UFW Criticisms No Surprise in Central Valley

FRESNO, Calif.--Just four decades ago, California farm workers didn't have bathrooms, drinkable water, medical insurance, a work schedule or retirement benefits. The list of abuses they endured could fill several pages.

In the mid-1960s, a strike by Filipino agricultural workers demanding better salaries set off a movement led by Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) that would achieve significant improvements in work conditions. This marked the birth of the first union of agricultural workers, the UFW (United Farm Workers).

A series of articles by Miriam Pawel, which recently ran in the Los Angeles Times, presents harsh criticisms of the union and its founder. According to Pawel, the UFW has stopped organizing farm workers in order to dedicate itself to real estate and other revenue-generating services. The Chavez family, she writes, controls all positions in the organization and uses its influence for political campaigns, among other things.
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Ybarra says the article is biased and claims the editorial line of the Los Angeles Times has become more conservative after the paper was bought by The Tribune in 2000.

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