Seasonal farm labor is historically under-protected and under-compensated. Attempts to organize in the 1930s and 1960s have made great strides for modern workers, but there’s still work to be done in protecting and fairly treating the backbone of American agriculture.
Often, migrant and seasonal workers are from marginalized communities, and many are in the United States on work/visa programs or are undocumented. This makes the road to equitable labor difficult and highly politicized.
The Migrant Farm Worker’s Movement
In the 1960s, amongst other demands for racial equality and labor rights, the Migrant Farmworker’s Movement began to take shape. Spearheaded by various labor unions and organizations, the movement worked to gain safer conditions, worker protections, and fair compensation. However, the movement wasn’t a homogenous one. Other migrant workers with roots in the Philippines, growers and workers of Japanese descent, and many other disparate groups allied and clashed in the fields and in the picket lines. Because ethnic divides often followed along union lines, much work had to be done to unite workers in a single cause and message.
*Learn more about diverse perspectives within the migrant worker’s movement below!
One of the most notable organizations was the United Farm Workers – which was, at the time, called the National Farm Workers or National Farm Workers Association. A major tool in their efforts to organize workers (Especially Mexican-American, or Chicano, workers) was through El Teatro Campesino.
Migrant Workers and Theatre
Founded by Luis Valdez, El Teatro Campesino was an extension of the United Farm Workers– the actors, sets, and props traveling with the migrant workers and strikes. It used culturally specific humor, storytelling, and political concerns to engage workers and make them aware of the need to organize. El Teatro Campesino has become a staple of the Migrant Workers and Chicano movements.
