Grapes communist wrath in delano by gary allen 10

The Grapes: Communist Wrath In Delano

By Gary Allen Gary Allen is a Los Angeles film writer, journalist, and lecturer who has covered for American Opinion such affairs as the Watts insurrection and the pro-Vietcong protests at Berkeley. A graduate of Stanford, he is now employed in the preparation of film-strips on current affairs and is finishing a new book on Communist revolution in the streets. Mr. Allen sends his report directly from the scene in Delano, California, where he has been conducting interviews and investigating happenings there on assignments for American Opinion.

An important dramatic event is now being staged for the American public, a play with several acts taking place simultaneously in many parts of the country. While it is all part of the same production, the accent of the players and even the title varies with the locale. In t hec i t i e si ti sa dv e r t i s e da s“ Ci v i lRi g ht s . ”Ont hec a mpu si ti spr omot e du nde rt het i t l e “ Pe a c eDe mons t r a t i ons , ”whi l ei nir u r a la r e a st he a t e r -goers are treate dt ot he“ Fr u i t pi c k e r s ’ S t r i k e , ”ba s e dona nol da nds u c c e s s f u l pr odu c t i ont i t l e d“ Ag r a r i a nRe f or m”whi c h has enjoyed a long run from the banks of the Volga to the foothills of the Sierra Maestra.

While the play is performed in different geographic areas, the theme remains the same.

From Selma, to Watts, to Berkeley, to Delano may look like a circuitous route on your road map, but it is a straight line on the road to revolution. If that is the road you are traveling, you are now in Delano, California.

Delano (pronounced Delayno), virtually unknown outside of California until it was r e l u c t a nt l ys hov e dont hes t a g ebyahi g hl ypu bl i c i z e d“ g r a pes t r i k e ’ i sa na g r i c u l t u r a lc e nt e r of twelve-thousand citizens lodged in the center of he phenomenally fertile San Joaquin Valley, which sticks like a pointing finger up the m idle of the state. It was in the fall of 1 6 9 5t ha tt her e s toft hewor l df ou ndou ta bou tDe l a no.Tha ti s ,t ha t ’ swhe nwewe r et ol d about it by the news media. Delano, the world was informed, was the place where, fivethousand starving grape strikers, craving dignity and a living wage, had taken to the roads in protest. Delano, Americans were told, was a sort of Selma-west, a cesspool of bigotry and intolerance where opulent capitalist growers reveled in the grinding poverty of the field workers. But virtue, the media boys said, was on the march—and through strikes and boy c ot t st heoppr e s s orwa sa bou tt obepr i e df r omt hewor k e r ’ sba c k .

Ye t ,s t r a ng e l y ,t he“ Gr a pe sofWr a t h”i ma g es oc a r e f u l l yc onstructed for Delano is as distorted and twisted as the minds which created it. It is, in short, a revolutionary fiction, a phony ,af a k e .Ass u c h,t heDe l a no“ g r a pes t r i k e ”ha st obeoneoft hewe i r de s ts t r i k e son record. It is not, you see, over wages or hours or working conditions, at all. It is a strike that is not really a strike.

How can a strike not be a strike? Very simple: When the workers are still at work, but a r ebe i ngpi c k e t e dbyou t s i de r swhone v e rwor k e dt he r e .Thi sy e a r ’ sg r a pec r op,y ous e e , is u pni nepe r c e ntov e rl a s ty e a r ’ sa ndi tha snowbe e nha r v e s t e da ndma r k e t e dbyt heme n who have always done the job. Contrary to what the mass media have been telling the public, the workers have not been on strike in Delano; the workers are, in fact, being struck byou t s i der e v ol u t i ona r i e s .Tr u e ,t wo“ u ni ons , ”t heA. F. L. -C. I .

O. ’ sAg r i c u l t u r a lWor k e r s ’ Or g a ni z i ngCommi t t e e( A. W. O. C. ) ,a ndt heu ps t a r tNa t i ona lFa r m Wor k e r s ’As s oc i a t i on

N.F.W.A.—bu tt he“ s t r i k e ”l e a de r swe r eg e ne r a l swi t hou ta r mi e s .Wor k ers wanted to work, not strike. So it was that the organizing revolutionaries assembled a crew of outsiders, set up picket lines, and declared that the people out in the fields picking grapes, the same ones who for the most part have been picking grapes there for years, are strikebreakers and scabs. Of course, it is not true, but how will the people in the cities know?

Out of this farce has arisen fantastic propaganda, virtually all slanted toward the phony “ s t r i k e r s . ” The r e pr e s e nt a t i v e s oft he g r owe r s have made available mountains of information and proofs—including audits of payrolls showing what the true wages are— but the mass media have shown little interest. One grower, Jack Pandol, explains it: We ’ r ej u s tn o tn e ws .Th es e n s a t i o n a l i s mi sa l lo nt h eother side. The wilder the charge made against us, the more publicity it gets. Nobody seems concerned with whether it is true or not. I finally got a Methodist Minister to come out to my ranch and look at my payroll time-sheets and housing faciliti4s for t h ep i c ke r s .Hec o u l d n ’ tb e l i e v ei t ;i twa ss od i f f e r e n tf r o m wh a tt h e N.F.W.A. propagandists had told him about pay and work conditions.

Thephony“ s t r i k e ”i sos t e ns i bl yov e rade ma ndbyt he“ u ni ons ”t ober e c og ni z e da s bargaining agents for the workers (in spite of the fact that virtually none of them has j oi ne d) ,a nda“ u ni on”wa g ed e ma ndf or$ 1 .

4 0a nhou rpl u s2 5c e nt spe rboxofpi c k e d grapes. The absurdity of this grandstand stunt becomes obvious to anyone who wishes to check the audited payroll sheets of the various growers, which show that wages now vary from $1.80 an hour up to as high as $4 to $5 an hour in some piece-work situations.

The nwha ti sg ongonhe r e ?Thi sdoe s n’ tma k es e ns e !Weha v eas t r i k ewi t hou t wor k e r s ,wi t h“ ou t s i de r s ”de ma ndi ng lower, not higher, pay; we have vast coverage in the mass media pretending to take the matter seriously and repeating slogans right out of a dozen Communist revolutionary organs; we have the mass publication of falsehoods easily demonstrated as such by even a cursory investigation of the situation. Yes, something strange is happening at Delano. But, what?

In order to understand what is really at stake, one must first peer into the cast of characters staging the play.

Performing in the lead role of this farce-tragedy is a curious young man named Cesar Chavez, who heads the N.F.W.A. Cesar, who suffered through school for nine whole years, wa sr e c r u i t e da ndhi r e di nt hee a r l y1 9 5 0 ’ sbyas t a f fme mbe rf orS a u lAl i ns k y ’ sI ndus t r i a l Areas Foundation. Chavez could have found no better training ground for revolution. His me nt or ,Al i ns k y ,de s c r i be shi ms e l fa sa“ pr of e s s i ona lr a di c a l ”a ndi sa u t horofReveille For Radicals and Rules For Revolution (to be published this year). He runs a prep school in grassroots organizing for revolution based upon picket lines, boycotts, mass meetings, rent strikes, demonstrations, and sit-ins.

Ce s a rCha v e zs pe nts i xy e a r si n Chi c a g os t u d y i ng a tt he “ Al i ns k yS c hoolof Re v ol u t i on”be f or ehi s“ t e a c he r s ”t hou g hthewa sr e a dyt or e t u r n to California to found the N.F.W.A. The N.F.W.A. was (surprise!) engaged in grass roots organizing for the r e v ol u t i onwhe nt he“ c ompe t i ng ”A. F. L. -C. I .

O. ’ sA. W. O. C.“ s t r u c k ”t heg r a peg r owe r si n t hef a l lof1 9 6 5 .Cha v e z ’ s“ u ni on”j oi ne dt he“ s t r i k e ”af e wdays later. Chavez, who has

been publicized by the Communists as the charismatic political leader of MexicanAme r i c a ns , q u i c k l ys t ol et hes howf r omhi smor ee s t a bl i s he d“ c ompe t i t or . ” Ce s a r ’ s“ c ompe t i t or ”i nu ni oni z i ngt hef i e l dwor k e r si sLa r r yI t l i ong ,who runs the A.F.L.-C. I .

O. ’ sA. W. O. C.i nt hea r e a .I t l i ong ,y ouwi l lnotbea ma z e dt ol e a r n,ha sa l s o been involved in revolutionary activity for some time, making his start in his native Phi l i ppi ne s .ThePhi l i ppi nei mmi g r a t i ons e r v i c e ,i tt u r nsou t ,won’ tpermit Mr. Itliong to return home because of his affiliation with the Communist Party in Seattle and San Fr a nc i s c o,s ohemu s ts u f f i c ewi t h“ u ni onor g a ni z i ng ”a ndawou l d-be career in Delano as a politician. Larry Itliong ran for the City Council in Delanot hi sy e a ra s“ t hePe opl e ’ s Ca ndi da t e . ”Hel os t ,bu thedi dha v et hef u l ls uppor ta nde ndor s e me ntofhi s“ u ni on r i v a l s , ”Ce s a rCha v e za ndt heN. F. W. A. Co-s t a r r i ngwi t h Ce s a ri sLu i sVa l de z ,por t r a y i ngt heCheGu e v a r aofCha v e z ’ s revolution. Valdez was trained for his role two years ago by the Marxist Progressive Labor Movement and sent to Cuba for advanced study in Communist revolutionary methods.

Cha v e z ’ ss e c r e t a r yi sDonnaHa be r ,who be g a nhe rc a r e e rbyhe l pi ngt of ou nd t he Communist W.E.B. DuBois Clubs. Law enforcement authorities in The Delano area, however, believe that the real star of he Chavez show is a twenty-seven-year-old Stanford graduate named Wendy Goepel. Wendy has been involved in Communist activity since in at least 1957, when she attended the Communist Helsinski Youth Festival; she has been busy building a promising career ever since. A member of the Communist DuBois Clubs, she ghost-wr i t e sCe s a rCha v e z ’ ss pe e c he s .

Lest such a production run afoul of the authorities, every play needs an attorney. The N.F.W.A. has one. He is Alex Hoffman, on the faculty of the University of California and active in its Communist-domi na t e d“ Fr e eS pe e c h”a nd“ Pe a c e ”mov e me nt s .Hof f ma nwa s one of the leaders of the pro-Vietcong parade of October fifteenth in Berkeley (See Ame r i c a nOpi ni on,De c e mbe r ,1 9 6 5 ) .TheCa l i f or ni aS t a t eS e na t e ’ s1 9 6 5Re por tonUnAmerican Activities commented on the boldness with which Mr. Hoffman plays his part.

Hof f ma n, t heRe por ts a i d, “ ha sma denoe f f or tt oc onc e a l hi sMa r x i s tc onv i c t i ons . . . . ” No play like this can get off the ground, of course, without financial angels, and Chavez and the N.F.W.A. have some powerful ones. For instance, the other Caesar, the one in Washington, has granted the revolutionary N.F.W.A. $278,000 from the War on Poverty Program, though the funds have been delayed because some local Victorians obj e c t e dt ot a x mone ybe i ng u s e dt or e c r u i t“ u ni on” me mbe r sa nd t oe nc ou r a g e revolution. Meanwhile, Cesar is forced to subsist on the meager donations of the National Council of Churches.

Some churchmen, you see, no longer take a blue-nosed attitude toward revolution; in fact, a number seem to enjoy participating in such productions. Such has been the case in Delano. For many years farm workers there have been ministered to by what is known as the Migrant Ministry, an adjunct of the California Council of Churches. In the past, the Migrant Ministry has worked tirelessly, providing spiritual nourishment to the workers; but i nr e c e nty e a r sne w“ mi ni s t e r s ”ha v et a k e nov e r .The“ ne wbr e e d”ha sdonea wa ywi t h“ a l l t hef oof r aa bou tr e l i g i on”a ndi swor k i ngonar e a l J ob—“ u ni on”or g a ni z i ng .

The one thing that the members of the current batch of Migrant Ministers active in Delano have in common is that they are all, coincidentally, graduates of the same school,

t he“ Uni v e r s i t yofAl i ns k y , ”whi c hha sar a t he rna r r owc u r r i c u l u m—offering classes only in revolution. Law enforcement authorities in the Delano area have been amazed to learn that s omeoft he s er e v ol u t i ona r y“ mi ni s t e r s ”ha v ene v e re v e nbe e nt oDi v i ni t yS c hool .

TheCa l i f or ni aCou nc i lofChu r c he sa ndt he“ Li be r a l ” -dominated Central California Di oc e s eoft heCa t hol i cChu r c hha v ea l s os u ppor t e dt hephony“ s t r i k e r s . ”S i nc et he “ s t r i k e r ” -harassed workers and their bosses are predominantly Catholic, a real schism has resulted. Growers complain that, even before arriving there, visiting clergymen have already made up their minds about the situation in Delano. Many well-meaning ministers, y ous e e ,c a n’ tbe l i e v et ha tt he r ea r et hose in the world so wicked ass to promote lies, and thus they swallow the propaganda line. And, once in Delano, visiting clergymen spend their time with Cesar Chavez, who continues the propaganda barrage—which is just what he spent those six years with Alinsky learning to do. The propaganda is exceedingly clever and easily fools the naïve. It should, for it is not written by poor, uneducated grape pickers, but

by Douglas Grayfield Adair III, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Pomona College. Adair is the chief propa g a ndi s tf ort he“ s t r i k e r s ”ma g a z i ne , El Malcriado.

Just, as in Selma and Sr. Augustine and elsewhere where the revolutionaries have struck, the local clergy has remained fiercely independent throughout the dispute and resents the invasion by outsiders who slander the community. One such clergyman is the Re v e r e ndR. B.Moor e ,pa s t orofS t .Pa u l ’ sBa pt i s tChu r c hi nDe l a noa ndame mbe roft he local Kiwanis Club. You would like to know the Reverend Moore; he is a fine gentleman and a good American. He character i z e st he“ s t r i k e ”or g a ni z e r sa ndr e v ol u t i ona r i e swho harass the workers in the Delano area in these words: Ah o gd o e s n ’ tg r u n tb e c a u s eh e ’ ss i c ko rh u n g r y ; h eg r u n t sb e c a u s ei t ’ sh i sn a t u r et og r u n t . . . .

Th e ya r e n ’ two r ki n gf o rt h ep o o rp e o p l e ; t h e y ’ r e working on the poor people.

The“ s t r i k e ”l e a de r s ,pa r t i c u l a r l yt he“ c l e r g y me n”a mongt he m,ha v eg i v e nt hewor l da pi c t u r eofr a c i s ma ndf a mi nea ndpov e r t yi nDe l a no.Re v e r e ndMoor ei sf l a bbe r g a s t e d.“ I don’ tk nowofoneNe g r ohe r et ha tIc ou l de v e ng i v e any clothes to, and I have quite a s u ppl yi nt hec hu r c hf orj u s tt ha tpu r pos e , ”hes a y s .Ac c or di ngt ot heRe v e r e ndMoor e , “ Thi si sonet ownt ha tne v e rne e de dt heN. A. A. C. P.ora nyot he rs u c hg r oupbe c a u s eou r pe opl ea r ea c c e pt e d. ” Is Delano really Bigotv i l l e ,U. S .

A. ,a st he“ s t r i k e ”l e a de r spr oc l a i m?Cou l dt he ybe deliberately deceiving the public? Reverend Moore thinks they are; but then, he only lives t he r e .

Ma y bewef or g ott ome nt i ont ha tRe v e r e ndR. B. Moor ei saNe g r o.

Tha twou l dn’ tbe important norma l l y , bu twe ’ dha v et os e ehi me mba r r a s s e dbybe i ngc a l l e dabi g ot e dr a c i s t .

Delano is by its very nature a melting pot, and it certainly bears no relationship to the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant communities that cause the Left to drool with a hungry hatred. The growers in the area are predominantly refugees from Yugoslavia who escaped from the Communist and collective revolutions that engulfed Central Europe following World War I. They came to the United States bringing with them nothing but talent and courage and ambition, and they settled in the San Joaquin Valley because of its similarity to their native land. They worked hard, saved, bought an acre of land and then another and

another. Today they are being vilified as exploiters of immigrant labor. Nothing could be more absurd.

The Chairman of the Delano School-boa r da ndPr e s i de ntoft heLi on’ sCl u bi sof Japanese ancestry. The Chairman of the Planning Commission is a Mexican-American, as are several members of the City Council and the Captain of the Police Department Stores in the community are owned by Mexican-Americans and Filipinos. To charge Delano with racial bigotry is insane to all who live there. You must understand, however, that this play is not being staged for the local citizenry, but as a propaganda spectacle to create public opinion in the cities.

Thef a c tt ha tDe l a noi sr e ma r k a bl yf r e eofr a c i a lpr obl e msha s n’ ts t oppe dt hes c r i pt wr i t e r soft her e v ol u t i onf r om pu t t i ngahe a v ye mpha s i son“ Ci v i lRi g ht s . ”I nf a c t ,t h e dispute has become as mu c ha“ Ci v i lRi g ht s ”mov e me nta sal a bors q u a bbl e .OnOc t obe r 28, 1965, the West Coast leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( S .

N. C. C. ) ,aFa rLe f t“ Ci v i lRi g ht s ”g r ou pwhi c hc ou nt sa mongi t sme mbe r ss omeoft he top young Communists in the nation, met in Fresno, California. The principle speaker was Cesar Chavez. The S.N.C.C. leaders decided to give Delano top priority on their fomentation-and-disorder list and pulled ten of their late-model radio-control units out of Mississippi and brought them into the San Joaquin Valley.

Delano is now teeming with S.N.C.C. workers. One of the most important is Marshall Ga nz , ana t i v eofne a r byBa k e r s f i e l d, nowa c t i nga soneofCha v e z ’ sc hi e fl i e u t e na nt s .

Ga nz was an honor student at Harvard for three years but gave it up to go South as a field organizer for the revolutionary S.N.C.C. organization. Southern law enforcement authorities, who found it necessary to jail him on several occasions for his revolutionary activities there, are doubtless glad that he has returned to California. Ganz, of course, continues to act as a S.N.C.C. organizer. Another top S.N.C.C. man active in Delano is one Brother Gilbert, for several years Vice Principal of Garces Catholic High School in Bakersfield. Brother Gilbert, who is also a member of the Communist DuBois Clubs, has left the school and is operating in Delano under his real name, Leroy Chatfield. With such effective revolutionaries in residence, it is no wonder that the Valley now echoes to the cries of “ Ve n c e r e mo s ”(Spanish for “ WeSh a l lOv e r c o me ” ), which Cuban refuges testify was a l s oaCa s t r or a l l y i ngc r yd u r i ngt ha t“ a g r a r i a nr e f or me r ’ s ”r i s et opowe r .

Delano has been made a magnet for all revolutionary types, varying from the “ pe r s ona l l yg u l l i bl e ”l i k eS t e v eAllen* to the professional Communist like Northern Ca l i f or ni a ’ sCommu ni s tPa r t yCha i r ma n,Mi c k e yLi ma .Andi twa s n’ tpu r e l ybya c c i de nt that the various characters of revolution flocked to the Delano area. The right sort of people were actively recruited. For example, John Hauptman, a self-professed Marxist, did the recruiting for Delano in one of the productive pastures for that type of thing, at Berkeley. ______________________________________________________________________ * Allen, incidentally, who ma r c he dwi t ht he“ s t r i k e r sa ndha she l pe dt oor g a ni z eaboy c ot t of Delano grapes in Los Angeles, admitted before a U.S. Senate Investigating Committee t ha thet ookhi s“ f a c t s ”a nd“ f i g u r e s ”f orde f e ns eoft heDe l a nor e v ol u t i ona r i e sa tf a c e value directly from the N.F.W.A. strike book

Youwou l dn’ te x pe c tCommu ni s tBe t t i naApt he k e r , t hef l owe roft heBe r k e l e yr e be l l i on, t o s t a ya wa yf r oms u c hapr odu c t i on, a nds hedi dn’ t .

Ne i t he rdi dPa t r i c kHallinan, one of the many Hallinan boys active in Communist activities. Other prominent visitors to Delano pl a y i ngbi tpa r t sf ort heN. F. W. A.ha v ebe e nAl l e nGi ns be r g ,t he“ be a tg e ne r a t i on”poe t and marijuana advocate, and veteran Communist Sam Cushner. Harvey Richards, photographer for the Communist newspaper Pe o p l e ’ sWo r ld, has also spent considerable time in the Delano environs supplying pictures to the various Communist publications whi c hha v ebe e nc oor di na t i ngpu bl i c i t yf ort he“ s t r i k e . ”Ma k i nga na ppe a r a nc e ,t oo,wa s Alan Zak, Chairman of the Los Angeles DuBois Clubs. And old-time Idaho Communist Al Plumber, who claims to have joined the Party in 1933, has also set up shop in Delano. By adding dozens of lesser lights from S.N.C.C., C.O.R.E., the Students for a Democratic Society, and the DuBois Clubs to this crew of experienced professional agitators, a truly talented aggregation, made up not of Mexican stoop-laborers but of Communists and “ Ne wLe f t ”c ol l e g eg r a du a t e s ,ha sbe e na s s e mbl e dbe hi ndt hes c e ne st ol e a dt hepl a yf or public sympathy.

Even so, if the Press had simply reported some of the tactics being used to try to get the pickers to leave the fields and strike, there would not have been much sympathy. When t he“ s t r i k e ”wa sor i g i na l l yc a l l e d,a bou tf i v ehu ndr e doft he5 , 5 0 0pi c k e r swor k i ngi nt he area were forced by threats and violence to leave the fields. Some moved to other areas to avoid harassment by the revolutionaries, some got permission from their employers to take a few days off to try and avoid trouble, and a few temporarily joined the imported picketers. After three days, however, all but about a dozen were back at work.

Ofc ou r s e ,t hef a c tt ha tt hepi c k e r sdi dn’ twa ntas t r i k edi dn’ tde t e rt hev i s i t i ng Marxists. After all, they had a job to do. Pete Cuadra, who supports his family by picking grapes, describes the tactics used by the imported revolutionaries: Friends we knew were being taken from their homes, beaten and threatened if they did not attend the union meetings. A woman was threatened with a knife at her throat on her own front lawn . . . they continued picketing the workers that were in the fields. Now their language started to be abusive and very offensive. Besides calling us scabs they began to use more vulgar language not only to men but women also.

Among the leaders of the crowd making profane and obscene denouncements of the wor k e r swa st he“ Re v e r e nd”Chr i sHa r t mi r e ,a nAl i ns k yde v ot e ea ndf or me rc onv i c twho is Director of the Migrant Ministry. He is being supported by the National Council of Churches. Most Americans would be shocked to learn that their Church contributions we r ebe i ngf u nne l e dt hr ou g ht heNa t i ona lCou nc i lofChu r c he si nt ou s ef or“ u ni on” or g a ni z i nga ndt opr ov i d e“ Re v e r e nds ”t oc u r s ehone s twor k i ngpe opl e .Ye t ,t ha ti sj u s t what is happening.

The real workers, however, have not been fooled and have continued to work.

Ce l e s t i noDu l a y ,oneoft hepi c k e r s ,t ol dau ni onor g a ni z e r :“ Wea r ema k i ng$ 3onpi e c e wor k .Youa r eof f e r i ng$ 1 .

4 0 . ”Te dRa mos ,al a borc ont r a c t or ,de s c r i be dhi sc onf r ont a t i on with a strike recruiter: “ Ie x pl a i ne dt ohi mt ha tIha de x pe ns e sonmyhou s e ,myc a r ,a pickup, and my furniture of about $350 a month. If he would give me a written guarantee

of$ 3 5 0amont h,Iwou l dn’ tg ot owor k . ”Theuni onma nl e f t ,a ndpi c k e t swe r eont he roadside where Ramos’ c r e wwa swor k i ngt hef ol l owi ngda y .

Intimidation of the workers by the imported pickets is now the primary tactic. Their l a t e s tg a mbi t ,onewor k e rt ol du s ,i sf ort hepi c k e t e r st os hou t“ Wek nowwhoy oua r e .I f you do not come out on strike now, you won’ tg e taj oba f t e rwewi n.BobbyKe nne dyi s onou rs i de .Wec a n’ tl os e . ”Anot he rf a v or i t et a c t i ci st of i r ema r bl e sa tt hepi c k e r swi t h slingshots — law enforcement authorities report that agitators bought four thousand marbles in Delano in a single day foru s ea g a i ns tt hef i e l dwor k e r s .I t ’ snotv e r ypr e t t y business; but then, intimidation never is.

The terror that decent workers have suffered in Delano makes it ever more vital that we understand what is happening there. It is not merely a local matter and it is not merely a ne x a mpl eof“ u ni one x c e s s e s . ”I nf a c t ,wha ti sha ppe ni ngi nDe l a noi sat e x t book e x a mpl eoft hec l a s s i cCommu ni s t“ u ni t e df r ont ”t e c hni q u e ,i nwhi c ht heCommu ni s t stage-managers work hand in hand with non-Communist fellow travelers, opportunists, and dupes. Delano has been made the gathering point for a number of famous and infamous characters who ostensibly make strange bedfellows. It is a test site for the Communists. And it is very important Walter Reuther, for example, made a special pilgrimage there after the groundwork had been laid in a secret visit one month earlier by hi sbr ot he rRoy .Re u t he r ,ofc ou r s e ,ha sl e ntf u l ls u ppor tt ot her e v ol u t i ona r i e s ’l e a de r , Ce s a rCha v e z ,bya nnou nc i ngt ha thea ndhi su ni onwol da i dt he“ s t r i k e ”and boycott.

This, in spite of the fact that Chavez is theoretically a competitor of the A.F.L.-C. I .

O. ’ s local organizer, Communist Larry Itliong. Reuther knows what he is doing—and Chavez, by using the Alinsky revolutionary methods instead of the narrower labor union tactics, has c ou pl e dhi smov e me ntwi t hRe u t he r ’ sCi t i z e nsCr u s a deAg a i ns tPov e r t ymov e me nt .

Wha tweha v ehe r e , y ous e e , i st her e s u l toft he“ Ci t i z e n’ sCr u s a de ”pu tt og e t he rbyt op r e v ol u t i ona r i e sl a s tf a l l .I ti sa“ Cr u s a de ”whi c hpr ompt l ybe g a nt oc ombi net he“ Ci v i l Ri g ht s , ”“ Pe a c e , ”“ PoorCor ps , ”“ a g r a r i a nr e f or m, ”a nd“ r e v ol u t i ona r yl a bor ”pr og r a msof the International Communist Conspiracy—and to tie them up with the War on Poverty.

Youwi l lr e me mbe rt ha tWa l t e rRe u t he r ’ su ni onpr ov i de d$ 1million for the project; you wi l lr e c a l lt ha tt op“ Cr u s a de r s ”i nc l u det heRe u t he r s ,Ma r t i nLu t he rKi ng ,t henot or i ou s National and World Council of Churches figure Eugene Carson Blake, and convicted sex pervert and agitator Bayard Rustin; you will remembert ha t“ Cr u s a de ”Di r e c t orDi c k Booneha sde c l a r e dt ha ta ni mpor t a ntpa r toft he“ Ci t i z e nsCr u s a de ”pr og r a mswi l lbet o e mpl oyt he“ Al i ns k ya ppr oa c h” ; y ouwi l l e v e nr e me mbe rt ha tWa l t e rRe u t he rt hr e a t e ne da t t he“ Cr u s a de ’ s ”Apr i lc onv e nt i oni nWa s hi ng t on( held in cooperation with the federal Of f i c eofEc onomi cOppor t u ni t y )t ha tu nl e s shi spr og r a m wa sf ol l owe d :“ …wewi l le a r a s u nde rt hef a br i cofs oc i e t y . ”Andt he n,ba ng ,i thi t sy ou :Ani mpor t a ntne w“ u ni t e d f r ont ”i sope r a t i ngi nAme r i c a .Andi ti sope r a t i ng in Delano. No wonder War on Poverty f u ndsa ndRe u t he r ’ su ni onf u ndsa r ebe i ngs e ntt os u ppor tCommu ni s t sa ndt he i ra g e nt s and dupes in Delano; no wonder that S.N.C.C. is pouring in agitators; no wonder that the pro-Vietcong crew is supplying heady support; no wonder that Walter Reuther and Mickey Lima and Bettina Aptheker and Communists from all over the United States have been crowding into tiny Delano. No wonder!

Local officials surmise that the strategy beings used calls for Chavez and his openly revol u t i ona r yN. F. W. A.t or u ni nt e r f e r e nc ef orCommu ni s tI t l i ong ’ s“ u ni on. ”Thei de ai s t ha tma nyg r owe r sma yd e c i det ha tI t l i ong ’ sor g a ni z a t i oni st hel e s s e roft woe v i l sa ndbe stampeded into surrendering to him. A number of the local growers show signs of being wi l l i ngt os u bmi tt ot hi sf a l s ea l t e r na t i v er a t he rt ha nha v ef e de r a l a u t hor i t i e sf or c eCha v e z ’ s N.F.W.A. on them. The workers will be the losers in either instance.

Local citizens are, of course, upset at the role that both the federal and state gover nme nt sha v epl a y e di nt hi sdi s pu t e .OneDe l a nol a we nf or c e me ntof f i c e rt ol du s ,“ I t is simply amazing how these people seem to have so many state and federal administrators a tt he i rbe c ka ndc a l l . ”Be s i de st hePov e r t yPr og r a mg r a nt s ,t hef e de r a lg ov e r nme nt has be e nhe l pf u li not he rwa y s ,s u c ha spr ov i di ngt r a ns por t a t i onf u ndsf orDe l a no“ u ni on” organizers to travel around the country soliciting funds. We have even seen a photostat of an extremely friendly letter signed by Harold Barrett Jr., an officer in the federal Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, authorizing Dolores Huerta, another Alinsky pupil and cofounder of the N.F.W.A., to fly, courtesy of the taxpayers, to the April, 1966, meeting in Wa s hi ng t on,D. C. ,ofWa l t e rRe u t he r ’ sa ndMa r t i nLu t he rKi ng ’ s“ Ci t i z e nsCr u s a de ”— whi c hi se nde a v or i ngt ou ni t ea l loft he“ u nde r pr i v i l e g e d”oft hec i t i e sa ndr u r a la r e a si nt o t ha tonebi g“ u ni onoft hepoor ”t ode ma ndt he i r“ r i g ht s . ”Tha tl e t t e rwa sar e mi nde rof j u s thowi mpor t a ntt hene w“ Ci t i z e nsCr u s a de ”is to the Communists.

Another prominent government official who caused a tremendous furor in the Delano area is Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was in the area in connection with Senate Committee Hearings on agriculture. During the Hearings, when it was brought out that De pu t i e sf r om t heKe r nCou nt yS he r i f f ’ sof f i c ewe r et a k i ngc a nd i ds na ps hot soft he various agitators and Communists as they entered Delano, Senator Kennedy became very alarmed, much more so than he ever became over the Fair Play For Cuba Committee. “ S he r i f f , ”heg r owl e d,“ Is u g g e s ty our e a dt heCons t i t u t i onoft heUni t e dS t a t e s . ”The Senator appears to feel that it is an infringement on the rights of the revolutionaries to have their pictures taken. But Bobby made his point. Representatives fr om t heS he r i f f ’ s office do not photograph the Communists in Delano anymore.

Senator Kennedy was not, of course, at all shy about taking sides in the Delano dispute.

The“ s t r i k e r s ’ ”pu bl i c a t i onsa r ef u l l ofpi c t u r e sofBobbywi t hCe s a rCha v e zorCommu ni s t Larry Itliong. In fact, on the famous March-April march from Delano to Sacramento, the marchers stopped in various small towns along the way to play a tape recording of Bobby Ke nne d y ’ /ss pe e c ht ot heDe l a nor e v ol u t i ona r i e s .

The march, which projected the “ s t r i k e ”i nt o na t i ona lpr omi ne nc e ,s t a r t e df r om Delano with about seventy persons, of whom (according to local police) approximately five were Delano people. The wire services falsely reported there were 250 marchers.

The crowd remained at about seventy persons until it neared Sacramento, where it was joined by Communists, Leftists, and misguided do-gooders from all over Northern California. The marchers carried religious symbols in an hypocritical appeal to the Catholicism of Mexican-Americans in the area. At one point on the march, however, both the American flag and the Cross of Guadalupe were dragged in the dirt by young men screaming “ Vi v eCa s t r o . ”As the parade entered the outskirts of Sacramento, the marchers again began chanting and shouting slogans, “ Vi v el ah u e l g a(Hooray for the strike)

predominated, but the “ Vi v eCa s t r o ”c he e r sa l s oc ont i nu e d.Gov e r norEdmu nd“ Pa t ” Brown, described by Time ma g a z i nea s“ at owe rofj e l l y , ”f l e dt ownr a t he rt ha nf a c et he marchers. He is facing re-election this fall.

The marching revolutionaries carried large Red flags bearing a small outline of a black eagle. This is the flag of the Trotskyite revolution in Mexico. Many of the agitators also carried banners declaring that they meant to start a revolution.

At the Capitol grounds Dolores Huerta, Vice President of the N.F.W.A., gave the speech of triumph celebrating the end of the march. She said that there had been an earlier e f f or tt oe nd“ de pr i v a t i on”i nt heS a nJ oa q u i nVa l l e y .

Bu t , s hes a i d: The difference between 1959 and 1966 . . . is revolution—the farm workers have been organized. . . .

We are not alone. We are accompanied by many friends. The religious leaders of the state, spearheaded by the California Migrant Ministry, the student groups and civil rights groups tht make up the movement that has been successful in securing civil rights for Negroes in this country. . . . and organized labor, our staunchest ally, are all in the revolution. . . .

The workers are on the rise. There will be strikes all over the state and throughout the country because Delano has shown what can be done, and the workers know they are no longer alone.

If the rules to settle our economic problems are not forthcoming, we will call a General Strike t op a r a l y z et h es t a t e ’ sa g r i c u l t u r al economy. . . .

The social and economic revolution of the farm workers is well under way and will not be stopped until they receive equality.

What is the revolution they are after? Why, it is the very revolution declared earlier by Walter Reuther and Ma r t i nLu t he rKi ngf ort he i r“ Ci t i z e nsCr u s a de . ”And ,ofc ou r s e ,i ti s being given the full support of the Communists. It is therefore not very difficult for students of revolution to calculate what the growers have in store for them in the future.

The growe r ’ sAc hi l l e she e l i sa nol dl a w, pa s s e ddu r i ngt heAdmi ni s t r a t i onofThe odor e Roos e v e l t ,a i me da tc u r bi ngs pe c u l a t or swi t h“ i ns i de ”k nowl e dg eofwhe r ef e de r a lda ms were to be built. The law says that any grower getting water from federal dams can be forc e dt os e l lhi spr ope r t yov e r1 6 0a c r e sa s“ e x c e s sl a nd. ”Tha tl a w ha sne v e rbe e n enforced, as it would destroy the farmers. But now a beginning attempt at forcing the growers to sell their land has been made by the federal government—this in their attack on the large DiGiorgio Vineyards. Chavez and the N.F.W.A. and their behind-the-scenes backers see the handwriting on the wall. In the next few years they expect to make i nc r e a s e dde ma ndst of or c et heg r owe r st os e l lt he i r“ e x c e s sl a nds ”i napr og r a mi nwhi ch the federal government, probably through the War on Poverty, will loan money to the “ u ni ons , ”ort he i rme mbe r s ,t opur c ha s et hel a ndsa nds e tu pt het y peof“ c oope r a t i v e s ” that Sargent Shriver is already encouraging in the cities. The farmers will be forced, because oft heg ov e r nme nt ’ smonopol ypos i t i oni nwa t e r ,t os u bmi tt oha v i ngt he i rl a ndst a k e n from them with their own tax money.

Whi l et wog r owe r sha v enow s u r r e nde r e dt ot he“ u ni on, ”t hema j or i t yc ont i nu et o refuse. One of the two that did surrender, Christian Brothers, was Church run and was

never picketed, but surrendered because of Church pressures. The second, Schenley, was the target of a nationwide boycott by Leftists; and, since less than one percent of that c ompa ny ’ shol di ng sa r ei nCa l i f or nia grape fields, Schenley Industries may have figured the fight was not worth it. Or possibly government bureaus mentioned the magic word, antitrust. Still, nearly every grower in Delano we talked to maintained that the Kennedy family owns a large block of Schenley stock.

Me a nwhi l e ,Wa l t e r Re u t he r ’ s“ Ci t i z e ns Cr u s a d e ”c ont i nu e st od e ma nd f e de r a l legislation with all kinds of welfare guarantees, on threat of stepping up the revolution in the streets; right now one of its primary objectives is to force our farmers to accept a union shop. The implications of such control of agriculture are phenomenal. First, it would give the union revolutionaries like Reuther full-circle control over the U.S. economy and, s e c ond ,i twou l dpl a c eal oa de dg u na tt heg r owe r s ’heads. A ripe crop is not like a pr odu c t i onl i ne .Youc a n’ ts hu ti tdownf oramont ha ndt he nc omeba c kt oi t .Whe na crop is ripe it has to be picked now, not next week. A threatened strike at harvest time would offer an annual opportunity for blackmail. The loss of one crop could break a farm, a ndnol a wc ou l dpr ot e c tt hef a r me rf r omaphony“ wi l dc a t ”s t r i k e .

I fy oul i v ei nt hec i t yy ouc a ne x pe c tt ohe a rmor eoft he“ Gr a pe sofWr a t h”t ha te x i s t for the farm workers. You will be told that only massive federal legislation, poverty grants, and unionization will end the terrible situation—just as you have heard a similar tune c onc e r ni ng“ Ci v i lRi g ht s . ”Thec ha r g e sa r ephony .The yc omef r om t hes a mes ou r c e .And you can count on the fact that the Communists are continuing to run the show.