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i- "EI Malcriado" La Voz del Campesl.no @ $2 per year FARM WORKER PRESS. INC. '!I "EI Malcriado" The Voice of the Farm Worker Box 1060. Delano. Calif. i,~ ~~---------- .I

page 2

CONTENTSLE TTERS to the EDITOR(Page 4-5)

DON SOTACO(Page 6)

----------"THE HONOR OFBEING IN JAIL"(Page 7)

The Farm Worker Struggle(Page 8-9-10-11)

Letter from a Rancher(Perelli- Minetti)

Page 12-13-14

FRESNO NEWSPage 16

IS EL MALCRIADO BAD?(Page 18-19)

"LISTEN, SCAB! 11

(Page 20)

E1 Teatro Campesino(Page 21)

THEFEMININE

PRESENCE(Page 24)

EL MALCRIADOBOX 1060

DELANO CALIF.

EL MALCRIADO:::page 3

Editorial

...LIKE ASKING TO BREATHEIf the farm workers of Texas once took their

inspiration and example from the great events inCalifornia, now it is time for the farm workersof California to look toward Texas.

Our brothers there are poorer than we are inall but one thing: courage. The legend of theircourage is a story that will be passed down fromfather to son.

Their great march across the huge state madeour brave Pilgramage to Sacramento seem almostsmall in comparisonL And now their determinationin closing the International Border against scabworkers is a monumental story that will be told foras long as there are farm workers.

The farm workers of Texas will not rest until hehas achieved one thing: the dignity of a living wageand the respect of his employer. For it is theright of every worker who walks the face of theearth to be able to feed his family and to be treated as a man. To ask for this is not to ask much;

.it is like asking to breathe.But it is something that the farm workezs will

ask for, struggle for--and if need be--die for. Andsomeday you will be able to travel over 2, 000 milesfrom the Rio Grande to the Sacram,ento, throughthe richest farming country in the world. And themen you will see in the fields will be proud, freeand equal.

Right now ,it is only a dream. And it will neverhappen unless enough men of courage believe init, and work for it. Are you--in Texas or in California--one of those men'?

"EI Malcriado", the Voice of theFarm Worker, is an independentpublication, and Is not the "officialnewspaper" of any person or -group.The editors are solely responsiblefor all statements and views.e;Jpressed here. ~

El Malcr1ado .. _tered .. leeQ21d clue matter 011 olllD'lIUJ' 14. u~ee. at the ~t <Wnoeat DelaDo, CallforDil, UDder tbe act ci Karcb 8. 1871. It ta plbUahed bt-~ at130.A1butJ. De,1.aD.o. CaUlOl'Dia. 8UbecrlpUCID price ta '2. yur'. T~.I t.... f 49- 4 - 18 - 66

EL MALCRIADO SAYS:You are right Mrs. Foxbecause of our lamentable mistake in nottaking care of Pete See-

( cont'd on p. 20)

THE SAMELANGUAGiEFriends of El Malcriado:

I have been readingEl Malcriado, so Ican tell that it reallyis The Voice of theFarm Workers. I'mone of those farmworkers and becauseof that it occured to meto find out if I was ableto write an article forEl Malcriado.It was not too easy,

but I did it. I'm sending it to you so you canread it and see if it canbe published. It musthave lost of mistakes,but I think that we, thefarm workers, can understand each othereasily.

song he wanted? I'dthink someone connected with the El Malcriadocould perhaps sit downand listen to side 2 several times and then makeavailable to Pete Seegerthe transcription hewants. I hope someonecan do so.

Sincerely,Mrs. Thelma B. Fox

Your friend,R.A. CamposOXnard, Califor,nia

\

El Malcriado says: Webelieve that Mr. Campos' article is good.We published it in thisissue.

Dear Malcriados:rm sending you

this letter to wishyou the best. I haveasked God and ourlady, the Virgin ofGuadalupe to takecare of you becauseof all the good thingsthat you have beendoing for the working,.PJlople. .so m:y wish-!es are that God blesses all of you and your,families.

When my husbandand I were youngerwe too, were in the done any picking latestrikes, and we too, ly because it was notwere suffering be- worth it to be socause of the evil tired for such littlescabs. This happen pay.ed long ago in Mexico I'm sending you myNow Pm an older $2 to pay for my sublady but still 3 years scription to El Malago my husband and criado, because I'mI used to !Jl to pick very grateful that

rapes. We have not you have taken all(Turn to Page 20)

I Letterfrom

GermanYI

Faithfully,Rolf- Ulrich Kaiser

Sehr geehrte Herren!(Very good People!)

In "sing out" 5/66 Ihave read of the Huelgamovement. I am veryinterested for moreinformation and foryour record!

i am a journalist inWest Germany, writing for our greatestjournals, newspapersand for the broadcaststatibns. I want towrite about your movement a few articles;and it perhaps is possible, to bring it inbroadcasts.

I hope that you will'help me quickly. It isvery important to geta quick answer! .

I wish the movementmuch more luck.

PETE SEEGERDear Editor: Gentlemen:

I'm sending you this letter so In #46 of El Malcriadothat you will do me a favor and you quote a letter frompublish it. 'It is about a foreman Pete Seeger, asking fornamed Isidro Garza, someone the wo: rds to a song onthat we canYt stand any longer. side 2 of the record youHe does not have enough money issue. Now Pete Seegerthat he gets from the boss and is indeed someone pow-forces the workers to use his erful to have on yourbus for transportation to and side. Did the editorsfrom the fElds, he charges seven know WHO he was wl).enty-five cents to each farm worker. the answer was written-

My daughter and I were fired that there was no trans-( CONTINUED ON PAGE 20) cription available of the

LETTER FROM A GRANDMOTHER

BI~ssings for

EL MALCRIADO

A BRAVE B055--

Letters to the Editor

ANOTHER COYOTE



Editor of LA OPINION,Los Angeles, California

November 21, 1966

FROM A FRIEND OF THE BOSSES

Mr. Editor:Not long ago a person who signed his name as Rafael V. Duran who sounded like an emloyee or contractor of DiGiorgids company, sent a letter to LA OPINION that you published. In this letter he attacked the farmworkers that are fighting here in Delano for a betterlife. The attack seemed to be directed only to our leaders, but it really was against allof us, the thousands of farm workers who do not submit any longer to being second classcitizens.If you are so kind to publish this letter in the section of the Voice of the p'ublic, in thepaper, then that meant Mr. Duran (or whatever his name is) might understand better thepeople that he sees as enemies. .,

Duran says in this letter that we, the members of the NFWA, are mocking his dignity asan " authentic" Mexican, because of the fact that in our struggle for social justice we use

. Mexican symbols such as the banner of the Virgen of Guadalupe, and the figures of Villa, and ';-Zapata. .

This detractor ignores, or pretends to ignore, the fact that many of us, and many of ourleaders, are sons or grandsons of different revolutionaries, who fought under the ordersof Francisco Villa, and Emiliano Zapata.

How then, could we be mocking those noble figures? Does this Mr. Duran, pretend thatour ideals are not as high as the ones that Villa and Zapata and our nthers fought for?What concept can you have about someone who thinks that to invoke the names of 'Zapataand Villa is degrading?In short: What kind of an " authentic" Mexican is this Mr. Duran, who serves his master by using the names of the Virgen of Guadalupe, and of the Mexican heroes?

And about the Virgen of Guadalupe, in case Duran does not know it, among other things itis a symbol of unity for us, the Mexicans that really have respect and honor her. To thisday there have not been any priests that have seen in us or in our leaders any irreverencefor the Virgen. Does Mr. Duran pretend to have the authority to contradict the opinion ofthe priests? ~

The things that he said .atout Cesar Chavez are of no valu e because of the simple fact thatCesar Chavez has dedicated all his life to helping the farm workers, and Duran, as itcan be seen very clearly in his letter, is at the service of those who have exploited us foryears and years. S·· 1mcere y,

K~~Rainiro Mffidez 0-

C. C. to El Malcriado, The Voice of the Farmworker

EL MALCRIADO:::page ~

CARTOONS FROM THE BOOK

"DON SOTACO" BY Andy Zer-

meno and El Malcrlado. $1. 00

by mail from Box 10 .().! Delano.

~=.....---='=.:;;--=.~~\\t,........ .. __ --= L]: .. ;i.:

._-.-~. - .... .:_ ......~-

:

----Yesterday and Today =======

same condition as everythingelse pUblic,'around here, dirtyand in a sad state of despair.The tax payers sure aren't getting their money's worth. "

"This is just another act ofanti-union intimidation againstthe strikers; in an attempt toscare them away from theirobjectives. "

Idn't believe it when I was arrested. There was some discussion I

among them whether I should be.charged with "inciting to riot",but this would raise the questionthat they (the officers) might beprone to riot, since my only apparent crime was conversation.with them."

Asked about the jail, Mr. Chandler said, "It seems to be in the

A THOUSAND DOLLAR BOND FOR A POOR FARM WORKER who does noteven make enough money for foodl

Yes, Adali Stevenson was right: there are still times when it is an honorto be in jail in the United States, ~specially in Texas, land of millionairesand of human beings that are their victims.

GOING TO JAIL-_._.._---


There are women and older men in the group that were jailed by a judgewhose actions would 'embarass any student of law. This representative ofTexas "justice" set the bond for the strikers at $1,000 each.

THE HONOR OF

Texas, in a small town, close to the Mexican border, eleven striking heroes in jail and victims of police brutality, give testimony that Stevensonwas right. They were jailed for what seems·to be a serious crime of picketing'in front of the shed where the melons that the scabs picked, were stored.

ong the ones that recieved the honor of being victims of the Texas Rangerst the service of the growers, are two leaders of the strikers: Tony Orindan

l\nd Bill Chandler, the ones that just a few weeks ago made the wor Id heartheir voices of protesting the poor conditions of the farm workers. Thishappened when 40 strikers sat in the middle of the International Bridge toprevent the scabs from crossing into Texas, causing an international incident.

"Today in America it is sometimes an honor to be in jail." This convictionexpressed by Adali Stevenson, former candidate for the presidency and former embassador to the l{nited Nations still applies within the state of Texas.

BILL CHANDLER

A member of the United FarmWorkers' Organizing Committee:AFL-CIO, National Staff, fromDelano, California, was arrestedlate yesterday by officials of theStarr County Sherriff's Department. He was identified as BillChandler, Administrative Assist,·ant to the National SecretaryTreasurer, Tony Orendain. Thearrest took place a few miles outside of Rio Grande City, whileMr. Chandler was observing hisunion's picket lines outside ofranches there.It was not immediately ascer

tained as to the reason of thearrest. According to witnesses,Mr. Chandler was engaged inconversation with the officersregarding the picket line when allof a sudden he was grabbed bythree of the four officers present;told he was under arrest. thenshoved into the sherriff's vehicle,and sped off to the Coil1ty Jail.

Mr. Orendain, who is administering the strike there, also sawthe incident, after which he wentto the county courthouse w'herethe jail is located, to find out thecharges against Mr. Chandler,and put up a bond if necessary.On inquiring about Mr. Chandler,Mr. Orendain was told that thecharges were "disturbing thepeace", then he was threatenedwith arrest also, if he did notleave the courthouse at once.

Later in the evening, Mr.Chandler was released on $500Bond. In recounting the incident,Mr. Chandler said, "I really cou

POLICEPERSECUTION


HE FARM WORKER STRUGGLE

bluffing them, bullying them, and then"arrestingthem for "tresspa,ssing." But as soon as theywere allowed out of jall, they went back to hisoffice and "sat-in" again. Finally DiGiorgiogave in and agreed to elections. k

The result was an election held at DiGiorgio'sranch in Arvin on November 4. And 283 workers voted "YES! " .•.. WE WANT A UNION! Thatwas 59%, a bigger landslide than Ronald Reagansvictory! The workers against the union numbered 199.

Mack Lyons, 25, a DiGiorgio field worker,commented, "I was confident of victory here andI think that it is just the beginning of unionizingfarm workers allover the country. There is apl31-ce for everyone in this union, Negro, Mexican

American, Puerto Rican, and Anglos. Unityis the only way to make a decent living. Oneman alone can do nothing." Lyons, a Negro,and one of the Chairmen of the Union in Lamont, has been working in the fields since hewas 7 years old.

Another worker commented on those thathad voted "No". "The bosses promised thatwe would get a contract with all the benefits ofthe Delano workers. They sa id that because ofthis, we didn't need a union. And they threatened the people in the "Mexican Camp" and saidthat they would all be sent back to Mexico if theunion won." The worker referred especially toJess Marquez, DiGiorgio's camp manager, whohates the unions. People say Marquez runs the

(TURN TO PAGE TEN)

·'1

WORKERS REJOICE AFTER THE VICTORY.THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE HARDESTBATTLES OFTHE YEAR.

Nine months ago, DiGiorgio Corporation promised that it would allow its workers to vote onwhether they wanted a union or not. For fivemonths they stalled, made excuses, and triedto prevent elections. The strike and boycottfinally.convinced them, and in August they allowed their workers at Delano and Borrego Springs to vote. By an overwhelming majority, thefield workers voted to join the United FarmWorkers Association, led by Cesar Chavez.

But the workers at DiGiorgio's biggest ranch,the 9, OOO-acre hacienda between Arvin andLamont, were not allowed to vote. These workers got madder and madder when they realizedthat the company was not going to allow them tovote. Their wages were just as bad as Delano(the picking was so bad this year that someworkers were averaging under 50c; an hour).Conditions were just as bad. The workers began talking about a strike and boycott in Arvin.They wrote to Governor Brown. And finally agroup of them went up to Robert DiGiorgio'sbig office in San Francisco. They sat down inthe office and said that they would not leave until DiGiorgio promised them in writing that hewould allow a free election, on whether or notthe workers wanted a union. Hundreds of other ARVIN'S FARM WORKERS CAST THEm BALLOTSworkers from the city joined the farm workersin the "sit-in" and picket line. DiGiorgio tried

The StrangeDemocracyof Yuba City

The City Council in Yuba City is just like'many other City Councils, It is composed ofthe well-to-do conservatives of the city. One

"is manager of the big C. P. C. Cannery, oneowns a hospital equipment factory, one is a bigbuilding contractor, one is a retired postmaster,one is a prominent certified public accountant.Private property and private wealth are the _things that matter most in their lives. But onlyif it is their own private property and wealth. Apoor man's private property is something forthe city to invade at will.

This is a story of what happened to Jose Vasquez, a member of the Yuba City United FarmWorkers Association. Jose owns his own home,is paying for it like all the other people on thestreet. It is a modest home but his house, garden, and yard are always neat and well-kept.When Jose received his tax bill in the mail latein October, included with it was a bill for $20"for hoeing weeds." This bill was the firstJose knew about anyone "hoeing weeds" in hisyard. There had been no signs posted on hisproperty, and no one had come and told himthat the City thought he should hoe his weeds.No one had come and asked his permission·toenter the property and hoe weeds. But theCity told Jose that they had come into his yard

and dug up some weeds and were going to chargehim $20.

Jose and a'friend went to the City Hall to findout why they were charged $20. The City Clerktold them that the "weeds" were hoed by Cityemployees in June. Jose visited all the officesin City Hall to try to work out a settlement.Everywhere the callers were told that the onlyway to get the bill lowered was to go before theCity Council. Jose didn't think it was fair totake the time of a busy City Council with a $20bill, but he knew the bill was unjust and he wanted to do something about it. So he decided togo to the Council and try to get a fair hearing.

On November 9 he and his friends attendedthe Council meeting. The City Manager statedthat a sign was posted on his property, and thatit took four men and a dump truck 4 hours to dothe job. The area concerned was 7 1/2 feet by60 feet. Anyone could have hoes it in an hour.Jose had hoed the area in April. Most of thearea was under his family clothes line. The"weeds", if they ever existed, were green bermuda grass. The neighbors and friends allagreed that there were never any dry weeds inthe area, and that nothing was messy, unsightlyor a fire danger.

The City 'Council didn't allow all of Jose'sfriends and neighbors into the hearing to' speakup for him. They seemed uninterested in theproblem. For rich men, $20 isn't much. Theydecided unanimously to make Jose Vasquez paythe bill.

El Malcriado says: This is just a smallcase. But $20 means a lot to a farm workerwith a family to support. And even more important than the money, this case shows how 'un-democratic most local officials, city councils, and Boards of Supervisors can be. YubaCity is no different from a hundred other llttletowns in California. These officials servetheir friends, but turn their backs on the poorpeople and our problems. This is why we mustorganize a strong and powerful union, to forcethese arrogant petty bureaucrats to serve thepeople, and to uphold justice.

FRIENDS & VISITORSLast week over 300 ministers, priests, churchmembers and students came to Delano, bringingfood, money, and good wishes. They stayed a fullday and heard talks by Cesar Chavez, Directorof the United Farm Workers Association; Rev. ChrisHartmire, of the California Migrant Ministry; and anumber of the strikers. The visitors came fromSan Diego., the Los Angeles area, San Francisco,

(TURN TO PAGE ELEVEN)


•

Cesar Chavez, leader of

of disagreements on whe ther they were el igible tovote.

GOES DOWN

irving Goldberg finally allowed his workers to decidewhether or not they wanteda union. And their decis-ion was an overwhelming The workers will soon be- Goldberg is primarily a the 'Onion, said he was"YESl" Of the 377 ballots gin negotiations for a con- packer and shipper, and very pleased with thecast in a special election tract to cover next years' does not own much land. results. He had specialfor the workers last week, harvest, since this years' He buys grapes "on the praise for those workersonly 38 said "no" and 285 crop is about finished. vifie" and he previously who had the courage to gosaid "Yes" to the question Mrs. Carlota Fieros and dealt with 6 different on strike since it was they"Do you want to be repre- Juanita Gonzales will rep- labor contractors to get who put the pressure onsented by the United Farm' resentatives in the contract the grapes picked. The Goldberg to hold elections.Workers Association?" negotiations. Workers and contractors that Goldberg Credit also goes to theThe votes of the other 49 union leaders alike pledge hires were furious about picketers, who manned aworkers, most of whom to get a'good contract, the election. "They should· 24-hour picket line atwere also for the union, with higher wages and the not be allowed to vote, " Goldbergs. And specialwere not counted because elimination of labor con- one contractor complained ·credit goes to the group

____..:t;;.r.:;a;:ct:;;;o;;.r.:;:s,:.._ bitterly. But the days of organizers, led by Bobwhen contractors got Bustos, who talked to therich off the workers' sweat workers, explaining theare over at Goldberg. The them the benefits of thecontractors who will lose union and who signed thetheir jobs are Mary Ruiz, workers up as members.Marie Browning, P. Anch It was these YOlmg organeta,. Claude Guillory, Man izers who planned theuel Jimenez, and Art Gue strategy of the strike,varra. building up pressure on

Goldberg until he finallyhad to allow elections.

GOLDBERG

HARD FIGHTAFTER A

Arvin Victory (CONTINUED FROM PAGE8)camp like a prison, and that many camp residents were intimidated by him into voting "no".But lies like that didn't fool too many people.And the union has guaranteed that everyone'sjob will be protected, whether they areAmerican or Mexican Citizens.

Joining the victory celebration after the DiGiorg.io e~ection results were Sam Crosby, 72,and hIS WIfe Ida, veterans of the 1947 strike

. against DiGiorgio. With over 1,000 other workers, Sam had marched the picket lines in thosedays. But that strike lost and Sam and manyothers lost their jobs. Speaking of the union'svictory, Sam said, ''Everybody who had workedfor DiGiorgio wishes them well. "

THE HOUR OF DE CISION FINDS ORGANIZORSROBERT BUSTOS AND PETE CARDENAS·TIRED AND ANXIOUS ABOUT THE FINALDETAILS, M1NU~S BEFORE THE ELECTION.

THE FARM WORKER STRUGGLE .

-

Perelli-Minetti tells some people, "There is nostrike at my ranch." But last week he ent tocourt and told a judge "This strike is costing menot less than $10, 000 a DAY!" His grape crushis 31% less than last year because he can't get hisgrapes picked. In desperation, Perelli-Minettiwent to a friendly judge and got a special law (injunction) to outlaw picketing at his ranch except for 2people.

El Malcriado says: This is another case wherethe courts are acting as agents on the side of thegrowers: but each act against the Farm Worker isa sign of our victory, because each court order isan act of desperation in the growers I fight againstjustice.

WAKE UP, MINETTI! SAVE MONEY, SIGN ACONTRACT!

FRIENDS.....• (CON'l'INUED FROM PAGE 9)and the- Bay Area, and Sacramento.

The visitors were so impressed with what is happen.ing in Delano that they asked that a new "Caravan"be scheduled for December 17, when they and manyof their friends will return, bringing Christmas toysfor the children of the strike, and food and money tohelp the strike continue through the winter.

Labor leaders in the San Francisco Bay area areplanning a similar caravan on Saturday, November19. Why don't YOU plan to come to Delano and helpthe strikers to continue the struggle through thewinter?

Marysville Election

The date of July 20 has been set for an electionat DiGiorgio last big ranch, in Marysville. DiGiorgio owns about 2,000 acres there, mostly in Pears,Plums, Peaches, and other tree crops. The workers asked for an election this year, and will belooking forward to the chance to elect the union whenthe vote is finally allowed.


THE TIME:1965. ,THE PLACE:McFarland, Calif.

PER E l t J I-·M I N TTlDEFENDS ITSELF

attended by about 30 employees, Bill Perelli-Minettitold those employees they would be offered checkswhich the U. S. Department of Labor contended weredue to them. Mr. Perelli-Minetti further statedthat, although the company did not agree with theposition of the U. S. Department of Labor, nevertheless, each of the employees would be offered a checkwhich he was free to accept or not. Mr. PerelliMinetti had been advised by the U. S. Department ofLabor that he could make these statements to theemployees. At no time did Mr. Perelli- Minetti tellany employee that he had an obligation to. give hischeck back to the company.

ITEM On page s 12 and 13 you state that Mr.Refugio Chavez" receivee:t his back pay for onlyone month and Perelli-Minetti still owes Mr. Refugio

(CO~TINUEDON NEXT PAGE)

CORRECTION At a meeting in May 1965,

ITEM On page 12 you state that at a meeting inMay 1965, Bill Minetti told the workers that theywJ3re going to receive a check from the companybut" they had an obligation to give it back tothe cOnPany ... "

ernment inspector discovered that "Perelli-Minettiwas cheating his workers, ·stealing the wages duethem under the law. .. (The Fair Labor StandardsLaw, Section 16). The government ordered thecompany to pay these back wages to the workers."

After a series of conferences between the company and the U. S. Department of Labor, theDepartment of Labor scaled down its de mands arid the company, without admitting any violation of the Fari Labor Standa rds Act, voluntarilyagreed that it would offer agreedupon sums to each of some 65 employees. The amount to beoffered to each employee was agreed upon betw~en the companyand Mr. LeRoy Cobb and other representatives of the U. S.Department of Labor. On April 12, 1965, the company receivedfrom Mr. Cobb a document titled Summary of Unpaid Wages,containing the names, addresses and agreed upon amounts tobe offered to each of the 65 employees.

CORRECTION BegiDning in 1964 an honestdi~ pute arose between the company and the Wageand Hour Division of the U. S. Department of Labor.The Wage and Hour Division of the U. S. Departmentof Labor contended that under the Fair Labor Standards Act, certain payments were owing to variousof the company employees. The problem aroseout of the fact that some of the employeesinvolved worked part of their time in activities which came under the Fair Labor StandardsAct, and part of their time in activities whichdid not. For example, there was a question as

- to whether certain employees who worked steadilyin the winery came under the " first processingexemption" of the Act.

to him, now he requests thatthe following "ITEMS" and"CORRECTIONS" will bepublished. We are very,very glad to do this transcribing, exactly as it is inthe origi nal, letting theintelligent reader draw hisown conclusions.

ITEM On page 12, you state that in 1965 a gov-

CORRECTION Neither A. Perelli-Minetti & Sons,nor any of its co-managers engaged in any scandal, orany swindle or any fraud against any emplcyees of thecompany or against the Government.

ITEM On page 12, you refer to a Mr. RefugioChavez "a former employee of the Minetti winery. "You state that Mr. Chavez 'was fired because he refused to continue allowing the bosses to cheat him, asthey continue to cheat the other workers. "

CORRECTION Mr. Refugio Chavez had been employed by the company from time to time to drive itsservice truck. He also engaged in hauling as an independent contractor with his own truck. Chavezhad notified the company that he would report forwork on a certain date to drive the service truck. Hedid not report for work on that date or for three daysthereafter. After four days of failing to report, hewas terminated. This was the only reason Mr. Chavezwas terminated. Neither Mr. Chavez nor any other

~mployeewas "cheated" by the company.

ITEM In the title to the article, you refer to a"1965 Scandal" and "Huge Swindle." In the firstparagraph on page 12 you refer to "An incredibleswindle, committed by Perelli-Minetti and SonsCompany against its employees and the Government. J'.mthe last two paragraphs on page 22 you ag; ain referto "gigantic swindle and fraud" and "a fantastic

Swindle and Fraud or\. a colossal scale,... "

Your issue No. 47 of El Malcriado "The Voice ofthe Farm Worker" published in English features anarticle titled "1965 Scandal Exposed - Huge Swindleat Perelli-Minetti" on pages 12-13, and 22. Weunderstand that the Spanish edition of issue No.47published simultaneously with the English editioncontains the a.ame article. A. Perelli-Minetti &Sons, P.O. Box 818, Delano, California, AntonioPerelli-Minetti, Fred Perelli-Minetti, Bill PerelliMinetti, and each of them; first became aware ofthis article on Tuesday, October 25, 1966.

1ila:uI~

ZANINOVICH, another Delano rancherwho refuses· to recognize the rights offarm workers.

EL_M~LQRIAOO:::page.U.

(EL MALCRIADO SAYS:Perelli-Minetti feels thatthe mentioned article isplalinging and detrimental

El Malcriado"The Voice of the Farm Worker"c/o Farm Worker Press, Inc.:Q, O. Box 1060Delano, California

ITEM On pages 12 and 13, you state" The majority of the workers, afraid of being fired, signed thestatements and then returned the checks. "

CORRECTION Bill Perelli-Minetti took PeterGallegt , with him to the May 1965 meeting for theexpress purpose of having Gallegos translate hisstatements into Spanish. Gallegos did so. At no time

CORRECTION According to the Summary ofUnpaid Wages prepared by the U. S. Department ofLabor, the compa ny's only obligation toward Mr.Refugio Chavez was to offer him the sum of $61. 29($75.31 gross pay, less required government deduetions of $14.02). A check in this amount was offeredto and accepted by Mr. Chavez. At the time ofreceiving the check, Mr., Chavez signed a " Receiptfor Payment of Back Wages As Computed or Approvedby the Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Division,U. S. Department of Labor." He later cashed thischeck. The company does not owe any other moneysto Mr. Chavez.

ITEM On page 13 you state, " Since every checkwas ready to be given to the workers, with SocialSecurity and taxes already deducted, and such checkswere returned to the boss, the result is that the amount of money deducted may never have reached the

did Gallegos refuse to translate. The alleged incidentabout taking the name of an " agitator" who wanted at ranslater so he could be fired later did not occur.

I

. /IS•••----~---


CLOSE TO $5,000... "

'Peretti-Minetti

CORRECTION The company prepared 65 checks,each in the amount set forth in the Summary of Unpaid,Wages, prepared by the U.S. Department ofLabor. Each of these checks was mailed or givento the 65 employees. Everyone of the 65 employeeskept and cashed his check, except the following:five employees refused to accept the checks. Thesefive employees were Jose Cardoza, William Ferrell,Peter F. Gallegos, Felipe Navarro and ErnestoVanegas. A sixth check mailed to Mr. RudolfoSantos at 731 Glenwood, Delano, California, wasreturned to the company with the envelope marked"Unclaimed." Theis was the address that Mr. Santoshad given to the company. A seventh check sentto Jimmy Barela, Route #1, Box 51/, Delano, California, was returned to the company with the envelope marked 'Unknown." This was the address thatMr. Barela had given to the company. Another employee, Liborio Macias, had died during this pe~iodbut the company offered his check to his widow whoaccepted and cashed it. Thus, 58 of the 65 employeesrecieved and kept their checks.

All of these facts were reported in writing by thecompany to the U. S. Department of Labor.

ITEM On page 13 you state the" bad faith of thecompany and its managers" is shown by the fact that" during the meeting, Bill Minetti and his foreman,Pedro Gallegos, refused to talk Spanish, though theyknew perfectly well that there were many workersthere that did not understand English. Someone askedGallegos to translate what Minetti was saying. Gallegos refused to translate, and the meeting continuedin English, but they did take the name of the "agitator" who wanted a translator, so he could be firedlater. "

government, but instead may have gone into the already f-at! account of Perelli-Minetti. ",

JCORRECTION The required deductions which

were taken from the amounts recieved by the 58 employees who accepted their checks were properly forwarded to the United States government. No deductions were made for, the other seven inasmuch asthey did not accept or recieve the wages from whichdeductions would otherwise have been made.

ITEM On page 13 you refer to an unnamed workerwho recieved a letter from. the " government office'in which they notified him that Perelli-Minetti owedhim $326.04 in back wages. But he recieved fromthem only $80. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REST OFTHE MONEY??? The rest must be in the Bank Account of Perelli-Minetti and Sons. "

CORRECTION A review of the Summary of Unpaid

Wages prepared by the U. S. Department of Laborshows that the company had agreed to offer $326. 04to only one employee, Felipe Navarro. This amount,less required deductions, was offered to Navarro.Navarro was one of the five employees who refused toaccept his check.

ITEM On page 13 and page 22, you refer to -anotherworker who 'was due $900. But they were going togive him only $90. (and he returned even that, because he didn't want to be fired). "

CORRECTION There was no employee to whom$900. was claimed due. Furthermore, the onlyemployee who recieved an amount approximati ng$90. 00 was Jimmy Beltran. Beltran recieved hischeck, cashed it, and did not return any of the moneyto the company.

ITEM On page 22 you state that" And it seemsthat Perelli- Minetti may have even broken the PostOffice Laws. Because the letters that were sent tothe workers by the government, notifying them of theamount of monay that the company should pay, theseletters may have been intercepted by the bosses atPerelli-Minetti and destroyed. It is a fact that theletters to the workers were addressed in care of thecompany, and almost no workers ever got theseletters. The cases of the few workers who did recieve these letters was an exception, and the bossesquickly took these letters away from the ~orkers whohad gotten hold of them. "

/ '

CORRECTION The U. S. Department of Labor hadthe home addresses of each of the 65 employees, except three: Geronimo D. Gutierrez, Gene Normanand Ernesto Vanegas. All of these addresses hadbeen furnished ,to the U. S. Department of Labor bythe company before any checks were prepared orsent. The addresses of Gutierrez, Norman andVanegas were not given to the government because


those employees had never furnished their addressesto the company. The company does not know whetherthe government wrote directly to these employees.

• The company did not intercept any letters to employees from the U. S. Department of Labor. Thecompany did not destroy any letters sent to employeesby the U.S. Department of Labor. The company didnot take away from any employees, letters whichwere sent to them by the U. S. Department of Labor.'

ITEM On page 22, you state that" Among thosewho had gotten fired, because they refused to returnthe money which was rightfully theirs, and in a wayrefused to be accomplices in this gigantic swindle andfraud of the government and workers, are the folloW'ing: Procoro Martinez, Frederico I..opez, ErasmoOrtiz, Antonio Coronado, Jose Guadalupe Gonzalesand his wife, Esther Gonzales. "

CORRECTION No employee was fired because herefused to return to the company either his check orthe money which he had reciEved.

~orocoroMartinez was terminated on June 23, 1965because, in his duties as an irrigator, after repeatedwarnings, he did not divide his water equally between'two blocks.

Federico Lopez, along with a nu~berof other employees not involved herein, was terminated on July31, 1965 , for lack of work.

Erasmo Ortiz quit on December 8, 1965.

Antonio Conronado was terminated on October 24,1965, for lack of work.

Jose Guadalupe Gonzales was terminated on July 31,1965. He had failed to close a valve on a brandy tankthe night before and this negligence resulted in a substantialloss of tax paid spirits.

Esther Gonzales was terminated for unsatisfactorywork on November 21, 1965.

A. PERELLI-MINETTI & SONS


Generous People WhoHelp Our Cause

'Among the courageous friends that the farmworkers have in Fresno, two of the most distinguished are Arturo Tirando, a well knownbusinessman and owner of the Teatro Azteca,and Sra. Clemencia Gonzalez; as well as herson Tomas Gonzales.

Mr. Tirado has always given his generoushelp to the Farm Worker office in Fresno.Among many other things, he has always offered his aid in solving the problems of thefarm workers, even taking money from hisown pocket to pay some of the Office expenses.

For instancp., when the governor of California offered a special conference to CesarOhavez, leader of the farm wor_kers, Mr.Tirado informed the press and TV of thisevent, and then paid for Cesar's transportation to Sacramento as well as taking care ofthe numerous expenSIve phone calls connected with this important happening.

For' their part, Mrs. C,lemencia Gonzalez andher son Thomas, who live at 2125 S. Leonard,in Sanger, California, have started a permanent campaign of collecting food and clothingfor the Delano strikers. Week after week,Mr. Crecensio Mendoza, leader of the FresnoFarm Workers(AFL'-CIO), brings these donationS to Delano from Mrs. Gonzalez' house inSanger.

EI Malcriado gives special thanks to Mr. Artur-o Tirado and Tomas Gonzales, as well asMrs. Clemencia Gonzales, for their tirelessefforts on behalf of the farm workers.

FOOD AND CLOTHING FOR THEFARM WORKERS OF DE LANO- -Effective help for their friends ... , a guaranteethat the strike will continue until final victory.

THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE FARMWORKERS FOR THE FRESNO AREA IS

7 1'9 G St.Fresno, California

THIS IS THE BEST ADDRESS IN FRESNO.'

EL MALCRIADO::~page17

PLEASE HELP US BOYCOTTALL PERELLI-MINETTI PRODUCTS

f,

A FREQUENT READER OF EL MALCRIADO, WHO SEEMS NOT TOSYMPATHIZE WITH THE STRIKERS, HAS WRITTEN THIS CRITICISM TO US "IN THE INTEREST OF BETTER JOURNALISM" ASHE SAYS. WE DON'T KNOW IDS QUALIFICATIONS IN JOuRNALISM THAT GIVE IDM THE PROFESSIONAL AUTHORITY TO CRiTh

_ CIZE us, BUT BECAUSE UP TO A CERTAIN POINT HIS LETTERWAS POLITE, WE PUBLISH IT HERE, AND REFUTE IDS ASSERTIONS THAT ARE ABSURD.


"And to those who opposeus in.our fight, we say-BASTA!"

Dear Sir;

fOR DENOUNCINGTHE BAD RANCHERS

IS THIS A BADNEWSPAPER?

A CRITICI

OF EL

MALCRIADO

I am a frequent reader of El Malcriado, and in the interest of better journalism, I would likt. to point out various inconsistencies and misconceptionscontained in issue No. 48.

In paragraph 3, page 3, of the editorial "The Ideal of Cesar Chavez," youassert that irrigation projects benefitonly the large Corporations. How canyou so blithely discount the fact thatthis valley would be a desert, completely without grapes, and I might add,grape strikers, without irrigation?How do you reconcile you assinineassertion with the recreation areasincident to water projects? It wouldappear that you neatly sidestep thebeneficial aspects of California'swater system in order to purvey yourown view.

'On page 10, in the last paragraph,under the heading 'EI Malcriado Says:"you suggest that certain officials besent to Nazi Germany. Gentlemen, ifyou can accomplish this feat, you willbe sought after by hordes of physicists,historians, military people, and sciencefiction writers, all clamoring to knowhow you did it. Please, be more careful with such anachronisms in the future.

On page 11, in the last paragraph ofthe article .regarding the suit againstyou, you have the flippant audacity tosuggest that, since you have no money,you have nothing to worry about. Thisinference makes you no better than thepeoplE' that you condemn on page 10. Itwould J.ppear that you consider your.self bey ond the pale of justice by rea

EL MALCRIADO SAYS:About the paragraph marked (1.),

Mr. Sucher must get rid of his prejudices in order to express his ideas:When we asserted that the irrigationsystems benefit only the big corporations:we are not denying the fact that thisvalley is so fertile because of the irrigation system. We mean that the richness that this valley produces goes tothe fat bank accounts of the growers,who can then live as kings, and haveluxurious automobiles, airPlanes, yachtsbig mansions, etc. etc. Or is it thatyou, Mr. Sucher, believe that it is fairthat the government subsudize irrigat-ion for the growers so they can getricher, and richer, while the farmworkers are allowed only the right tolook at the beauties of nature, in therecreation areas, but not have enoughfood to feed their children?

In the paragraph marked (2.), ourreader shows that he is very meticulously looking for any typographical errors,so when he found one in El Malcriadohe jumped with joy and laughter andcouldn't wait to point it out to us, (indeed, with a very good sense of humor).

The typographical error was made bythe typist who distorted the meaningof the sentence. The sentence appearedin the paper as follows: "they should besent to Nazi Germany." The origionalwas written like this: "they should besent to places similar to Nazi Ger~any.

Even the New York times, one of themost important newspapers in the world,makes those kinds of errors. We are

Yours for the interest in hopes thatyou can join a just cause.El Malcriado

EL MALCRIA.OO:::page 19and says that we are making a popularhero out of him. Yes, he is a hero, evenif you, Mr. Sucher, say that " he fellbeneath the wheels of a loaded truck",and you call that an "accident", etc., etc.Nothing changes the simple truth whichis that Rivera was a victim of the growers.

And as you must know, Mr. Sucher,heroes are made because they fight for'a just cause against powerful people and.

against injustices, and even if they arejailed, or injured, they don't give upand don't let their spirits break, theykeep fighting. All of these things happ- I

ened in the case of Manuel Rivera, sohe is a hero, and he will stay a hero.

,And there is nothing that you can do tochange it.

Because we use the word "defeat", 'Mr. Sucher, called us in a clever way,"Fascists", because we used it to referto the enemies of the farm workers.We will keep using it whenever necessary because other wise it would be likepracticing journalism the way apprentice

t 'reporters do, writing crime notes, asif they were writing social notes. No,we won't do that because we must writeabout people according to their behavior.

And by the way, we wonder if Mr.Sucher is one of the 'haive minoritythat takes our paper seriously. "

In closing, we want to admonish Mr.Sucher, to look into the deepest part ofhis conscience and hard and ask himself honestly if it is fair that somegrowers force their employees to liveas beasts and not as human beings.

About your saying that "The climateis such that both the fruits and the nutsflourish", we believe that we understand

'very well what you meant.. Are you'calling the growers "fruits" and thefarm workers "nuts "? We do know·the reason why you do this, it is beca:use the workers fight for a just causeagainst the powerful ones. More "nuts"like these fighters for justice, are needed in this state.

Yours for better journalism,Ernst SucherDelano Agricultural Worker

son of your poverty.On page 14, you have furthered one

of the most abominable deeds possiblefor a newspaper. In previous issues,you have portrayed Mr. Rivera, whohad the isfortune to fall beneath thewheels 0 a loaded truck, as a sort offolk her, a Horst WesseL Now, asa result of this untimely accident, youhave one who has suffered greatly atthe hands of those you seek to "defeat. "(Your work, rife within the publication invarious synonymous forms) This is afavorite Fascist implement, and I hopethat this ploy, in any of it's nefariousforms, will not appear agairi in yourpaper, mostly because of the effect thatit might have on the naive minority thattakes your paper seriously.

In closing, I would admonish you toattempt to avoid the tactics described inthis letter, and to make a serious attemptto upgrade the quality of your publication.Please be warned by the words of a famous Californian, who, when asked aboutcertain instances of civil dis obediencein this state, replied, "The climate issuch that both the fruits and the nutsflourish. "

EL MALCRIADO•••sure that Mr. Sucher will forgive theerror in El Malcriado, a modest paperwritten by humble farm workers.

In the paragraph marked (3), Mr. SucherS1lYS that we have 'flippant audacity" in-saying that a powerful grower was trying to get a million dollars from ElMalcriado, and that we didn't know howthis grower was going to be able to getsuch an amount of money f,rom this poorpaper. We want to explain to Mr. Sucherthat our attitude was in no way any lackof respect for 'justice, but actually shows-the attitude of farm workers when facinginjustices and the actions of the powerfulones. That,' Mr. Sucher, is not easyfor you to understand this is calledSTO ICISM, and it is the secret weaponthat we will use to defeat the stubborngrowers, the ones that believe that weare still in the middle ages. (And pleaseforgive us for using the wor,d 'tlefeat"as if it were done on purpose, a wordthat alarms you so much. )

But where Mr. Sucher shows all hisprejudice is in'the paragraph marked(4.), In that paragraph he calls us"abominable" because we have beeninforming our readers that Manuel Riverahas been a frequent victim of ,the growers

EL MALCRIADO:::page 20_------------------------,CAR;TAS AL ...

'.

Listen, Scabs!

LISTEN TO ME SCABS: "In whatever land you go, do the things you seebeing done." That is a Mexican saying that we should follow, especiallywhen '~n this land there are people doing something to help us have a betterlife. When there is an exodus of farm workers from one state to another, itis because they don't have any jobs there, and because when they have onethey make so little money that they have to live a very poor life, so they getout of their wme towns and come to California looking for a better life. Thisis natural.

And we can say as in the Bible tale, California is the Promised Land because there is milk and honey and abundance. So the people that live herecan have a better life than in most other parts of the world.

And that is the truth, because from the first moment that we walk overCalifornia land we are able to see the difference between the land we arecomming from and the land we have arrived in. In this land there are moreoppourtunities, and here we see people struggling for a better life. So, inwhatever land you go, do the things you see being done, because even ifCalifornia is the Promised Land you still have to fight for a better life.

So it is time for the farm worker, especially the new comers, not toallow anyone to cheat them, and not to become a scab, They must realizethat the struggle for social justice in this state is for their own benefit, sowe must not forget the Mexican saying, "In whatever land you go, do thethings you see being done. "

And if when you arrived in California, you found that the workers wereon strike, you must support them and join the movement, because that wayif we are all united, and fighting together, it is the only way to win thebattle.

So listen to me scab's: Do not let anyone cheat you, do not be traitors toyour own cause. There is now a leader that is working for our benefit, solet's help him and let's not be a Judas to him and to the ones that are helping him in this cause.

By R. A. Campos

LISTEN TO ME SCABS!

Brave Boss(..• from page 4)

by him because we didnot want to ride in hisbus along with the otherworkers. We went tosee the boss and he toldus to go back to workand said it was all rightto use our own car .We did so, but then theforeman found a way toget back at us for notusing his bus. One daywe didn't have enough /boxes to work with, hetook the only boxes wehad away from us. AsI protested he insultedme and was about to hitme. About 10 peoplesaw what happened butnone of them did anything because they wereafraid of him. Anotherlady told me that thisman usually beats thewomen workers.

So, Mr. Editor, Ilet you know thesethings so this bad manwill be denounced to thepublic, and that everybody knows that in Parlier we have this foreman... but only withwomen.

Long live the North!Don't give up!Margarita VezquezBryn Mawr, Calif.

(... from page 4)

BLESSINGS ... :the trouble to sendit to me. I'm 66years old but I stilllike to read El Malcriado because itsays the pure truth.

Sincerely,Maria Luisa Montesp~ier, California~ GER( .. from' 4)ger's letter properly,We have corrected theerror and sent him thewords to the song thathe asked for.

-""

. .:;.;..-.-:.'...'.....:.~

;.'.:.::.-.:.

"'.':


-EL TEATRO (AMPESIN


There was no winner last time. Thetown was the remote village of ALPAUGH, West of Delano and South ofCorcoran. This week's contest is easy.

"THE STRUGGLE AGAINST INJUSTICE"(Orozco)

BAKERY

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~~BEST PHOTO BOOK SINCE HTHE FAMILY OF MAN'"-- EL MALCRIADO

------------------------------------------------------------------VAILABLE NOW! BUY COPIES FOR

YOUR FRIENDS.....0: Farm Worker Press, Box 1060, Delano, Calif

SEND ME COPIES OF "BASTA!: The Tale ofOur Struggle" Deluxe Edition $2. 50 each.

,Name _

!AddressI • • "-------------

ICIty Total enclosed••... $I .-L ~__J.

Th F ·· P Lidia and Juanita Gonzales, accompanied bye emlnlne resence a friend, appear here in a photograph byE mmon Clarke. They wear their work clothes without losing a bit of their natural beauty. They work at Goldberg in Delano, and recently joined the strike.

Farm Worker PressBox 1060Delano, CaUfornia

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