Why do you think you had the faith and courage when others didn't? – Markia and Adrian
Well I think I was fortunate that my mother did teach me those values of service to others, of faith, of having faith in myself. Not listening, or not giving into criticism, when people would criticize me. And not being afraid to be different, knowing that I as a person on this Earth have an obligation to make life better for other people. I think these are values that she instilled in me. Also, not to expect a reward, a compensation when you do something to help other people, because as my mother would say when you do that you take away the grace of God from the act that you did, which was the act of charity or the act of helping someone. And that's very important because we shouldn't do things just to expect a reward, because again that means that you're doing this for your own ego, and not really doing it to help the other person.
What influenced you to become an activist? – Antinique
Well I think my life took me there from the time that I was a Girl Scout. Those were the values also that we learned in Girl Scouts about taking care of nature, taking care of other people, especially people that need help. And then again, my mother was a devotee of St. Francis Xavier, who was a devotee of St. Francis of Assisi, and had many of the same values of saint, of St. Francis. So those were the values that my mother had and that she passed on to me.
What was your best moment in the movement? – Jennifer
Well we had many great moments I think when we finally signed the contracts with the grape growers. After five years of strike, after a couple of years of boycotts, and many, many miles of travel, and picketing, and organizing, and you know people who were killed during our struggle, and we finally were able to sign those contracts.
Was there a moment you wanted to quit? - Phoebe, Joel, Heaven, Kennedi, Samaya, and Daniela
No, I never ever thought of quitting. Well, I left the Farm Workers Union, I don't really call it quitting though, because we had passed a great law to help farmers get organized. We pretty much built the foundation for the union to continue in perpetuity, and so there was nothing really new that had to be developed. We had a very good foundation so that the current president of the union Arturo Rodriguez and other presidents that will come down the pike have the tools that they need to continue to organize farm workers. I left the union but I started my own organization that was with a foundation to continue the grassroots organizing that I came out of called the Community Service Organization.
What kept you motivated when it seemed hopeless? – Llewellyn
Faith. I think you have to have a lot of faith knowing that there's always going to be obstacles in your way. That things are not always going to go the way that you want them to. But also knowing that when something doesn't happen the way it should it just means that you have to take a different path, a different journey.
On the way to reaching your goal this is where the learning process happens. While you're not reaching your goal the way that you want to, or as fast as you want to, that path is taking you through other areas where more learning needs to take place. So the struggle itself, the path itself is a learning process. So we should never think, "Well, I haven't reached my goal yet, so I failed." No, we should never think that. We should think, "Oh great, this means I've got to learn some new things, there's more things that I need to know before I reach my goal."
What do farm workers make now, and what is their life like? – Isaiah and Rashiya
Well, it varies. In California, where we were able to get farmers the right to organize, they make very decent wages. They have benefits, they have unemployment insurance, disability insurance, so they're covered if they get hurt on the job. But in other states, unfortunately, they do not have those benefits. In Kansas, they do not have those benefits, and in New York state they do not have those benefits.
Worker's compensation in almost all of the states is very meager, and so the farm workers don't have that type of coverage. And none of the other states in the United States of America have the right to organize into a union except Hawaii and California. Now the one thing, all farm workers are covered with, thanks again to all the people who supported the farm workers’ Delano Grape Boycott, is that farmers all over the United States have to give them a bathroom in the fields. They also have to give them drinking water, rest periods and they are all covered by safety standards.
So no farmer could be put to work in a place that would endanger their health or their safety. And this is an important one, all workers are covered by minimum wage. Even if you're undocumented, they have to pay you the minimum wage, in that state where you're working. That is a federal law. Also If any farm workers are transported 150 miles to go to their work, (employers) have to pay the transportation, and they have to make sure that they have food while they are being transported.
What was your biggest fear? – Guadalupe, Nia, and Whitney
Well, I think my biggest fear was always for the safety of the workers, because we did have farm workers that were killed. Five farm workers were killed in the movement. The other fear is that sometimes the workers get influenced and they don't realize who's trying to help them. So you have what we call counter organizers that will then turn farm workers, and of course a lot of times these are paid by the growers, so they're actually paid to work against their own people.
What challenges do you still face today? – Chloe, Dayzah, and Yusuri
The main challenge that we have today is just a lack of resources. We have a very effective organizing, a style and method that we use, which is the same method that Cesar and I used to organize the Farm Workers Union. It's called grassroots organizing through house meetings, spending an hour with them to explain the issues to them. And what we lack is just money to hire more organizers. Because what we did in California, we can do in Kansas. We can do in Florida, and we can empower people to really make democracy work so that people can take on the issues. They can get themselves elected to school boards, water boards, city councils, et cetera and take the power. In other words, making democracy work.
What is your opinion about youth standing up today? – Luis
I believe that the youth are really going to be the salvation of our country and of our world. And if we look back in history, it has always been the young people who have made the changes. They are the ones that, you know, fought for the revolution of the United States of America. When you talk about the peace movement, and civil rights movement, and today we see the Black Lives Matter movement. It's always been the young people that have done this, and they are the ones that have the vision, foresight, and the energy, and also sometimes, the time to do this because they're not tied down with bills and family. And so they have more free time to be able to organize, but also I think that they have the heart to be able to do it, the courage to do it. So, the youth I believe are always at the vanguard of everything, and I'm really happy to see that some of them are becoming activists and taking charge.
What is your opinion on gun control? – Johana
Guns are used for one purpose, to kill. Whether it's killing animals or killing people. Guns should be a last resource. They should never be common, or normal. I think even with law enforcement we have too many police that are too quick to use a gun. We have over 200 people just in this year that have been killed by police. Too many people have been killed by guns either intentionally or accidentally. So it's time to stop this. Guns are for profit, the sale of guns is a profit making venture and we need to stop it.
Do you feel you got less attention because you were a woman? – Jasmin, Carol, and Melvin
Well, in the first place when you do this work you don't do it for attention. You are doing the work to make sure that people's lives are improved, that people are empowered. But do women need to be recognized for the work that they do? Definitely. I think that with more women coming into recognized leadership, and I say that because we already have a lot of leadership, unfortunately it's not often recognized, I think that eventually that will change.
What do you think of the Hispanic situation today? – Jarsuri, Crystal, and Daffne
I believe we are in a very, very difficult situation in today's world because of the anti-immigrant sentiment. And the blatant anti-Mexican statements by President Trump. It has ignited and given license to a lot of racism against Latinos. And that is unfortunate. Mexico and Latin America have always been, you might say, the back porch of the United States of America. Exploitation of the resources of Latin America for the good of the people of the United States of America. And this has to change, and I think eventually it will. We are living in a very difficult moment right now in our foreign policies against Latin America, but I do believe that eventually as we have more Latinos that come into political positions and have the decision making power, that that will change.
