Baldemar Velasquez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Baldemar Velásquez
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Melvin Rios and Baldemar Velasquez at the Columbus, Ohio, Rally for Immigrants Rights on 2006-03-26.
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| Born | February 15, 1947 |
| Occupation | Labor leader |
| Known for | President, Farm Labor Organizing Committee |
Baldemar Velásquez, born on February 15, 1947, is an American leader who helps workers. He started and leads the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC). This group helps farmworkers. In 1989, he received a special award called the "Genius Grant" (MacArthur Fellow). Mexico also gave him its highest honor for non-citizens, the Order of the Aztec Eagle, in 1994.
Contents
Baldemar Velásquez: A Champion for Workers
His Early Life and Family
Baldemar Velásquez was born in February 1947 in Pharr, Texas. He was the third of nine children. His parents, Cresencio and Vicenta, were migrant farmworkers. This meant they traveled to different states like Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas. They followed the harvest seasons to pick crops.
Baldemar's father started working as a migrant worker when he was only 11 years old. His mother's family moved to Texas in 1910 because of the Mexican Revolution. Baldemar's parents taught him to work hard. They also showed him how important it was to fight for fairness.
Growing Up as a Migrant Worker
Baldemar started helping his parents in the fields when he was just four years old. His family often traveled in a pickup truck. They would huddle together under blankets to stay warm. Sometimes, the whole family lived in just one room. One winter, snow blew into their small shack.
When Baldemar was 12, he led his first strike. He helped other pickers at his summer job get better wages. He was a good athlete in high school. He played baseball, basketball, football, and ran track. His teachers encouraged him to go to college.
His College Journey
In 1965, Baldemar went to Pan American University in Texas. He wanted to study engineering. While there, he learned more about his Mexican-American heritage. He saw how farmworkers were often treated unfairly.
A priest helped him get money for college. He then transferred to Ohio Northern College in 1966. A year later, he moved to Bluffton College. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in sociology.
At Bluffton College, a professor named Dr. Lawrence Templin became his mentor. Dr. Templin taught him about peaceful ways to bring about change. This deeply influenced Baldemar's ideas for helping farmworkers. Baldemar also volunteered with a civil rights group called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In 1969, Baldemar married Sara Templin, Dr. Templin's daughter. They had four children together.
Fighting for Farmworkers with FLOC
Starting FLOC and Early Challenges
Baldemar Velásquez and his father started the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) in 1967. Baldemar was inspired by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, César Chávez, and Martin Luther King Jr.. His first goal was to help farmworkers work together. He wanted them to get better pay, housing, and education.
In 1968, Baldemar called for a strike against 10 tomato growers in Ohio. Five growers signed agreements with FLOC. They agreed to pay a minimum wage and offer some health insurance. But many challenges came up. Some growers fought against the union. Others refused to honor their agreements. This made Baldemar change his plan.
Taking on Big Companies
Baldemar realized it was better to focus on large national companies. He said, "It was a big mistake to go after individual farmers." From 1970 to 1983, he worked to build public support for farmworkers. He showed people the low wages and poor working conditions they faced.
In 1976, workers at a tomato cannery went on strike. They were upset because the employer hired too many workers. This made wages go down. The workers barricaded themselves inside the cannery. FLOC helped them. This strike brought a lot of attention to the workers' problems. It also helped FLOC learn how to deal with big companies.
The Campbell Soup Boycott
Baldemar decided FLOC's next big target would be the Campbell Soup Company. He wanted Campbell's to pay a little more for produce. This would allow growers to pay farmworkers much higher wages. In 1978, 2,000 farmworkers went on strike against growers who sold to Campbell's. Baldemar made sure all strikers learned nonviolent protest methods.
Campbell's said the dispute was with the growers, not them. So, in 1979, Baldemar announced a boycott of Campbell's products. In 1983, he led a 560-mile protest march. It went from FLOC's office in Ohio to Campbell's headquarters in New Jersey. He also put ads in newspapers to tell people about the bad conditions.
At the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Baldemar had farmworkers hold "Boycott Campbell's" signs. Cameras showed these signs during a speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson. This helped more people learn about the boycott. After two years of pressure, Campbell's finally agreed to a special agreement in 1986. This was the first time a three-way agreement was made between a company, growers, and a union.
Expanding FLOC's Reach
After the Campbell's agreement, FLOC signed deals with other big companies. These included Aunt Jane Foods, Dean Foods, and H. J. Heinz Company. Later, growers worried about cheap produce from Mexico. Baldemar went to Mexico himself. He worked with unions there to raise their wages. This helped make things fairer.
In the 1990s, FLOC started organizing cucumber pickers in North Carolina. Baldemar focused on the Mount Olive Pickle Company. When talks failed, he started another boycott. He led a 70-mile march to Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2004, FLOC signed an agreement with Mount Olive. This was the first union contract for farmworkers in North Carolina. It covered over 8,500 guest workers.
In 2010, Baldemar led FLOC to join a boycott of JPMorgan Chase. This was to protest the bank's actions against homeowners. That same year, he was chosen to be on a committee for the International Labour Organization. This committee works to create fair working standards for farmworkers around the world.
Other Ways He Helps
In 1990, Baldemar Velásquez earned a degree in practical theology. He later became a chaplain.
He has also served on the boards of many organizations. In 1991, he helped organize a big meeting about environmental justice. He has been on the board of Policy Matters Ohio, the University of Toledo, and the Toledo Zoo. In 2010, the Governor of Ohio appointed him to a state panel. This panel helps Spanish-speaking people in Ohio.
Awards and Recognition
Baldemar Velásquez has received many awards for his work.
- In 1988, he received a Bannerman Fellowship. This award is for people who help organize for fairness.
- In 1989, he was named a MacArthur Fellow, also known as the "Genius Grant."
- In 1994, he received the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award.
- Also in 1994, he received Mexico's Aguila Azteca Award. This is the highest honor Mexico gives to someone who is not a citizen.
He has also received honorary degrees from several universities. These include Bowling Green State University, Bluffton College, and the University of Toledo.
