Guide to the Irene Ramos Chandler Collection
Special Collections & Archives
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8326
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Irene Ramos Chandler Collection
Identifier/Call Number: TBC.IRC
Physical Description:
2.2 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1966-1978
Abstract: Irene Ramos
Chandler was an activist, a mother, and the wife of Bill Chandler, who was also an activist.
She heavily participated in the United Farm Workers (UFW) and the United Farm Workers
Organizing Committee (UFWOC), the precursor to UFW, during the 1960s and 1970s in California
and Texas through such activities as organizing, attending picket lines, assisting with
office work, and recruiting the farmworker community to advocate for their rights. This
small collection dates from 1966 to 1978 and includes items created by or for the UFW,
UFWOC, and other unions. It consists of publications, donation logs, memorabilia, and
clothing.
Language of Material:
English, Spanish; Castilian
Biographical / Historical
Irene Ramos Chandler was born in 1943 in a small clinic in El Monte, California, near the
migrant camp known as Hicks Camp. Her parents were Francisco and Josefina Ramos, both
migrant workers at the time who followed the harvests up and down the West Coast. Francisco
Ramos was born in 1912 in Nogales, Arizona, and Josefina Campos was born in El Monte in
1915, in the same clinic Chandler was born. Chandler's grandfather, Josef Campos, fought
with the Zapata during the Mexican Revolution. He sent his family (including Josefina) to
the United States to keep them safe during the conflict. After the conflict, he joined them
in United States and they settled as migrant workers in Los Angeles County, where Francisco
was located. Chandler was the fourth of seven children: Herlinda, Gloria, Francisco Jr.
(known as Veve), Irene, Henry, Richard and Gilbert. Herlinda died from pneumonia when Irene
was young.
Chandler dropped out of El Monte High School during sophomore year. She attended school
when she could based on the harvest. She recalled being beaten when she and her classmate
spoke Spanish during recess. She worked in the fields until she was about 12 years old, when
she was put in charge of taking care of her younger siblings while her parents and older
siblings worked in the fields. Shortly thereafter, her family left the fields and her father
became a laborer.
Irene married William "Bill" L. Chandler II when she was 18 years old. They had three
children together - Carmen, Ramona, and Silvia. To support the emerging Farm Workers Union
alongside her activist husband, she and her family moved to different parts of California,
Texas, and Illinois to organize and to participate in picketing and union-supporting
activities. In the 1960s, she attended meetings at the Filipino Hall in Delano, the site of
a major strike against Delano grape growers in 1965. In the late 1960s and 1970s, she
assisted with the Texas boycott, including working at the San Antonio office to garner
support and to record donations. She helped recruit farmworkers and farmworkers' wives while
promoting the teachings of Cesar Chavez, who supported nonviolent resistance. She was jailed
on numerous occasions while participating. During her activism she still prioritized rearing
her children, who were kept nearby with family or other UFW members as she joined the picket
lines.
Irene and Bill Chandler divorced in 1976. She returned with her daughters to her birthplace
of El Monte. She died from Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer in 2002.
Scope and Contents
The Irene Ramos Chandler collection consists of clothing, memorabilia, United Farm Workers
(UFW) and United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) publications and records, and
other non-UFW union publications and articles. Items represent some of the activities
Chandler was involved in during her time with the UFW, such as recording donations and
wearing the symbol of the union. They also signal her general support of unions during the
1960s and 1970s. The collection documents her union activism and allegiance, but does not
attest to her other activities during her lifetime.
For clothing, there is an orange shawl handknit by Chandler for Dolores Huerta that
includes the UFW eagle symbol. An exhibit label and information page accompany the shawl
that shows it was previously exhibited in 1995.
For memorabilia, there is a silver necklace with pendants attached that contain the UFW
eagle symbol. There is a pin stating support for Rodolfo ("Rudy") Acuña and the survival of
Chicano/Chicana Studies. There is also a yellow and blue solidarity flag for the 1199
National Hospital Union.
For UFW publications and records, there are two issues of UFW's
El
Malcriado
newspaper from 1966 and 1970, and a comic book illustrating the Delano
strike that occurred from 1965 to 1970. Additionally, there are two handwritten pleas from
jail, one in Spanish and the other in English, from Antonio Orendain to Cesar Chavez. For
UFWOC publications, there is song book that has also been matted and sleeved.
For UFWOC records, there are five donation logs dated 1971 to 1975 from the UFWOC's San
Antonio office that include donation amount and donor details in support of the Texas
Boycott.
For union publications and articles, there are six publications and two articles from a
variety of unions and organizations, such as the National Council of the Churches of Christ,
United Front Press, United Automotive Aerospace Agricultural Implement Workers of America
(UAW), and the Communist Party.
Related Materials
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Preferred Citation
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Processing Information
Elizabeth Peattie, 2022
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Paper records
Textiles
Box 1, Item 1
Handknit Shawl for Dolores Huerta,
ca. 1960-1975
Box 1, Item 2
National Hospital Union Solidarity Flag,
ca. 1960-1990
Box 2, Item 1
Necklace with UFW Symbol,
ca. 1960-1975
Box 2, Item 2
Pin, Friends of Rudy Acuña,
ca. 1960-1990
Box 3, Folder 1
Pleas from Antonio Orendain to Cesar Chavez,
ca. 1960-1975
Box 3, Item 1
UFW,
Don Sotaco: Cartoons from the Delano Strike
Comic Book,
1966
Box 3, Item 2
UFW,
El Malcriado Newspaper,
1970 May 15
Box 3, Item 3
UFW,
El Malcriado Newspaper,
1970 November 15
Box 3, Item 4
UFWOC, Song Book,
ca. 1960-1975
Box 4, Folder 1
UFWOC, Texas Boycott Donation Log,
1971-1972
Box 4, Folder 2
UFWOC, Texas Boycott Donation Log,
1971 June-1973
May
Box 4, Folder 3
UFWOC, Texas Boycott Donation Log,
1973 May-1974
April
Box 4, Folder 4
UFWOC, Texas Boycott Donation Log,
1974 April-1975
March
Box 4, Folder 5
UFWOC, Texas Boycott Donation Log,
1975 March-1975
October
Box 4, Folder 6
Union Publications and Articles,
1970-1978
Folder 1
Union Publications and Articles,
undated
