Watsonville After the Strike
In 1985 when the strike began there were no Latinos in city government in Watsonville. The impact of the strike went beyond the cannery itself, changing both local politics and the strikers sense of themselves as citizens and community members, as the strikers challenged the city, the police, cannery owners, banks, and their own union. The strike also coincided with other challenges to the existing power structure in Watsonville, including a congressional task force on abuses by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and a federal court case brought by MALDEF lawyer Joaquín Avila that overturned the at-large electoral system that shut Latinos out of city government. These efforts led to the election of the first Latinos to Watsonville City Council, and the election Oscar Ríos, a strike supporter, as the first Latino Mayor of Watsonville.
The first oral history below is with Shiree Teng, a member of the League of Revolutionary Struggle and head of the Northern California Strike Support Committee. She describes the power structure in Watsonville before the strike.
The next two oral histories are with Cuca Lomeli and Chavelo Moreno, two members of the Strikers' Committee. Cuca Lomeli was a strike leader and went on to work for Local 912. Lomeli explains that her training as a union rep came from the strike, and describes the strike as her school. Both Lomeli's and Gloria Betancourt's fathers came to the U.S. through the Bracero Program, underscoring a long history of U.S. industry depending on Mexican labor. Chavelo Moreno himself came to Watsonville as a Bracero, and he describes the role of the women strikers in winning the strike and the how it changed the way strikers thought about themselves.
The 2017 proclamation from the county board of supervisors below recognizes the "historical value to the community" and the ways the strike changed city politics.
Shiree Teng: Watsonville was a Colonial Town
Note: To access text captions click on the square icon in between the volume and gear icons.
Cuca Lomeli: The Strike was my School
Note: To access text captions click on the square icon in between the volume and gear icons.
Chavelo Moreno: Women Strikers and Community Support
Note: To access text captions click on the square icon in between the volume and gear icons.
Text of proclamation below (PDF) Download Text of proclamation below (PDF)
"Shiree Teng interviewed by Peter Shapiro." 3 Oct. 2014. larc.oh.shapiro_2, Labor Archives Research Center. This is a clip from a longer interview which can be found here:https://archive.org/details/csfst_006428
"Cuca Lomeli interviewed by Peter Shapiro." 11 Nov. 2017. larc.oh.shapiro_35, Labor Archives Research Center. This is a clip from a longer interview which can be found here: https://archive.org/details/csfst_006461 Links to an external site..
"Chavelo Moreno interviewed by Peter Shapiro."25 Mar. 2010. larc.oh.shapiro_25, Labor Archives Research Center. This is a clip from a longer interview which can be found here: https://archive.org/details/csfst_006456 Links to an external site..
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Proclamation: Honoring the History of the Watsonville Canning Strike September 1985 through March 1987. 11 Mar. 2017. Watsonville Canneries Strike Binders, California Agricultural Workers' History Center, Watsonville Public Library.