releases from
Teamsters Local 912, Teamsters for a Democratic Union, Shaw's, Watsonville Canning and Frozen Foods Co, and community supporters;
legal materials; and research materials documenting the food processing industry and Wells Fargo's lending activities in the
agricultural and food processing industries.
Location: Collection is available onsite.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyrighted. Rights are owned by Labor Archives and Research Center (LARC), J. Paul Leonard Library, San Francisco State University.
Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission
of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements,
donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially
exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Elizabeth Schilling Watsonville Canneries Strike Collection, larc.ms.0428, Labor Archives & Research
Center, San Francisco State University.
Related Materials
Frank Bardacke Watsonville Canneries Strike Records (larc.ms.0093) and Peter Shapiro Watsonville Canneries Strike Interviews
(larc.oh.shapiro).
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Susan Renison of the Watsonville Public Library in 2019. In 2022, LARC solicited and received a deed of gift from
the collection creator, Elizabeth Schilling, accession number 2019/012.
Biographical / Historical
Elizabeth Schilling was a journalist for the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
Biographical / Historical
The Watsonville canneries strike was a strike by over 1,000 food processing workers at Watsonville Canning and Frozen Foods
Co and Richard A. Shaw Co. in Watsonville, California between 1985 and 1987. Watsonville, California, then a city of 30,000,
was a major center for frozen food processing in the United States. By the mid-1980s, Latinas represented a majority of food
processing workers.
In early 1985, workers represented by International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 912 began negotiations ahead of the expiration
of their 1982-1985 contract. Watsonville Canning and later Shaw's proposed severe wage and benefits cuts. After months of
bargaining, workers called a strike in September 1985 to fight the cuts. Shaw's workers approved a new contract and returned
to work in February 1986. Watsonville Canning workers approved a new contract in March 1987.
The local chapter of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), a rank-and-file organization of Teamsters members advocating
for union democracy and more militant organizing, was active in supporting the strike. TDU called on Local 912 to hold weekly
union meetings during the strike, to authorize the election of a committee of strikers to administer the strike fund, and
to nearly double strike benefits to $100 per week. TDU also ran a reform slate of candidates for the Local 912 Executive Board.
The strike also attracted significant community support, particularly from the Mexican and broader Latinx communities. Strike
Support Committees formed in Watsonville, Santa Cruz, and elsewhere in the state. Rallies in October 1985, November 1985,
March 1986, and June 1986 each attracted thousands of supporters. Then Presidential candidate Jesse Jackson spoke at the June
1986 rally.
The strike placed significant financial pressures on Watsonville Canning. In 1985 and 1986, the owners secured loans from
Wells Fargo to stay afloat through the strike. By February 1987, the company had defaulted and in July was sold to Norcal
Frozen Foods.
Content Description
This collection includes materials collected and produced by journalist Elizabeth Schilling in the course of researching and
reporting on the Watsonville canneries strike between 1985 and 1988. Materials include Schilling's research and interview
notes; newspaper clippings documenting the strike and its aftermath; flyers, leaflets, newsletters, and press releases from
Teamsters Local 912, Teamsters for a Democratic Union, Shaw's, Watsonville Canning and Frozen Foods Co, and community supporters;
legal materials; and research materials documenting the food processing industry and Wells Fargo's lending activities in the
agricultural and food processing industries.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cannery workers -- Labor unions.
Cannery workers -- California -- Watsonville.
Strikes and lockouts -- Agricultural laborers -- California -- Watsonville.
Strikes and lockouts -- Agricultural processing industries -- California -- Watsonville.
Watsonville (Calif.)
Women cannery workers
Mexican American women labor union members -- California -- Watsonville
Newspaper clippings
1985-1988, undated
Physical Description: 8 folders
Scope and Contents
Newspaper clippings in this file document California newspaper coverage of the Watsonville cannery strike. The majority of
clippings are from the
Watsonville Register-Pajaronian and
Santa Cruz Sentinel.
box 1, folder 3
1985 November-1985 December
box 1, folder 6
1986 October-1986 December
box 1, folder 9
Strike research and interview notes
1985-1987
Scope and Contents
Documents Elizabeth Schilling's research on the strike and food processing industry. Materials include strike timeline, business
cards, contact lists, interview notes, reports and data on the cannery industry, wage figures, and miscellaneous memos and
newspaper clippings.
box 2, folder 1
Contracts and negotiation reports
1985-1987
Scope and Contents
Includes contract proposals and reports related to collective bargaining between Teamsters Local 912 and Shaw's, Watsonville
Canning and Frozen Food, Green Giant, New West Foods, and NorCal Frozen Foods.
box 2, folder 2
Teamsters printed materials
1985-1987
Scope and Contents
Includes flyers, press releases, newsletters, and memos from Teamsters Local 912, Teamsters for a Democratic Union, and Teamsters
Local 890.
box 2, folder 3
Canneries printed materials
1985-1987
Scope and Contents
Includes press releases and memos from the Watsonville Canning and Frozen Food Co. and the Conco Corporation.
box 2, folder 4
Community printed materials
1985-1987
Scope and Contents
Documents community responses to the strike. Materials include event flyers, handouts, press releases, and newsletters from
groups such as the Watsonville Strike Support Committee, Santa Cruz Strike Support Committee, Progressive Labor Party, International
Committee Against Racism (INCAR), Pararo Valley Federation of Teachers, Santa Cruz Central Labor Council, United Labor Community
Services, and United Way of Santa Cruz County, as well as religious leaders. Also included is an unattributed anti-union handout.
box 2, folder 5
Strike legal materials
1985-1986
Scope and Contents
Documents legal actions related to the strike, including a filing by Teamsters Local 912 against the Watsonville Police Department,
an National Labor Relations Board decision, and a complaint of false arrest by 19 strike supporters.
box 2, folder 6
Watsonville Police Department press releases
1985-1986
box 2, folder 7
Datasearch food processing research
1986 October
Scope and Contents
Documents Elizabeth Schilling's research on Watsonville Canning and Frozen Foods Co. and Conco, including materials regarding
debts owed by Watsonville Canning to Wells Fargo.
box 2, folder 8
Garth Conlan v. Wells Fargo research
1986-1990
Scope and Contents
Documents Elizabeth Schilling's research into Castroville farmer Garth Conlan's lawsuit against Wells Fargo for fraud, bad
faith, and breach of contract. Wells Fargo was a significant lender to Watsonville Canning and Frozen Food Co.
box 2, folder 9
Western Frozen Food Convention program and directory
1987 February
box 2, folder 10
Norcal/Crosetti Foods merger press kit
1987 September 14
box 2, folder 11
30th anniversary materials
2017
Scope and Contents
This file includes materials commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Watsonville cannery strike, including newspaper articles
and invitations for an event at the Watsonville Senior Center.
