Song of the stubborn one thousand
Subtitle: the Watsonville Canning Strike, 1985-87
By: Peter Shapiro
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 237
ISBN-13: 9781608466801
Subjects: Frozen foods industry; Watsonville Canning and Frozen Food Company; Strikes and lockouts; Labor unions; Mexican American women labor union members; History; Women cannery workers; Food industry and trade
Description: On September 9, 1985, one thousand mainly Mexican women workers in Watsonville, California, the "frozen food capital of the world," were forced out on strike in response to an attempt by Watsonville Canning owner, Mort Console, to break their union. They returned to work eighteen months later. Not one had crossed the picket line. A moribund union has been revitalized, and Watsonville's Latino majority emerged as a major force in local politics. At a time when organized labor was in headlong retreat, the Watsonville Canning strike was a dramatic show of the power of women workers, whose struggle became a rallying point for the Chicano movement. Apart from its sheer drama, the strikers' story illuminates the challenges facing a group of ordinary working people who waged a protracted and ultimately successful struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The frozen food capital of the world; title: The biggest unio in the country; title: The Teamsters in Watsonville; title: Local 912 at bay; title: The strikers' committee; title: Exit the king; title: The Shaw settlement; title: Enter the Teamsters; title: Mort Console at bay; title: The final days.