◆ SpookStack

AMENDING MIGRATORY LABOR LAWS 383 f pareats and hope my sun gets out of farm work. Well. I am not ready te be eine of asa tees, and farm work could be a decent job for my son with A upion. But the point is that this generation of farm labor children will not et an adequate education until their barents earn enouch to care for the ebild the way they want to and the way the other children in school—-the ones who Succeed-—-are cared for, Some other people keep talking nbont the Migrant Master Plan, Give every migrant a free tent to live in for three weeks of the year, and you bave taken a giant atep, This js not true and an insult to the worker. Thie and many other poverty programs will not solve the poverty problem. The only way is through the union, end gentlemen, we have the onion. Organizing bas now passed the point of ae return. We are out to Win in Delano and we will fight for every farm worker in America. it muy well reach the stage of becoming a general strike of farm workers this summer. In aome fields far away from Delano, ’ the workera have practised already. They shout HUELGA Seudly in anison and i the wares automatically go up a dime. This is good practice for what is com- Kon ce Me ing. The workers are now ready to organize, with or without the protee- tion of the Jaw. Ve have the will and the spirit and the men and women to « solve our pliblem, We still remembey the Mexican Revolotion and our Filipine a brothers relember Bataan-Corregidor and their victory for independence, Alt woae : we want f the government ig machinery—some rules of the game. Ail we need is tion of our right to full and equal coverage under every law demand is very simple: we Want equality, We do not want or Deed special treat- men? unless you abandon the idea thet we are equal men, My home is in Utuado, Puerto Rico. My family is in Puerto Rieo. I have mz been to the United States 21 times to work either inthe flelds or in factory work. This was my first trip to California. 1 came to California last February, in on airplane directiy to Santa Maria, California. We had to Work for Martinez, contractor in Santa Maria, for five months in order to earn free transportation to Santa Maria. [ stayed there the five months, and then went to Guadalupe and lived and worked thera. t This guy named andy from Delano came to Santa Maria this week and started F| telling everybody to come to Delano to work, I heurd from some guys who bad heard from this man to come. So I talked to this guy, Andy, in Martinez’ Cafe. Thia guy, Andy, was Paying a friend of bis in Santa Maria 50 ceuts a head to help round up people to come to Delano. Andy told me the work in Delano was ia real Bood and he would pay $1.40 an hour and $1.50 a row bonus. So I told him I would come. ba | We came eight of us in & covered truck. We stayed at California Camp, the . eight of us but they did hot puy what they promised to pay. The second marn- ing. we bad an argument and Wwe left the camp end later We met the people from the union and Cesar Chavez, h Before 1 came, neither Andy hor aDyone else told me that there was a strike 3 ere an. 40 HOF personally know that there was a strike until ter I was, . i working in the fields in Delano. a “8 Dreco CO8TES-MONTERO, 24 years. Givado, Puerto Rico. (Selective Service 33-71-41-436). STaTEMENT or Jesus Suseez. Luis PIMENTEL ann Proge VILLANETTa J, Jesus Suarez deciare that ‘ I, Luis Pimentel declare that I, Pedro Villanueva declare that: We arrived in Delano on January 31, 1968. We came from Calexico, where a bus parked next to the sidewalk, The driver of the bus, Pablo Rodrigues. whe had come from Delano to pick op men, waa telling everybody about the work in Delano. Be turned out to be the brother of the contractor Juan (Johnny) Rodrignes, who was fp charge of Caratan's #2 camp where they brought us to atey. - In the evening when we arrived at the camp, Juan Rodrigues, started handing Us sheets of paper to sign, telling us one was a work contract ; another, an anti- union (contracto en contra de la hnelga} contract. We dids': undérstand what the papera were resliy all about, but since everybody else wag aigaiag, we signed - ~ 7+ . at pa tae at a wee mola : whe