Forty years ago today, the Salinas Valley emerged from one of the nationâ??s most memorable and violent labor storms â?? one that pitted the powerful Teamsters against the nascent United Farm Workers union.
The resulting struggle between the UFW and the grower-backed International Brotherhood of Teamsters was bloody and intense. But, in the end, it forged state and federal laws that guaranteed field laborers the right to organize and bargain with farm owners and shippers.
Agricultural historians recall that the boycotts, work stoppages and marches, later dubbed the â??Salad Bowlâ? strike, took place in waves between Aug. 23, 1970, and March 25, 1971.
The strike consisted of repeated pickets, protests, and walk-outs and ultimately involved nearly 10,000 farm laborers â?? making it one of the largest labor actions in the countryâ??s history up to that point.
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