United Farm Workers Strike Photograph

The Images, Cartoons, and Other Visual Sources That Shaped America
Table of Contents
United Farm Workers Strike Photograph
Overview
About the Artist
Context
Document Image
Explanation and Analysis of the Document

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Abstract

The California grape and lettuce strikes of 1970 were initiated by farm workers, many of whom were Filipino and Mexican immigrants. Workers used strikes and protests in an attempt to gain better wages and working conditions. The lettuce strike of 1970 came after a much longer and more successful campaign to raise wages for grape workers from 1965 to 1970. Workers on strike refused to pick grapes or lettuce, and farm owners lost the crops as a result. An even more effective way of protesting low wages was to enlist the American public in boycotting produce.

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