Solidarity March Nov. 3, 1985

The next large rally was a Solidarity March held November 3rd and led by the Strikers' Committee.  Once again it brought many outside groups to Watsonville in support of the strikers and raised the profile of the struggle, but it also rallied community members around strike efforts.  The following week, November 10th, a third large scale Solidarity Day would be organized by the Teamsters.

The flyer below encourages community members to attend and frames the strike as a struggle for the rights of the Latino community. The Register Pajaronian article below reports on the turn out and the police presence. Open the PDF to see the two page article.

Delia Mendez was a Social Sciences teacher at Watsonville High School.  In the interview below she describes how much the rallies impressed her and how important they were to the morale of strikers.

Questions

  • How might the focus of a rally organized by the Strikers' Committee be different from a rally organized by TDU or the Teamsters?
  • What kinds of practical and moral support might a solidarity march offer?  

Delia Mendez on Support from Rallies

Note: To access text captions click on the square icon in between the volume and gear icons.

 

Text of flyer below (PDF) Download Text of flyer below (PDF)

Bilingual flyer advertising a "Marcha de Solidaridad / Solidarity March" November 3 in Callahan Park.

 

Text of Newspaper article below (PDF 2 pages) Download Text of Newspaper article below (PDF 2 pages)

Image on the cover of the Register Pajaronian of a large crowd marching down Walker Street led by members of the Strikers' Committee

Mendez, Delia. "Interview with Delia Mendez 2010-11-18." 18 Nov. 2010, archive.org/details/csfst_006453 Links to an external site.. Peter Shapiro Watsonville Canneries Strike Interviews, larc.oh.shapiro_27, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University. (This is a clip from a longer interview which can be found at archive.org/details/csfst_006453 Links to an external site..)

“Marcha de solidaridad / Solidarity March.” Flyer, 3 Nov. 1985. Watsonville Canneries Strike Binders, California Agricultural Workers' History Center, Watsonville Public Library.

Schilling, Elizabeth. "2,000 March in Strike Rally Here." Register Pajaronian, 4 Nov. 1985, pp. 1-2.

Note:  The Register Pajaronian is available online through the Watsonville Public Library Links to an external site..