alifornia's grapes of wrath Elinson va la Huelga!" is the cry dubious process, and the farm symbolises the struggle of workers have sought other methods to gain union recognica's one million migrant tion. At every move, they have labourers to free them- been countered by California's from the economic and six-billion-dollar-a-year agriculslavery they have endured tral industry and the reaction- tracts before the days of John ary practices of California's eck's Grapes of Wrath. state government. After refusal atly centered in California, of the growers to hold union long art of the nation's agricul- representation elections, even industry, the United Farm after eighty percent of their ers Organising Committee workers had signed union /OC), under the leadership authorisation cards, the first r. Cesar Chavez, himself a tactic of the UFWO was a nt farm worker, and with strike against specific growers. support of the AFLCIO The effects of the strike were valent to the English TUC), soon negated as the growers tempting to end the dis- filled the fields with scab labour, natory practices which imported unknowingly from excluded farm workers Mexico for the specific purpose all pieces of major labour of breaking the strike. Under a ation (including minimum federal immigration act, alien and child labour laws) and immigrants cannot enter the ing the owners of the huge United States for employment usinesses to the bargaining where there is a certified labour where they will agree to dispute. However, the reactionwith a union which repre- lary judges of California's legal agricultural workers. system have ruled that there are le struggle is a difficult one: no labour disputes at the struck ingle most important reason farms, and thus labour flows in at the National Labour Re- freely. When at times this proves ns Act, (NLRA) which is difficult, the growers have emded as a bill of rights for ployed inmates in the state sales strial workers, specifically prisons to work the fields, the ided agricultural workers first time in the history of the its provisions. This means California penal system that employers are under no convicts have been allowed to gation to bargain collectively participate in a commercial their employees, even if enterprise. Finally, the farm yone of them has signed a workers have recently had many n authorisation card. Efforts of their strikes decertified by the • been made over the past State Department of Employyears to amend the NRA, ment, apparently through the ed over thirty years ago, to direct intervention of Governor ude farm workers: they have Reagan. This has opened the way with widespread support. for the Department of Employbill, sponsored by such ment to refer strikebreakers for ators as Kennedy, McCarthy employment to these ranches. McGovern, seems to hold These actions, coupled with innajority in Congress. How- junctions drastically limiting the . it has been blocked since right to picket, has left the introduction in the Rules workers with no recourse but to nmittee by the filibuster seek public support for a con- by nues of Senator George sumer boycott. rphy, movie star of Cali- The first national boycott was nia and Paul Fannin, land- organised against the wine grape ner of Arizona. industry. The union put out The inclusion under federal publicity asking stores and conis. therefore, a long and sumers not to buy California wine and farm workers travelled been without success: US grape from California to picket stores consumption has been cut by that sold the wine. In the sum- twenty percent in the last year. mer of 1966, the fruit of the Major cities such as Boston and boycott was reaped: ten major New York are almost clear of wine grape growers signed con- California grapes, and many with the unions. While large chain stores now refuse to four of these companies were handle them. struck, and signed only after a The growers, it seems, have and bitter economic one last recourse in their efforts six of the contracts to smash the Union: the foreign were negotiated on the basis of market. In 1967 over one-third proof that the union represented of the grapes were exported; the the workers, without work stop- quantity will surely increase this page or picketing. year. (Within the last three The union then turned to years, South Vietnam has risen California's largest agribusiness, from the 17th largest importer the table grape industry, whose of fresh grapes to the 3rd combined farms employ over largest). ( Efforts are therefore sixty-five thousand workers at being made to internationalise kid. peak season The first boycott the boycott. England, as the was of grapes of the Giumarra largest importer of US grapes in Corporation. This twelve thous- Europe, is a prime target. Hopeand acre ranch, with over 12 fully, there will be enough support from labour unions to black million dollars gross profit a year, (who received in 1967 a at least one major shipment of 250,000 dollar government sub- US grapes, if not the entire sidy for not planting and *con- export cargo. If this can be serving soil"), has been particu- effected, the California growers larly infamous for economically will be forced to acknowledge exploiting workers. As the boycott received their thousands of recognition and support - this that the Union has international nationwide support, Giumarra acknowledgement will hopefully dipped sharply. Rather be serious enough to bring them than recognise the union, how- to the bargaining table. ever, the Corporation chose to That will be the beginning of use illegal means to retaliate. the end to the last fight for union Four months after the boycott recognition in the United States. began, Giumarra began shipping Farm workers will at last be his grapes out under one hun- free from the exploitation of dred other labels, lent to him huge corporations which keep by fellow grape growers. The their children hungry and out of Federal Food and Drug Ad- school, their lives degraded by ministration has confirmed and the filth of migrant labour criticised this practice, but did camps, and their opportunities not stop it. As a result, the absorbed by their below miniUnion extended its boycott to mum poverty level income. The include all California table farm workers are not asking merelv for an hourly raise, they grapes.
The nationwide boycott goes are asking that their dignity as on. The growers continue to fill working men be recognised and the fields with scab labour and honoured. As stated in this counter the effects of the boycott week's issue of El Malcriado, emploving insidious tech- the official Union organ. "Our niques. The latest of these for mission is to work the land until example, is the injection of food we are tired and collect its fruit colouring and artificial flavour- as a reward. We firmly believe ing into seedless grapes and in that mission... and we want passing them off as maraschino a just price for doing that we also want what is ours.." cherries! Still, the union has not HEAVEN Webe P. Lazarsteid You can't write essays about H. S. Hughe David Wise's art; you have to 4. Sams G Sim (Freud sit in it and talk about it. "What's that, man?" demands a sharply dressed, bereted black Marx "That's art, brother," his friend hisses. "Don't you know art when you see it?' "Man, I don't know anything about art, but that's far out." "That" is The Chair of Sociology, 14 feet of bronze, filagreed with a blowtorch, inlaid with stained glass, and strewn with an assortment of 85 rough human forms, each one bearing a name. Presently on exhibit in the lobby Student Union at the University of California at Berkeley, it is soon to be shipped for display asked Robert Merton, a profesat Brandeis University in Wal- sor of sociology at Columbia. tham, Massachusetts. The Chair No one could discover an exthe biggest effort yet by planation for David's placement sculptor David Wise, second- of individual sociologists, but year graduate student at UC and professors climbed all over The a teaching assistant in sociology. Chair looking for their own Originally sculpted as an un- names and trying to discover solicited, surprise contribution the principle of order in David's to the 1967 convention of the sociological universe. American Sociology Associa- The Chair of Sociology elicits tion. The Chair caused instant pleasantly bewildered responses controversy at its first appear- in its present resting place at ance. UC. Ooo." once little red"What's this heaven, earth, headed hippie girl bubbles, purgatory, hell business?" socio- "that's the most beautiful thing logists asked one another. I've ever seen. It looks like "Look." came a reply, "it's a something medieval. Can I sit map of the sociological uni- in it? But what are all these verse.. Some sociologists are in names all over it?" heaven, flying around as angels, "Well, you see, these are all and others are in hell depicted sociologists," David Wise exas devils. See, there's Seymour plains to her. David is twenty. Martin Lipset up top and there's three years old, voluble and not at Herbert Marcuse down there in all ashamed to explain his work. hell." "But why am I up there?" «It is kind of medieval. MedieE. Golimar EARTH they're the most respectable.
See, up top there. I've got Walt C. Becke Whitman Rostow (formerly of the Massachusetts Institute of tama Lyn Technology, now in the State Staughton Lynd Department) dropping bombs M. Zeitlin 1. Seetey on the Vietnamese. Durkheim and Weber are up there as the king and queen of sociology.
They were the ones at the beginning of the century who put sociology on a really respectable footing. But down there in hell, there's Karl Marx; he's the biggest devil of all. He said the task of sociology wasn't just to interpret the world, it was supposed to change it too.
And Mao and Trotsky, way down there in the corner they're the worst, because they val artists used to arrange their actually did change it. altarpieces in a sort of hier- "And you see there in the archy, with the angels in heaven, middle, that's Freud in purgathe saints and humans on earth tory. He said some pretty unand the demons down below. respectable things about human Everyone had his place in the nature, but on the other hand he cosmos. Just the same way justified a lot of kinds of represevery sociologist has his place in sion as necessary for the preserthe sociological cosmos." vation of society. So he's atoning "But what's C. Wright Mills for his sins. Wilhelm Reich and doing in hell?" asks the redhead. Norman O. Brown are below "I thought he was a pretty good Freud because everyone thinks guy. And Frantz Fanon and they're so way-out and freaky. Marcuse, they're great." But Erich Fromm is above him "Listen," says David, who is because Fromm acts as Freud's as patient as he is talented, "the public relations man." sociological cosmography isn't "But the whole thing's upside any more rational than the down!" someone cries out. By theological one was back in the now a whole crowd has gathered Middle Ages. In sociology, res- around The Chair. pectability is a much more "Upside down?" asks David. important criterion than sociolo- "Yeah the bad guys are in gists ever admit. The sociolo- heaven and the good guys are in gists up in heaven take the hell." present order as given, and seem "Well." says David, it's The content to leave it that way. So Chair of Sociologv "
6 THE BLACK DWARF 13.8 ger for the security and stability of all free people".
Doug Gill the balance.
Rio de Janiero when he told fellow the U.S. Army to intervene on the side of "fraternal American armies should
----- pull-quotes -----
The hot and cold seat