Picketing Safeway

It was in the early years of the 1950s. The signs read, “Don’t buy grapes. This store is unfair to the farm workers!”

Union workers organized by Cesar Chavez, were protesting for the Mexican laborers by picketing our local markets.

Their goal was to increase the wages of the grape pickers by using their union signs and picket lines.

One of the young college girls stopped my husband to argue with him. He asked her if she was in favor of raising the price of grapes to a dollar a pound.

She informed him, “No, that will never happen, we just want a fair wage for the laborers.”

Isn’t that the way it usually happens! Protest – Win – and double or triple or more the prices.

It was true that the workers lived in extremely poor housing and worked very hard for their money. The farmers did not provide livable conditions in those days. It isn’t a whole lot better today, but some ranches make available portable out houses.

Today two things happen.

1. The farm workers are more organized and receive somewhat better pay, with not much better housing conditions. Plus they pay union dues to the Union.

2. OR -- They stay in Mexico or South America, grow food there, pay their workers what ever they want - -  and ship the food to us.

In both situations we pay more, and if the Unions can’t be held responsible for higher prices, then the stores blame the price of gas, the cost of transportation, and their own highly paid Union member staff.

Perhaps we all need to return to a small garden spot in our own yards and at least grow a few tomatoes and some squash.

If I hate anything on this earth, it must be two things.

1. The Devil - - and
2. The Unions (They are a form of the Mafia.)

God doesn’t care if I hate the devil, and I believe He forgives me for hating the Unions, because they are criminal in nature.