Field Workers Take a Stand; Strikes During the 20th Century

Some farm workers during the 1930s decided that they were not going to put up with poor work conditions any longer. In 1933, for instance, 1800 cotton workers went on strike because their wages had gone from one dollar to 40 cents per 100 pounds picked. Their bosses retaliated in violence, however; and they hired police officers and vigilantes to take care of the matter. Two people were actually killed during the strike. After 24 days, the workers’ wages increased to 75 cents per 100 pounds, but they did no regain what they made before the initial wage decrease. Between the years of 1934 and 1936, as well, field workers in Salinas Valley, California (the same area where Of Mice and Men is set) went on strike for better working conditions and the right of union recognition. Although the strike was effective for some time, it eventually fell apart and workers were also beat by police officers that field bosses hired. (The Struggle in California)

Over the course of a few decades, working conditions improved for field workers compared to the conditions migrant workers face during the Dust Bowl. Improvement, however, does not necessarily mean elimination of problems. During the 1960s, for instance, grape workers in Central Valley, California organized a strike because of their poor pay and working conditions. Unlike the strikes of the 1930s, however, the grape strike was highly successful and resulted in the creation of the California Agricultural Relations Board that was created to ensure that agricultural workers are treated fairly. (United Farm Workers)