Salad Bowl strike facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Salad Bowl strike
Protesters during the Salad Bowl strike
Date	August 23, 1970 – March 26, 1971
Goals	Collective bargaining
Methods	Pickets; boycott; secondary boycott
Parties to the civil conflict
Teamsters United Farm Workers
Lead figures
Frank Fitzsimmons César Chávez

The Salad Bowl strike was a huge series of protests by farm workers in the United States. It included strikes, large pickets, and boycotts. This event started on August 23, 1970, and became the biggest farm worker strike in U.S. history. The strike was led by the United Farm Workers (UFW) against another union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Salad Bowl strike helped lead to a very important law in 1975, called the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act.

Why Farm Workers Fought for Rights

For a long time, many workers in the U.S. had laws to protect their right to join unions and bargain for better pay and conditions. This started in 1933 with a law called the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). Later, in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was passed. However, these laws did not include farm workers.

This meant that farm workers did not have the same legal protections as other workers. They couldn't easily form unions or negotiate for fair treatment. Other important laws, like the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, also left out farm workers. Because of this, it was very hard for farm laborers to organize and improve their working lives.

In 1966, two groups, the National Farm Workers Association and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, joined together. They formed the United Farm Workers (UFW). The UFW believed in peaceful protest, even when faced with violence. They used strikes, hunger strikes, and boycotts to fight for their rights. One famous protest was the successful Delano grape strike. The UFW worked hard to get many farm workers to join their union. Sometimes, they even won recognition and signed contracts with growers.

The Big Lettuce Strike Begins

By 1969, the UFW was close to winning its four-year-long Delano grape strike. Many growers started to agree to their demands. The UFW hoped that this success would encourage more growers to work with them.

However, another union, the Teamsters, also saw an opportunity. On July 17, 1970, about 6,000 drivers and packing workers in California's Salinas Valley went on strike. These workers were represented by the Teamsters. This strike stopped most of the summer lettuce crop from reaching stores. The price of iceberg lettuce quickly became three times higher. Thousands of acres of lettuce spoiled in the fields.

The Teamsters' strike ended on July 23. But their agreement with the growers gave the Teamsters the right to organize farm workers, not the UFW. The UFW was very upset because they had always worked to organize field workers. The Teamsters signed contracts with growers without doing much work to get the workers' support.

César Chávez, the leader of the UFW, started a hunger strike to protest the Teamsters' actions. A court even tried to stop UFW members from striking. But the UFW still held secret talks with the Teamsters to avoid a bigger conflict. On August 12, they reached an agreement. The Teamsters agreed that the UFW should organize field workers. Some growers, like FreshPict Foods and Inter-Harvest, even signed contracts with the UFW.

But this agreement quickly fell apart. On August 23, 5,000 to 7,000 UFW workers went on strike against the Salinas Valley growers. This was the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history. More workers joined in the following weeks. Other unions supported the strike. Almost no fresh lettuce was shipped across the country, and lettuce prices doubled. Growers were losing $500,000 every day.

A court ordered Chávez and the UFW to stop picketing, but they refused. In late September 1970, the UFW asked people across the country to boycott all lettuce that was not picked by UFW members. Violence started to happen in the fields. On November 4, 1970, a UFW office was bombed.

César Chávez Goes to Jail

On December 4, federal marshals arrested César Chávez. It was the first time he had ever been to jail. Two days later, important people visited him in the Monterey County jail. These visitors included Rafer Johnson, an Olympic gold medalist, and Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. An angry crowd attacked Kennedy and Johnson outside the jail. Police and sheriffs had to step in to stop a riot and protect the visitors.

Chávez was released from jail on December 23. But the very next day, he called for a strike against six more lettuce growers. The difficult strike finally ended on March 26, 1971. The Teamsters and UFW signed a new agreement. This agreement confirmed that the UFW had the right to organize field workers.

What Happened After the Strike?

Even after the Salad Bowl strike ended, the disagreement between the Teamsters and the UFW did not completely go away. The Teamsters started their dispute with the UFW again in December 1972. This led to more problems in the farming industry. There were many protests, arrests, and a lot of violence.

By April 1973, the UFW felt like they were "fighting for our lives." They threatened to boycott any grower who signed a contract with the Teamsters. Thousands of UFW members started protesting in the fields on April 15, 1973. Many people were arrested, and jails became very full. The fights between the two unions became very violent. UFW members were attacked day and night. The UFW seemed to be losing the fight. The violence got worse. On July 31, seventy farm workers were attacked. A UFW protester was shot on August 3. Five firebombs were thrown at UFW protest lines on August 9. Two UFW members were shot on August 11, and one UFW protester was shot and killed on August 16, 1973.

The UFW was struggling with money, legal issues, and organization. Chávez started talks with the Teamsters on August 6 but stopped them on August 10. However, the Teamsters were also having a hard time. The day after the peace talks ended, the Teamsters surprised everyone. They canceled all the contracts they had signed since the new fights began.

Talks started again, and a temporary agreement was reached on September 27, 1973. In this agreement, the Teamsters once again agreed to let the UFW organize farm field workers.

By late 1974, many people thought the UFW was no longer strong. In July, they had to stop protesting at some grape fields. Newspaper writers suggested that the UFW could no longer fight. By February 1975, some thought the union had no future.

A New Law for Farm Workers

The ongoing fight between the Teamsters and UFW made César Chávez think about new laws in 1974. He wanted to find a legal solution. Jerry Brown was elected Governor of California in November 1974. But his election alone was not enough to pass a new law. The UFW knew they needed to show strong political power to get the California State Legislature to act.

The UFW thought about doing big protests and boycotts. But they worried that they had lost the support of farm workers. They feared such events would only show how weak the union was. Instead, the UFW decided on a long march. A small group of UFW leaders walked about 110 miles (177 km) from San Francisco to the E & J Gallo Winery in Modesto. The march would be dramatic but would not need many people.

Only a few hundred marchers left San Francisco on February 22, 1975. But by the time they reached Modesto on March 1, more than 15,000 people had joined them.

The great success of the Modesto march gave the farm labor movement in California new energy. Governor Brown quickly started pushing for new labor laws. The march was a big moment. But it was the success of the Delano grape boycott that first brought the growers to the negotiating table. One major grower said, "The grape boycott scared the heck out of the farmers, all of us." The march helped bring politicians and the Teamsters to the table.

A general agreement on a new law was reached on May 7, 1975. This was just 68 days after the Modesto march. The California State Senate passed the bill on May 26. The California State Assembly passed it two days later. Governor Brown signed the law on June 4, 1975. The act officially started on August 28, 1975.

After hundreds of elections under the new law, the UFW and Teamsters finally signed a lasting agreement in March 1977. The UFW ended its boycotts of lettuce, grapes, and wine in February 1978.

See also

In Spanish: Huelga del Salad Bowl para niños