Posted on 03/31/2014 7:34:29 PM PDT by montag813
Were the people you were working for employing illegals? Did they want to employ illegals? Did they employ illegals later?
So far as I know, they did not. They were adamant, however, about hiring non-union labor.
Still, even if they were using illegals, would that have excused Chavez' actions?
Thanks for this info.
I was not aware of what was going on behind the scenes. I only knew about what was presented on the television back in 1966, and I was only 18 years old at the time. Back then if it was not on Television or in the newspapers, “it did not happen” so far as the public was aware.
This puts a totally different light on Caesar Chavez
yep
To my recollection, Chavez' movement was attended by quite a bit of violence. My experience was hardly an isolated event.
Farmers were shot and killed. Homes and fields were burned. Trees and vines were chain-sawed...or poisoned. A few union thugs ended up face down in the ditch, too.
The affair was strongly tainted by racism and resentment, as well. Recall that this was going on in the immediate aftermath of the civil rights movement. Many of the left-wing agitators simply shifted from one "oppressed minority" to another. As you note, the media "spin" was completely predictable.
In the background was the "bracero" program -- whereby seasonal workers could gain legal entry into the USA to work for a specified period (six months, as I recall). Whereupon, they would have to go back to Mexico and wait for another six months, e.g., before re-applying. They were hired out to labor contractors -- who could be unscrupulous -- and they could not bring their families with them.
Thus, the "illegals" in the Chavez story were actually in the country legally -- and it was the "bracero program" that Chavez was fighting against. Indeed, he referred to the "braceros" as "wetbacks" on more than one occasion.
Finally, the crook LBJ was impelled to end the "bracero" program -- thereby giving birth to the "illegal" problem we deal with today.
As in so much of the upheaval in the sixties, there is a paucity of saints -- and an ample ration of thuggery (not to mention subversion). All in the name of ending old sins and, in their place, creating brand new problems.
Those of us who got caught up in the conflicts of the sixties -- and my relationship to the migrant farm workers "issue" was totally tangential -- won't soon forget it.
He was a complicated man, with some unattractive qualities in addition to his victories. You might want to read the article below to get a sense of that:
Yes. Illegal immigration is war.
Yes. Illegal immigration is war.
Btw, non-union field laborers in 1960’s CA were overwhelmingly illegals. We all know that. Stop playing dumb.
I've no idea what the broad practice in California was, but I recall my client remarking that he contracted for braceros to harvest his grapes -- which I understood was legal.
He also observed that the braceros were increasingly difficult to employ, because they were afraid of retaliation by Chavez' thugs.
My dad picked cotton as a kid in the 30s and early 40s
Sessions is one of the Good Guys. He has fought tooth and nail against amnesty. I agree, Midge needs to step out of the way, and let Sen Sessions become Majority Leader.
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