How Important Was The Farmworkers Movement In The 1960's

947 Words4 Pages

After the farmworkers movement in the 1960’s that ended with the growers finally sign the union contracts, which granted the workers better pay, life benefits, and protection. However, this is not what really happened the farmworkers were still treated badly, had unfair wages, bad living and working conditions, and did not even had their basic human rights. Farmworkers were treated like slaves, “The compound was fenced with barbed wire and patrolled by bosses on all-terrain vehicles. If the couple got beyond the gates, local police could arrest them and bring them back”( Marosi). The farmworkers issues weren’t only unfair wages or immigration problem, it was more than that it was a human rights issue. “Farmworkers slept sprawled head to toe …show more content…

Workers used his tactics by going on six days hunger strike, their strikes were influenced by Cesar strategies where the strikes were nonviolent, also the farmworkers went on a march. The farmworkers have a big benefit from Cesar movement who showed that people can make a difference. The other benefit the had from the farmworkers movement that now people were open to them more and they received support not like back then when they had to start from nothing. These farmworkers had the base built for them from the movement Cesar led in 1960’s and they had to finish on it to get what they …show more content…

We as consumers should support them, we could buy our products directly from the farms. By paying the same amount of money we pay at the supermarkets, that percentage of money instead of going to the supermarkets it can be added to the farmworkers wages, so we could increase the workers' wages. I am not saying to avoid supermarket, but by this way we can increase workers' wages by not paying that percent of the money that the companies take. I also understand that many people don’t have the access to farms, and it's easier for consumers to buy their products from the local supermarkets. However, the main reason that the farmworkers conditions are not changing is because not all people are aware of the real conditions of the farmworkers, and they are not getting the support they deserve. Farmworkers deserve better life condition and as consumers we should support them, because without these workers, we won't have the food on our