Asian Pacific American Student Affairs, Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs, the Asian American Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Association and the Filipino American Student Association present "Interethnic Alliances: Filipino and Mexican Labor Organizing in California Agriculture 1920s-1960s," a lecture that will examine the legacy of interethnic labor organizing between Mexicans and Filipinos, and how their shared experiences and cooperation were vital for this sort of endeavor.
Mexicans and Filipinos have been the dominant labor force in California agriculture since the early 20th century. As farm workers, they have both been relegated to enduring long hours of intense labor, only to be rewarded with meager pay and poor working conditions. Though they have been exploited by agribusiness on many levels, neither group stood by passively. In fact, both groups have a long history of labor organizing and striking throughout California’s agricultural fields. Though they initially organized as separate ethnic labor unions, eventually they found common ground in which to organize together. Through interethnic labor organizing and striking, both groups were able to have some of their demands met, but more importantly, saw the value of coalition building across ethnic lines. These initial ties laid the foundation for the rise of the UFW in the 1960s. This lecture will examine the legacy of interethnic labor organizing between Mexicans and Filipinos, and how their shared experiences and cooperation was vital for this sort of endeavor.
The presenter will be Rudy P. Guevarra Jr. He received his doctorate in history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He co-edited and is a contributing author to Crossing Lines: Race and Mixed Race Across the Geohistorical Divide (Alta Mira Press 2005). His work has also appeared in The Journal of San Diego History and Mavin Magazine. He is currently a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
Audience: All, Medium (51-100)
Chavez Building
Room: 205
Marc Johnston
Asian Pacific American Student Affairs
621-3481
mjohnst@email.arizona.edu
http://www.apasa.web.arizona.edu