Fleecing the farm workers
Posted by Greg on January 9, 2006
What has become of the United Farm Workers? A recent LA Times article paints a picture, and it isn’t pretty.
Thirty-five years after Chavez riveted the nation, the strikes and fasts are just history, the organizers who packed jails and prayed over produce in supermarket aisles are gone, their righteous pleas reduced to plaintive laments.
What remains is the name, the eagle and the trademark chant of “Sí se puede” (”Yes, it can be done”) — a slogan that rings hollow as UFW leaders make excuses for their failure to organize California farmworkers.
Today, a Times investigation has found, Chavez’s heirs run a web of tax-exempt organizations that exploit his legacy and invoke the harsh lives of farmworkers to raise millions of dollars in public and private money.
The money does little to improve the lives of California farmworkers, who still struggle with the most basic health and housing needs and try to get by on seasonal, minimum-wage jobs.
Most of the funds go to burnish the Chavez image and expand the family business, a multimillion-dollar enterprise with an annual payroll of $12 million that includes a dozen Chavez relatives.Thirty-five years after Chavez riveted the nation, the strikes and fasts are just history, the organizers who packed jails and prayed over produce in supermarket aisles are gone, their righteous pleas reduced to plaintive laments.
What remains is the name, the eagle and the trademark chant of “Sí se puede” (”Yes, it can be done”) — a slogan that rings hollow as UFW leaders make excuses for their failure to organize California farmworkers.
Last week I commented briefly on disclosures that the NEA was spending big bucks on things not remotely connected to education. Now this on the UFW. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone who’s remotely engaged on the issues that unions have been falling down on their supposed mission of late.
There’s a lot to be said for transparency and more local control and influence. But those in power are not going to take it lying down.
Matt at MyDD:
The answer to this is transparency within union management. I like seeing an increasing number of union blogs, such as the excellent Air Traffic Controller’s Association’s The Main Bang, or John Ryan’s AFL-CIO blog in Cleveland, or of course Edwize, the original union blog. These are giant steps forward for the union movement, because they allow union members to trust one another again, and in turn, show non-union members a system they can buy into should they choose to unionize. Not that blogs are so awesome – they are part of an overall change in union culture which is very exciting.
Also see:
