‘Shirley Temple Black got Cesar Chavez to deliver one of his most memorable speeches’

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Tuesday February 11, 2014 · 11:27 AM PST

2014/02/11 · 11:27

Marc Grossman, Cesar Chavez’s longtime press secretary, speechwriter and personal aide, recalled Chavez and Shirley Temple Black after learning of Mrs. Black’s passing Monday night. Grossman is presently communications director for the Cesar Chavez Foundation and a spokesman for the United Farm Workers of America.

Shirley Temple Black got Cesar Chavez to deliver one of his most memorable speeches when she served as president of the Commonwealth Club of California in 1984. Mrs. Black invited Cesar to address one of the prestigious group’s regular luncheons in San Francisco. Cesar was hesitant at first because Mrs. Black was a well-known Republican and had served as President Nixon’s ambassador to Ghana.

So he asked me to follow up. I called the Commonwealth Club and received a phone call back from Mrs. Black. She said she was an admirer of Cesar and was enthusiastic about having him address the Commonwealth Club. So he accepted and spoke before a large crowd in the ballroom of a hotel in San Francisco’s Financial District on November 9, 1984. I worked with him on his remarks and accompanied him to the event.
Cesar and Mrs. Black had lunch together on the dais before the speech and got along like old friends. They shared common interests in gardening and vegetarianism. Mrs. Black related how she had been a member of the Screen Actors Guild as a child actor and maintained her membership in the union over the years so as to support other young actors. Much later when she had to undergo breast cancer surgery, Mrs. Black was surprised to discover the costs were covered because of her SAG membership.

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Wednesday November 06, 2013 · 2:46 PM PST

2013/11/06 · 14:46

Starting from around noon today, a group of 25 women just occupied the offices of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the third most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives. Our communities have called, visited and even spoken directly to Representative McCarthy, demanding that he not only support a Path to Citizenship, but that he commit to moving a bi-partisan bill that addresses the unique needs of women to a vote in the House. He has ignored us for almost a year, so it is time to escalate our actions!

Support these women virtually by TAKING ACTION NOW@ http://action.ufw.org/mccarthy11613">http://action.ufw.org/...

There is a live feed of the action that will go back up at around 4pm today @ http://www.americasvoiceonline.org/...

A photo album of the event which is constantly being updated can be seen at: https://picasaweb.google.com/...

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Tuesday October 08, 2013 · 4:01 PM PDT

2013/10/08 · 16:01

Today in Washington DC two farm workers and UFW Vice President Giev Kashkooli were arrested along with 200 other local and national leaders, immigrants, civil rights, labor, and faith leaders. They engaged in civil disobedience to demand that the House Republican leadership pass comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. This was part of a national event with tens of thousands of people from across the country who gathered in the nation’s capitol. The event, “Camino Americano: March for Dignity and Respect,” featured performances by Los Tigres del Norte and Lila Downs, as well as speeches from Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and other elected officials as well as labor and advocacy leaders. Read More

UFW leader arrested @ civil disobedience action @ Capitol Hill calling for Immigration reform vote

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Thursday August 01, 2013 · 9:38 AM PDT

2013/08/01 · 09:38

In latest developments over the crusade for fair immigration reform, UFW Vice President Giev Kashkooli has been arrested for joining others in a campaign to win a new immigration process that includes a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Earlier in the day, Kashkooli helped deliver 224 sweet American-grown cantaloupes, harvested by immigrants in California, to each member of the House of Representatives who voted in favor of Rep. Steve King's proposal to end the Deferred Action program for DREAMers and other uses of prosecutorial discretion in deportation cases. The cantaloupes were affixed with the message: "This cantaloupe was picked by immigrants in California" and "You gave Steve King a vote. Give us a vote for citizenship."

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Tuesday June 25, 2013 · 7:56 AM PDT

2013/06/25 · 07:56

On the heels of last night’s cloture vote on the border security amendment, today marks the launch of the United Farm Workers and United Farm Workers Foundation’s Photos from the Fields Campaign. As the U.S. Senate moves forward with the immigration reform bill, S. 744, farm workers in fields across the nation are using their rest breaks to snap a photo, get online, share their story and ask Senators to support a new immigration process that includes a roadmap to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

In a landmark digital day of action in the farm worker movement, farm workers will post pictures of themselves in the fields at work, upload them, tweet and send messages on Facebook and Twitter to key Senators, like Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia. It’s important to note that farm workers will not only be connecting to U.S. Senators online today, but also connecting to supporters in a broader conversation by using the hashtag #FieldFotos. Join us in this special conversation by voicing your support for farm workers and their families on Twitter and Facebook.

Since the Senate is expected to vote on S. 744's final passage this week, your help is essential today. This bipartisan legislation is so important to farm workers since it includes agricultural provisions that will recognize and uplift the women, men, and children who work

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Friday June 14, 2013 · 4:12 PM PDT

2013/06/14 · 16:12

Cesar Chavez was flying out of San Jose airport in 1979, amidst bitter farm worker strikes in the nearby Salinas Valley. A middle-aged Anglo woman recognized him and said, “Why don’t you go back to Mexico?” Cesar was born near Yuma, Arizona on a small family farm his grandfather homesteaded at the turn of the century. His grandfather cut and hauled wood in mule-team drawn wagons that built the mines and railroads, the backbone of Arizona’s pre-state economy. Cesar’s dad drove a Wells Fargo Stagecoach. His uncle witnessed the fabled Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone in 1881. The Chavez family literally helped build the Old West in the late 19th Century.

As a native of San Antonio, Texas, I thought about Cesar after 11-year old Sebastian De La Cruz belted out “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a booming voice while wearing a Mariachi uniform before the NBA finals game in San Antonio on Wednesday, June 12. His mother later said her son sang the anthem “in a voice filled with American pride.”

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Monday April 01, 2013 · 1:18 PM PDT

2013/04/01 · 13:18

What better way for farm workers to mark Cesar Chavez's March 31 birthday than to march in the streets of their communities and lobby at their nation's capital for immigration reform? Cesar led farm workers beginning in the 1960s to nonviolently break the bonds of discrimination and poverty that plague them in the fields and where they live. Farm workers today honor his memory by battling to free themselves from the shackles of abuse and mistreatment they suffer as a direct result of their immigration status.

More than 5,000 California farm workers and supporters marched in Fresno while an equal number demonstrated in Salinas. Thousands more took to the streets of other California farming communities in Bakersfield, Oxnard, Santa Rosa and Coachella, and in Yakima, Washington. Many of them were in the congressional districts of key Republican members of the House of Representatives.

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Monday November 05, 2012 · 3:15 PM PST

2012/11/05 · 15:15

There are many important candidates and issues on the November 6 ballot, starting with reelecting President Obama and defeating the anti-worker Proposition 32. Along with many farm workers and UFW supporters, I’m spending much of my time between now and Tuesday walking precincts and asking voters in the San Fernando Valley to reelect U.S. Representative Howard L. Berman in California’s 28th District. Let me tell you why.

No public servant running today has more consistently and selflessly championed farm workers for nearly four decades. As a state lawmaker, Rep. Howard Berman helped craft California’s landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, still the only state law in the nation granting farm workers the right to organize and bargain with their employers. Howard convinced the UFW and the nation’s growers to negotiate and support the historic AgJobs bill, still the most bipartisan and broadly backed immigration reform bill before Congress. Howard wrote the DREAM Act, which would ensure relief from the fear of deportation for thousands of young immigrants who grew up in this nation and are American in every way.

These are only some examples of what Rep. Howard Berman has done for farm workers and Latinos over the years. Now it is our turn to do something for him by reelecting Rep. Howard Berman.

Ace Tomato workers are close to getting a contract after waiting 23 yrs. Will you sign the petition?

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Friday August 17, 2012 · 2:09 PM PDT

2012/08/17 · 14:09

Workers at Ace Tomato are tired of waiting. They are tired of dirty bathrooms, the lack of fresh water and decades of low pay. You might ask, why don't they vote for a union? They did—back in 1989! But, more than two decades later they still are waiting for their contract.

The UFW fought for and passed a law in California requiring employers to negotiate in good faith or face mandatory mediation. The way this works is a mediator speaks to both sides and neutrally sifts through both sides' documents and recommendations and at the end submits a report of terms to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) which is essentially a contract. After several months of discussion, the mediator submitted his report to the ALRB on June 28. The company objected, but on July 25 the ALRB ruled against the company and ordered Ace Tomato to implement the final mediator's report as the contract. Instead Ace decided to follow their normal delaying tactics and ignored the Board order. Now the ALRB is saying, while the contract should be in effect, the Board has no basis at this time to seek enforcement.

The UFW is planning on following up through every avenue possible. But in the meantime we ask you to join us in helping the workers keep up the pressure. The first way you can help is sign a petition workers will deliver to the company on Tuesday.

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Friday November 04, 2011 · 10:14 AM PDT

2011/11/04 · 10:14

TAKE ACTION: Comment period just extended to December 1st.

That’s right, in the US, children as young as twelve can legally work in the fields. They can pick your berries and even drive a tractor. According to a US Department of Labor (DOL) report, tractor-related accidents are the leading cause of death for young farm workers.

Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about the children of growers, but children employed as farm workers.

To the dismay of many in agriculture, the DOL has proposed new rules that would begin improving safety for children in the fields--including a ban on children younger than 16 driving tractors.

TAKE ACTION TODAY! Submit your comment in support of the Department of Labor's proposed changes in child labor regulations in agricculture.

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Saturday May 14, 2011 · 5:00 AM PDT

2011/05/14 · 05:00

By Edgar Sanchez, Special to the UFW

Doroteo Jimenez, a Lodi farm worker, remains outraged over the death of his niece Maria Isavel Vasquez Jimenez, a 17-year-old farm laborer.

When Maria Isavel fainted from heat exhaustion on a farm east of Stockton on May 14, 2008, "no one made any effort to help her," least of all her supervisors, who failed to dial 911, Jimenez said this week.

The delay in getting her to a hospital led to her death two days later, he said.

This May 16, the third anniversary of Maria Isavel's tragic passing, the Assembly will vote on SB 104, the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act. Jimenez will join hundreds of other farm workers at the Capitol, to advocate for the bill, amid a sea of colorful United Farm Worker signs.

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Wednesday February 23, 2011 · 10:14 AM PST

2011/02/23 · 10:14

We urgently need your help to fight this travesty

Time is running out and we need you to take action. March 9th is the hearing for the sentencing of the two people responsible for the heat death of 17-year old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez. Maria died of heat stroke in 2008 while laboring in the scorching grape vineyards near Stockton. Her body temperature reached 108.

News reports state the district attorney is going with a plea deal that would let the accused go without even jail time, possibly with just community service. Can you believe it?

3 years probation and 40 hours community service for the owner of the labor contractor company and 400 hours of community service and a $1000 file for the company's "Safety Coordinator," instead of the original involuntary manslaughter charge?

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