Cesar Chavez Part 3

0:07 Hi everyone. This is Carmen and Christina and this is Yas Unknown, a podcast where we talk about Latin American history. Sometimes it's horrible and tybe topics like racism, corruption, and genocide, but more than that, it's also about resistance, power and community. And sometimes it's about taking everything we knew about someone and just like flipping that, you know. Yeah, yeah, Sometimes it's about being a hater. Yeah. Like today, because we're continuing on with My Accidental Journey. One could say yeah and two Susan Chravis, this is part three. Last part we ended after the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and today we're just continuing on from that and then going up until the year nineteen s every three years around this world, we're going to drop it off, and I think the next installment is going to be the last one. Okay, wow, four part series, four part series. Yeah. But also, like I said, it's not I'm just kidding. It's not about trying to cancel anyone because we don't have the power to do that and it's not real. Yeah, yeah, yeah, No, we're just talking about to such Javis as a whole person, you know, Yeah, the good and the bad, right, all of it. That's what it means to be a whole person.

1:19 No one is good all the time, yeah exactly. Some are worse than others. And we do like to ruin things. I do. Like if someone tells me when we were kids, if someone told me they didn't believe in sand or they still believe in Santa Class, I'm like that, but shain't real. What are you talking about? That was me, like I would purposely say that. Yeah. I think one of the times we fought with our brother was because we ruined something for him and he just started attacking me. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that sounds right. So that's our aim here, all of those things combined to get the whole picture, but also to ruin things. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding, Okay, So if you have to say you're kidding more than once, you're not kidding. But okay, let's do it. Yes, okay.

2:02 So in partly we left off with the Robert Kennedy assassination. Sisar Chavis was the pallbear at his funeral, but like five days before the funeral or something like that is when he announced the national boycott of grapes California grapes, and that's where we're preaking up. After the funeral and him going on the Today Show to announce this SASA Chavis was thrust it into a celebrity like status more so than before. Disney found fame was causing some resentment among a lot of union members and the demand for sus SAR Chavis started causing health problems for him too. He already had a terrible back. But it's probably like just everything catching up to you, you know, like overwork, the fatigue, because this man did not rest to like do all these things. So in the fall of nineteen sixty eight, Helen Chavis called Bill Kircher, Remind me who Bill kirchran, That's exactly what I was gonna do. The national director of organizing in the afl CIO and a close friend of such chavisis from like all the organizing and things. Oh okay, okay, Well, I wouldn't say close friend because Si such Harvest would go on to say he didn't have friends because it got in the way of being a union leader. So pretty pretty cult leader, like I don't know, right, yeah, but if someone if Bill were to describe his relationship with such vis and be like, yeah,

3:34 we were friends, but is such Chilavis is like no, I didn't have friends time for that. So yeah, so Helen called Bill Kircher in tears, worried because he such Chabas would not stand up, so he went to go see him, and then he called Tessa Chavis's doctor and then they had him go to the O'Connor hospital in San Jose. Here he was heavily guarded because either his doctor was always at the entrance of his or there was always two nuns there because at some point some mysterious collar asked what room Sessa Travis was in, and so then they're like, who is this, why are you calling? Like this sounds very fishy, So then they moved him rooms and then there was police officers posted in front of his room while he stayed at the hospital because there was a real worry he would be assassinated again.

4:24 Martin Luther King had been assassinated Robert Kennedy, so they were scared for his life and there was a rumor that growers were offering a ten thousand bounty ten thousand dollars bounty for Sasa Chavis's head. Basically, whoever does this you know, you'll get this money. But Sasa Chavis insisted he didn't need security. But then he kind of used this like as a loyalty test for the union, like oh no, no, I don't need the security, but like you better get security, like playing games out here. Yeah. Yeah. Once it was discharged, he went to stay at Saint Anthony's Seminary to heal. In his room, he hung up a picture of Gandhi of course, like he can't be anywhere without a picture of Gandhi there, you know. Then he also had a crucifix made of Mexican straw, so you know, like a straw hat. Yeah, yeah, like a crucifix made out of that. He hung that up, and he also began to wear this scene called the Mezuza around his neck. You know what that is? What is that?

5:24 It's a piece of parchment with Hebrew versus from the Torah. It's usually in like the Mesusa is like this this scroll that holds or this chest that holds the scroll, and it's like it has a very distinct look. It's usually on like a doorpost of a like Jewish household that is religiously Jewish. And there's necklaces that are made to look like the case that holds that scroll, and those are like tiny little rectanglars necklaces, and so he started wearing one. And this is all really just to ramp up the whole saintly martyr thing. Okay, hmmm, because he'd wear this before. That's also like Jewish and not. Yeah, so yeah, all this to just play up the martyrdom, right, yes, exactly.

6:14 And we know this is a thing he does as part of his like healing journey. He would soak in ninety seven degree water as therapy for his back. He attributed his feeling better all to this soaking and very hot water. You know, at this point in time, he had also been working with a journalist. Two journalists, but one specifically was like very becoming close to him. And that journalist paid nine hundred dollars to install a tub just like the one at this seminary in the in Delano for him. Wow. How luxurious. Yeah, right, So you know he returned home and he upon returning, you know, on the outside, he's like, oh, I'm this super kind, patient person with those that need me, but with the people closest to him, like his wife Helen and his kids, he was super snappy, super impatient. Not the children. Yeah, he started getting like sick again or not feeling good, and he blamed the kids that they were just too loud and he couldn't Yeald. And so then he moved to forty Acres without his kids. Yeah, okay, so once again leaving everything to Helen. Yeah, poor, yeah, freaking Helen, I swear, just what a what a man? M hmm. Yeah, He's like, I'm not I can't heal with these kids around me. And what about when Helen is sick? Huh no, she doesn't get to be sick. She's a Mexican woman.

7:41 My god. Yeah, And just like he had done during the March, during the fast, he really really really leaned into the suffering. He had a hospital bed placed in his room at forty Acres, Wow, where he would do interviews, where he would take phone calls, and then he other union members started begin noticing that he would like, oh, I can't attend this meeting, I'm uh too sick, and he you know, so it started to look like he was doing this for show and to fake the to get out of meetings and things like that. Oh wow, So you know, union members started wondering, like is even sick? This is just to really lean into the image of a sickly, saintly union leader, and then resentment can continue to grow among the union, especially Larry Ito. It felt like Larry is over says that ship they're putting in through it. Yeah, he felt like sasuch Chabas was once again playing god. Yeah, and he's kind of right. And other people who were like the quote unquote brain trust would like resent Larry for not stepping up because says Sad couldn't because he was too sickly to like do all the duties. So like Bill Kircher once told Larry, like, how do you not take more responsibility when says sar Javis cannot? And Larry was so over it. He's like, how the hell do you expect me to give an order to those volunteers? Every time I asked him to do something, they look at me like I'm crazy. They look at me like, who the hell are you? You're

9:11 not so such Javis. We work for sus such Chavis. So he's like, I can't do anything, and he really couldn't, because if we recall, that's what that purge was for. He was purging the most non right, so now it was all the way followers. Yeah, and then it got to the point where like newer union members weren't so much so there for like the cause they were there they saw says that. Yes, yes, so they were straight up Chavistas quote unquote. So yeah, Larry couldn't get much done and says sad, and Larry began to have more problems. Says SA. Chavis would tell him that the problem was that Larry would not take orders from him, and Larry would tell him, no, this is a one man union.

9:53 This is your union, and that's the problem. Yeah and yeah, yeah, and like I said, you know, this is what's his SA Travis wanted. This was the purpose of the purge. He even told, uh, told Larry, at some point, if I leave, the members will leave with me. This isn't the United farm Workers, this is Syser Travis Union, like and they all knew it, you know. And he he basically Regina George the situation. He was quota saying, like I had this problem everywhere I go. Uh if even when I was a lowly member in the cso if I ordered something, people just did it. Like people just listen to me, I don't know why. He's like, it's some that people love me and everyone's jealous of me. Basically, I wrote, he was basically like, it's not my fall.

10:42 People are obsessed with me, Larry is Janus, Yes, oh my god. So no, this is how he wanted it. And then he'd complained that he didn't want it to be like this, that this was necessary, he he needed to do this because that's how the union would run best. This is just like your thea who puts off all these jobs, rolls on herself, and then she she makes it known how tired she is because people expected to do everything, but she doesn't want to put that on herself exactly because tell me why I wrote. This is like your Mexican mom who complains about how no one is helping around the house and then gets mad if you're like, are not doing it right? And then it takes over it and she's like down here right, yeah, and yeah say such Ivis would create such an environment where you didn't he didn't have to kick you out, you would just leave. He would create such a situation where people just like I'm obviously not welcome to here, like I resign some people he did straight up like you're out, or like the girl from the last episode that I mentioned where she was called to this meeting and she was berated at the media about how she backstamped the union and was going behind their back. And it's like creating situations like that forced people out, and that's what he was doing with Larry. He wanted him out of the union, but he wanted it so that he would leave on his own accord. He was not going to be the one to kick him out. But at some point he even said he had to go Joseph Stalin for a bit to get the union back

12:12 on track. Don't like that. At this point in time, the union is still trying to strike against Gillomtra Grapes and this is proving to be a little more difficult than Shenley or did Georgio because this is a bigger, bigger company. So they made this new plan where they were going to send union members to cities with one goal, with just one thing, stop the sale of Gillomtra grapes. And a lot of members that were sent out had never even left. Like their farming communities. They spoke very little or no English. They some of them couldn't even read or write. They were sent with enough money to survive for one week and then they were given like a list of supporters and the tra So yeah, like these people will help you when you are lost through whatever, but like that's all you're getting from us when we goes do what it takes. And many members, you know, uprooted their families to go with them for this, because you know, anything for the cause for LAOSA. So they were sent to like Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, places like that.

13:18 But this wasn't going well. There was this union was just it was too big. They were working with the team stirs. It just it was it was not as it wasn't going as well as the other strikes had been going. So they were brought back to Delano in December nineteen sixty seven. They were trying to take up new waste of boycott. Someone suggested boycotting at the stores, but such Harvests didn't want to do that. He's like, the stores are like not our goal here. The stores don't matter. This is what ended up working. Sometimes you have to go to the stores because that's where the people are buying, you know, the grapes. Yeah, I could see yeah, I mean, yeah, no way, one hundred percent, this is what worked. But he was so focused on trying to get the distributors those people, so when someone suggested this, he was still like no, until later when he pretended it was his idea. Right, no, for exactly exactly like that. So the new plan now was to send fifty farm workers on a bus to New York to get Victor Joseph, who was the broker for Giomata Grapes on their side. And they didn't know how they were going to do it. They were just like, all right, all of you get on this bus and go like go for the heat, go from Delano to New York and this bus and you know, get to work. And you know they got there, they got straight to work.

14:44 They even had the New York City mayor on their side. But this just wasn't working because Giometta Grapes was just changing their shipping like distributors to other companies, like I don't know, this weird thing where it just didn't seem like it was their grapes and it was like other So they were like changing the names of their grapes so people wouldn't know that they're actually buying their product exactly, or the workers wouldn't know where to strike, where to try and stop the grape delivery. And so yeah, this just wasn't working. And this is what finally he's like, all right, we're gonna boycott all California grapes. It was my idea. I said, let's do this, and he said it on the Today Show. And so now members were sent to the same cities all over, like you know, the biggest cities don't buy California grapes, so farm workers can have better wages and better working conditions, and they do whatever it took to boycott grapes. There was priests standing in front of the grapes at stores, praying over them and not like like blocking people's way, like no, you can't have these grapes, don't buy these grapes. Yes, And there were protests outside of the homes of supermarket executives, like at all hours, noting them sleep. They used cars to block parking lot entrances to the supermarkets. They would feel their cards all full of things that are very heavy and annoying to put back. Then they would at the register say do you carry California grapes? And if

16:16 the clerk said yes, then the person would just leave their cart there and it's like that's sex suggests the extra work for the yeah for the clerk. But then then the stores started saying, okay, we can't stock California grapes, and they stopped. They would not carry the grapes because it was not good business. The strikes were going well, like this working, Yeah, this was working. Growers tried to getting help from Ronald Reagan, who was now the governor of California, like you need to stop them. This has to be illegal something. Then they also tried to get Nixon, the president, to help. He was now president at this point because he was in support of the growers. I don't know if you recall, but when he was campaigning for president, he was eating grapes like, yeah, California grapes.

17:03 These are from California. Fuck the farm workers and those Mexicans like him, Mexicans out of my country. I hate them. Yeah, so I'm gonna keep eating these grapes. But yeah that they knew he was on their side, and so, you know, they tried to get him to help. But by the end of nineteen sixty nine, the boycott really seemed to be going to the Union's direction. Store stopped carrying California grapes. The Department of Defense more than double their purchase of grapes to try and help growers. Of course they fucking did. Yeah, yeah, yeah, using tax payers money to help growers and buy grapes. Now, now they're okay with the state help, hunk, that's actually welfare, you know what I mean? No, one hundred percent. I can't remember the amount, but like it's a crazy amount of money that they were spending on grapes. Of course, I mean, this is also supporting a very unpopular war, the Vietnam War. And so finally, says such Javist, officially took an anti war stance, like publicly, which he never wanted to do. Even back when the Union was barely organizing and people among the crowd war were anti war, he still was like, we're not taking an anti war stance as a union. But finally, once the grapes started being bought up by the DoD that's when they were like, all right, we're against the war. When such Chaves's oldest son was drafted, his son applied to be a conscience.

18:28 I hate this word conscience conscientious, isn't it conscientious? Say it? I don't know. I thought that's how I say in my head when I read that word conscientious. But I don't know if that's right conscientious objector we might be saying it wrong. I don't know. So he applied to be that to oppose the war, and he asked for a letter and uh of support from such Javist because he was doing this, and so such Javis refused to write the letter. He said, if you're really against the war, you'd be willing to go to jail for it. So I didn't know if so, if you applied to do that, then you didn't have to go like to jail. Yeah, so you you went in like join the army as as this status. But then what they still got drafted? Right, it's okay. So from what I'm reading, sometimes a consent fucking Christ, these people conscient objects, yes, thank you, I can't say the word are given non combatant roles, oh okay, and religious and moral objections is what it like falls under.

19:30 And they're usually given civilian or non combatant work, so you still serve, but not in combat. And so so such Harves is like that's like not like either be about it or don't be about it, like like nothing was good enough for him. Yeah. I could see his attitude because I'd like, I mean, he was willing to send Helen to jail. I don't know if he wanted to job exactly exactly. So he didn't write it and he can be about it. Yeah. And so even though like Helen asked him, you know, write the letter, she didn't want her son to go to jail. Yea. Other people asked him to you know, support his son in this, and he didn't do it. He said, like, you'll, you should be willing to go to jail because you don't believe in this war. And his son ended up doing it, going to jail or going to war going to jail.

20:20 Oh wow. Yeah, he like withdrew the conscientious objection objector like offered to do like a civilian work for the military, and yeah he went to jail instead. Wow. And then he spoke publicly about his anti war stance at this mass to commemorate the death of Robert Kennedy. And then he went on a three month tour after that to visit major cities and speak about the Great Boycott too, because you know, him speaking would bring up way more support for this than if other members were to do it, because he's said fans to the union. Yeah, So non stop, undred of rallies from septemperature December, no rest, and he was treated like a celebrity at every stop. But this is what they needed to do. And so by early nineteen seventy it was so bad for some of the smaller growers that they had to negotiate contracts with the union.

21:15 They were like these smaller farms, like Larson Farms was one of them. They were about to lose like their whole farm. They couldn't pay their mortgage because of how bad these the boycotts were working. And at first he didn't want to because he thought this would weaken the boycott, but the but then he ended up doing it. So he met with the smaller growers and they had a three year contract for a one to seventy five an hour wage and then ten cents for a health and welfare fund. And these smaller growers also agreed to sell grapes, but these grapes would all have like the Union label on them, and so stores could carry these grapes only to like not undermine the strength basically. And so at this point the Catholic Church was in support of the union and they were helping. They were helping negotiate these meetings.

22:02 And then eventually more and more growers were signing contracts, and these contracts brought thirty thousand workers to the union, and so now the growers had to rely on the union's hiring hall, although workers would go to the union's hiring hall, who were then dispatched workers to each location, which caused logistical problems for the union does a lot of work and that's a lot of people which they didn't have enough to like support this. Oh yeah, and this this is going to come back later as a bigger issue. But you know, there were still work to be done. There were still the bigger growers like Giomara left, Gio Matter or whatever I've been saying it, Gillo matta haven't I yeah. Yeah. Anyway, other organizers and members were pressuring Says Javis to soften his demands because now at this point, all the other a lot of the other growers were starting to sign contracts, so like, you need to like make your demands a little better. But he wouldn't.

22:58 Then he started another fast, oh, because it would help him strengthen his belief in the cause, he said. And I don't know how long this last, this fast lasted, I don't think it was that long. Finally, on July sixteenth, nineteen seventies, so such Ivis got the call Kyomarra and the remaining growers were ready to negotiate, and you know, the union broke into celebrations, and so such Ivias had two non negotiable non negotiable demands. The contract had to be signed at forty acres because the symbolism right. And then there also had to be an agreement to resolve a problem at the Delano High School because one of the growers was on the school board and they had been cracking down heavy on the Welga kids, the kids of union members, Mexican kids. There had been growing like a tension between these students and the rest of the school because one they you know, seen their parents and Lacausa.

24:01 They were also starting to call out the teacher's use of racial slurs as they should, as they should exactly the lack of Hispanic staff, and then the lack of resources for farm worker children. Teachers called students beanners. They told them like, oh, you don't like it here, go back to Mexico. And obviously that's not right, dude, the way I would square up man. Of course, who wouldn't. So students and parents had been picketing at the school rightfully. So twelve seniors were not allowed to graduate for this standing up for their rights and their dignity. Wow, including Sasa Chavez's daughter Elouise and his niece Dorothy. They were involved in this and they weren't allowed to graduate. And then at the graduation, police officers stood at the entrance guarding it to not let these wellgat kids in, and then there was a fight that broke out. All the Mexican students were arrested and they were jailed for one weekend. Wow, it's wild, Like there's just so much to this movement that obviously, like we don't learn about because we learn only about the such Jubbs. Yeah, because the textbooks sometimes Larry is mentioned sometimes, but I mean, they're just there's just so much to making a movement this big, you know, that we just don't, you know, learn about. I don't know if every high school's is the saying, but I think eleventh grade was US history, Yeah, for us And there's probably two pages dedicated to everything Latino related. Yeah,

25:36 in those two and I think two pages is being generous. I really only remember the such Jubbs being discussed. I don't remember any other Mexican related thing, not the walkouts from La mm hmmm, which then spread like we talked about, yeah you know, yeah yeah, and I mean this was this was another school walkout and yeah, none of this is talking. So of course, you know, the Mexican students were signing up for the rights too, and SAYSA Javis wanted them to first be able to graduate. This is his family too, but they have a right to graduate. They went to school up until the end and then they couldn't stand for this treatment anymore. And he wanted that board member that was related to the growers to get fired. He didn't want him on the school board anymore.

26:24 That those were his other demands, And I mean, I don't blame them because yeah, yeah. At the meetings, the lodes Berta presented the union's demands, which included a one dollar eighty five one dollar an hour, oh my god, one dollar and eighty five cents an hour wage this was ten cents higher than they were demanding for other places, and so the growers refused, and then the union just strengthened the boycott and then finally on July twenty ninth, nineteen seventy, they decided to finally sign a contract with the union in front of the press at forty acres. And when they were gonna sign it, the grower, the main grower, the Guillamara like senior whatever his name is, he like rose his hands like getting a shrug, like fine, all give in and sign this. And yeah, it was like a I mean obviously a good thing and this like symbolic thing where the growers were like, oh, we realized the farm workers don't have horns on their head and I don't know, like this like they both thought the other side was like evil, there are people too, Yeah, and they came together to sign this. The website is evil and that is a capital. Yeah I joke about not you know what I mean. It's a capitalist exploiting everyone else for their labor. They are evil. Uh yeah, they do have a horns on it. Yes, And this new contract included the wage rays, a health plan, safety

27:58 measures involving pesticides because pesticides are bad for workers, you know, they're bad in general. So that's what all that included. And it's a three year contract. All these contracts, there're years, three year contracts. And so the grape negotiations were coming to an end, and other farm workers all over California had begun their own strikes and then asking for the United farm Workers' help in these strikes. But these were like such unorganized strikes all happening at the same time. It was like too much for them to even try and help, too many of them happening at the same time. But sess I decided to help the lettuce strikers next, and they sent out letters to the growers, the lettuce growers about how they were going to represent their workers and they wanted to sign contracts with them. But the growers, lettuce growers, seeing all this go down with the great people, they were like, no, we're not We're not doing this.

28:54 They had undermined the workers and signed contracts with the teamsters already teamsters, Yeah, it's always them up for the UfW, Yeah, And like they had no idea this was happening, and like the the lettuce growers were able to do this in secret, behind the Sister Chavis and the United farm Workers knowing, and so they thought like let's sound send out these letters. And wait. Now it was like a like crisis mode. Now we have to go down to Salinas. This is where the lettuce is uh lettuce farms are at and so now he had to go down to Stadinas to meet with these growers. But it was his daughter's wedding. La casa doesn't stop for no wedding for nothing, for nothing because he only went to oh and his daughter's wedding was held at the Union Hall, maybe to make it easier for him to attend. I'm not sure what the logistics of it being held. There's also like a big space, you know, it's available free, so maybe all those things went into play for that, like choice.

29:59 But he popped in for one dance and then was like I gotta go. They need me in Selina's I would have been fucking furious, honestly, last he made it. That's true though, that's true, like at least he made it. But yeah, I would have been mad. But his family is very understanding of Like I would have been like, no, I don't forgive you for this, since my wedding day, I will be a bridezilla. No, honestly, you didn't even have a wedding, so shut up. You were there at the park all right, moving on. So no, but if I was having like the celebration, an actual wedding, yeah, yeah, so yeah, he popped in for one dance and then he left to go to setting Us for meetings. Oh.

30:48 In all the members that had been sent out previously for the Great boycotts had returned because the strikes are over, and they had been very much looking forward to finally coming home. They are prouted their lives, but their homes. We're in Delano. But now now it was a lettuce. Now it was lettuce. Yeah, because these growers were this was way more difficult than grapes. They were ready for the United Framworkers. When they decided there was going to be a strike, the growers already had like these restraining orders against the strike. So picket line members were arrested quickly the fees to get them out. It was all adding up. So such Havis announced a strike against the bud At company. Their usual tactics were not working, you know, picke line members were being arrested. So they decided we're gonna strike lettuce the same way we striked grapes. And those poor grape boycotters that were sent out to cities to stop the sale of grapes were now We're like, you got to go back out there to stop the cell of lettuce. Damn, they just can't catch a break.

31:55 But that's what happened. No laa for lacausa. Yeah, and they did it because they leaved in it, you know. Yeah, So they were sent out to do this. But then the Butt and so a company they were able to deem the boycott illegal that they couldn't actually do this. How was that possible? Yeah, I'm not sure what how they were able to, but like you know, they it was deemed illegal like that they weren't allowed to do this because there's all these like labor like these laws when it gets to striking in protests and things like that, and so I think using some sort of like loophole like that, they were able to like demi illegal. Actually I read Sorry to Get Yeah, I read this book by a lady who was involved in unions. She worked for unions and was involved in labor rights and all that stuff, and she explained a lot about how that works, and I wish I remembered, but yeah, that's pointless. Yeah no, but it makes sense you sort of explain a little bit.

32:53 That's generous. Yes, So you know, this was deemed i legal, but Sasa Chabas said they would not stop. They were going to continue their boycott. And then he was charged with the contempt, being in contempt of court and he was sentenced to jail for ten days. Finally he goes to jailma right. And also side note it's a little related. While all this was going on, there had also been failed meetings with the growers, you know, contract negotiations that had fallen through which Dollors Werta was put in charge of. And you know, these kind of things fail for a lot of different reasons. The growers don't want to meet demands, things like that. But Sasa Jabas blamed doors Erta for this, and he wasn't the only one, because she also happened to be six months pregnant at the time, and she's, you know, when an unmarried woman running these meetings. But on top of that, and I think at the time many people didn't know, but this was Richard Chavis's baby.

33:51 Sinsucha was his brother who's married to Helen's bff. Oh my god, the drama there, yeah yeah, the lot is girl. Yeah. I hadn't fat heard about this, No me neither. I was dying when I read it. Two of Richard's daughters went at the union offices and they the books had roughed up that. I'm assuming they beat her ass pregnant God scoring up against a pregnant woman. Yeah, two against one? No no, no, it's two against two. Am you counting the baby? Oh no? Yeah, the featus Oh my god, man is going through it. Yeah. And then sister Chavis.

34:45 You know, he knew about this relationship and he would use it against them, to pin them against each other when he could, but he never actually like confronted her for doing any of this, either or his brother. I mean, what is there to do once she's already pregnant? You know what I mean? Well, it's like, you know, when you're seeing these little signs like hey, he's married, We're gonna do what they're gonna do. Sometimes there's no point. But at the same time, he was also out there cheating on how Yeah, yeah, I do remember hearing that he's a man and after all, yeah that that cheating scandal will be the next part versus such. So he obviously didn't care if his brother was cheating on his wife because he was doing it too, And he only brought it up when he was like, I got to stir something setting up here to make them like do what I want. So yeah, so yeah, it was the littlest word that's fault that the contracts didn't go through and okay, so no back this is says such chebis.

35:39 He was sentenced to ten days in jail, and during his time in jail, farm workers foreigned vigils outside. On the third day of his sentence, Robert Kennedy's widow, Ethel Ethel Kennedy showed up. She marched through hundreds of people holding signs like telling her go home. Their chants were drowned up by the thousands of farmworkers around them. So like, these hundreds were here protesting like her showing up in support of the union. But then the farm workers came out in like way bigger numbers than these white people who were like, get out of here, you dirty communists, because she's supporting the union. So the thousands of farmworkers that had this vigil outside of his jail. They were out there singing DeColores. I love that song, right, yeah, it's a classic. Honestly, more school should be singing it.

36:28 I need to teach you to my children. They don't know it. Oh my god, what am I doing as a mad veiling? It seem as a madre Yes, I'm kidding. Latina blood and my Latina veins. Yeah, it runs through me and it goes no it. Okay, okay, I'm done. I've done. I'm leaving this meeting. So lost my spot, thanks a lot. Okay. So yeah, she you know, they were seeing the krotas she placed the candle on this altar that had formed, and yeah, all this was receiving national attention. The Supreme Court, California Supreme Court got involved and they were like, you know what, the union deman, this boycott illegal, was actually illegal. So that's going away.

37:22 So such Haabis is a freeman. Now he is to be freed. The sheriffs at the jail didn't believe the order. They were like, we need to see it in paper, and until they saw that paper, they refused to let him out. Well, even though they had already like said, you need to let him go. And just like before, this increased to such Harbist's fame even more and the demands for the union to help even more. So he was inundated with demands. He wanted up more isolated location where he could be left alone. Fournia Acres wasn't it anymore because it was like the headquarters for the union now, so that couldn't be his sacred place that it was supposed to be. And then around this time he also had a friend. He he was out here, you know, making connections and friends with like really important people, which helped a lot because the union often often needed money.

38:09 And so he had a friend, Hollywood producer Edward Lewis, who bought an old tuberculosis sanatorium in Keene in the Choppee Mountains, not very close to Delano. And all this right, and so such Avis found long and hard about what he was gonna name this place, because you wanted this to be now, that spiritual place that forty Acres was supposed to be, so he called it. But then it was just shortened to LAPAs, and that's what it became known as LAPAs. So to this day there's like a very nice looking like memorial versus such a was there that Obama went and like inaugurated or some shit. Yeah, not that long ago, but yeah, that's where the that's where the headquarters are still at for the unitform murders.

38:56 So LAPAs he wanted to be a commune. He's never beating these cult leader allegations. No, not anymore, especially not now. He wanted this to be like a retreat for workers. He would have these three day retreats that were modeled after Roman Catholic guzios, which were strict, immersive programs or like lazy, normal, not really hardcore Catholics to become hardcore Catholics. That's what the cucios were, and that's what he wanted for the farm workers. So yeah, that's cult. If that's not culty, I don't know what it is. It doesn't sound like a retreat to me. But okay, it sounds like fucking work. Sounds miserable actually, So he wanted to create He wanted to create an education program. But when that was like better than the rest of the education programs he had ever encountered, his was going to be the best. He also wanted to instill sacrifice as a value to union members. He's like, how do I make them understand how important sacrifices. How can of course make importance to hanimize themselves to me and what I want? Yeah, but not only that also for yes, but he also wanted them to understand that sacrifice was important in a monetary way, like he they needed to sacrifice and take a less pay like tithing. No, like take less pay so he wouldn't have to pay them. Oh my god.

40:14 Remember they they were running this this myth that staffers are earning five dollars a week. Everything's volunteer work and some and most of it was. But there were people getting you know, wages too, like a salary. But a strong union when it's in the middle of uh striking, supports its workers monetarily exactly. And so he you know, grew worried when staff started asking if there was going to be a raise in wages because they were still doing five dollars a week and this didn't align with this vision of sacrifice. And he thought, oh, you know, what's the what's going to fix this. Communal living is going to solve the problem of compensation very Cultye, also, my of like the nonprofit like system, or have you seen this this girl who does like reenactments or whatever, like reels videos on Instagram, probably to exact to I imagine, but I've only seen her on Instagram anyway, She's like, Oh, when your nonprofit boss wants to talk to you about whatever, she has like different like like videos about that. Oh, They're like it's so funny, and then they like feel like that. I never worked at a nonprofit. I did volunteer I one, And yes, it's very much those vibes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

41:33 He thought community living was gonna fix this, like they're not gonna need to ask for higher pay for all living in the same place or something. I don't know. So union members, you know, thought there was a problem with announcing that LAPAs was going to be the new communal area for the union because of how isolated it was and how far away it was from the farm the farm work because at least forty acres was in the area, this was not But over time, more and more family started to move to La Bass. Then he officially proposed making Labass the official headquarters instead of forty acres, and of course, like everything he proposed, it was immediately approved because the board was his brain trust. They just did whatever he wanted. Not even Helen wanted to move, but SISA never respects what Helen once. No, No, she hated sanatoriums. She was sent to one when she was a teen because she was sick for a little bit and she felt like she got more sick at a sanatorium.

42:33 And I think it was the same sanatorium that Wow like abandoned. I think I could be wrong on that part because I read it and I didn't write it down, but either way, she hated sanatoriums. She's like, I don't want to move. But of course, like in everything, she ended up moving. It was after a credible like threat against to such habss life, so like, okay, fine, she was consisting that she didn't want to move. She finally did at the end of nineteen seventy one. But yeah, more members were moving and Larry Itlong was like, are you bucking serious? I'm so sick of this man. He's like fuck this. I'm oh, fuck this. He rage quick. Yeah, he had opposed the move to Lapaz from the beginning.

43:17 He's like, this sounds more and more like a cult. He didn't say the word cult, but he's like, everyone just does whatever Sesa Javist tells them. I'm tired of it. Thepino the Filipino workers are treated second to the Mexican workers. I'm like, I'm sick of this. He hit the point where Gretchen Nuiners loses it. Yeah, yeah, he really did, because Lapass was the last straw for him. He's like, no, and he quit in October in nineteen seventy one. And and that's what he Javis wanted to And you know what, I'm Tim Larry. I'm sorry to that. Honestly me too. Yeah, but I'm Tim Larry Yea. And the members that had stayed behind in forty Acres and Delno work more and more frustrative. They were wanting to meet with, says Saturday.

44:03 There's those issues they needed to talk about. So such I was was never around. He was like that bass. He was in a pass or he was touring around doing other things, and in New York for a meeting and blah blah blah, like never in Delano. They were starting to tell him or they were starting to feel like he was losing touch with the farm workers. He was in like of the people he was telling out. Yeah, you know, people were bringing these things up. Eventually Richard, his own brother, brought it up, like, hey, you know the people were they're telling me these things that you're like not of the people anymore. You're never here when they need you. You're not like they never ever see you. No one sees you. You're never here. Another complaint that even growers are eager to send contracts like this. There's there was this like very democratic grower. I can't remember his name right now, No, it's escaping me. Was he white?

44:57 He was white? Yeah, I feel like I know who you're talking about. I think I heard of him. You probably do. I shouln't remember. It's anything they're but yeah, it's not coming to me. But he was one of the first to sign a contract with the union. He also helped out with like buying land for the union. So even he was like, hey, what is going on, something like the hiring halls they really suck. Whatever we want workers, you're sending them out to do other strikes and then we don't have workers and we're losing money. The hiring halls were full of inexperienced white volunteers. Because he didn't want to pay anyone to staff these hiring halls, and the hiring halls is where like the workers are supposed to go to then get dispatched to poms and these were not working. The workers were yeah, again not experienced, they didn't speak Spanish. They were white, that that wasn't the issue is is that the language failure and that no one respected them because they were white, so I guess it was an issue actually, and they were young, so yeah, nobody respected them. So such, Chebus could never be reached. Richard was out here trying to put buyers out and there was just too much for him by himself.

46:00 So that was the issue that even growers that were sympathetic to the cause were like, what is going on? We cannot work like this. They're like, we're trying to help you, but you're not helping us help you exactly. Whenever they brought this up to this Chavis, he's like, no, no, we're not the problem. The hiring halls are fine. He's like literally just like no, no. But he never had even gone right, like he was busy, no, no, yeah, And like it got so bad that even when Richard brought this up, they got into like this insane shouting match, and Sasan like was like, all right, you're not working at Delano anymore, and he like pulled him from Delano, like he kicked him out, damn. And for a while they came back, but Richard and the roaders were that left the union for a little bit because of this, though eventually they would come back. But at the same time as this, you know, this was all going on with the hiring halls, the great contracts were reaching that three year limit that they had to be renewed, and with all their problems with the hiring halls, and even now at this point, growers that like initially hated the union, like like Guiomara, they were like, we don't want to end the contracts, but we can never You never give us workers because they're out there striking other issues, like they'll lettuce. So like, if you know, things don't change, they have to go with the teamsters, not the fucking teamsters.

47:22 Another thing that was more appealing to even workers is that the Teamsters didn't have them out there working on political campaigns on the weekends. They just you know, they were offering more money and they didn't have to go out there boycotting and working on their days off or being pulled out to work on strikes like the Unitedform Workers, which like, yeah, the teams, the teamsters, they were just there. Sometimes they were able to secure higher wages, but they weren't for the workers. They were just like whatever. But that was starting to be more appealing to people who had been members of the Unitedform Workers because they needed money, they needed work. And so you know, the letter strike is going on, the grape contracts are about to be lost, and says such, howves isn't doing anything about it? In the middle of all this. August fifteenth, nineteen seventy three, that's where we're at now, a man named Nagi Daifula was at a bar in Lamont and a fight broke out in this bar in the bathroom, and the bartender called the police. The sheriff deputies arrived. The fighting was going on still, Naki threw a beer bottle that hit Deputy Gilbert Dupper. Probably not duper, maybe it is duper.

48:35 I'm wondering if I mistyped that. You know, I don't know this. This officer chased Nagi out out into the street and he hit him with his flashlight. Which caused Nagi to fall. When he fell, he hit his head on the curb and then he passed out and he lost consciousness and then he died at one am from a concussion. So this fight was just a fortunate fight, police brutality that ended the life of a man. Right, It wasn't related to the union. But then they found out that Nagi was a card carrying member of the United farm Workers, and overnight he was a martyr, even though his death didn't have anything to do with yeah strikes. Yeah, but hey, they're gonna do what they need to do, right, Yeah, And I mean, you know, he was twenty four, he was young. He had been a captain at picket lines for the union as well, so he was like deep in the union. He had left Yemen in hopes of becoming a doctor, but then he ended up working in the field. He was a strike captain during the nineteen seventy three Great Farmer Strikes. He spoke Arabic, English and Spanish.

49:48 He learned Spanish, you know, in his work in the fields. And yeah, he was an important organizer within the Yemeni community. So he was an important member. Yeah. One Sisu Chabas didn't know about until he passed away, you know. But the United farm Workers went on to say the following about him. Nagi dai Fula came to this country from his native Yemen looking for a better life. Yemenese farm workers are the latest group to come to California and be exploited by state growers. Most of them, like Nagie or young men in their early twenties, shine and slight a frame. They speak no English, and they live in barren labor camps. They come because Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. He served as an interpreter for union organizers. He was an active UfW member.

50:40 He provided important leadership roles for workers on strike in Arvin and Lamont, California. Yeah, he was an important member. Over seven thousand attended his funeral. Wow, you know, once they martyreed him. But again, like his death didn't have anything to do with the strikes. But they lost an important member of the UNI. But they did, of course. Yeah, so says such. Javis announced that he would do a three day fast in his honor. The day after Nagi's death, a sixty year old farm worker was on a picket line Juan de la Cruz, and as they were picketing, a truck passed by and fired shots at the picket line.

51:28 He was killed. He died that same day in surgery. Now he was killed while on the picket line, you know, So he received the same type of funeral, same attention of obviously deserved. Both of them were members, but he was literally killed on the line, like what picketing. Yeah, so Sisu chavish one thousands marched in his honor. Two men were arrested for this, I think, I want to say, I've read before about this, and they were working for the growers for sure. The men that were arrested, yeah that killed Oh oh okay, I sorry. At first I thought it meant two men were arrested at the march, but the men that fired the shots that were arrested, okay. Yeah, And there was marches going on right right at the same time. Yeah. Cesar Chavez announced that he would end the strikes because it was evident United farm workers were at risk of death and the government would not do anything to ensure their safety. But in reality, the union was losing so much money during these strikes they were not going to be able to sustain this, like why they had done with the grapes, Like they were going to lose this strike. They were hemorrhaging money. They were not like at this point when these two deaths happened, they were not going to be able to afford the strikes anymore. And so he blamed the safety of the United farm Workers for the reason to end the strike, you know, saying like this is the police's fault, the growers, they're all in it together. But it wasn't that. It

52:59 was that they where they were gonna lose this. He didn't have enough members. The teamsters had won most of the contracts that were formerly the unions, and so he ended those strikes and they like they didn't win them, but they had to end. But he used these deaths as the reason for them ending. And so after this happened, he he was like, you know what, we're we're losing this strike. We're losing members because there's people here that are not loyal enough and because of the undocumented workers is what he blamed. But really they were just the union halls, the hiring halls was that was fucking them over.

53:42 The union just wasn't organized enough. He didn't want someone under him. He wanted to be the one in charge, but then he wasn't there. He was Lapaz. And then right after all this happened, he also went like on this tour. I think it was three months or something. I don't remember how long the tour was because that's gonna be an ex episod. But he went on a tour in Europe to try and like gain sympathy from people buying lettuce and stuff over there and money, you know. And so at the same time he was out here saying, you know what, there's junior members that are not loyal enough, and also these undocumented workers are like fucking us over he can called them other names, derogatory names, right, And so what followed was another purge, another big purge of the union. And then also such offic's involvement in deportations.

54:30 Don't like that, yeah, because you know what was their fault that they were these lettuce strikes, So mass deportations. And then like sen and on and the follow the union Oh wow, wow, wow, wow, that's gonna be the next part. That's gonna be the last part, I'm sure, But that all came after this. But I will say the person who started the deportations, was his brother. Wow, we'll get into a next episode, yeah, Richard, But they had the same beliefs. So it's just, you know, very unfortunate that the most oppressed, most in need of protection are blamed instead. And it's never ending, right, We're still giving the same false narrative one hundred percent and him doing this blaming the undocument of workers cause such like a split in the union. And again we'll get into a next episode, but because that's going to be the next part. But yeah, if there was not one, no, and this is a very, like even today, polarizing issue, right when it's, like you said, the people who needed to support the most. And also it's just such a hypocritical thing too. We have fools whose parents came here, yeah, as undocumented, might possibly still be undocumented, and yet have these beliefs and it's not a bitch. Where would you be right now? You know? Yeah, it doesn't make any sense.

55:50 And then they like you ask them that and they just kind of go in circles when nothing makes sense, because how do you justify that. You can't you have to be you have to have the worst cognitive dissonance in the world. World and they do m M, it's insane. But yeah, what do you think of all this? We've reached the end of the episode. God, first of all, no offense, but I thought would never end. I know, there was just so much in here. I'm just tired. It was very interested. I was very invested. But at the same time, you know how it is, it's the time of day we record. Yeah, and you're getting sick. You sound dying. I feel like every time we record at the end, I'm like, I'm sorry, I was dying, but I tried my best, and honestly, with all the editing, you can't even tell how. I'm just kidding. No, No, we're not disengaged. You were fine. You've been worse. It took all my effort to be engaged. Let's say you were.

56:40 You were worse at the Spanish. Yes, that was completely your fault, and I don't actually apologize for that. No, I know. It's also different when you're the one reading it than when you're listening. And I'm listening, I had to have like a little pop toy in that I'm just like pressing or I'll start dozing off, even if I don't want to, even if that's interesting. No, yeah, but I mean it's just, you know, what a journey to learn about in depth about to such have this and I'll just say my thoughts till the end, till the end end of our journey. Yeah, yeah, next part will be the last part. But yeah, there's just so much that I didn't know that. I'm like, I want to include this, and I'm like, oh my god, am I including too much? And then I'm like, oh, what have I done? I mean, I'm enjoying it, and I want to read that book. I do want to follow it from you. No, no, you said you got an ebook, but anyway, I want to read too. But yeah, I mean let us know either on Instagram and we finally post about this. Oh yeah, I don't know if I should post now or just wait until the next part because I just posts. But also I don't know if you were done with that thought yet. It's fine. I was just going to say that. I don't know if you were going to bring it up. But we have a Patreon member. Oh yes we do. Yes, shout out Chata for joining the Patreon. I sent out your sticker and yeah, thanks so much. We will start doing bonus episodes soon, yes, yes, and if you want to, if you want to be as cool as Chata, then join the Patreon. We have two tiers. I can't remember them right now, but basically, you know, you get ad free

58:12 episodes early, you get a shoutout just like Chata did right now, and a sticker. Yeah. The highest hear gets the sticker. And also, I noticed we have more ratings on Spotify, So thank you everybody who you know supports the podcast by listening, rating, reviewing, interacting with our social media, and joining the Patreon. Yeah. I mean all this means a lot, but I especially love comments and messages just because it's like, oh, we're not talking to just each other, we know to the void. Yeah, we know that there's people listening, and obviously we know, but it's different when you finally reached out to you know. Yeah yeah, but all right, I guess that brings us to the end. But thank you everyone for listening, and we hope this is one less estoria known for you. My