Boycott
Recently I have seen references in Denver museums to the United Farm Workers Union. I imagine the curators pleased that they tie together Denver labor history, Hispanics and immigration. The curators ignore the material conditions for this union’s relative success, boycott. When Cesar Chavez started the farm workers union Saul Alinsky, with his usual overbearing confidence, told him it was hopeless. The one advantage the new union had was that farm workers were not covered by labor law. Current labor law is designed to suppress unions. The companies are fined and unions can go to jail. Corporate law exists to avoid responsibility. The process of collective bargaining and rules surrounding it explains why only 11% of American workers are union, with most of those in the public sector. The three strongest union weapons, wildcat strikes, boycotts and new trade unions are illegal. Chavez brilliance was realizing that since the farm workers weren't covered by the...