United Farm Workers | The Fall | 3
American History Tellers
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Chavez's Wrath of Grapes
Former UFW board member Gilbert Padilla was one of Caesar Chavez's oldest and most trusted lieutenants But in his 60 minutes interview Padilla lamented the direction the UFW had taken under Chavez's leadership. In 1982, California's conservative attorney general George Duke Meiji ran for governor on a platform that echoed Ronald Reagan's anti-labor sentiments. He shut down enforcement of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act entirely causing thousands of farm workers to lose their contracts. The UFW's membership dwindled to fewer than 30,000, far less than half what it was at its peak. Today, with only 5,000 members under contract, the United Farm Workers still operate out of La Paz
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