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| A socialist newsweekly published in the interests of working people Vol. 64/No. 25  June 26, 2000
25 and 50 years ago June 27, 1975 The recent strike by melon pickers in Texas and the upswing in activity around the boycott of scab lettuce, grapes, and wines underline once again the inhuman exploitation farm workers are subjected to and the heavy odds they face in their uphill battle for social justice. Despite a decade-long struggle, the United Farm Workers holds only a few contracts in California and Florida, and has yet to win even one in Texas, scene of the latest strike. The agribusinesses the UFW confronts are among the most powerful and greedy U.S. corporations. These mighty monopolies have at their service the cops, the courts, and the bureaucrats of the Teamsters union. In order to defeat this vast conspiracy, la causa must become the cause of millions--Chicanos, students, trade unionists, and working people as a whole. The enactment of the California farm labor bill sets the stage for renewed efforts to win UFW contracts covering farm workers in that state. The UFW is continuing its boycott of non-UFW lettuce, grapes, and wine. This boycott, which has already hurt the growers, can help force them to sign contracts with the union that represents the farm workers. All those who support the UFW's struggle for decent working conditions and social justice should respond to the UFW's appeals for stepped-up activity in support of the boycott.
Nothing better reveals the state of democracy and civil liberties in the United States today than the spread of the "loyalty" oath. Starting with employees of the federal government, the "loyalty" system is spreading into every sphere of American life--to teachers, lawyers, doctors, garbage collectors. Unions are denied government recognition unless their leaders take "loyalty" oaths; corporations are demanding contracts giving them power to fire workers who refuse to take "loyalty" oaths. The spread of the "loyalty" oath attests how aware the capitalist rulers of America are of the feeble hold their system has on the true loyalty of the American people.
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