Indonesian workers consider foreign investment opportunities.
US fast food workers spelling it out In this issue: Indonesian labour p 2; fast food p4; the millions in action p7; solidarit interview p!; farm workers round"table p#$; the e%tras p#4. &ction in &sia ' Indonesian labour (hat are the prospects for labour in the second of the so"called )I*+ economies, Indonesia- Let's put this question into its proper historical contet ! the e"er#ence o$ a ne% la&our "o'e"ent in the countr( $ollo%in# the )e"ise o$ the Suharto re#i"e in the late 1990s* Un)er the iron cloa+ o$ Suharto, no in)epen)ent tra)e unions %ere allo%e)- the state controlle) la&our $e)eration ser'e) as the sole le#iti"ate &o)(, %ith its a$$iliates un)erta+in# no #enuine representation* Spora)ic out&ursts &( %or+ers %ere $ace) )o%n %ith state repression an) in$iltration. outla%e) la&our or#anisations &rie$l( $lourishe)* En#ul$e) &( econo"ic crisis an) political protests a#ainst the re#i"e, Suharto's rei#n en)e) in 199/* Le#alisation o$ tra)e unions an) pro"ises o$ #reater political an) ci'il ri#hts quic+l( $ollo%e)* 0 rash o$ la&our or#anisations appeare)- re$or"ist &rea+a%a(s $ro" the ol) state $e)eration, re'i'al o$ earlier unions &ase) on reli#ious a$$iliation, as %ell as ne% ra)ical &o)ies lin+e) to Le$t political $or"ations* Thou#h )i'i)e) on "an( issues these or#ans all sou#ht $ree)o" $ro" state inter$erence an) the esta&lish"ent o$ collecti'e &ar#ainin#* 1ut this le#al shi$t %as ne'er #oin# to &e the %hole ans%er* Un)er Suharto In)onesia ha) &eco"e a "a#net $or $orei#n in'est"ent see+in# cheap an) )ocile la&our, an) this )(na"ic continue) into the 21 st centur(* 2ithout )irect state control, e"plo(ers an) their pri'atel( hire) "ilitia %or+e) to preser'e their $ree)o" $or "anoeu're a#ainst e$$orts to or#anise the "illions o$ In)onesian %or+ers* .ast forward to 2$#/ and the picture looks something like this.... There are aroun) 11/ "illion %or+ers in the countr(, %ith "a(&e one thir) lac+in# secure e"plo("ent, an) "an( in the in$or"al sector* This "ass o$ precarious %or+ is a "a3or concern $or the ne% la&our "o'e"ent, alon#si)e the $i#ht $or a li'in# %a#e* In 2014, "a3or a)'ances ha'e &een "a)e on &oth $ronts* 1ol)est action %as the sta#in# o$ a t%o )a( national stri+e, Oct 41 5 6o' 1, in the na"e o$ achie'in# a living wage* 2ith o'er 1*7 "illion %or+ers participatin#, the authorities %ere le$t in no )ou&t that action %as nee)e)* Responses 'arie) 8 so"e %or+$orces #aine) su&stantial %a#e rises. others li+e in the 9a+arta area o$$ere) onl( sin#le )i#it rises, %a( &elo% the risin# cost o$ li'in#* 0ction has continue) into 2014 in these areas to "o'e the authorities to%ar)s a "ore plausi&le settle"ent, as happene) in the pre'ious (ear* The stri+e ta&le) other )e"an)s, concernin# health insurance, outsourcin#, an) le#al protection $or )o"estic %or+ers* In ter"s o$ outsourcing and precarious emploment , there ha'e &een nu"erous protests o'er the last (ear throu#hout the econo"(* Thou#h ne% la%s %ere intro)uce) li"itin# the use o$ outsourcin# in 2012, the practice is still %i)esprea) as e"plo(ers tr( to re)uce la&our costs an) the li+elihoo) o$ )isruption* 0precarious work divides the working class0 The pu&lic sector in In)onesia has &een a "a3or tar#et $or union action o'er the last (ear* 0cross the electricit(, oil an) #as, an) teleco"s in)ustries, %or+ers ha'e repeate)l( )e"an)e) their con'ersion to per"anent status* In the case o$ the :T :L6 electrical co"pan(, %or+ers at one sta#e threatene) to turn o$$ the li#hts in 9a+arta* This $ollo%e) earlier protests %hen o'er 4;0 outsource) %or+ers %ere lai) o$$, instea) o$ &ein# "a)e per"anent* So"e %or+ers clai" the( ha'e &een %or+in# there $or 20 (ears on rollin# contracts**** :erta"ina, another state o%ne) co"pan(, has %itnesse) a lon# stru##le %ith the <1E!S1SI union o'er outsourcin#* 0t the "o"ent 4=0 %or+ers are suspen)e) %hilst the co"pan( "ounts le#al challen#es to the rulin# o$ the 0ceh In)ustrial Court that the( shoul) &eco"e per"anent %or+ers* One o$ the &i##est 'ictories thou#h happene) in t%o t(re "a+in# plants run &( 1ri)#estone* >ere a "ass con'ersion o$ te"ps to per"anent e"plo(ees %as %on &( the In)ustri0LL a$$iliate ?E: S:SI* 0lthou#h the use o$ a#enc( %or+ers on a pro)uction line %as ille#al in In)onesia, the co"pan( ha) sho%e) no concern a&out this &e$ore en#a#in# in tal+s %ith the union**** 1( the en) o$ 2012 su$$icient pro#ress ha) &een "a)e to trans$er 99; %or+ers to a "ore secure $uture* O&'iousl( it isn't all #oo) ne%s $or the $ourth lar#est population on the planet* C oercive powers continue to &e use) &( the e"plo(ers in the sacre) cause o$ pro$ita&ilit(* <ro" the crop o$ recent stories consi)er these** the 0ustralian "inin# co"pan(, Thiess, has &een cau#ht e"plo(in# police an) "ilitar( sta$$ as #uar)s at its "ines, pro"ptin# %or+er protests. @octors sta#e) a %al+out in protest a$ter the cri"inalisation o$ three o$ their collea#ues, %ho %ere i"prisone) $or alle#e) "e)ical ne#li#ence. 2or+ers at a 6i+e $actor( %ere su&3ecte) to inti"i)ation $ro" "ilitar( personnel, as the e"plo(er sou#ht to #ain an ee"ption $ro" ne% "ini"u" %a#e rises. >otel %or+ers $ace) suspension or )e"otion $or their union acti'ities at the Aran) B >otel* 1ou can see the attraction for investors. <ortunatel( the ne% In)onesian la&our "o'e"ent is pro'in# itsel$ a prett( )eter"ine) a)'ersar(* 9(r+i Raini o$ In)ustri0LL- CAlthough the Indonesian trade unions have achieved a great deal, struggles lie ahead. But with their force, commitment and ability to organise Im convinced that we will see the minimum wage move closer to becoming a decent wage. Indonesian trade unions are an inspiration to us all. Object1 .ast .ood .ootwork (al" )art isn0t the onl household name compan in &merica currentl under fire for its labour conditions. +he fast food sector ' )c2onalds, 3.4, 5urger 3ing et al ' has come under sustained pressure over the last ear from its workers and their allies****** Our stor( &e#ins in 6o'e"&er 2012, %ith the lar#est e'er )irect action &( non!unionise) %or+ers across the %hole $ast $oo) sector in 6e% Dor+, in'ol'in# 200 people* Inspire) &( the ea"ple o$ OUR 2al!Mart, a ne% cross! co"pan( or#anisin# co""ittee shape) this action, supporte) &( co""unit( allies an) the Ser'ice E"plo(ees International Union* Lo% %a#es an) anti!union retaliator( "easures &( their e"plo(ers %ere "a3or sources o$ )iscontent, a E17 %a#e rate their "ain )e"an)* Soon other cities %ere in on the act, li+e Chica#o an) @etroit, re$lectin# the rapi) #ro%th o$ the lo% %a#e sector in the US econo"( a$ter the 200/ crash* Li+e OUR 2al!Mart, these %al+outs are a no'el t(pe o$ non!or pre!"a3orit( or#anisin# that is #ainin# "ore attention in the US union "o'e"ent* Into 2014 "ore actions o$ this t(pe ca"e thic+ an) $ast across the %hole countr(, so"eti"es sin#l(, at other ti"es as part o$ nation%i)e protests*-! 400 plus %or+ers in 6e% Dor+ F0prilG o'er 700 in @etroit protests FMa(G national )a( o$ action in hal$ a )oHen "a3or cities F9ul(G %or+ers %al+ out in 7/ cities, in o'er 1,000 stores an) restaurants F0u#ustG another national protest %ith action in o'er 100 cities F@ece"&erG These protests ha) so"e i""e)iate &ene$its $or the $ast $oo) ar"(* So"e %on pa( rises, others #aine) &etter %or+in# con)itions an) treat"ent &( local "ana#e"ent* The $ocus o$ this "o'e"ent ho%e'er is to tar#et the entire sector an) achie'e a uni'ersal %a#e rise plus $ree)o" to 3oin a union- 0we can0t survive on 67.270. (hich (a .orward- This ta+es us to the strate#ic heart o$ the $ast $oo) %or+ers ca"pai#n* SEIU is the union $un)in# "uch o$ this or#anisin#, 'ia co""unit( coalitions li+e 6e% Dor+ Co""unities $or Chan#e an) the 2or+ers Or#aniHin# Co""ittee o$ Chica#o* Their $ocus is as "uch on the local an) $e)eral authorities %hich set "ini"u" %a#e le'els an) the %hole US lo%!%a#e econo"( as the i""e)iate e"plo(ers in the sector* 2al+outs are )esi#ne) to hi#hli#ht the pli#ht o$ the $ast $oo) %or+$orce, an) eert "oral pressure $or local li'in# %a#es* So $ar, not "an( %a#e!settin# authorities ha'e hee)e) the call* O&a"a ai"e) to raise the $e)eral "ini"u" to E10*10. 6e% Dor+ state %ill slo%l( increase its rate to E9*27* 1ut these $all a lon# %a( short o$ the <i#ht $or E17* Union reco#nition is not an i""e)iate #oal o$ the $ast $oo) ca"pai#ners, an) this has &een criticise) %ithin the ran+s o$ the US la&our "o'e"ent 8 shoul) the ai" o$ political le'era#e ta+e prece)ence o'er "o&ilisin# %or+ers po%er on the 3o&I FF<or "ore on this issue see our inter'ie% %ith <ran+ 1ar)ac+e p;G* Others counter that the structure o$ the $ast $oo) in)ustr( an) its reliance on $ranchise operations, lea'es an in)ustr(!%i)e a#ree"ent %ith the parent corporations, &ac+e) &( store %al+outs an) political pressure, as the &est option* 8ooking into the Industr Recent US aca)e"ic research into the $ast $oo) sector shines a harsh li#ht on %or+in# li'es* Lo% %a#es co"&ine) %ith part ti"e hours, "ean that o'er hal$ this %or+$orce cannot sur'i'e %ithout rel(in# on pu&lic assistance pro#ra""es o$ one +in) or another* E'en %ith a 40 hour %ee+, "an( still $all short, an) so"e ha'e to ta+e secon) 3o&s to sta( a$loat* The cost o$ this pu&lic su&si)( to the "e#a $ast $oo) corporations is up to E; &illion each (ear* Moreo'er the co""on notion o$ $ast $oo) %or+ers as stu)ents or (oun# people is $alse 8 o'er =0J %ere a)ults an) the "ain %a#e earners in their househol)s* (e can0t wait for the econom to produce better 9obs0. On top o$ this inco"e )e$icienc(, $ast $oo) %or+ers co"plain o$ poor %or+in# con)itions-! ecessi'e heat in restaurants lac+ o$ pro"otion opportunities an) $a'ouritis" irre#ular shi$t patterns a##ressi'e "ana#e"ent etra )uties at %or+ )raconian atten)ance "onitorin# *otes from :regon: a moment to cheer from :regon ;oo, where its food service workforce <mostl temps= won an election and 9oined 8aborers 8ocal 4!/ in the autumn of 2$#/
(age +heft The lo% pa( o$ $ast $oo) %or+ is co"poun)e) &( the ra"pant practice o$ %a#e the$t that pla#ues the %hole sector* Reports o$ this are all too co""on- %or+ers $orce) to )o tas+s a$ter the( ha'e cloc+e) o$$, $ailure to $ull( pa( $or o'erti"e hours, )enial o$ le#all( &ac+e) "eal &rea+s* Latest sur'e( results su##est al"ost 90J o$ $ast $oo) %or+ers are 'icti"s* <ortunatel( the %or+$orce has starte) to $i#ht &ac+* 0t Mc@onal)s a class action la%suit is un)er %a( in'ol'in# %or+ers $ro" three states* 1ac+ in March 24 @o"inoKs :iHHa outlets in 6e% Dor+ a)"itte) to %a#e 'iolations an) a#ree) a settle"ent o$ aroun) hal$ a "illion )ollars %ith their %or+$orce* In the %or)s o$ Sarita Aupta, )irector o$ 9o&s %ith 9ustice- ' 0n) to &e clear, these 'iolations aren't 3ust so"e $lu+e in our corporate! )o"inate) culture !! the('re a )irect result o$ the %a( $ast!$oo) corporations operate*' She su"s it up li+e this- ' The real "essa#e $ro" all o$ these %a#e $i#hts is clear- Until %e hol) so"e o$ our countr('s lar#est e"plo(ers accounta&le to pa(in# their %or+ers &etter Fnot to "ention pa(in# the" %hat the(''e actuall( earne)G, %e'll continue to see tapa(ers $ootin# the &ill $or corporate irresponsi&ilit(*'
>lobali;ing +he Struggle
Earl( in Ma( 2014 the $oo) in)ustr('s #lo&al $e)eration, the IU<, con'ene) its a$$iliates to )iscuss $uture cross!&or)er sectoral action* Ma( 17 th %as the result- a spectacular response in o'er 40 countries, %ith coor)inate) action )ra"atisin# the #lo&al squeeHe on $oo) %or+ers
Lea)in# the %a(, o'er 140 cities in the US0 sa% $ast $oo) $oo) protests * This ti"e thou#h the $ocus has $allen on the action in other re#ions an) continents across the #lo&e- 0sia an) 0ustralasia, Europe, Latin 0"erica****** 2e tal+e) to Massi"o <ratinni $ro" the IU< a&out these )e'elop"ents* > eplaine) that the ori#ins o$ Ma( 17 la( in the IU< support $or a #roup o$ US $ast $oo) %or+ers &ac+ in 9une 2014* 0$ter%ar)s the IU< %as as+e) &( its a$$iliates to #et "ore in'ol'e)* The nee) $or a #lo&al $ocus %as clear sai) Massi"o-
'%orkers across the world face same problems and same struggles: low wages, precarious jobs and retaliation if workers try to join or form a union. These issues are global and thats why the campaign must be global and visible.' In so"e countries, inclu)in# the U? an) 6e% Lealan), unions acte) alon#si)e co""unit( allies, $ollo%in# the US "o)el* Else%here unions acte) on their o%n 8 the case in Ital( an) 1raHil, Aer"an( an) <rance*
0cross in 6e% Lealan), the <i#ht $or <i$teen "essa#e %as ta+en up enthusiasticall(, in one o$ the $e% countries %here $ast $oo) %or+ers alrea)( ha'e union ri#hts* Ca"pai#n lea)er Ta(lor McLoon eplains- "Were showing both solidarity with fast food wor!ers in the "nited #tates and around the world, and also showing $c%onalds they should be improving conditions in &ew 'ealand as well," Si"ultaneousl( 9apanese %or+ers too+ their "essa#e to the heart o$ To+(o's retail area* One thin# %e can &e sure o$ is that this stor( still has a lon# %a( to run* +he )illions in &ction I*2:*?SI& 2$#/ Solidarit Interview ' .rank 5ardacke .rank 5ardacke is the author of an epic histor of the United .arm (orkers of &merica " 0+rampling :ut +he @intage0. The UFW were known for combining workplace action with broader activities - boycotts and community alliances; political campaigning to gain leverage over state legislation. You argue this was dangerous - the 'two souls' came into conflict, and workplace action became secondary. Yet today many unions look to extra- workplace activity as an essential part of their campaigns and strategies. What lessons does the UFW experience teach us here? What do you mean by "essential"? That's the key. There is nothing wrong with extra-workplace activity. It is very helpful to have allies and to build relationships with them. Dockworkers need truck drivers. Truck drivers need people who work in warehouses. And on and on. People can even build useful relationships across classes and countries. Garment workers can benefit from the support of high-end clothes' consumers. But those aren't the essential concerns of unions. What's essential is the active, committed participation of the rank and file union member. Without that, a union holds only a handful of sand. Here the experience of the UFW is instructive. The union was able to mobilize a powerful set of allies: consumers, students, progressive religious folks, Chicano activists, other unionists. In its early years, through its boycotts the union was able to use the support of these allies to force growers to sign contracts. But that early success helped to turn the union's attention away from its rank and file members. Union staffers became boycott organizers, not farm worker organizers. The union spent its resources organizing and mobilizing supporters, not its members. The union had such disdain for the power of its own membership that it didn't even establish local unions, but rather appointed all local officials. The members job was to follow the lead of the top officers of the union, not to make any important decisions about the union's future. Farm workers who fought for power within the union were defeated. Eventually, rank and file support melted away. The union was left with the help of its allies but without its own powerful core. The end was near. Many today identify community organising (and the work of Saul Alinsky's IAF) as a key tool for unions to expand their horizons, and build wider support for their campaigns. You show that the influence of Alinksy on the UFW was a negative one in some ways: it imported / reinforced an anti- democratic tendency in Chavez's and UFW practice that damaged the functioning of the union and its ability to be a genuine rank and file body. Is community organising a double-edged sword for trade unions? The Alinsky tradition is a mixed bag for any kind of political organization, not just for trade unions. At the center of that tradition is the idea of the hero organizer who organizes and mobilizes an otherwise apathetic, weak group of people who are hopelessly divided from each other by their own selfish, particular interests. The hero organizer, through his or her special political knowledge, converts these divided groups into a tight, active community. In this view, the local leaders are essentially parochial, unable to see beyond their own little groups' agendas, unable to unite with each other until the organizer comes along to help them. Such a scheme has within in it an anti-democratic seed. A seed, that under some conditions, can flower into a full anti-democratic ethos, as happened in the UFW where local leaders couldn't be trusted to see the interests of the whole union. They always needed the guidance of the far seeing organizers at the top of the organization. The experience of local leaders, this crucial experience that is the basic building block of any union, was undervalued, even ignored, by the people who were supposedly organizing them. Some of that had roots far removed from the tradition of community organizing. But some of it came from the ideas of Saul Alinsky.
The boycott was an effective weapon used by the UFW to pressurise growers to recognise the union and sign contracts, especially in its early days. Today we see numerous similar campaigns mounted against employers that target their products and working practices. These may involve an international dimension - whether this be the ubiquitous email protest or a call to physically boycott goods in other countries - that the UFW story lacked. Do you think international solidarity action has a part to play in future efforts to organise farm workers in the US? Sure. International solidarity can always help. But it is not the crucial ingredient in organizing farm workers. Farm workers are going to have to get it together themselves before they go out and seek help. I don't believe that outsiders can help all that much in the initial stages. People should focus their attention on the problems closer to home. Our main task is in our own lives, on our own jobs, in our own communities. We should give people far away a helping hand when they ask for it, but I don't think that international solidarity should ever be the essence of our politics. Sometimes thinking about other peoples' problems is a way to avoid thinking about our own. In a radio interview with KALW you identified three factors underpinning farm workers power in the UFW's heyday: the craft skills of field workers (immune to mechanisation); the collective spirit of the work crews; and the vulnerability of the growers due to short harvest time frames. Do these factors still exist today, three decades later, for farm workers to draw upon? Harvest time will always be a vulnerable time for the growers, and a time of great opportunity for farm workers. I don't think that will ever change, unless agriculture as an unique activity disappears and is totally merged into industrial production. That hasn't happened in the last several hundred years, and I don't think it will happen even in the most dystopian future. The agricultural engineers are always trying to mechanize production, but they have been remarkably unsuccessful in fresh fruits and vegetables. The tree shakers damage the roots of the trees; the fruit harvesters damage the fruits; and most importantly the engineerswith few exceptionshave not been able to make nature mature all at once, and therefore the bosses still need human eyes and brains to decide which fruits or vegetables are ready to harvest and which ones must be left for the next pass through. Nonetheless, they (and the research departments at public universities) still spend millions of dollars every year trying to mechanize farm workers out of existence. Let's hope they can't do it. As to the collective spirit of the crews, I couldn't tell you because I no longer am working on one, and you would have to be working on one to know. I think all the highly portable electronic music probably does some damage, getting in the way of people talking to one another. I hope it hasn't done too much damage. As hard as it was on my body, I remember my seven seasons on a harvest crew as one of the best times of my life precisely because of the full, active life of the crew. Organised violence had a large part to play in UFW history. Do you think this turn to coercion could recur if any large-scale organising efforts took off in the Californian fields today? History doesn't teach much, but it would seem to tell us that if people with power are in danger of losing their power they will fight with everything they have. And one of things they have is state power, that is, the legitimate use of violence. Which is a way of saying that if a farm workers' movement becomes a threat to the growers again, they will have the police at their disposal. And they will use them. As they have used them in the past. As far as vigilantes are concerned, I can only say that I don't know. Which seems as good a way as any of ending an interview <ran+ 1ar)ac+e Round-table forum: the legacy of the UFW (he new movie, )esar )have* + ,istory is $ade -ne #tep at a (ime, directed by %iego .una, tells the story of the /rape #tri!e of 0123. (his epic 3+year labor battle led to the organi*ation of the "nited 4arm Wor!ers, and made )esar )have* a social movement hero. (he movie has provo!ed controversy over its depiction of his role, and the accuracy of the history it recounts of those events. In this roundtable, labor 5ournalist %avid Bacon, an e6 organi*er for the "4W e6plores these themes with four guests. 7liseo $edina was a farm wor!er when the stri!e started, and became a noted labor organi*er, first in the "4W and later in the #ervice 7mployees "nion. %oug Adair was an activist in the 0123 stri!e. %awn $abalon is a professor of history at #an 4rancisco #tate "niversity, and an authority of the history of 4ilipinos in )alifornia. 8osalinda /uillen comes from a farm wor!er family, was a "4W organi*er, and today organi*es farm labor. David: How did the movie square with your memories of the grape strie as a participant! "liseo: Its a good time for this movie to come out and show not only the challenges immigrants face, but also the fact that theyre willing to struggle and that when they do they can win, regardless of the power structure. It couldve done a much better 5ob of telling the full story, but its impossible to tell 09 years worth of history in : hours. Its a movie, not a documentary, and its aim is not to tell the story of the whole movement. (o do that would ta!e a lot more than 5ust one movie. David: #he film presents the UFW as a movement mostly of $hicanos and %e&icanos' but it was also a multinational union' including (frican-(mericans' (rab' and even white people) #hat doesn*t come through as much) "liseo: When I was a farm wor!er, before the stri!e began, we lived in different worlds ++ the .atino world, the 4ilipino world, the African+American world and the )aucasian world. We co+e6isted but never understood who we were or what each other thought and dreamed about. It wasnt until the union began that we finally began to wor! together, to !now each other and to begin to fight together. I do wish that that had been more e6plicit because certainly the contribution that was made by the 4ilipino wor!ers to the stri!e and the movement was an incredible part of the success of the union. (he fact that we also had )aucasians and African+Americans participating in the stri!e never even gets brought up. It was always multi+ racial. I do wish it had focused more on showing what can happen when people wor! together and fight together and ma!e changes, not only for one group, but for everybody. David: #here has been criticism of the movie*s portrayal of Filipino worers) How do you feel about that! Dawn: 4ilipinos had been organi*ing, not 5ust that year, but for decades before. (he growers had always divided $e6icans and 4ilipinos. What was so powerful about that moment in %elano was that those two groups defied this. But way they came together was downplayed. (here was so little conte6t that theres no understanding that it was these other people, in particular .arry Itliong, who really spar!ed the stri!e. .arry went to %elano in the early 0129s, sent by the Agricultural Wor!ers -rgani*ing )ommittee, the A4.+)I- union founded in #toc!ton. ,e already had decades of labor e6perience with the Alas!an salmon cannery union. ,e organi*ed a failed stri!e of asparagus wor!ers in #toc!ton in 01;< and a successful stri!e in 01;1. ,e had more e6perience than everyone, %olores ,uerta and )esar included. "nfortunately he died a few years after the "4W and didnt leave much behind for us. Were still trying to piece together how important he was, not 5ust to the 4ilipino+American community, but to American labor in general. But we !now he was really pivotal to this stri!e and to the early years of the "4W. ,e resigned in 01=0, so he often gets left out of that larger history. Also, the first person !illed in the stri!e was a >emeni wor!er, but in the movie, its portrayed as someone whos $e6ican. (he filmma!ers didnt really understand what made the stri!e so powerful. Doug: (he original spar! in %elano was when 4ilipinos wor!ers began sitting in at the camps. It wasnt a stri!e with pic!et lines, but a sit+in and refusing to go to wor!. .arry began going around to the camps seeing if he could use the sit+ins to negotiate better wages. David: #he film did show the sit-in in the camps' which surprised me) +ot many people now that happened' and it*s a very important part of history) #he movie starts with a little section where $esar is the head of the $ommunity ,ervice -rgani.ation /$,-0' but doesn*t show him organi.ing protests about the bracero program' in which growers were able to bring worers from %e&ico under very abusive conditions' sending them bac at the end of the season) ,hould the movie have said more about it! Doug: Wor!ers first went on stri!e in )oachella in the spring of 0123 because the bracero program was being phased out. With braceros, it was almost inevitable that stri!es would lose. When the government said growers had to offer ?0.;9 an hour if they wanted to hire braceros AW-) demanded the same wage. (hat was the spar! that set off the stri!e. Actually if it had been up to )esar, there wouldnt have been a stri!e in %elano because he didnt feel our union was ready. (here was no money in the ban!, and he wanted to do more organi*ing. ,e used to say "were not a union, and were not gonna start stri!es." Rosalinda: 4or us, organi*ing farmwor!ers and opposing guest wor!er @bracero+typeA programs today, its clear why )esar opposed the bracero program. /rowers at that time used the program to brea! stri!es, when wor!ers tried to form unions. Its still happening today, to farmwor!ers in Burlington, Washington who went on stri!e last year. When I 5oined the "nited 4armwor!ers in 0112, the union opposed the ,:A guest wor!er visa program very strongly. .eaving out that history was a wasted opportunity to include more political conte6t that is still important to us. David: #he movie stops when the industry-wide grape contract gets signed) Did the contract and the union change life for farmworers and was it a permanent change! Doug: When I wor!ed under that first contract our wages and benefits were over double the minimum wage of American wor!ers. We had a health plan that was the envy of many other unions. We could sit down with the growers and negotiate over grievances. We wouldnt always win, but we could negotiate our wor!ing conditions. (he movie did show that wor!ers can 5oin together in spite of appalling conditions and improve their wages and wor!ing conditions. (hat did come through. It is a possible to change history with concerted action, by getting together. Rosalinda: (oday farmwor!ers can organi*e because of the e6ample of the farmwor!ers in the 29s and =9s in )alifornia. (he movie shows clearly what it loo!s li!e to organi*e and come together. (his is one of the legacies of )esar )have*, this coming together of different wor!ers with different religions and different political views. "nfortunately, today we have a splintered movement and divided communities. We see the same old attac!s, li!e this guest wor!er program, to stop farmwor!ers from organi*ing for better wages and better treatment. Doug: But I thin! the movie did show the viciousness of the growers and their local power structureB district attorneys and the cops and thugs on the side of the growers. (he whole local structure was against the union and the farmwor!ers. Rosalinda: And its still li!e that. David: How much presence does the union have today! Doug: (here are no contracts in the grapes today. Wages are nowhere near even the miserable minimum wage, which is not enforced. (here are a few advances in pesticide regulations and toilets in the fields and shade, drin!ing water + minimal things that didnt e6ist in 0123. But the presence of the union in the )oachella Calley is a shadow of its former self. Dust a few pensioners li!e me. Dawn: $y father died wor!ing the asparagus nine years ago. I wish the film had been much stronger in saying these conditions still e6ist today and we still have to fight for farmwor!ers. I was hoping at the end of the film you would have this feeling of inspiration and a call to action, but you get the sense that now we won and its over. "liseo: )learly the union was able to begin lifting wor!ers out of poverty. (hey had paid holidays, vacations and health insurance. "nfortunately, at the time when we were poised to completely change these wor!ers lives we lost focus. As a result, wor!ers today are bac! where they were before the union. $ost are wor!ing at minimum wage again. 7mployers are bac! to 5ust trying to get the wor! done in the cheapest way possible, regardless of the impact on wor!ers. (hey are ma!ing the rise of another farmwor!ers union inevitable. Eeople are only going to put up with e6ploitation for so long before they rise up and begin organi*ing. (hats going to happen in agriculture. Its not a matter of if + its a matter of when. I have no doubt about that. David: 1 want to tal about how the film treats radical politics) #here is a scene in which the sheriff and the growers accuse the unions of being $ommunist' and $esar and says that*s silly' we*re $atholic) 2ut the Filipinos' in their prior organi.ing' had been very leftwing) 1s this underplayed! Dawn: Ive always seen tension between the 4ilipino leftistsF$ar6istsF)ommunists and anti+communism within the "4W. .arry Itliong considered )hris $ensalves one of his mentors, who organi*ed 4ilipino lettuce wor!ers in #alinas in the 01G9s and was considered by the 4BI one of the most dangerous )ommunist labor organi*ers of his day. (he union .arry came from, I.W" .ocal G=, was led by leftists and members of the )ommunist Earty. @"4W leaderA Ehilip Ceracru* was an ardent leftist. By erasing 4ilipinos, you also downplay those radical roots. 7ven nonviolence was a tension for 4ilipinos, who were used to shooting at scabs who crossed the pic!et lines, and were uncomfortable with hunger stri!es, marches and religious pageantry. (his history of the grape stri!e + about negotiation and collaboration and what people learned from each other + is missing in the movie. Doug: (he movie stressed )esar saying "-h were )atholic, so we couldnt possibly be )ommunists", but in fact there was a strong element in the union that was very anti+clerical. (he church in $e6ico was always on the side of the growers and the wealthy and always against the peasants and the poor. (ypically the Erotestants among farmwor!ers had rebelled against the )atholic )hurch and were rebels at heart and were especially receptive to the union. (he young 4ilipinos in the movement were the revolutionaries, fighting to overturn the whole system. We called them "the ,u!s." (he march to #acramento was a very radical statement + that we wanted to overturn this whole corrupt structure. We were the people that were feeding America and that we had a right to be at the table. David: (t one point the growers say they are going to bring in 3illegals3 - they use that word' not 3undocumented3 - by the trucload) Do you thin this e&perience shaped how $esar saw the question of immigration! "liseo: (he growers !new very well that divide and conHuer was an important strategy, so they were not above using wor!ers to brea! the stri!e, whether they were documented or undocumented. And they certainly felt that having a captive wor! force would ma!e it easier for them. )esar was well aware, as were all of us, that many stri!ers who undocumented. What the union wanted was to ma!e sure that no one was used to brea! the stri!e, regardless of their status. (he union and the stri!e was a movement of documented and undocumented people. #ome of the strongest and most active people were undocumented. In many cases when wor!ers began to organi*e, growers would call in the Border Eatrol to scare people and arrest and deport them. 4or the undocumented, being for the union was a lot more serious because it potentially meant arrest and deportation, leaving their families behind. (he union was very conscious about this and made it their policy to defend those wor!ers Doug: Whether they had papers or not, if they were stri!ebrea!ers we wanted them out of there. At different points in the unions history, its ta!en a very hard line against people without papers. (he unions base were the permanent families who lived in %elano. But of course there were a lot of people who lived in labor camps. David: ,o there was always tension about new migrants' not 4ust the undocumented' as being either 4ob competitors or part of the union) Did you thin of the union as being hostile to undocumented people' or 4ust hostile to striebreaers! Rosalinda: ,ostile to stri!ebrea!ers. In my time in the union, from 0112+:99G, I did not see any behavior that was anti+immigrant in any way. I !now how ugly things can get when growers use this tactic of turning $e6ican against $e6ican or 4ilipino against 4ilipino, turning people against each other, the poorest of the poor and the desperate. (oday when were opposing guest wor!ers were not against $e6ican wor!ers who are being brought in. Were against this program that puts them in vulnerable situations. Its legali*ed wage theft, because theyre displacing the wor!ers who are already here. In fact, the whole issue of bloc!ing the guest wor!er program was central to the unions political wor!, because the agricultural industry uses this program to slow down farmwor!er organi*ing. David: #he Filipino community was not united in how it looed at the union or $esar' was it! Dawn: (he #toc!ton community is divided over the legacy of the "nited 4arm Wor!ers. I thin! that .arry Itliongs compadres became very bitter about what happened to him, and that 4ilipino voices had been drowned out in the union. #o there was a lot of silence and bitterness when I was growing up. And then theres also the issue of )esars visit with @Ehilippine dictator 4erdinandA $arcos. (he community was already split about the $arcos dictatorship. Its a very comple6 legacy, with some people not even !nowing that 4ilipinos were part of "4W, and others who do !now having a comple6 relationship with the ways in which 4ilipinos were treated Doug: $any of the leaders in the 4ilipino community were foreman. (hey had a tradition of representing their wor!ers and trying to get better wages and wor!ing conditions for the crew. .arry mostly organi*ed through them and got whole crews on board. But when it became clear the stri!e was going to be bro!en a lot decided it was time to go bac! to wor!, and made a deal with the growers. When the contracts did come in, the powers of the foremen were stripped away. (hen when the (eamsters "nion came in, they offered those foremen their powers bac!. $any of the 4ilipino foremen urged their crews to switch to the (eamsters. But many of the strongest 4ilipino wor!ers, who had been foremen, stayed with the "4W because they were too radical to negotiate with the growers. Rosalinda: &ow more than ever we need to see how movements are built. -rgani*ing is not perfect + there is conflict. Its almost li!e this movie was pulled together to ma!e )esar a !ind of superhero instead of understanding how difficult it is to build a union from the bottom up. David: %ost people*s e&perience of the union was not in the fields' but as supporters in the boycotts) #he union had an enormous impact on growers' by basically appealing to people not to buy grapes) #here are scenes in the movie of people piceting stores' of growers complaining it*s hurting them' and it even shows $esar going to 5ondon) #he boycott is one of the most important and powerful weapons worers have in addition to the strie) What do you thin about the picture that the movie painted of it! Doug: I thought it was good enough on the boycott. By late &ovember @0123A, it was clear that the stri!e had been bro!en+we werent going to win the grape stri!e in the fields. (he boycott was one of )esars many ideas to finesse the local power structure and get the American public involved. )esars genius was not in being the one handing out leaflets but in putting together a team, and sending people out to cities all across the country, and in fact, all across the world. A woman named 7laine 7linson went to .ondon. (he American embassy was promoting grapes and the transport wor!ers and the other unions in 7ngland supported the boycott. )esar went to 7urope much later, but he never went to .ondon Dawn: .arry Itliong and other 4ilipinos li!e Eete Celasco were also a strong part of the boycott. 4or the 4ilipino+ Americans who were inspired by .arry, those were some of their best memories of being involved in the movement David: (ny last words!! Doug: I cry in movies, and I cried in this one. It brought bac! a lot of memories. Im loo!ing forward to the movie on .arry Itliong. Dawn: A talented 4ilipino filmma!er from Ba!ersfield, $arissa Aroy has made one called "(he %elano $anongs." #hes unearthed some ama*ing archival footage of the 4ilipinos stri!ing, of .arry Itliong tal!ing about his e6periences. It provides some rich nuance for understanding this movement. As disappointed as some of us may be, I thin! the movie has given us this ama*ing opportunity to dialogue, and to continue to be involved in farmwor!er 5ustice and all these issues where we need to coalesce with the .atino community, li!e immigration reform. Its made young 4ilipinos go, "Why arent we in it, and I want to !now more." I thin! thats ama*ing. "liseo: )esars legacy today is that thousands of people learned the s!ill of organi*ing and are ma!ing their own contribution to a more 5ust society. A lot of the strategy and inspiration comes straight out of the farmwor!ers movement. I hope the %iego .unas of the future will be inspired to ta!e a loo! at the whole story. It has a lot of lessons about organi*ing and perseverance, and the theory and practice of non+violence and how it can lead to ma5or social change. Its a story that needs to be told. +he ?%tras :n the emergence of the new Indonesian labour movement see 2an la 5ot; 0)ade in Indonesia0 <2$$#=. .or current developments tr the &sia )onitor Aesource 4enter " http:BBwww.amrc.org.hkB " and the e%cellent coverage on 8abour Start. +he US fast food movement has man news outlets. .ast .ood .orward is a good starting point " https:BBwww.facebook.comB.ast.ood.orward. In +hese +imes has good coverage of the 2$#/ events and strategic debates " http:BBinthesetimes.comB . .or recent research into the sector see http:BBfastfoodforward.orgBnew"report"fast"food"povert"wages"the"public"cost"of" low"wage"9obs"in"the"fast"food"industrB .rank 5ardacke0s book 0+rampling out the @intage0 was published in 2$## b @erso books.