Farm worker delegates vote unanimously to begin new store boycott.

UFW Convention ApprovesStore Boycott

Chavez bitterly condemned the Deuk­mejian Administration for making the1975 farm labor law as worthless as thell-year-old paper it was printed on."You can no longer vote freely; growersdon't have to bargain with you in goodfaith anymore; and they recklessly floodthe fields with pesticides without con­cern for your lives or the health of con­sumers," he said.

"Once again," Chavez continued,"with the help of good people in thiscountry who will boycott grapes and thestores that sell them, we will make grapegrowers feel the pinch in their wallets ­the only 'moral imperative' they canunderstand - and force them to restoreyour lost rights and quit poisoning thepeople of America." Y

M ore than 200 United Farm Workerdelegates, plus scores of alter­

nates and guests, had boycott on theirminds as they gathered for the UFW'sEighth Constitutional Convention inBakersfield, California on August 30.

Delegates shouted their approval asPresident Cesar Chavez called on farmworkers to embark on the next logicalstep in the table grape boycott: theboycott of stores. "We will go.to the bigsupermarket chains in our cities anddemand that they stop selling grapesproduced by growers who have robbedyou of your rights and who could careless about the pesticide residues thatthreaten consumers," he said. "Storeshave no more right selling contaminatedgrapes than growers have marketingthem. "

Writers:

Marvin CortnerFr. Ken IrrgangKimberly K Lawson

Associate editor.

Rev. Chris Hartmire

Managing Editor.

Armando Garcia

Editor.Cesar Chavez

Volume 3, Number 9

Food and Justice

October 1986

Production Director.

Paul Chavez

FOOD AND JUSTICE (ISSN0885·0704) is published monthlylor $5 per year by the United FarmWorkers of America, AFL·CIO, OldHighway 58, La Paz, Caillornia93570. Second·class postage ispaid at Keene, California.POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to FOOD AND JUSTICE,P.O. 62, La Paz, California 93570.

Members:

Arturo RodriguezArturo MendozaOscar MondragonBen Maddock

Photographer.

Victor Aleman

Magazine of the UnitedFarm Workers ofAmerica, AFL·CIOLa Paz, Keene, CA 93570

National Executive Board:

President:Cesar ChavezSecretary·Treasurer:Peter VelascoFirst Vice·President:Dolores HuertaSecond Vice·President:Frank OrtizThird Vice·President:David Martinez

EDITORIAL

O ur national executive board - with the resoundingapproval of the delegates to our eighth constitu­

tional convention - is calling for a boycott of storesthat refuse to take contaminated table grapes off theshelf.

We are demanding that stores take poisoned grapesoff because store owners are just as morally responsibleto consumers as the growers who produce them. Unfor­tunately store owners, especially the huge supermarketowners, are like growers: they will not accept theirresponsibility unless they feel pressure on theirpocketbooks.

To avoid their responsibility, store owners argue thatthey have an obligation to keep table grapes on the shelfso consumers have the option to buy them. But whatkind of option are markets offering consumers thesedays? Because most consumers do not know about thedanger of pesticide residues, the option is a consumer'sunwitting decision to buy or not buy, eat or not eat,grapes with poisonous residues on them!

As the workers said in their convention resolution," .. , the supermarket industry cannot wash itspesticide-laden hands of its responsibility of exposingworkers and consumers to deadly poisons any more thangrowers can."

Using a combination of modern marketing strategiesand the boycott of stores, we know we will eventuallywin this grape boycott - for the restoration of the rightsof our workers and the good of consumers. Y

2 3

Widow Donates $1,000 to PesticideResidue Testing Fund at Convention

Temple Declares GrapesNon-Kosher

Reform Judaism, and several otherJewish individuals and organizations.

The non-kosher declaration by Tem­ple Emanu-el is also in keeping with thespirit of many Jewish leaders, temples,and organizations that declared tablegrapes non-kosher in the first UFWgrape boyc;:ott in the 1960s.

Rabbi Kasdan told Chavez the templewill practice what it preaches. Hepointed out that the resolution calls foraction: "In an effort to combine moralencouragement with positive action,Temple Emanu-el will not serve tablegrapes ... at any function sponsored bythe Temple or any of the Temple'sorganizations.' ,

The endorsement concludes: "TheTemple further commits itself to informits membership of this policy andrequires all who use the Temple facilitiesto follow the practice of the Temple asregards the use of table grapes." y

5

Rabbi Kasden presents CesarChavez with the shojar, aceremonial ram's horn used as asymbol to the people to action.

I na dramatic ceremony before thecongregation of Temple Emanu-el in

Livingston, New Jersey in early Septem­ber, Rabbi Peter E. Kasdan presentedfarm labor leader Cesar Chavez with aresolution declaring California tablegrapes non-kosher.

The strongly phrased resolution saidthat, in keeping with the age-old wisdomof Jewish judges and sages, "food pro­duced through the exploitation of peopleis not Kosher (not fit for consumptionby Jews)." Table grapes deserve thatindictment because growers are produc­ing grapes "grown with the use of pesti­cides harmful to farm workers andconsumers. "

The resolution, which was approvedby the temple's board of trustees, is inharmony with previous endorsements ofthe boycott by the Union of AmericanHebrew Congregations, the CentralConference of American Rabbis , theCommission on Social Action of

husband."My son Gino and I would like to see

this money used to cover the costs ofyour proposed plan to test table grapesfor pesticide residues," Bernice said."Once the American people learn thatthe long-term effect of eating Captanresidues on grapes is as deadly as spray­ing them, they will join the boycott,force growers to quit using Captan, andsave the lives of farm workers andconsumers."

Grape growers have so far ignoredChavez' call to take part in a joint tablegrape residue-testing project. "All weare asking is that the table grapes betested by random sampling at the super­market level, that the results be madepublic, and that growers share expenseswith us," Chavez 'said. "They shouldwelcome this invitation if they havenothing to hide. But if they won't do it,we'll do it and pay for it ourselves ­with the help of good people like BerniceBonillas." Y .

4

Bernice Bonillas presented the UFW,with $/,000 to begin testing jorpesticide residues on store grapes.

J ose Luis Bonillas, a former grapeworker and pesticide sprayer for two

table grape growers in Delano, Califor­nia, died of cancer last April. Died ofCaptan poisoning would be moreaccurate.

Bonillas was only 48 years old - oneyear short of the life expectancy of 49for migrant farm workers and about 25years short of the life expectancy forIAmerican males. But then the average'American male doesn't endure the work­'ing conditions of grape picking for morethan 10 years, doesn't get cancer fromspending much of that time spraying thedeadly pesticide Captan on vineyards,and doesn't become the grim statisticBonillas did: one of 300,000 U.S. farmworkers poisoned by pesticides eachyear.

However, thanks to his widow, Ber­nice, Jose Luis will not remain just astatistic. Delegates at the UFW conven­tion ga,ve her a heartwarming ovationwhen she presented a donation of $1 ,000to Cesar Chavez in memory of her

On the Grape Boycott Front

Ed Snider

Edward Cleary (center) is the president of the New York State AFL-CIO. Cleary iswith UFW personnel (from left to right) lrv Hershenbaum, Ed Sanchez. ArturoRodriguez (national executive board member) and Pam Driggers.

r

Grapes," the 14-minute UFW documen­tary film that shows the horrible suffer­ing California growers are causing farmworkers, townspeople, and consumersby their reckless use of pesticides.Recent showings for the executive coun­cil of the Canadian Labour Congress,the Ontario Council of the Communica­tion Workers of Canada, and othergroups have evoked angry responsesfrom viewers. "People who see the filmare astounded at the callousness ofgrowers who put profits before people,grapes before human beings," Martinezsaid.

Frank Ortiz, boycott director inChicago, echoed the reports of otherdirectors in Los Angeles, San Francisco,Boston, Detroit, and Texas when he saidhe and his staff are in the process ofresearching, targeting, and contactingmajor supermarkets to ask them to quitbuying and selling all California tablegrapes.

"We're almost ready to go," Ortizsaid. "Even though all the preliminarywork is tough, it's worth it - it'llshorten the boycott in the long run."

. y

... growers who put profitsbefore people, grapes before

human beings . ..

also met with and won endorsements ofthe boycott from Temple Emanu-e1 (seepage 5) and the Coalition of LaborUnion Women (CLUW). He addressed aluncheon meeting of CLUW's nationalexecutive board after being introducedby Joyce Miller, international president.

Frank Ortiz (right), second vice-president of the UFW, thanks Bob Gibson, presi­dent of lI/inois State Federation, AFL-CIO for his support of the grape boycoff.

In Canada, David Martinez, boycottdirector, and his staff are occupyingoffice space provided by the CanadianLabour Congress in Toronto and areconcentrating their boycott efforts in theOntario Province. Martinez saidOntario, which purchased $66.4 millionworth of U.S. table grapes in 1985, buysmore table grapes from the U.S. than allother provinces combined.

Martinez was enthusiastic about theresponse labor, religious, and othergroups have given to "The Wrath of

endorsement supporting the table grapeboycott.

Rodriguez and the boycott staff havebeen given office space and otherresources by District Council 1707 of theAmerican Federation of State, Countyand Municipal Employees, AFL-CI0(AFSCME), whose executive director,Robert W. McEnroe, met with farmlabor leader Cesar Chavez during arecent visit to New York. McEnroeassigned a staff person, Andre Hersh­man, to help mobilize AFSCMEworkers in support of the table grapeboycott.

During his New York visit, Chavez

6

I n addition to a steady stream ofmeetings, speeches, and film presen­

tations about "The Wrath of Grapes,"boycott leaders in the major cities of theU.S. and Canada reported that they arebusy researching and targeting. super­markets as the United Farm Workersbegins to implement its decision to startboycotting stores that sell Californiatable grapes.

Arturo Rodriguez, boycott director inNew York, reported that in late August500 labor leaders at the New York StateAFL-CIO Convention, led by PresidentEdward Cleary, signed boycott pledgecards and unanimously passed an

Haas receives no salary from the water company. Instead hemakes a living as a liquor store owner. If the truth ever came outabout McFarland's water, it could be bad for Haas' business.

J

years to clean up the water.Haas became even more specific and

said that dairy farms were partially toblame. He said the farms' cows "dis­charge fertilizer and there is a highnitrate level in that." He added, "I'msure that has contributed to some of it[the high nitrate levels in the water]."

Finally, Haas said in July that he wasaware of laboratory tests which linkednitrates to cancer. He said, "I won'tdeny that there's that possibility" thatnitrates cause cancer.

In an interview conducted in Septem­ber, Haas did an about-face. When askedagain about the connection betweennitrates and cancer, Haas claimed hehad no knowledge of the link.

When asked about the growers andhow responsible they are for contami­nating the water, Haas claims to have noopinion. He said if he did have a theory,he would not make it public.

There are, however, a couple of pointsupon which Haas remains consistent. Heacknowledges that the wells in his townhave high nitrate concentrations - havehad high concentrations for years - andhe claims that he is somehow not respon-

sible. Repeatedly he said, "I don't feellike the water is to blame."

Another point upon which Haas isconsistent is this: the water company'scustomers will have to pay to clean upthe water. The EPA gave the water com­pany a million dollars to study the prob­lem and build a treatment plant at onewell. The state of California gave Haasanother $400,000 for a second plant. Butthis is not enough. Haas claims that thepeople will have to pay to maintain theseplants.

The irony of this is, of course, obvi­ous. Parents of children with cancer ­cancer they blame on the water - willhave to pay to clean up the wells. Thegrowers, meanwhile, have to make noadmission of guilt nor do they have topay full costs for cleaning up the water.

There is one final telling characteristicof Fred Haas. He said he has talked tothe parents of the children with cancer.He said he has "had discussions aboutwhat may cause the cancer in theirchildren." He knows that many of themblame the water, but this does not givehim a guilty conscience. He is, after all,proud of the job he has done. Y

McFarland Water Official:His Story Doesn't Wash

F red Haas says he is proud of the jobhe is doing. Haas is the president of

the McFarland Mutual Water Company.The town of McFarland, California,

readers may recall, is a cancer cluster ­a town with 400070 the expected rate ofcancer. Thirteen McFarland childrenhave been diagnosed with cancer since1981, and four have died. Many of thetown's residents blame the water. Manypeople believe the water has been con­taminated by pesticides and fertilizersused by area growers.

But Haas is proud. He said that he is

8

proud because the water company hasprovided "an adequate water supply" toits customers. In fact, Haas seems moreconcerned about the quantity of hiscompany's water than the quality.

This does not mean much, however,because Haas is a man who changes hisstory each time he is interviewed. In lateJuly, Haas said that his personal theorywas that the nitrates which contaminatemany of McFarland's wells come from"an excessive use of nitrogen on ourcrops." He went on to say that there isso much contamination it could take 50

Angela and Raquel Esparza(left) and Candy Rosales(right) live in McFarland. Boththe twins and Candy havebrothers with cancer.

9

CDFA Director Clare Berryhill:pawn of California growers.

UFW Demands Berryhill'sResignation

Wanda London believes her son, Michael (insert), was needlessly killed by pesticidepoisoning.

Mothers Wants Justicefor Son's DeathC lare· Berryhill, director of the

California Department of Foodand Agriculture, jeopardized the healthof farm workers and the public on Sep­tember 3 when he rescinded his own five­day-old ban on Dinoseb, an ingredientin herbicides that the EPA now sayscauses birth defects and male sterility.

UFW President Cesar Chavez wantsBerryhill to resign now because he con­tinues to ignore a public danger, isincompetent imd favors growers over thepublic and farm workers - all actionsunbecoming a public official.

After consulting with growers and theCalifornia Farm Bureau, Berryhill, whois himself a grower, substituted· thisorder for the ban: no woman of child­bearing age will be involved in any waywith Dinoseb.

This substitution is discriminatorybecause it excludes women from theworkplace and is reckless because itdoesn't protect the reproductive healthof men.

Berryhill knows that Californiagrowers use over 700,000 pounds of

10

Dinoseb annually, 17 percent of it ongrapes. By rescinding the ban, he hasgiven growers and pesticide manufac­turers time to find alternative herbicidesand deplete current inventories whileleaving the public at risk.

Berryhill also knows that Dinoseb hasa hazardous history: a Texas farmworker without protective clothing diedafter three days of spraying Dinosebfrom a leaking backpack tank; also, aCalifornia farm worker is going blind inone eye after a sprayer hose broke andsplashed it with Dinoseb.

"This chemical cannot be used safelyin California," said Dr. Marion Mosesof the National Farm Workers HealthGroup. "It is too toxic, employers donot protect workers, hot weatherincreases the chemical's strength andabsorption, and it can accumulate in thebody in potentially fatal amounts."

"Berryhill's first decision was theright one," said Dr. Moses.

1\ doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes todiscover why grower Berryhill changedhis mind."'"

M ichael E. London, an employee ofBill Long Termite Control of

Bloomington, California, died in anunventilated crawlspace on June II,1985 from a heart attack triggered bymethylene chloride - an "inert ingredi­ent" in the pesticide he was using.

"Long's negligence and not employeecarelessness caused my son's death,"said Wanda London of Palmdale,California.

The California Department of Foodand Agriculture investigated and foundthat Michael was improperly trained,didn't have ventilation fans and had touse faulty equipment. Despite the viola­tions, CDFA ruled after a review hearingthat Michael caused his own death.CDFA dropped a $500 fine against LongTermite.

"We weren't even notified of thehearing where CDFA decided not toprosecute the company," said Mrs. Lon­don. "But the company was repre­sented," she added.

California Occupational Safety andHealth Administration officials alsoinvestigated and fined the company $420because it delayed reporting the deathand didn't provide an assistant forMichael in case of an emergency.

"What angers me is that those govern­ment agencies responsible for safety actlike nothing happened," said Mrs. Lon­don. "Their regulations allow thoseresponsible for my son's death to con­tinue doing business."

Mrs. London also blames the EPA fornot requiring health studies for many"inerts" or industrial solvents that causecancer, birth defects and leukemia, and,in this case, a worker's death.

"The pesticide manufacturer didn'teven have to list on the label the thingthat killed my son - the governmentallows them to keep that portion of theformula secret," Mrs. London said.

"To Long Termite and the govern­ment, Michael's life was only worth afew hundred dollars," she said."'"

II

12

Name while with UFW: _

13

Cesar Chavez talks withFather Will Wauters dur­ing a labor rally in SanFrancisco. Seated atChavez' right is AlvinGruhn, president of theCalifornia State LaborFederation, AFL-CIO.

regulation and thwart farm workers'attempts to organize.

Chavez urged the delegates to fightthe growers because they are "selfishmen that are indiscriminately andundeniably poisoning us all."

On the second day of the convention,Chavez and all the APWU delegatesjoined 1,000 Hotel and RestaurantEmployees and Bartenders Unionmembers in Union Square where Local 2President Sherri Chiesa led a protestagainst demands by hotel operators andowners that wages and benefits be cutbecause of poor business.

At the rally, called one of San Fran­cisco's biggest in years, Chavez pledgedUFW support for the hotel workers."When you win new contracts, we willcelebrate with you," he said. "Whenyou strike, we will come and walk thepicket lines and when you boycott, wewill help.

"We know something about boycotts,too," Chavez said as the crowd of 4,300cheered. Y

C esar Chavez went to San Francisco"on August II for the American

Postal Workers Union convention wherehe urged the delegates to continue theirsupport for the "Wrath of Grapes"boycott. "

The APWU, which has 260,000 mem­bers, endorsed the boycott in September1985. APWU president Moe Biller, along-time friend and supporter of theUFW, led the 3,000 delegates at the con­vention in giving Chavez a warmwelcome and boycott support.

"It is extremely important for unionsto support other unions," said JaniceWood, president of the Oceanside,California locaL "Cesar's speechreminded us that we are all in thistogether and that the boycott calls forsafer working conditions."

APWU officials support Chavez in his"belief that the cavalier attitude ofCalifornia Governor George Deukme­jian's administration toward theAgricultural Labor Relations Act is asignal to growers to ignore pesticide

Postal Workers ContinueBoycott Support

N

'"Q;Q.

'"c:;;;:>-,'0>.Ul

2:;o

U

"La Causa"

all ages who worked a year or more forboard and room, few benefits, and $5 aweek.

In other words, "La Causa" will befor the volunteer alumni of "TheUniversity of Farm Workers" who can't"make it back to California every year forhomecoming but who constantly askabout the union, former co-workers,current staff, and, of course, the usualquestion: What are WE boycottingnow?

If you are a former volunteer andwould like the inside scoop on the UFWeach month, fill out the tearoff belowand send it (along with the names andaddresses of other former volunteersyou might know) to: Cesar Chavez, LaPaz, CA 93570. Y

Do you know any of these people? If you do, you probably worked for the UFW,and we would like to hear from you.

Address. Zip, Phone: _

Present name:

UFW Alumni Alertis Coming!

F or the past several years, UFWPresident Cesar Chavez has dreamed

of developing a publication to keep incontact with the thousands - no exag­geration - the thousands of volunteerswho worked for "La Causa" since theearly 1960s.

But for almost the same number ofyears, the fulfillment of that dream hadto be postponed for reasons formerUFW volunteers will easily (and oftenhumorously) remember - a variety oflacks and a continuum of crises!

Even though not every obstacle hasbeen overcome, the union now possessesthe writing staff and modern printingequipment to fulfill that dream. And sothe UFW will soon begin publishing "LaCausa," a modest little monthly just forformer full-time volunteers - "folks of

15

Pesticide poisoning victims featured inUFW film: (from top to bottom) FelipeFranco, Salvador DeAnda and AmaliaLarios. Y

New "Wrath of Grapes" Film DepictsDeaths and Birth Defects of Children

R eaders of Food and Justice cannow write us to get a free brochure

about the new UFW Wrath of Grapesfilm detailing the horrors of pesticidepoisoning on everyone, especiallychildren.

The 14-minute color film, narrated byTV actor Mike Farrell (M.A.S.H.),translates into unforgettable scenes thedemands of the current "Wrath ofGrapes" boycott of all California tablegrapes: (1) free and fair elections, (2)good-faith bargaining by growers, (3) ajoint UFW-grower project to test grapesat city supermarkets for pesticide resi­dues, and (4) the banning of the fivedeadliest pesticides growers are nowusing on grapes.

Especially dramatic are interviewswith farm worker parents whose chil­dren were born armless and legless orwith other severe birth defects. And cityparents poignantly express grief overtheir children dying - several havealready died - of cancer from deadlypesticides leaching into city watersystems from nearby vineyards andfields. Also shown is the danger totownspeople when pesticides drift overcities after being applied by crop-dustingairplanes.

Viewers will be shocked to see livefootage of grower thugs beating up farmworkers, knocking over voting booths,and stealing the ballots during a "freeand fair" election. They will be movedto hear Dolores Lopez tell how her sonwas murdered by a company gunman onthe same day he voted for the UFW inanother "free and fair" election.

The film's realism, dramatic impact,and urgency about the pesticide perilthreatening all Americans make it idealfor both large audiences and smallgroups in homes and offices.

Hundreds of copies of the film arenow available for wide distribution ­free. Send for a free brochure. Today.

do everything we can to support thegrape boycott," Williams said.

"When President Williams first intro­duced Chavez, the delegates stood andcheered," said Dick Miller, communica­tions director for the Steelworkersunion. "After seeing the 'Wrath ofGrapes' film, our delegates signedalmost 2,000 pledge cards on the spot."

In his speech, Chavez reminded thedelegates that 20 years ago, over 17million Americans united in a boycottthat turned the act of refusing to buygrapes into a powerful force againstpoverty, injustice and pesticides such asDDT, DDE and Dieldrin.

"And now we still seek to limit thespread of poisons in our fields and inour food," Chavez said.

The National Director of the Cana­dian Steelworkers, Gerard Docquier,also renewed his delegation's endorse­me.nt of the boycott and offered helpand offic~~£ace to UFW organizers inToronto.....

Cesar Chavez and Lynn Williams, president of the United Steelworkers ofAmerica,demonstrate solidarity at the USWA convention.

Steelworkers RenewUFW SolidarityO n August 29, UFW President Cesar

Chavez s\poke at the UnitedSteelworkers of 'America convention inLas Vegas where 2,900 delegatesrepresenting close to a million workersfrom the United States, Canada andPuerto Rico renewed their support forthe UFW's table grape boycott.

The United Steelworkers, whooriginally endorsed the boycott in 1985,are now among 22 national and interna­tional unions that support UFW effortsto ban five dangerous pesticides(Dinoseb, Phosdrin, Captan, MethylBromide and Parathion), force growersto negotiate contracts and join the UFWin a pesticide residue testing program.

"I have always been impressed withCesar's quiet perseverance and patiencein the fight for farm worker rights," saidSteelworker President Lynn Williams."I regret that the past has been so dif­ficult for him and for farm workers ­that the UFW struggle has been opposedat almost every point. We are going to

14

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