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In Their Own Words: Stories From Gerawan Workers: Guadalupe Martinez

Guadalupe Martinez

Before the UFW came to Gerawan, in past years if you got sick from the heat, all of the supervisors would intimidate you, telling you they were going to lay you off. If you didn’t work fast enough, they would call the ticket person to give you a ticket and to pressure you. The women that were pregnant in my crew were afraid to report if they felt sick because the supervisor would send them home and would not recall them the next harvest season. We received a lot of pressure from our supervisor, threatening us that the other crews were leaving us, for us to hurry. The scissors they would give us no longer were sharp and were loose, and as a consequence we would hurt our hands. We would get blisters in our hands from trying to apply pressure. Also for one bad or rotten grape, they would stop you, even if it was 8am. They did not care if you had to pay transportation or babysitting.

This season, thanks to the UFW, there have been many changes. They no longer stop us and the wheelbarrows are ready in the fields, loaded with material. My coworkers work more comfortably and no longer receive tickets, the supervisors don’t stop us early and there is less pressure. We have a voice in the field because we now have the backing of the UFW. All of these changes have not only benefitted us as workers but also our own families.