Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s, immigrant farmworkers continued to be treated unjustly. For example, the average wage of a grape picker in 1965 was $0.90 an hour which was very low at the time. Housing was substandard and working conditions were unregulated and unhealthy. To create division among workers, the growers divided workers’ quarters by race. As a result of this discrimination, organizations advocating for farmworkers’ rights began to form by the 1960’s. Dolores Huerta founded the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), which consisted mostly of Filipinos, Chicanos, Anglos and Black workers. Near the same time, Cesar Chavez formed the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA).
Tensions rose in Delano, CA beginning in 1965 as farmworkers on grape fields continued to be impoverished due to meager wages. The mostly Filipino AWOC demanded higher wages and initiated a strike, asking for the NFWA’s assistance. The growers eventually acknowledged the picketers’ demands. Although the NFWA and Cesar Chavez rose to fame, the initial involvement of AWOC and Filipino workers played a key role in the strike’s success. Many Filipino organizers and activists contributed to the strike but are not recognized in the same light as Chavez. As such, we aim to highlight these underrepresented figures through contemporary media.
