Finding Aid of the United Farm Workers Ephemera Collection 0006 0006

Alexis Adkins

The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives

February 2019

3801 West Temple Avenue

Pomona, CA 91768

speccollections@cpp.edu

909-869-3775

Title: United Farm Workers Ephemera Collection

Creator: United Farm Workers

Identifier/Call Number: 0006

Contributing Institution: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives

Language of Material: English and Spanish

Physical Description: 6.58 Linear Feet (2 boxes and one flat file drawer)

Date (inclusive): 1966-2008

Abstract: The United Farm Workers (UFW) agricultural labor union was formed in Delano, California in August 1966. The union rose to prominence for leading the Delano grape strike from 1965-1970, which culminated in a collective bargaining agreement with grape growers and drew national attention to the farm workers movement. Cesar Chavez led the union from 1966 until his death in 1993. The collection contains flyers, posters, short publications, and other ephemera promoting the UFW, the Delano grape strike and other UFW campaigns, and Chavez's legacy.

Sponsor

The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

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

[Box/folder# or item name], United Farm Workers Ephemera Collection, Collection no. 0006, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The materials in the collection were purchased by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 2007 and 2008 with funds from a Hispanic-Serving Institution grant awarded by the United States Department of Education.

Biographical / Historical

The United Farm Workers (UFW) agricultural labor union was formed in Delano, California in August 1966 following the merger of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). The NFWA had been founded in 1962 by Cesar Estrada Chavez and Dolores Huerta, which in turn had grown out of the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA) that Huerta created in 1958.

The Delano grape strike began on September 8, 1965 when the predominantly Filipino AWOC, led by Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong, Benjamin Gines and Pete Velasco, walked off the farms of table-grape growers in Delano in protest of low wages. The predominantly Mexican-American NFWA joined the strike one week later. "Huelga!"--the Spanish word for strike--would become the movement's rallying cry.

Chavez was appointed president of the new union and moved quickly to expand the scope of the strike and maximize its impact. In addition to encouraging consumer boycotts, he also drew support from dock worker and grocery worker labor unions to boycott the shipment and sale of non-union grapes. UFW representatives traveled to large cities across the country to encourage the boycott and Senator Robert F. Kennedy expressed his support for the farm workers. The strike ended in 1970 when the UFW reached a collective bargaining agreement with grape growers.

The union continued to win elections and sign contracts with growers over the course of the 1970s. Another major victory for the movement was the passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975. The law established collective bargaining for farm workers in the state and created the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), which oversees union elections and investigates unfair labor practices. During the 1980s and 1990s, the union expanded its focus to include immigration reform and the regulation of pesticide use.

Chavez continued as president of the UFW until his death on April 23, 1993. The United States Postal Service honored Chavez with a postage stamp in 2003 and Cesar Chavez Day was proclaimed a U.S. federal commemorative holiday by President Barack Obama in 2014. Since Chavez's death, the UFW has continued its work to organize farm workers, boycott non-union agricultural products, and promote legal and regulatory reforms for farm workers.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains flyers, posters, short publications, and other ephemera promoting the United Farm Workers (UFW) agricultural labor union, the Delano grape strike and other UFW campaigns, and the legacy of the union's longtime leader Cesar Chavez.

Arrangement

The materials are arranged alphabetically by folder title in the finding aid but does not reflect physical arrangement.

Related Materials

Black Eagle Wines Collection, Collection no. 0070, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Douglass Adair United Farm Workers Collection, Collection no. 0011, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

UFW Boycott Central Records, Accession no. LR002340, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.

UFW Office of the President: Cesar Chavez Records, Accession no. LR000221, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.

United Farm Workers News Clippings Collection, Collection no. 0008, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. El Malcriado. Asociacion de Trabajadores Campesinos: Delano, CA.

Processing Information

The collection was initially processed and cataloged by Danette Cook Adamson and Ernesto Sanchez in August 2009. The collection underwent further processing and the finding aid revised in 2019 by Alexis Adkins to enhance findability and access. The collection number was changed from SC2009/1 to 0006 and the collection title changed from Farm Workers Flyers Collection to United Farm Workers Ephemera Collection.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

United Farm Workers

Agricultural laborers--California.

Agricultural laborers--Labor unions

Grape Strike, Calif., 1965-1970

Chicano movement

Chavez, Cesar, 1927-1993.

Ephemera

Posters

box 2

Bumper Stickers and Window Cling before 2008

box 1, folder 1

Catalogs - United Farm Workers Store before 2008

box 1, folder 2

Christmas Cards - United Farm Workers 1986-1987

box 1, folder 3

Commemorative Postal Stamp and Photograph - Cesar Chavez 2003

box 1, folder 4

Correspondence - Other Unions in Support of Grape Boycott 1968

Scope and Contents

This file contains letters from the Greater New York Labor Food Council and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Retail Food Store Employees Union of Greater New York in support of the grape boycott organized by the United Farm Workers.

box 2

Flag - United Farm Workers before 2008

box 1, folder 5

Flyers - Labor and Immigration Law circa 1985-1992

box 1, folder 6

Flyers - Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles 1982-1987

box 1, folder 7-8

Flyers - United Farm Workers circa 1965-1975

box 1, folder 9

Membership Card - Professors Academic Membership Card National Farm Workers Association 1966

box 1, folder 10-13

Pins circa 1970-1989