Today in Labor History December 4, 1970: The authorities jailed Cesar Chavez for 20 days during the Salinas Salad Bowl Strike. The strike was, in many ways, a turf war between the UFW and the teamsters, who had already signed a deal with the growers. It was the largest farm workers strike in U.S. history. It cost the lettuce growers $500,000 per day. The UFW also initiated a nationwide boycott of lettuce. On November 4, someone bombed their headquarters. Chavez’s arrest, on December 4, was his first of many arrests. Ethyl Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy, visited him in jail. As she left, an anti-union mob attacked her. The Brown Berets collaborated with the police to prevent a full-scale riot from breaking out.

https://youtu.be/D_gmOO7vcxI

#workingclass #LaborHistory #cesarchavez #union #strike #ufw #farmworkers #chicano #mexican #brownberets

Today in Labor History November 20, 1969: Indigenous activists seized control of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, and occupied it until the U.S. Government ousted them 19 months later. The protest group called themselves Indians of All Tribes. They took the island because, according to the Treaty of Fort Laramie, all retired, abandoned or out-of-use federal land was to be returned to the Indians who once occupied it. Since Alcatraz had been closed for over 6 years, and the island had been declared surplus federal property, indigenous activists believed that the island was theirs to reclaim. One of the organizers of the Occupation, Richard Oakes, was shot to death in 1972 by a white supremacist YMCA counselor in Sonoma, CA. And the American Indian Movement (AIM) was targeted by the FBI’s COINTELLPRO. Other organizers of the Alcatraz Occupation included LaNada Means, head of the Native American Student Organization at the University of California, Berkeley, and poet, musician and songwriter John Trudell. At the height of the movement, there were 400 people occupying the island. They set up a school, daycare center, and health clinic. Trudell began making daily radio broadcasts from the island. The longshore union rented space on Pier 40 to coordinate the delivery of supplies. Grace Thorpe, daughter of Olympic champion and multisport indigenous superstar, Jim Thorpe, helped convince celebrities like Jane Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Marlon Brando, Jonathan Winters, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Dick Gregory, to visit the island and show their support, bringing national and international attention to the cause. AIM also formed coalitions with the Black Panthers and the Brown Berets, who help run security on the island.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #alcatraz #occupation #nativeamerican #indigenous #aim #StolenLand #solidarity #blackpanthers #brownberets #americanindianmovement #jimthorpe #johntrudell #landback

San José commemorates the 55th Chicano Moratorium

San José, CA – On August 31, CSO San José, the Brown Berets and others held the annual Chicano Moratorium commemoration, a historic event when over 30,000 Chicanos marched in 1970 against the war in Vietnam to demand justice for their communities. This significant moment in Chicano history highlighted the disproportionate deaths of Chicano soldiers abroad, as well as the struggle for equality and self-determination at home.

[...]

https://fightbacknews.org/articles/san-jose-commemorates-the-55th-chicano-moratorium

Today in Labor History September 5, 1917: Federal agents attacked Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) halls and offices in 48 cities across the nation as part of the Palmer raids against the left, also known as the First Red Scare. The raids, which particularly targeted anarchists, labor activists and Italian and Jewish immigrants, decimated the IWW. In all, over 6,000 people were arrested and over 550 were deported, including many who were naturalized U.S. citizens, like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. The American Civil Liberties Union would be founded in response to the raids by IWW organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, disability rights activist Helen Keller and others. The Palmer raids were named for A. Mitchell Palmer, U.S. attorney general, who tasked a young 24-year-old J. Edgar Hoover with leading the raids. Hoover would, of course, rise to head of the FBI and lead the attacks on the left during the McCarthy era, or Second Red Scare, as well as the COINTELLPRO attacks on the Black Panthers, American Indian Movement, Brown Berets, and other activists. The Palmer raids, jailings and deportations were illegal, and have been compared to Trump’s current attacks on immigrants and activists. Both cases involved attacking fabricated enemies of the state, stripping away of Due Process rights, abuses of power, kidnappings and general terrorism by the state against innocent people.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #IWW #police #policebrutality #union #repression #aclu #blackpanthers #cointellpro #trump #civilrights #anarchism #socialism #union #aim #brownberets #immigration #deportation

Today in Labor History August 23, 1970: The Salad Bowl strike began. Led by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers (UFW), it was the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history. The strike cost the growers $500,000 per day. The strike was not only a battle between farm workers and the large, corporate growers. It was also a turf war between the UFW and the Teamsters, who had initially signed a contract with growers to represent the lettuce pickers. In late September 1970, the UFW launched a consumer boycott of all lettuce which had not been picked by members of the United Farm Workers. Violence was widespread. In November, someone bombed a UFW regional office. In December, federal marshals arrested and jailed Chavez. Two days later, former Olympic gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson and Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy, visited him in jail. However, an anti-union mob attacked Kennedy and Johnson on the steps of the jail. Only the intervention of Salinas city cops and the Brown Berets prevent injury to the visitors and full-scale riot.

The turf war between the Teamsters and the UFW continued after the strike and grew increasingly violent. A UFW picketer was shot on August 3. And on August 9, five firebombs were thrown at UFW picket lines. Another two UFW members were shot on August 11, and a UFW picketer was shot to death on August 16, 1973. Chávez ultimately entered into talks with the Teamsters. On September 27, 1973, the Teamsters agreed to leave jurisdiction over farm field workers to the UFW.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #UnitedFarmWorkers #ufw #union #strike #cesarchavez #teamsters #immigrants #chicano #boycott #bomb #jail #brownberets

Today in Labor History November 20, 1969: Indigenous activists seized control of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, and occupied it until the U.S. Government ousted them 19 months later. The protest group called themselves Indians of All Tribes. They took the island because, according to the Treaty of Fort Laramie, all retired, abandoned or out-of-use federal land was to be returned to the Indians who once occupied it. Since Alcatraz had been closed for over 6 years, and the island had been declared surplus federal property, indigenous activists believed that the island was theirs to reclaim. One of the organizers of the Occupation, Richard Oakes, was shot to death in 1972 by a white supremacist YMCA counselor in Sonoma, CA. And the American Indian Movement (AIM) was targeted by the FBI’s COINTELLPRO. Other organizers of the Alcatraz Occupation included LaNada Means, head of the Native American Student Organization at the University of California, Berkeley, and poet, musician and songwriter John Trudell. At the height of the movement, there were 400 people occupying the island. They set up a school, daycare center, and health clinic. Trudell began making daily radio broadcasts from the island. The longshore union rented space on Pier 40 to coordinate the delivery of supplies. Grace Thorpe, daughter of Olympic champion and multisport indigenous superstar, Jim Thorpe, helped convince celebrities like Jane Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Marlon Brando, Jonathan Winters, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Dick Gregory, to visit the island and show their support, bringing national and international attention to the cause. AIM also formed coalitions with the Black Panthers and the Brown Berets, who help run security on the island.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #alcatraz #occupation #nativeamerican #indigenous #aim #StolenLand #solidarity #blackpanthers #brownberets #americanindianmovement #jimthorpe #johntrudell #richardoakes #lanadameans #landback

Today in Labor History August 23, 1970: The Salad Bowl strike began. Led by Cesar Chavez and the UFW, it was the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history. The strike was not only a battle between farm workers and the large, corporate growers. In late September 1970, the UFW launched a consumer boycott of all lettuce which had not been picked by members of the United Farm Workers. Violence was widespread. In November, someone bombed a UFW regional office. In December, federal marshals arrested and jailed Chavez. Two days later, former Olympic gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson and Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy, visited him in jail. However, an anti-union mob attacked Kennedy and Johnson on the steps of the jail. Only the intervention of Salinas city cops and the Brown Berets prevent injury to the visitors and full-scale riot.

The turf war between the Teamsters and the UFW continued after the strike and grew increasingly violent. A UFW picketer was shot on August 3. And on August 9, five firebombs were thrown at UFW picket lines. Another two UFW members were shot on August 11, and a UFW picketer was shot to death on August 16, 1973. Chávez ultimately entered into talks with the Teamsters. On September 27, 1973, the Teamsters agreed to leave jurisdiction over farm field workers to the UFW.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #UnitedFarmWorkers #ufw #union #strike #cesarchavez #teamsters #immigrants #chicano #boycott #bomb #jail #brownberets

made some silly bumper stickers, now on http://christen.wtf/shop

according to #wikipedia, COINTELPRO targeted groups and individuals such as:
- #feminist organizations
- the #Communist Party USA
- anti–Vietnam War organizers
- activists of the #civilrights and #Blackpower movements (e.g., #MartinLutherKing Jr., the Nation of #Islam, and the #BlackPanther Party)
- #environmentalist and #animalrights organizations
- the American Indian Movement (AIM)
- #Chicano and #MexicanAmerican groups like the #BrownBerets and the #UnitedFarmWorkers
- independence movements, including #PuertoRican independence groups such as the #YoungLords and the Puerto Rican #Socialist Party

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO

Today in Labor History December 4, 1970: The authorities jailed Cesar Chavez for 20 days during the Salinas Salad Bowl Strike. The strike was, in many ways, a turf war between the UFW and the teamsters, who had already signed a deal with the growers. It was the largest farm workers strike in U.S. history. It cost the lettuce growers $500,000 per day. The UFW also initiated a nationwide boycott of lettuce. On November 4, someone bombed their headquarters. Chavez’s arrest, on December 4, was his first of many arrests. Ethyl Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy, visited him in jail. As she left, an anti-union mob attacked her. The Brown Berets collaborated with the police to prevent a full-scale riot from breaking out.

https://youtu.be/D_gmOO7vcxI

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #union #strike #cesarchavez #ufw #chicano #immigration #boycott #brownberets #police #Riot