00:00:00.009 - 00:00:27.639

OK, we're talking with Kuka, Gloria, and Oscar, uh, and it's July 19th. Here we go. Uh, This your tape recorder? Yeah, tiny one. Yeah, it's tiny. It's digital, so you're supposed to be able to do things I picked it up at BestBuy. I hope

00:00:27.639 - 00:00:45.259

it works, man. stingy. Uh. Well, um, I think I know, you know, from that that interview that was printed forward that I just showed you, you know, what your personal history was before the strike. Um I think what I wanna know first of all is, Uh,

00:00:46.200 - 00:01:11.349

this is something I just found out about. The last time you had a contract before the strike, you took a 40 cents an hour wage cut. Can you tell me a little bit about that, how that happened? Yeah, that, that, yeah right. And belt it out

00:01:11.349 - 00:01:35.910

because I think it's gonna pick you up. Does either of you remember this? Yeah. Star Gloria, you should start first explaining him what was the reason they just came back to work and they often, I mean, it wasn't a good contract, but the people says, well,

00:01:36.040 - 00:01:54.629

it's nothing, it's better than nothing, right? Not everybody else agreed that we have a good contract, especially with the 40 cents cut, you know. So I wasn't happy, but it's no choice. Yeah, you're talking about 1982, 1987 87, yeah, no, I was talking about the previous

00:01:54.629 - 00:02:15.059

one, previous one. Well they're forcing us, they're forcing us when 1980, it was 1980 they forcing us because it was forcing uslo because they take a book inside the workplace, right? We both inside the company it was. The cuts on the insurance and all that, so

00:02:15.520 - 00:02:29.850

we, we decided that, you know, we could live with that the kind of money they were offering us. They, they kind of went, they didn't negotiate directly with the union. I think it sort of smiling was going on from the plant floor and talked to people

00:02:29.850 - 00:02:48.419

and persuaded them that it was the company would go broke if it didn't happen all that. People's attitudes must have really changed by the time the strike happened before everything was different because nobody else, I mean, has a problems or economical nobody else see right away

00:02:48.419 - 00:03:07.960

when it happened when I if it freeze their wages for how many years? 4 years, 6 years. I don't know how longer, but what you think about the contracts negotiations only was between the union. And the company, no worker was present. So we did it was

00:03:07.960 - 00:03:24.380

between the union and the company negotiate the contract because why, why? Because people never have the problems. Nobody went to the union hall, asked for what happened, not even in meetings, no. This was put interest, the interest what happened going to the union meetings is after,

00:03:24.460 - 00:03:40.580

I mean, during the strike before that, no, nobody, um, I don't know. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but I don't know Gloria what they, they had, uh, you know, like, uh, like, you know, they were like. Getting together the only. And the company guy, you

00:03:40.580 - 00:04:02.820

know. No, not uh taking uh. You know, and, and, in consideration the workers or nothing, so you know, everybody was OK, but when they, uh, they gave them all the bad advice to, you know, that, uh, got the. The insurance and all that is when everybody

00:04:03.119 - 00:04:21.700

said wait a minute, you know, and that's why. Because. Before that was like an alliance, you know, that all the companies that was exist and Watsonville wasn't a big alliance. Then it was here like a master contract after that before, I mean when the Watson came

00:04:21.700 - 00:04:36.420

and says wait a minute, I don't pay too much money. I think it was one of the Shaws, you know, he was a part of the business was Milke was Jay Crusad Green Giant, I mean, and United Foods, all kinds. I mean that work was around

00:04:36.420 - 00:04:53.910

here, but the main problem was the free trade. The free trade they're forcing, I mean, of people moving out of the country, the jobs, part of that problem is the free trade, but the main problem is. Well, I, I like Oscar says a couple of minutes

00:04:53.910 - 00:05:11.572

ago, he seemed more counsel before he's dead, you know, and he says he was wrong because he, he had people from, uh, Texas to run the company. He doesn't know what's going on either. Yeah, he brought those guys that, uh, wrong, wrong white and, uh. white

00:05:11.572 - 00:05:29.453

and don't try and smiler versusco was the main person that he's made all kinds of as soon as they walk into our plane was like bad news for everybody, you know, there's a whole problem studying there, so you know the whole problem studying um between the

00:05:29.453 - 00:05:42.015

workers and the union because After the strike, well, and people for watching the can they say, no, wait a minute, we're not gonna accept this and we're not gonna accept that, but we're gonna strike. The people, I mean, they think that we're gonna strike and that

00:05:42.295 - 00:06:02.429

strike was probably like, uh, no longer than a month. It won't take longer and longer and longer. No it was gonna last as long as they did, you know. You basically. Yeah Worked without a contract when Mor Cono and Richard Shaw put their terms down they

00:06:02.440 - 00:06:19.429

they were just. They just started paying you $465 an hour just like that, your paycheck change, no negotiations, no nothing. They didn't negotiate you one. And you what about what, 6 weeks went by before you actually you struck on September 9th, is that correct? Yeah, right,

00:06:19.440 - 00:06:40.470

they locked you out or no, the people reject the contract and then we back to work and then we worked like 2 or 3 weeks on the extension when probably was Sunday. Like around the 8 o'clock in the evening walked out of the job, yeah, there

00:06:40.470 - 00:07:00.089

was IBT International Union approved you guys OK for one strike because we need because we need to prove we wait for the International Union, I mean approve our strike. You, you walked out before everybody else walked right on time with the. International team says well you're

00:07:00.089 - 00:07:17.890

OK, so we're not gonna walk out without permission, so yeah. I wanna ask you, um. About TDU's role in Watsonville before the strike, I don't have no comment. That's the one person, the one of those persons that start studying, I mean, now all the movement, but

00:07:17.890 - 00:07:35.119

you know that what they did was invited the people to invite the people. Did you guys knew about before the strike? Oh, well, not really. I heard it's two parties, you know. One of them is democratic. The other one is like, uh, so before the strike

00:07:35.119 - 00:08:09.589

guard. Nobody knows after the strike before the strike, no, no, but they were active, right? Yeah, OK. And it was Mike Johnston was friends with them with Jose Lopez and uh uh Jose Lopez Manuel. Aurelio Ali Alia is poso versus Alfonso. A few group, I mean

00:08:09.589 - 00:08:27.540

a few people was involved in the TDU probably it's like around that 50 or 60 persons around here. They know very well what's going on with TDU, but most people didn't know no, no, mm. Um, what, what made us decide, you know, there were different groups

00:08:27.540 - 00:08:52.950

trying to, to lead us in the strike, right, yeah, Cruz Gomez. Yeah, yes, on the Santa Cruz committee and Was of the committee was I tell you. I don't know. They're supporting the team. So this when I don't support her came to town and we met

00:08:52.950 - 00:09:20.419

him and then we like his ideas and all that, you know. Then We started this, you know, forward, you know. You made a decision to form the committee where the workers workers wanted a committee, and those are the ones that they said who who they wanted

00:09:20.419 - 00:09:40.219

in the committee. Well, if I remember after the rally, remember, the rally, the big march, because Manuel Estaca and we kept asking, so who are the leaders, remember? And you guys said, well, you know, I mean Frank and Joei were, they were the leaders and so

00:09:40.219 - 00:09:53.219

I remember that the idea was, well you guys need to be the leaders. And that's how you start to organize, you know, you guys to be the leaders, and, and if you remember there was, OK, so how do we do that? Well, we go and have

00:09:53.219 - 00:10:10.830

elections from the workers and that's what you guys did, right? You guys had a meeting, you know, invited all the work, the strikers to come, and you went to sayjamaya, um, as you, and it was all strikers. They went inside, only strikers, and they elected the

00:10:10.830 - 00:10:31.409

strikers. How many people were at, do you remember? workers. How did, uh, how did the word get out that this meeting was happening? Why? That's flyers and everybody told him, you know, we're gonna elect, you know, our strikers committee because I remember we kept asking, so

00:10:31.409 - 00:10:45.080

who are your leaders, you know? And they go, some people go, it's Bartiy, you know, Joe Fay. There was a lot of workers and some outsiders, even Joe Fay, he was not part of the union. He wasn't the kind of process, he says that he was

00:10:45.080 - 00:11:12.500

working in UPS and UPS for a while, but after that he's quick, you know. Um, So we have a meeting. We have about 500 people, you know, all of us there was Armando, Armando Morales Chave Morenoulca. Then, uh, from, from the other plant Richard shows it

00:11:12.500 - 00:11:51.820

was uh Linda. Isabel Garcia Richards uh-huh yeah so you had equal number of people. But the thing is when, when they went back, when they went back to work, so they went back. But then they still in Oscar, when did you arrive in Watsonville? I came

00:11:51.820 - 00:12:14.309

in 85. Yeah, they had a rally in October solidarity that was your 1st 1st day yeah yeah uh what happened at the rally? Well, you know, it's like. I remember that we kept asking, so where's the security? Where's the security, you know, but she was traveling

00:12:14.309 - 00:12:37.739

from. No, no, no, no, but in the rally, yeah, she was on the run. I came the night before and uh Guillermina. You know, I, I came to her house and, uh, then I said, you know, let's go to the union. So we went to the

00:12:37.739 - 00:12:51.500

union, and I kept asking, so who are the leadership here? And they said, oh, they're gonna be right here. And then Joefa and Karina, Karina, they came in. They got off the car, you know, and Guerina was, Hey, we'd like to introduce you to some people

00:12:51.500 - 00:13:08.270

that are supporting, and they just walked by us. We just don't even say hello. Oh yeah, then we went to the, the picket line, and the cops came, you know, told us to get out, and, uh, that night we stayed in the markets in Europe. And,

00:13:08.510 - 00:13:26.830

and, uh, this striker's house, not that evening, no, no, not that night. No, the first night, no, and we stayed at his house and with my, I had my two boys and Manuel Dia's mom. She came. She just died, didn't she? Yeah, you. So next morning

00:13:27.080 - 00:13:41.299

we were bringing a couple of bus loads from the Bay Area and so next morning we get back, we get back asking, so where's security? And they said tomorrow is gonna be a meeting. So tomorrow comes in the park you can ask me where is security?

00:13:42.030 - 00:14:00.080

And then Frank uh Bardi gets up there and he was, he was secured. And it was like very like unorganized. And I remember that you know because some of the workers we already started hanging around with, we said, you know, you know we need better security

00:14:00.369 - 00:14:13.409

and and so we grabbed about 1010 of them and we asked all 10 of them to go, go give 10 each so we had 100 and so we said because it was so late we said. What we're gonna do is put a put a line between

00:14:13.609 - 00:14:26.630

the strikers and the police because there was so much police and then when the people from the Bay Area came in, we're gonna tell them to just join the line and that's what we did. So that was the first time that, you know, that we met

00:14:26.630 - 00:14:44.640

the strikers, but the leaders of the rally and the speakers, it was all Joe Fay and Frank Bardiy and all of them. They were the leaders. They were the ones talking. I'm trying to remember, yeah. I came down on a bus in October. You know, I

00:14:44.640 - 00:14:57.330

don't know if it was a solidarity or were there other rallies after that within the next week, but that was the big one. That was the big one. There were helicopters and had a lot of highway patrols. I mean there were a lot of police, man.

00:14:57.440 - 00:15:17.609

I mean, I remember walking down there and seeing cops all over the place. I remember strikers, you know, people in armbands, I guess, bands linking arms, you know, just standing between the police and the crowd. outside the freezer, yeah, we just walked by the Callahan Park

00:15:17.609 - 00:15:37.619

to uh some path to walk by the Forest Street and we ended up in Riverside and Shaw's, yeah, so that was, see Manuel, Manuel was here and we met some workers and with her and she knew Cuca, both of them. And I remember that Manuel started

00:15:37.619 - 00:15:56.169

concentrating and saying, OK, who are the leaders here? There was no the strikers were not the leaders. It was Joe. He, you know, Gomez and John Silver and Sherry, yeah, these were the leaders and Manuel said Manuel Diaz at that time he said, no, you guys

00:15:56.169 - 00:16:15.760

need to take a leadership and so they invited us to. Margarita we went to her house and the school started meeting, you know, and Manuel, I remember I was just watching Manuel was that all of them, you know, said, OK, you guys need to be leaders,

00:16:15.809 - 00:16:31.890

you know, and start showing them how you guys need to get out. You guys need to elected and then I remember Cuca is coming. She was this era man I was working with people there and she was just coming like who is the mysterious woman, man,

00:16:34.270 - 00:16:44.469

you know the only person that Gloria was talking to her. She was like doing something else. I don't know what she was doing, but she was out there militants on doing something. And um and I remember a couple of nights, a couple of a couple of

00:16:44.469 - 00:17:01.619

meetings went on and helped them out, figured out, you know, you need to go get a strikers committee and need to have elections. So we Manuel walked them through and then it happened and look at me peofoya Everisto. Everisto was the only guy who went inside

00:17:01.989 - 00:17:18.400

because he was a translator. Yeah, Everisto was the only one. No, yeah, no one liked him. Yeah, nobody from the outside in, only strikers, but he was the interpreter, so he went inside. All of us stayed outside, you know, it was just the strikers who elected

00:17:18.400 - 00:17:34.790

the striker. That's why I saw, you know, a movie that Silver did, which I haven't seen. Well, that's why it was, it's distorted because he makes the leaders them. See, but during the strike, the leaders with them, the strikers committee, they were the ones that they

00:17:34.790 - 00:17:51.020

were, they were the ones that were there every day and of course, you know, it dwindled down that at the end a lot of them dropped out but then Chabelo, they stayed together. Everybody else, you know, they start to flake out. In the movie they make

00:17:51.020 - 00:18:10.469

them look like, you know. Just, they just pass by and they go, and there was a strikers committee. That was a distortion because it was the it was them who took finally the leadership. I haven't seen the movie. I saw a review of it in some,

00:18:10.550 - 00:18:24.959

you know, film magazine. And he's summarizing the movie and he said that TDU was in leadership at the beginning, but they were pushed aside and moderates took over I guess you're moderate. They were the ones you see, and that was the anger of the TV I

00:18:24.959 - 00:18:36.890

don't know if that's the way the movie portrayed. Well, it portrays them as it portrays them, yeah, well it portrays the TDU and them as the leaders and you know if you look at a movie, it was white people who was leading it. And that's what

00:18:36.890 - 00:18:55.459

we thought distortion, and there's the one they're showing all over the place. I mean the good thing they show it the good thing is still is showing it, OK, so they're showing it on channel 7. Yeah, that's a good, that's good. Um, When you started the

00:18:55.459 - 00:19:19.930

strikers Committee. Neither of you had done anything like this before. What kind of tasks did you have to learn? What did you have to learn how to do? What kind of stuff had to be taken care of like like uh like you know it was hard.

00:19:19.939 - 00:19:42.900

It was really hard. You know, and And, uh, you know, stay, stay in a way that uh that we we have the confidence of the workers. And you know the the respect for the workers. Did um Was there, what, what happened about unemployment benefits people eventually

00:19:42.900 - 00:20:02.010

get that? Unemployment we were only getting $40.40 dollars a week. It was $50 but they deducting, um, in our union dues once a month and now we need to pay the taxes, so like a 45 40s. We're getting you never got unemployment strike, no, it's against

00:20:02.010 - 00:20:23.209

the the they deny us, uh, everything food stamps. They uh there were no food stamps at that time. It was, uh, it was, uh, what was it, uh, what do you call it welfare. Well, it is a welfare, but it was food stamps. The food stamps

00:20:23.209 - 00:20:43.319

they strikers, you know. Even though. Wasn't there an argument that because more council had pretty much told you guys this is it I'm, I'm cutting your pay and that's all there is to it, so he Forced you out. You didn't it's not like you decided to

00:20:43.319 - 00:20:58.520

go that the unemployment still wouldn't grant you. Oscar, do you remember any, any, was there any, uh, attempt to change that? Did people there were there were lawyers got involved, yeah, there were attempts to try to change that, you know, to try to see them get

00:20:58.520 - 00:21:19.040

unemployment, but it was hard because the city here was so, yeah, the city was so against them, yeah, yeah, so that was very hard. And then there was a police, there was a board injunction. Tell me about that. City Hall, you know, we had the people

00:21:19.040 - 00:21:40.119

against us and the, the people that were in the mayors and everything were people arrested. Did they actually bring charges against people? Oh yeah, like criminals. They're accusing the things that was, well, there have been a lot of violence, but all the time, uh, there all

00:21:40.119 - 00:21:54.069

the time they're accusing the strikers, you know, of course. Like our like Oscar says, well, we got no representation in the city hall during in that time, I think the only Hispanic guy, he was taking the power in the city hall was uh Tony Campos, but

00:21:54.069 - 00:22:13.819

he doesn't care. He doesn't care what's going on. So that's why nobody, uh, the city officials put interest on what happened. Also more councils, he's wasting money, his money um paid the police, sheriffs and And the thing is that they never wanted a strike to get

00:22:13.819 - 00:22:28.939

out of the town, you know what I mean, and, and thanks to that committee, Oscars committee. You know, was able we were able to take it to all over and they didn't like that at all, you know, of course. Did you have any dealings with the

00:22:28.939 - 00:22:45.250

scabs? I mean you couldn't stop them? Well, we were in so many places that to try to talk at this, I mean, like, for example, Salinas, so we were every day. And try to explain what happened, you know, try to stop and don't come back to

00:22:45.250 - 00:22:58.689

work, but most of the people was Vietnamese and Hispanics and all kinds of people came broken the line. They don't care that people don't care because they are here for money. It was so, I mean, depressed when we were there and talking. We went to the

00:22:58.689 - 00:23:17.339

different camps that people was living in horrible conditions on the ground, you know, all kinds of necessity was going on, so I was interviewing Sergio. Uh, and he said that actually at the beginning, Mort had a fleet of Cadillacs, you know, with leather seats, and he

00:23:17.339 - 00:23:35.739

was sitting out there to pick up the scabs. I, you know, I had never heard that. Did you know about that at the time? Oh yeah, yeah. I used to take bus. Well, they, yeah, but first, I mean people I mean the, well, you know, all

00:23:35.739 - 00:24:03.540

kinds of people was get inside. You never know what's going on in there. with activity just happened to jail. When did you talk to Sergio? You you you were arrested. How long were you in jail? Did they bring any charges against you? You know what I

00:24:03.540 - 00:24:21.229

don't know. You just dropped the charges. I don't think I don't know. You never had to go to court. You never had that. And then uh after that I had to put my house as collateral for another lady that they took from the from the strike

00:24:21.229 - 00:24:45.300

because they didn't want to let it out. And my husband stay one at a time he would stay one year in jail. Yeah. Um, so he actually was tried and convicted. Um, Did you What were the biggest problems you had in the first? The first few

00:24:45.300 - 00:25:08.060

months of the strike, everybody was together with the shock people strong the way watching was to. Um What happened there? I mean, they, they, they wound up going back to work. I know you think they did, they did, but we still, you know, didn't hold that,

00:25:08.319 - 00:25:26.939

but they went back 4 or 6 months, yeah, it was February, yeah. Why? I mean, what's the difference? Why do you think they went back and watch Billanic stayed out? Do you have any ideas about that? I think they negotiated a deal while more council did

00:25:26.939 - 00:25:41.989

not want any more. No, they, they, they were being willing to go back, but more council, you know, he didn't want him back. He gave you. Yeah, Shaw decided, yeah, OK. And shows gave them a contract that they accepted so so they had no choice but

00:25:41.989 - 00:26:06.030

to go back, you know. Um, the first person I talked to when I started doing this was, uh, Alex, you got yeah and he he. It was interesting. He, he, he told me a lot of stuff I didn't know, uh, mainly about how the, the, the

00:26:06.030 - 00:26:27.099

boycott, you know, the Wells Fargo started all the kind of things he had to do inside the Teamsters hierarchy and make it happen. But he also said that. He got called in because. You know, it can. Couldn't handle the situation. He was in over his head.

00:26:27.109 - 00:26:42.839

He didn't know what to do and he was, you know. Well, the thing, that thing they did, uh, did, uh, you know, that, uh, when we first went out on strike, it was king, the one that was on the green and the power we need to,

00:26:42.880 - 00:26:56.829

I mean, a king, we beat him out of there. Laurie she's gonna, she's gonna tell you, I mean, part of the story which is clean. I mean the corruption was a one of us coming. Corruption they broke our local too. They spend the money. They waste

00:26:56.829 - 00:27:14.589

the money and also they negotiate the contract and, I mean, the, the, the workers, they don't know they have they give it all the power that people. So when I went on strike next year, following year, it's elections time, OK, elections time for running, I mean

00:27:14.589 - 00:27:35.420

against, uh, union officials, right? So that's what, that's when when when Gloria and Chavelo. Came in running against, I mean, the union officials, so it's part of about a door open for, I mean the workers combined with the strike, so they made the changes and this

00:27:35.420 - 00:27:56.000

was in November, so this is about two months after the strike 18. When did you first start talking about running somebody, you know, challenging. Well, first of all, were you surprised when Dick King resigned? Well, they're forcing him to resign, he resigned by himself because there

00:27:56.000 - 00:28:10.270

were so many things that just going on, and we don't like him. The strike that, that the worker says, you know what he was gonna be better than him going for him, yeah, and so one of them that only speaks Spanish and that, I mean. And

00:28:10.280 - 00:28:27.349

that I mean uh during that in that time and the teams just local, you know, 912, so nobody else can speak Spanish only him that's why he take all kinds of pressure and we're we're cleaning, I mean we clean the locals so we put Sergio Leoneliss

00:28:27.349 - 00:28:53.170

was there with Sergio and then the all all Hispanic people start to. Into the local. Did more people start coming to the meeting, union meetings strike the strike after that was there, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, there was no room in the And we make the

00:28:53.170 - 00:29:09.329

union our, our home, you know what I mean? They like it or not, they were so mad because we took over their whole 24 hours it was our headquarters, you know, we get our coffee uh coffee pots and everything in there for the stripers and you

00:29:09.329 - 00:29:27.819

know, everything, everybody used to hang in there every single day. Did you, um, I remember, I guess one of the first people from the International Union to come to town was Bill Walsh because he was, he was doing the helping out with the fundraisers for drive.

00:29:28.069 - 00:29:43.750

It's one of them that he was in charge for running the food bank combined with Lydia, one of all other, I mean, uh, for the committee, you know, Lydia, he's, she's working with him very close one of them, they just uh organized on the food. How

00:29:43.750 - 00:30:02.079

did you feel about the international union getting involved? Did, did you feel comfortable with it after that? Well, everybody just get all mad, but before, don't know, everybody else don't know, not even get part of education of the international union, not even, I don't know who's

00:30:02.079 - 00:30:18.469

in charge for the union officials, local union officials. I don't know that was joint council 7. up there. I don't know anything about it. So after that, during the strike, people from San Francisco, like on our committee and people like Oscar telling us what's going on.

00:30:18.560 - 00:30:36.959

Joe, he, he knows very well, but Joefe people and TDU people wanna use our people still using us. They went out there and use the strikers like. It's so many groups they just all wrote the letters and newspapers and taking us the pictures and collect money

00:30:36.959 - 00:30:55.099

under us. They all kinds of abuses you just what's going on and one they collected a lot of money was uh Cruz Cruz Gomes and the. They wanted out of town, right at the time he was pocketing the money for the, the strikers, the striker's money.

00:30:56.060 - 00:31:17.859

Who was doing this Joe for his people. Joe his people so but like I said, the international thing, I mean, uh, actions and that, but they're forcing that because people educating us telling us, wait, look at this what happened, not even in Watsonville or Santa Cruz

00:31:17.859 - 00:31:36.469

County we never received like magazine Teamsters never and they put it for. Forcing us, forcing them to put us on a magazine. That's why when they're forcing people from International Union come by here, can Alessi Barrabosa, he was one of them. JC, John Blake, Eddie Rodriguez.

00:31:37.160 - 00:31:54.680

I mean some people from other just uh just live with us during the 18 months of the strike, so they're watching us, they're spying us, they're watching all those people for the committee that they don't say anything. About people Oscar Oscar people that only they hate,

00:31:54.760 - 00:32:18.229

I mean people for senators, which is a Joefay people at TDU. We never matched TDU people when uh. OK When the Richard Shaw people you said you felt they went back too soon, but then I felt that we couldn't afford them, you know, stay with us.

00:32:19.439 - 00:32:35.300

Were there people who resented the fact that they had gone back to work people angry at them? No, because they were still helping us in the, in the strike when they could and, you know, and they were still people were still on the in the strikers,

00:32:38.650 - 00:32:59.930

so they still treated it even after they went back to work. It was still like a struggle. Um, I had a couple of people tell me about that meeting where they settled the Shaw strike. It was very stormy, angry and people were pushing and shoving, you

00:32:59.930 - 00:33:26.380

know. Were you there? Were you there? Um, I remember but not inside. I mean, anybody in the locals to go to that meeting just to talk. You just didn't, you didn't go in. Nobody kept you out. Um Do you recall how Uh, how the ball went

00:33:26.380 - 00:33:45.040

down, it was, uh, what about, uh. They voted by about 2 to 1 margin to go back to work, is that what it was. You don't do that? Why? How, how close was the vote to settle? I'm not sure. I'm not really, I mean, I'm not

00:33:45.040 - 00:34:03.560

really paying attention to what happened. The only thing I get a frustration why these people decide to back in and why not us. So that's why some people blame. They just people because it's all you guys killing us because you guys need to wait like 2

00:34:03.560 - 00:34:17.199

or 3 weeks maybe everybody else came back to work like with decent contract better benefits and blah blah blah, but uh I'm not remember for how many votes they rejected them. I never ask them, so I'm not sure they could stay a little longer, you know,

00:34:17.239 - 00:34:36.719

they could help us. You think it would have one of the things that Alex told me when I interviewed him, he says, he says. Richard Shaw probably should not have been struck. And that if Dick King had handled things better, it would not have been necessary

00:34:36.719 - 00:34:53.149

to strike Shaw, and all of the union's energies could have been focused on more coil. So he saw his job is to try to Settle the Shaw strike and then concentrate on getting more counsel because he was the real bad guy. That was the way he,

00:34:53.320 - 00:35:07.229

he put it to me. He was a bad guy and economical is the only, the only one, I mean compared with the shows. I mean he has more money than them, so that's why he's waste of money and he's lost his everything, his properties and more

00:35:07.229 - 00:35:26.379

and more part of the money because he's dedicated too much time on the strike. It was more personally it's not involved like I mean work related, you know, it was more personally. Were people demoralized after Shaw that settled? People felt that Was it hard? How did

00:35:26.379 - 00:35:40.300

you maintain morale? Well, of course, um, um, our people feel bad because it's not fair what you saw people back to work and you, I mean, so for my work, we are, we are barking like a dogs outside of the fence and say, hey, what was

00:35:40.300 - 00:35:54.209

our tour to back at work. So the people lost their homes, their families, I mean their values. I mean, but the morale was in a while, but I mean they uh dignity and I mean justice well to the end, but it was so hard, very long

00:35:54.209 - 00:36:08.389

way. Very long way, but no words. um, by the time the people suffering those 18 months in the strike, not often, but I don't have children, but the other people with the children, like I said, they lose their homes. They're forcing moving out, I mean out

00:36:08.389 - 00:36:26.030

of the. Santa Cruz area to work because it's like it was like jobs in here. Everything was so temporary. How many people did lose their homes, you know, a lot of people who actually own couldn't make the mortgage or people who couldn't pay their rent, yeah,

00:36:26.040 - 00:36:51.669

yeah, and where did they go? But to live with relatives. You know, rub over here, right over there. I want to come back to this because One thing I'm curious about is how you were able to when the certification vote happened in July. The last time

00:36:51.669 - 00:37:09.340

when they offered we know that the vote to recertify the union certify the union. I'm not remembering 11 after 11 months. I'm not remembering when I cross the picket line and we're recruiting the people to vote for, I mean, uh, recognize the union. I know that,

00:37:09.419 - 00:37:23.784

but I'm not. what month was it was a year after the strike, because remember we were like in October probably we were able to find out that there was there was never a vote to bring the union and this what opened the door for you for

00:37:23.784 - 00:37:40.949

to have a boat and this what really defeated more constantly because he was hoping that I was impressed. That you all were able to, I, I, I understand a lot of people have left town by that point. Oh yeah. How did you find? How did you

00:37:40.949 - 00:38:01.350

bring everybody back? It seems like it was a must have been a terribly difficult thing to know where everybody was where people had moved to the union and sit down. At night time and call everybody, everybody, get people to call making a phone call, send the

00:38:01.350 - 00:38:16.969

letters. How long are you working on that? How long did it? Like a, like a month, a month and a half or did you have a hard time explaining to people like why they need to come back? No, the people, they know what's going on, really

00:38:16.969 - 00:38:32.850

angry. No one's really angry, so they want to do something. They were waiting just to to know. So they came and they cast their ballots, and they went back to wherever they were. Were there really people who came back from Mexico to vote and people from

00:38:32.850 - 00:38:48.129

Portugal too was a Portuguese people were voting. Yeah, this already was retired? Well we just, I mean, their relatives tell them what's going on in here, and they said, you know what? What happened? This is gonna happen. So they said, Well, go vote it. 3 people

00:38:48.129 - 00:39:05.100

already went to Portugal, but they come back to vote. Uh-huh. How did they manage? I mean, how, how many people came from such a great distance? I mean, like 4 persons. They're all, I mean like in the middle of the 60, 65 years many people came

00:39:05.100 - 00:39:24.159

from, say, from Texas or Mexico? I'm not remember, but several people just came from around in the country, even outside the country, but just they come. How many people were working on that to try to find everybody? How many people you have people, you know, turns,

00:39:24.310 - 00:39:43.000

turning, you know, you're gonna go 3 hours, you're gonna go, you know, around the clock to call. Is to think about. It's curious, you know how the group, the people wait 18 months stayed together. It was like around the 20 people, 20 persons with the same

00:39:43.479 - 00:40:02.479

people every day, plus uh the other ones in the in the picket line. I said, how many people, Gloria, we stay together until the end of the strike. How many people? Like 200, like 200, 150 very active, you know, just keep buying us each other, watching

00:40:02.479 - 00:40:35.590

the picket lines and things like that, you know, and. Were there people that. Per Here we go. Jackson. You should have told me about this. Reverend Jesse Jackson. I remember that. I remember when he came to town. I remember his speech, um. Did that Help people's

00:40:35.590 - 00:41:04.469

morale when he yeah anything anything anything they would plan or do. The people were ready, ready for it. Do you remember And the the that was the day before, I mean 2 days before the strike was was over. I think we did uh the hunger strike.

00:41:05.129 - 00:41:20.830

Well, that I remember and I wanna ask you about that. I know you participated in that. Did you? yeah we do the same. I mean, that, that strikers. I was curious. Gloria and I went to work for like a week. And everybody says, what are you

00:41:20.830 - 00:41:33.830

guys doing? Why are you guys disappear? I said, everybody else work except to her and I never worked during the 18 months. I don't know how she's, I don't, I don't know how she's gonna make with, I mean, kinda miserable money, $50. She needs to, I

00:41:33.830 - 00:41:46.375

mean, pay their house bills and their children. Was too hard and everybody's demanding that where are you guys? I said, Well, I've been working like everybody else has rights. No, you guys are not gonna go to work, so you guys they didn't, you know, work in

00:41:46.375 - 00:42:08.360

a tomato plant in in Gilroy so there, there were other jobs well, you know, people look for jobs in the fields and stuff like that. And one thing that, uh, they couldn't help us in the stri was if uh. That the child that Chavez are people

00:42:08.879 - 00:42:22.689

who leave the fields, you know, at least 1 or 2 days, you know, put out. Not a, not a strike, you know, but it stopped the work for 1 or 2 days, but they never wanted to do it. So there was some talk didn't ask him.

00:42:24.320 - 00:42:41.149

Oh yeah, Cesar Chavez was, I don't, are you local? and he says, Well, I helping you one way and a boy God and blah blah blah. But you always politicians involved in that, but it can never happen because we can't stop the, the skips. So if

00:42:41.149 - 00:42:58.820

we stop the field, you know, they, they won't have anything to work on, but they didn't want to help us. Did they tell you why? Did they tell us why Oscar remember we that we went to ask for the, the farmers to, to, to strive with

00:42:58.820 - 00:43:16.550

us, you know, at least for a couple of days in the fields, yeah, we went and asked the Chavista. Where to wake up? He says he's not gonna stop the people because our people need, I mean work. He's gonna helping us in the part we call

00:43:16.550 - 00:43:37.370

but not stop the people work. That's why he says inspire them. He says straight to plan a boy that, you know, to boycott their products. Well, no. The farmers weren't getting paid for the the crops they were given. So I mean, yeah, they weren't getting paid.

00:43:37.449 - 00:43:58.419

That's why, that's why they took over the canary, remember? Yeah, Mr. Gill took over the plan because they, they owe him a lot of money. Do you know anything about him before he took over the the one about his. Calling probably the bank because the money

00:43:58.419 - 00:44:15.179

of the company was a bank is the one I think Wells Fargo. They called the bank because he wants to be responsible to take over and the boys got the bank we did so many things. When did you first start going to the bank? Yeah, I've

00:44:15.179 - 00:44:28.379

got a picture of you actually, you know, in front of a crowd of people. I think you were in it too standing in the lobby and shaking your fist or something like that. And then we went to work at the police and we went all over

00:44:28.379 - 00:44:43.290

the place there with all the strikers and then well, we gave them so such a hard time that you know what they said that they did a strike continue had continue one more day they were gonna leave the doors alone because they were tired of the

00:44:43.290 - 00:45:04.229

strike. That could have been fun, huh. Did you get help? From people in Watsonville who were who didn't work for. They were not sympathetic at all. The people in Watson, they were not sympathetic at all. We used to get, you're talking about the city government just

00:45:04.229 - 00:45:25.689

ordinary people, people like individuals, not really, no, no, they were like thinking they were a bunch of crazy yeah Lydia was working on a drug with uh uh. We got a lot of donations. Oh, we make a roll it like we're walking 60 miles through San

00:45:25.689 - 00:45:48.110

Jose to Santa Cruz and Watsonville and uh um North committee, um. People just uh brought up for us and now UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley UC Stanford students, they're helping us for like fundraisers and they went out there with the China Chinatown people. It's different organizations

00:45:48.110 - 00:46:03.129

for us to see from San Jose, but not so much local. No, no, not so much local. We buy food for the Boston. We went to different cities around the country. So we went to so many places to ask for help, you know, this way all

00:46:03.129 - 00:46:28.870

the, all the help came by from the Bay Area, the International Union, I mean, sending, I mean, uh, like every, I mean, and Teamsters. Organization they send flyers out there all the locals to ask for donations and things like that, you know, they always work together

00:46:28.870 - 00:46:50.760

and they always have difference with them but just finally work together but you know what we're fighting with the international union because. That was a horrible mistake. what's happening between the international union and locally what's going on here. Um, After, first of all, How did you

00:46:50.760 - 00:47:08.229

find out about this? Certification vote, uh, I mean, this was something nobody had done before. This whole idea that since you had never had an election, now you can have one if you did it at a certain time could vote. The lawyers because in legal terms,

00:47:08.979 - 00:47:21.695

well everything was going to court and then the the the the judge announced the union sent a letter to the union said you guys not legal to be recommended. Is a union and blah blah blah but the papers talk because they have the company have an

00:47:21.695 - 00:47:39.270

agreement with the union before. I was not nothing in the term, so we're just calling us or you're calling us in me and explaining that and then the judge ordered to have election. So there was no discussion in the union meeting beforehand. Some of the lawyers

00:47:39.270 - 00:47:54.020

worked out with the send the letter. The lawyer send the letter said order to you guys. I mean, but the judge decide. But then you had a month of work ahead of you getting people back to. Yeah, well, they send the letter right on time before

00:47:54.020 - 00:48:11.379

that things. I mean there was a they closed. I'm not remember what was the they closed, but. And this town, everybody on the phone, everybody knows everybody else's business. So the strikers committee always, I mean with the union officials like Sergio and the other ones, even

00:48:11.379 - 00:48:30.929

the international people met with us. After, I mean, Did, did, um. Was it a problem at times working with Sergio? Uh, not all the time. A lot of mistrust, not all the time. The Sergio problem and part of my side, well, I, I know, of course

00:48:30.929 - 00:48:49.600

there's all kinds of problems, but he was not believing the workers. So it's part of myself, I see he was not believing the workers after. The whole part of the gist, I mean, people, I mean, telling him and telling him and He was with us in

00:48:49.600 - 00:49:10.679

the street. We had too many fights with him. Oh yeah. What kind of things did you fight about? Well, you know, he always attack us, like, uh, you know, like because, uh, the campaign I ran, you know, to enter that, he said that I telling the

00:49:10.679 - 00:49:23.570

people if she wins we're gonna have to build their beauty shop in here that was him who said that uh-huh shame on him. He was the one that said that. And you know, I, I, till this day, I think that they they I did something with

00:49:23.570 - 00:49:43.840

my votes. To this day, cheer. Till this day, and then another thing when uh when Pamela that they put on on my place, you know, was gonna go out, they should get a second people from the votes, right, not, not just put anybody that they wanted

00:49:43.840 - 00:50:00.449

to, and they didn't do it, you know. After the election, did you find Sergio easier to deal with? It was the same. It was the same. It was the same. It never changed. I, I don't know what he tell you this morning. You talked to him

00:50:00.449 - 00:50:20.530

this morning. You talked to Sergio this morning. I talked to him about. Oh, miracle, miracle, because he, because he's never liked to talk about what happened with never likes him well. and opened his opened his heart. He was retired. He was retired in 2001. I never,

00:50:20.649 - 00:50:34.310

he never come by not even our union local says how are you doing and things like that. We're running another election and we beat Joe Faj out of there because he and Pamela, that one of his legacy been living there was broken our local. So that's

00:50:34.310 - 00:50:50.302

why we're right Joe, he's out of there. He's out of the party. Of International Union, like always, never liked him. Joe, he did they think that he was more smart than us because he was working part time for the International Union and part time here for

00:50:50.302 - 00:51:06.926

our local and he when he's retired, not retired when I, when I peed, I said I did because I told him my personal words when he wants to disqualify me to run. I mean in nice. That election against him, I say I hate you a million%

00:51:07.196 - 00:51:22.835

and you know what, maybe you hate me a billion%, but let me tell you, Joe, I put you out of this local and I put myself, I put him out of this local. No matter of fact, two weeks ago he backed to Delmar Foods working for

00:51:22.835 - 00:51:43.159

hours and complete his pension fun, huh. Yeah, I heard about that. Um. He's paid the price. You wanna killing us, but he's paid for his prize. He needs to work likedin for my work to complete to his pension. So what is he saying? He still till

00:51:43.159 - 00:52:10.060

this day he probably thinks that the strikers committee was nothing to him or no, he didn't say that um. You know, He talked a lot about the Solidarity Day rally. And that he was mainly concerned that There was going to be a big Mess with the

00:52:10.060 - 00:52:27.179

police, the police were going to attack. And he was afraid that if the rally lasted too long. People would get restless and somebody would do something and the police would come and start busting heads, and he was So he wanted to have a short rally and

00:52:27.179 - 00:52:39.550

then a march because he figured people wanted to march. And he said that if he had it to do over again, he would have a rally at the end of the march, you know, so people would get a chance to speak and it wouldn't look like

00:52:39.550 - 00:52:59.580

he was preventing people from speaking because he understood that that made people angry, you know, they wanted to speak and they didn't have a chance to do it. And he was mainly worried about the cops, you know, that was. What he told me, um. You know,

00:52:59.699 - 00:53:16.199

as, as far as what he said about the strikers committee, he said he's real life. Many people contributed. He always, you know, like in the meetings you know that I can, I will never forget that. That I was attacking him in a meeting and then he

00:53:16.199 - 00:53:30.590

goes, how do you know about the contract you were sleeping the whole time. He said that he said that to me. And then, you know what, I was working 8 hours at nighttime, so I will get out at 6 o'clock in the morning. The meetings were

00:53:30.590 - 00:53:44.899

always in the morning. So can you imagine how tired I was. So they talk, you know, when you talk, talk, talk, maybe I will toss up a little bit, you know, it was normal, you know, the other thing that he talked about which I want to

00:53:44.899 - 00:54:05.100

ask you about because you know you were both involved in the hunger strike and uh you're marching on your knees to the church. Uh, he talked about how The international and I guess Sergio. They were meeting at Chuck Mac's office up in San Francisco. They came

00:54:05.100 - 00:54:25.060

up with an agreement with David Gill. And he was Wondering why David Gill had settled so quickly. And he was thinking, well, And I guess the, the national media was all there and they were prepared to was not was not a who's told you that? Who's

00:54:25.060 - 00:54:40.620

told you that? she asked me what Joe. Joe says that he was a part of that circus because you want, you know what, it was not a throw, so we all want to participate in that. I mean, in, in during those meetings, that first meeting, wake

00:54:40.620 - 00:54:54.370

him like at 2 o'clock in the morning when the circus appeared, you know, the cameras and blah blah blah. I know I heard the comments, sorry to interrupt you, but. It was not a true. They come out. I mean, like right away, so they, they call

00:54:54.370 - 00:55:12.320

the the night before. They tell her you wanna meet with us and where? I said, we enjoy Castle 7 in San Francisco. So they take the ministror committee, go over there and And you can see when is the true one is fakeer things, the bank. I

00:55:12.320 - 00:55:28.750

was behind the, I mean, the more council who's gonna pay $40 million that more council need to pay the Wells Fargo, Joe Fahey International, not even David Gill, he take over, but I was not part of the and I was not true. It's not, yeah, I,

00:55:28.760 - 00:55:48.090

I think what he told me. he was concerned because he realized that when you went back to work, you'd be working for a different employer, so you would lose all the part-timers. would no longer have their health insurance until they worked for 2 more years under

00:55:48.090 - 00:56:06.649

the contract, and he realized that, you know, That was what was going to happen and people might not realize it, and so he said, He urged that they you postpone a vote on the contract. Until that had been dealt with. And he said he made a

00:56:06.649 - 00:56:20.070

speech at the union meeting saying don't vote on this yet. You need to get this straightened out. That was what he said, you know, that he was actually. And then you know you said you guys did the raft, you know. You know, you started the hunger

00:56:20.070 - 00:56:37.620

strike. You know what I told I mean Cruz Gomez and Joe Fay and everybody, I mean people from um his clown, you know, we told them we don't want you leaving us to here all of the strikers and want you all the supporters out of them,

00:56:37.699 - 00:56:51.810

I mean out of the union hall because all this, I mean, as one of them the other side we're just not gonna do it. So some people are not agree. I came here 2 o'clock in the morning. Cruz Bowman, she was there. All the people was

00:56:51.810 - 00:57:04.340

there Joffe he was with us and so one of them that his, he's communicate what happened and the meetings over there to, uh, other people are like, you know what I'm sick and tired and I told Cruz, get out of here. We don't want your support.

00:57:04.469 - 00:57:20.330

I only want the respect our word was Oscar, but Oscar leaving us alone when I say I don't want the supporters here in the meeting. Any supporters. This is gonna be just the strikers. Can you please, you know. Wait outside and they oh Sharif time just,

00:57:20.510 - 00:57:38.560

just stay to the end because everybody saying, oh, I want the Chinese people outside. All the supporters from Joefe here, all that, I mean the mulchers they call the mulchers wanna hate that, I mean Oscar's group from San San Francisco in our committee. They hate him

00:57:38.850 - 00:57:54.050

because they think there's one of them telling us like like what are you gonna do? I want do you do this. I want to do that that blah blah blah, you know what? And I said who's gonna translate? Who's gonna translate Chinese in English? What happened

00:57:54.050 - 00:58:10.639

to Chinese language? So the Chinese people have two rights to know what happened in the in the in the contract, you know, and that's why they they should change stay in the important meetings is why. Joe and his people get all mad. Oh, the, the, the,

00:58:10.659 - 00:58:28.060

the North committee infiltrate people to hear what is up. I mean, uh, secret part of the negotiations to hear her listen to report, I mean, to the North committee people. That's what happened during life. I, I want to get away from Joe for a minute because,

00:58:28.540 - 00:58:47.750

um, what actually was going on there was very important, you know, in terms of just the negotiations, um. Were there any strikers committee people at Chuck Mac's office when that negotiation took place? Were any of you asked to be there or, or, um, well, the negotiations

00:58:47.750 - 00:59:03.310

happen here. Wow, the only negotiations taking up of the Joint Council 7 is when the they did he appeared the first time. That said, we never take negotiations far away. I mean, did I remember no you was this was around here or Monterey. It was the

00:59:03.310 - 00:59:20.610

first and the last one. But um. during those negotiations where they came up with the agreement and Uh, I guess the international people said to you this is it, the strike is over. Uh, if you reject this agreement, we're going to have to withdraw sanctions. No,

00:59:20.860 - 00:59:38.870

that didn't happen. No, no, the people is the one of them, they say if you going back to work or not, not even the union, the International Union telling us, do you remember if the International Union telling us that I'm not remembering. Yeah, they did. Remember

00:59:38.870 - 00:59:56.469

we were kind of divided right there because uh Because they were trying to get us to convince the people, but the people decide to accept the contract and all that stuff. Well, so is that true? Everything is the truth. It's here in the table. You guys

00:59:56.469 - 01:00:18.530

want to take care of that it's gonna, you know. I mean, I, I actually talked to Sergio about this today also. It's very interesting that he said. He said that he was. Upset when the vote came to postpone the decision on the contract because David Gill

01:00:18.530 - 01:00:37.590

was very angry and the international was threatening to pull out and everybody was ticked off and he had to figure out a way. To Basically make sure that nobody lost their health coverage. In this thing, even temporarily, and it was difficult. But that it was good

01:00:37.590 - 01:00:56.370

that it happened because he figured out a way to do it and so forth, um. And I guess what he said was they moved from the pension fund right that was the main issue that that that he, you know, he said it was a big sticking

01:00:56.370 - 01:01:14.580

point and He said it made it very difficult for him when you all voted to postpone. That was for him, but I told him it's the people's choice, right? Well, that's that's what I told David Gill, you know, David Gill said you double crossing, he says,

01:01:14.659 - 01:01:31.459

no, it's a democratic union, you know, I can't force people to accept this. And then that's why we went, I mean, hunger strike. How did you come to that, how did you come up with that idea? We get together with Maria Correlejo's house. Did you, did

01:01:31.459 - 01:01:45.320

you, well, I did everything and then Cherie, Gloria, people of the North Bay Area Committee, we get together and said, Well, let's go watching a candy movie. I said, Do you think you go for that, for that, I mean for that, I mean, experience, and now

01:01:45.320 - 01:02:01.330

we'll go for hunger strike. We know nobody knows how about the hacking imagine how long it's gonna be the hunger strike, but we were trying to do it is focus the people's attention and their strike. Did did the media people come around to talk to? Yeah,

01:02:02.449 - 01:02:22.729

I mean national? They came expecting a settlement and this is where they got debt. Um, And uh Even the police were like, remember Coca? They were like, what are these people doing now, you know, because we were attacking them all the time and then they saw

01:02:22.729 - 01:02:40.139

us on our knees going to the church and everything, so they were like they're all confusing. They were like what is going on, you know, they were really really. How far did you go? Did you walk on your knees? 2 blocks 3 blocks. No, no, from,

01:02:40.250 - 01:03:00.659

uh, across to the company, Walker Street through 4 streets like 4 or 5 blocks 4 or 5 blocks. Well, you're tougher than I am. I was not easy. I, I, I, I won't even play a catcher in a you know what happened to us because we

01:03:00.659 - 01:03:18.350

were on the hunger strike. Cua and I were so weak. They watching us we couldn't even march and that was our, our, I mean we were so crushed because you know there was our victory we had to be in front and then we couldn't even do

01:03:18.350 - 01:03:42.959

it because we were so weak. She goes, I'm dying for how many people actually did the march? I don't know, more than 1000 people, but how many people did the march on on their knees to the church? like groups like 40 400, quite a few, more

01:03:42.959 - 01:03:56.020

than we're doing now. Did you, when you got to the church, the priest there to walk? Oh no, the priest, he was an evil guy. He wanted to close the door for us, but you know what, you know what they told. They forced him. The other

01:03:56.020 - 01:04:09.770

Spanish guy, Father Garcia, they told him in the Monsignor said, You know what? You want trouble. All the media is here. You better open the door to these people, and he's forcing him. I mean, the Spanish guy came and opened the door for us and we're

01:04:09.770 - 01:04:34.790

seeing and you got in the church because the publicity the media was giving us, it was a, you know, like all these people are, you know, good, good copy as they say. Um, Were you Um, These are the things I most want to know about like

01:04:34.790 - 01:04:51.530

how you got people back into town for the boat. And how you came inside the hunger strike and then how you got the strikers committee together, how, you know, how it came together. Those are the three things I had the most questions about, um, and I

01:04:51.530 - 01:05:06.070

wanted to. It it sounds like as far as the international people who were watching all concerned. You didn't pay a whole lot of attention to them or they didn't pay a whole lot of attention to you, just they did their thing and am I right about

01:05:06.070 - 01:05:29.949

that. You're shaking. What do you think? About the, the, the, it was something big for the people, you know, the people, the people were really like, you know. They were, they were happy because, you know, they were getting uh more attention from the higher people and

01:05:29.949 - 01:05:47.330

then, and then, you know. You didn't know we were tired of, you know, fighting with the same people from the union. Did it, was it your idea to go pick up the bank, or was that something that was suggested by the international people once they started

01:05:47.760 - 01:06:05.084

their boycott? Well, international people send Ilos and another group from Washington DC to helping us with the supporters like for, I mean, Oscar people. I always say Oscar people because it's a whole big group, uh, San Jose and San Francisco where. Together, I mean, the students

01:06:05.084 - 01:06:20.564

get out. I mean uh subway stores. I mean, the stores were selling a product, I mean banks or whoever doing the strike. That's why Gloria went out there. I mean she's doing at New York. I don't know how many, uh, cities for that side of the

01:06:20.564 - 01:06:40.439

coast. To helping us for calling. It was a combined, the boycott of international working with us, with everybody who support us to direct the boycott. Did you ever we couldn't survive that long without the help from the people from the Bay Area. That's why Jesse Jackson

01:06:40.439 - 01:06:58.790

was here and he's the organization helping us doing boycott, you know, you and I, you had two boys. Your husband was they threw him in jail. I have 4 kids. The husband wasn't in jail for a long time. I was scared when they shut my house,

01:06:58.969 - 01:07:22.330

remember. They went and shut my house and broke the window and it was the kid's dead right there your house, the police scam we believe it was the scabs, yeah, the cas. So one of, one of them. One of our my neighbors was a scared. Really?

01:07:25.590 - 01:07:49.340

This is not worked before. Some of them are strikers, not very many, stay inside. And then we were, you know. Giving them. One thing that I remember was in that film that you didn't like Oscar was that uh. Somebody who worked at Washingtonvillan was saying, um.

01:07:52.070 - 01:08:09.750

Why don't I scab because I couldn't show my face around town again. Everybody in town would know it. I wouldn't be able to live here. So were there any scabs from Watsonville? Yeah, I feel, yeah, yeah. And they stayed there because they uh they didn't lose

01:08:09.750 - 01:08:29.959

their job after we went inside. Even, even one of the kids stayed as a manager there and we couldn't stand them for the longest time. We call them squiro all the time. Maybe I should ask you something about The kind of work that the scams did,

01:08:30.810 - 01:08:48.750

um. Did you do things when you were working in the plant? That would be hard for somebody to learn if they had never done it before. I mean, you've been there about 20 years, right before the strike. Long time. Yeah. How, how old were you when

01:08:48.750 - 01:09:05.020

you first not working there 15 years. You were 15. How old were you when you started working at? Oh, the same 1514 15, yeah teenager. I complete my 15 years working in there, so I quit the school, so I decided when I started the owners were

01:09:05.020 - 01:09:23.958

the more cos mother and father, right? So he were any better than the kids? Well, yes, they were very mellow people were really nice people, Italian, really nice, but we used to hide from, from. From her, I used to work nights and, and when I used

01:09:23.958 - 01:09:37.979

to go get my check, I used to hide from her because I was young, you know, you have to be 18 to work there she knew who you were. But yeah, it is, it is hard to work in those plans, you know, because, because, uh, they

01:09:38.159 - 01:09:53.539

in the end they were making it so hard they used to time us, you know, so you had to cut 30 broccolis a minute. Did the work change as you had different crops come in? How, how, how many weeks would you be cutting broccoli? How many

01:09:53.539 - 01:10:17.299

weeks would be cutting Brussels sprouts? Broccoli was like 3 months. Broccoli was like all year round, no food all year round, and then we had seasonal, we had spinach, we had, uh, lima beans, asparagus, asparagus, cauliflower, peas, beans. And everything needed a different skill, you know.

01:10:18.129 - 01:10:37.490

How, how long did it take you to learn the skills you needed? I don't know yeah, but it's not easy, you know, because it's, it's something that like Brussels sprouts, you know, to be like a little, a little hole like this with a water pressure, and

01:10:37.490 - 01:10:56.069

it was a 11 single blade, one side blade. So a lot of fingers when went inside there, you know, because you, you're, they make you go so hard, so fast, you know, they want to keep up with um. Did either of you ever think about, was

01:10:56.069 - 01:11:12.009

it possible to get promoted off the belt and onto the, into the dock or anything like that, or that sort of thing does not happen? We work our way up, you know, like those posting jobs if the people wants to apply and taking over, I mean

01:11:12.009 - 01:11:28.470

those jobs, so you just apply for that neither one of you was part-time on the strike, right? You were there all year round. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, 24 hours a day 24 hours a day. Yeah, but how many, but how many people were part-time workers when

01:11:28.470 - 01:11:46.189

the strike happened out of what, about 1000? Well, you know, before, in, in, uh, in those days it was not no part time. Everybody that was hired was, you know, work, work all the time, but seasonal, seasonal, I don't mean part time. I mean the seasonal

01:11:46.189 - 01:12:04.100

can is is like the it's seasonal, but our plan run all year, all year round. Then why was it such a big issue about whether seasonal workers could get their health benefits when the strike? Well, because our temporary work is only one part time and consider

01:12:04.100 - 01:12:20.229

one is a full home, full house. They worked several, I mean, months and a year, but actually they're working with us when pollution was there, the, I mean the new workers was working with us, so they're fighting for the insurance qualify because. During that time they

01:12:20.229 - 01:12:35.520

need to work 90 days like which is time the same happen now on the contract 90 days, 30 days prior to be a union member, get a permanent hiring for work. It was the same. So you would have had to go through probation. You would have

01:12:35.520 - 01:12:51.399

to get everybody, yeah everybody have to pass for that period, you know, but as far as the health benefits were concerned. Maybe I misunderstood. I thought that the. The reason you didn't want to accept the settlement at first, but the reason at least you wanted more

01:12:51.399 - 01:13:10.839

time. was because you were afraid that that seasonal workers, people who did not work all year round. would not qualify for health benefits until they'd worked for 2 or 3 years. Under the contract, even if they've been employees of more counsel for 20 years or whatever

01:13:10.839 - 01:13:29.350

before, that didn't affect you too directly though because you were not seasonal workers they're all around, but how many people did it affect? How many of the strikers would have been affected by that? Nobody, all the, all the, all the strikers was full-time and the strikers,

01:13:30.120 - 01:13:44.100

I mean, were there people were there seasonal workers who were part of the strike, and out of those 900 people or 1000 people, there were so there were people who were going to be hurt if that didn't get fixed. Did they understand what was at stake

01:13:44.100 - 01:14:02.350

at the time? Yes, they did. They did did they, and they spoke up. We can't accept this. I don't want to discourage you from doing this, Oscar, but this is all gonna turn up on the tape recorder. I'm happy. You're drowning out the voices. It's gonna

01:14:02.350 - 01:14:17.810

cause me into trouble when I sit down at the computer, you know, try to make some sense out of what folks are saying here. Yeah, this man belongs in the library, you know. Once you start doing this, it's hard to stop because I haven't done it

01:14:17.810 - 01:14:34.339

in a long time. Yeah, don't do it when the tape recorder, OK, do me a favor. Um, you haven't said much since you started going through the files. I mean, are there things that you wanna And well, some of the stuff that I brought over here,

01:14:34.350 - 01:14:48.459

these flyers, because see, after the strike after they went back, it was a battle man inside going back and there was a committee, you know, to defend their rights. It wasn't just like, OK, now we'll go back and lali lali. It was a fight, man, and

01:14:48.459 - 01:15:08.020

these flyers showed that people had to be organized, that there was a fight with the company, with the fight with the bosses. There was, you know, when, when a Crossetti. Uh, when, uh, Crocetti took over North Cal, you know, and, uh, so they went back, but

01:15:08.020 - 01:15:26.490

they, they, they had to fight and, and we worked together as a committee to try to keep, you know, themselves together. Because that tax kept coming, kept coming on them, and part of that was also, you know, having the union represent them, having the workers organized

01:15:26.490 - 01:15:39.109

inside, you know, it was a, you know, it was a big fight after they went back trying to maintain their, their dignity, their wages, you know, trying to get this some of these caps out of there. And that went on for a while, you know, we,

01:15:39.200 - 01:15:52.680

you know, we build a, a network of different, uh, canneries throughout this why we had a, a canary workers conference because we, we were trying to build, you know, we have, we have learned from the strike. So the conference did, yeah, so we wanted to prepare,

01:15:52.759 - 01:16:08.555

you know, we wanted to prepare ourselves for. Future things we work together, you know, so we brought, we brought Salinas, we brought, you know, um, Lori, Woodland, uh, all those places where they were workers, county workers together to say, you know, we must learn from the

01:16:08.555 - 01:16:22.274

strike. We have to be prepared, you know, and they were leading all those things, you know. So after the strike, I mean it was, uh, it was a, a big thing to go back and fight and protect, you know, their dignity. This, that's what it was

01:16:22.274 - 01:16:36.919

here and it was, it was in that process to that. You know, 85 86 87 8889, then is when we have the, the earthquake and that's what really changed a lot. And then the frozen food already was already moving one of the crochetti was the one

01:16:36.919 - 01:16:54.979

that moved after after the qua Crocetti and then Green Giant moves in the 90s, um, then we start seeing the depletion of the companies going down, um Shawsta, I mean. They, they also were, uh, sold to Bean Foods, you know, Ali. There's there's a lot of

01:16:54.979 - 01:17:10.649

changes going on at that time. This happened very fast, very fast, you know, after they went back. So even though they were back in Norcoro City. But that plan also was going downhill, you know, and they were all like, what's going on? Were they losing business

01:17:10.649 - 01:17:25.890

or were they just anxious to get their plants over to Mexico or the way Mexico is already happening free trade and, and then, and not only that, but, but, uh, I think Watson, yeah, but, but Watson, but what happened was that they were not visionary like

01:17:25.890 - 01:17:41.629

Salinas instead of turning it instead of the frozen food, you know, they should have done the fresh packing. Because that's what Salinas did. They went to fresh packing lettuce and vegetables. The frozen food stays, they stay frozen in the market. You know, wasn't really there and

01:17:41.629 - 01:17:55.910

then Mexico was coming out very cheap. So a lot of economically and this where Bill Siegel did his study, he showed it, you know, that this was going downhill, um, so there was less of a market for frozen and then in, in the 90s when, when

01:17:55.910 - 01:18:10.169

I come into council, we take a trip to Mexico, you know, to see what was going on over there, what was happening, and we showed that in Mexico already the frozen food was there for years already and there was no way that. That uh the workers

01:18:10.169 - 01:18:24.270

here could compete with Mexico because they were paying them $6 a day. You know, and, and so we came back and show, hey, you know, green giant is it was already, already in, in a puato, you know, so we were trying to figure out what was

01:18:24.270 - 01:18:40.959

going on here, but it was happening so fast and then, and then the earthquake didn't help. All those things, but, but one of, one big part was that is the kind of workers organizing project Alianza we were trying to do something about their rights inside the

01:18:40.959 - 01:18:58.970

plan so we would have barbecues, we will have dinners, you know, whatever we have conferences, we will do flyers, all these little things that were there. You know, and then we started doing the Cinco de Mayo. You know, fiesta pas to bring people together. So, A

01:18:58.970 - 01:19:20.020

lot of stuff. Well, I should talk I guess about um. I know after the Shawh settlement, you had a Women's Day event. Right. They're about a month and a half later. Can you tell me something about that? Yeah, how, how it happened, what, what, what you

01:19:20.020 - 01:19:34.089

were trying to do with it, what, what it was involved in organizing and I was up in Oakland a lot of the time. I didn't know everything that was going on. Well, we were mad because, uh, you know, the, the plan shut down and then They

01:19:34.089 - 01:19:49.359

bought a plan just to shut it down, right? kick us out of there, kick the competition out, right? Oh, you're talking about after the strike. I mean during the strike the strike, what is it? Uh, I guess it would have been March of '86. You had

01:19:49.359 - 01:20:05.279

a Women's Day event, and you had Jesse Jackson come in June, and then in August you had, in July, you had to mobilize people for that vote. Had to go you you said you just spent a month apparently. What I'm trying to do is get um

01:20:05.649 - 01:20:23.040

day by day how how things happened and make sure I haven't left anything out. Were there other things that happened that I needed to know about if I'm going to tell the story accurately? We even uh made a a video remember uh we were doing teeter

01:20:23.040 - 01:20:46.029

oh about the stray strike play it was between later down what is the life of. Things that just may happen between the strikers and the scaff and things like that. So, you know, we did a lot of things like we're walking 60 miles, you know, we

01:20:46.029 - 01:21:04.359

did so many things. I mean, now, uh, you asked me, so for so many things I do not remember. I'm sorry I have to do this. Yeah, I have a lot of things that you know. Well. I mean, one thing I guess I could do, I

01:21:04.359 - 01:21:20.600

mean, I can go see what the news, the local newspaper was saying about you and all this was happening, but I, I'm assuming their coverage wasn't all that good. Well, they're always attacking us. The Paranian is always attacking us. They're calling us a terrorist. Well, terrorize

01:21:20.600 - 01:21:41.799

is the town and blah blah blah. They're always not supporting us, but sentinel was very open, their defense than Paharonian. They don't like him as they hate him. And they hit us on the newspaper every single day, every single day. Did you put out a bulletin?

01:21:42.450 - 01:21:58.129

Did the strikers put out a bulletin, you know, telling people what was going on? Well, we have our meetings and we talk what's going on, what's gonna happen, where our plans where our goals going up, but specifically no. You would just send people out to say,

01:21:58.149 - 01:22:14.290

oh they're recruiting cons and Salinas we need people to go there or well it was the different committees, you know, in the morning time it's uh several group of people. We went out there to Selinna's to talk to the scabs even in the evening too it

01:22:14.290 - 01:22:32.399

was. You said there were different committees. Can you tell me what they were? Well, you know what people, groups of people, groups of people, like we were gather in the union whole Saturday morning and plan you and you and you, you know, this group is going

01:22:32.399 - 01:22:51.290

to Salinas. This group is gonna go to the doors this, you know, we were playing our, our mornings every morning. But you would do it the same day. Every day, every day for 18 months. What would happen when you went to, first of all, how did

01:22:51.290 - 01:23:05.479

you find out where the gaps were being recruited? How did you find out? Well, the people, well, I mean, the strikers went out there and looking, follow, I mean the bosses, or it's contact out there. People working with us, you know, nice people. I mean, part

01:23:05.479 - 01:23:22.759

of the strikers working in different places and they saw what places picking up the people. So we information out there. And they're coming this way, the way some supporters it's hard to say the names, but some supporters out there, you know, people just, you didn't have

01:23:22.759 - 01:23:37.189

any trouble finding this stuff out though. Oh no, no, you always knew when the sc where they they picking in the same place at the market store in Salinas, but they move it through, I mean, other shopping centers, but we'll follow them, you know, we'll follow

01:23:37.189 - 01:23:53.509

them after. I mean, the police here in Santa Cruz County was, I mean, terrible with that, but after, I mean, Monterey County, when you cross the Pajaro River on a bridge, I mean, it's another story because um The highway patrol, the sheriffs is one of what

01:23:53.509 - 01:24:16.370

they get, I mean, uh, patrolling that area, so our chance to The things, you know. Well, Were you ever able to persuade anybody not to scab? Yeah, that's what we were trying to do, you know, but those will be very. Uh-huh. What would you tell them?

01:24:16.490 - 01:24:32.089

How would you persuade them? Well, telling them, you know, look, you're we're on a strike, you know, you could help us by like not going in there and you know, some of them will turn back and leave. And what kind of people were they recruiting to

01:24:32.089 - 01:24:55.149

scab. Uh Anybody, like Vietnamese groups, I mean they were so strict with us and you will see people working in there with sandals and shorts and you know, all kinds of they were, they were probably just picking them up from every corner and, and, you know,

01:24:55.520 - 01:25:15.120

and um they probably didn't know what they were doing, yeah, they probably know, you know, you see money, you know, um, you know. Um, Right before the certification vote. More console hired a bunch of part-time people to sort of, so there would be more scabs. Oh

01:25:15.120 - 01:25:29.950

yeah yeah they did feeding us for a couple of boats. I don't know how many boats, but that day they're planning to do barbecue for them. And to get more new people and it was, I mean the one crew, I mean divide for 2 or 3

01:25:29.950 - 01:25:50.220

crews, they're calling a lot of people beating us. One thing that Alex told me was that Shavelo knew what was going on inside the plant partly because the job he had a mechanic and he actually was able to make contact with some of the scs who

01:25:50.220 - 01:26:02.379

were inside the plant and get them to come out and vote for the union. I haven't been able to reach him. I left a message on his answering machine. Either of you know where he is, you know, he's home. He's home. Yeah, I just got to

01:26:02.379 - 01:26:19.689

keep trying. Yeah, he's home, yeah. Well, if you, you know, if you see him, I have to go back to Portland tomorrow. I'm gonna come down again, yeah, yeah, this is, uh, I'm gonna have to come back it's just so much, you know. Well, this is

01:26:19.689 - 01:26:43.879

tiring, you know, um, it's uh. It's a big complex strike, you know, and different people have different views and I have to somehow make sense that people tell me different things that are sometimes and you know, you can imagine um. So I have to check, you

01:26:43.879 - 01:26:56.609

know, if you say one thing and Joe says something else, I have to sort of say how can I show who is right, that kind of thing, or if Sergio says one thing and Joe says something that kind of thing, you know, everybody has a slightly

01:26:56.609 - 01:27:12.500

different take on it, you know, um, the one thing is everybody says what was a great victory, you know, that's the one thing everybody agrees on and it was important. It's important to try to understand how it happened. Um, What about this guy when he ran

01:27:12.500 - 01:27:30.890

for when he became a politician? How important was that? Well, that's good. I mean, he's doing changes helping us. I mean, organizing and I mean locally and I remember when visiting his house, they wanted me to run but I said no, no, no, no, no, I

01:27:30.890 - 01:27:45.430

was, you know, doing it in the cannery because I was protecting my job and everything, but politics, I don't know anything about politics, you know. How about you one day, you know what he says one day would take the power of this city. I say, yeah,

01:27:45.549 - 01:28:02.319

you're, yeah, you're right, we drink too much black tea. But during the process of the time I said no, when I first met this guy, I never imagined him as a mayor of anything. I knew he was a good talker, you know, I never thought a

01:28:02.319 - 01:28:25.569

speaker. Oscar, how would you sum up your experience, you know, uh, he did it for how many years did it for a long time. Would you do it again? Not right now, man. Not right now but he's thinking in the future, right? Oh yeah, he's thinking

01:28:25.569 - 01:28:42.189

I was up there, you know, I was at a, at a point where, uh, there was a conditions which just opened up, opened the door for me and because of the, the kind of work that we had done over here. I was able to get out

01:28:42.189 - 01:29:02.310

there and do some organizing and uh we we're able to win people over and we did a very good very good grassroots campaign and we were able to to be victorious and that just opened the door for more work and uh and so really what happened

01:29:02.310 - 01:29:18.399

was that once I got inside the city council a lot of the stuff that we used to do from the office here I started doing from city hall. You know, so my advocacy became more from City Hall, uh, and I really think that that it was,

01:29:18.459 - 01:29:30.379

uh, you know, just in that particular time it just happens that, you know, the kind of, the kind of work that was, you know, that, that we did was, you know, had to do with the strike I mean had to do with the earthquake because we

01:29:30.379 - 01:29:45.890

had to reconstruct the town and I think it would have been different if there would have been no, no earthquake, so you know we had at one point. You know, uh, economically and housing destroyed and then on the other side, the frozen food industry going downhill,

01:29:46.259 - 01:30:07.709

so you know we had both of those things at the same time. Well, uh, I know that local 912 is much smaller now. And it used to be and you're no longer you're working at Long show, yeah. For how long? Uh, 9 years. But You know,

01:30:07.750 - 01:30:23.180

it's not like Watsonville is a ghost town. I was just down there in the plaza there's still plenty of people here. Oh yeah, so, you know, they work in the fields, yeah, yeah, I mean it's still the, you know, strawberries and all berries are still number

01:30:23.180 - 01:30:40.000

one. And and there that the crop that still has all these workers working. I have to tell you that um up in Portland, Oregon. You know, they grow really good berries around there and really sweet and juicy and big, you know, but you go to the

01:30:40.000 - 01:30:55.629

supermarket up there and all the berries are from Watsonville and they're in these little plastic containers, you know, um, we got a longer growing season here I think. Oh yeah, all the way up to October, yeah, I mean in, in Oregon. There's a period of about

01:30:55.629 - 01:31:10.279

3 or 4 weeks where they have these strawberries called hoods which if you've never had one, come visit me in Oregon in June and I'll take you to the farmer's market, you know, I mean they're wonderful. You've never had anything like them, but in 3 weeks

01:31:10.279 - 01:31:26.049

they're gone, even less this year because we had a long late winter, you know, Japanese people buy berries for you guys. The Japanese people can buy berries for you guys. Well, the thing is they don't, they go bad after a couple of days. I think what

01:31:26.049 - 01:31:45.970

they do is they. They boil them down for jam, you know, they're really sweet and stuff, but this isn't really that time with this march is because they were closing Norcal. uh-huh they were closing Norcal and it's again, you know, they bought it they bought it

01:31:46.419 - 01:32:08.709

and then, yeah, Dean Foos bought Norco Crocetti and then here's the march when they were closing it. But they didn't go out of business. They just moved, well, you know, yeah, oh yeah, the bean food continued to operate until recently, about 2 years ago. Is, uh,

01:32:08.720 - 01:32:27.310

3 years ago, which it was they bought a plant and all we got is an offer for a job under their, under their seniority list. So, I went to work there and I worked, I made $5000 the whole year. Hm. Because they put us in the

01:32:27.310 - 01:32:43.870

bottom of their list and then if we wanted to work we had to do men's job. Not the way you wanted that to happen. I know I, I really think, you know that um. I mean, the strike really helped change Watson though. I mean, I really,

01:32:43.950 - 01:32:57.750

you know, because they, they have never seen a strike like that before here, and that's what really changed, uh, the politics of town and you know, when I went in there, I went in there with a lot of support that I have from the community and

01:32:57.750 - 01:33:14.220

that's what gave me the opportunity to to be as effective as I could inside. Plus we came and took over the whole city council with progressives and liberals and we were able to, you know, do support work with that before had not been done towards labor

01:33:14.549 - 01:33:30.060

and the city council was very hostile they were anti-labor, you know, they were not at all support who. Do the farmers, the local farmers sell their crops to now that you don't have these frozen food plants buying their broccoli and stuff? Who do they sell to?

01:33:30.069 - 01:33:44.729

They're still in business. Oh yeah, they sent like, for example, where she works, yeah, PJ Croce there, he's an international, right? Then he sells it to Japan, right? Why was he so? But the farmers, not the, I mean, once they shut down they sell, you know,

01:33:44.810 - 01:33:58.129

they still, they sell it to, uh, uh, well, they sell it to big companies still doing jams, you know, they, and they, they, they have a distribution all over the place. They're still doing plenty of business. It's just that they're not, and it's still frozen food

01:33:58.129 - 01:34:14.560

a lot of it just doesn't get processed here. The yeah, the latest report was that berry's was about $150 to $200 million. That was the that just came out of last weekpaper from last year's. OK, 28, uh, they were showing there was all together all the

01:34:14.560 - 01:34:27.770

farming here was about $450 million. So you figure there's still a lot of, a lot of money out there and who's doing the work, you know, a lot of, a lot of rasa that, you know, a lot of people used to work in frozen food. They're

01:34:27.770 - 01:34:39.209

out there picking crops, and some of them, you know, some of the people who work in the frozen food, they're getting older already. All this is new people. It's true. It's been 25 years, yeah, only the last frozen, I mean, a company running frozen. Food was,

01:34:39.240 - 01:34:56.279

I mean Delmar they're frozen, I mean, uh, Brussels sprouts. They take over for Green Giant 100 jobs to save and they save 100 jobs so they processing spinach. That's it. And then when they don't process the spinach, I mean they're processing strawberries. All the market is

01:34:56.279 - 01:35:18.740

from Japan. They sold strawberries from there, so they're processing, I mean. Uh, apricots MRI like 5 weeks time and June from um. From, uh, smackers to embarrass transport to the other side of the coast so if you're working here but now that. You know, somebody told

01:35:18.740 - 01:35:32.720

me it was on the phone. I don't even remember who it was. Uh, that Watsonville is, you won't recognize it. It's not like it used to be. It's becoming a big bedroom community now. It's like a suburb, you know. So I, I came down, I see,

01:35:32.970 - 01:35:46.814

you know, I still see a lot of farming going. I mean there are a few subdivisions, but they're between the big cow pastures. They tried to make us when we were building all the homes, they tried to say that we were. Turning this into a, a

01:35:46.814 - 01:35:58.495

bedroom community, it's not true. A lot of the people from here bought a lot of homes where people came from was from Santa Cruz, you know, they, they know, they finally found a place they could buy. And then a lot of thing was that a lot

01:35:58.495 - 01:36:11.259

of people had this idea that Watsonville was really bad. And once they came over here, they start seeing, he, this is beautiful, you know, open, open fields, open land, open, you know, uh, that's why a lot of people moved over here. This was the only place

01:36:11.259 - 01:36:28.700

that we were building homes. That's why the foreclosure has has hit us where you are. Oh yeah, yeah, a lot of people lost homes. Wow. Been up to Oakland lately? OK. I mean, um, my son had had a place up on I mean he rented a

01:36:28.700 - 01:36:45.529

place up on 90th and Lawler up there up there by Bishop O'Dowd. This guy knows Oakland. He used to live there, you know, um, and, uh. Half the houses, nice houses on this hill, you know, the pretty view. Half the houses there have, you know, the

01:36:45.529 - 01:37:05.470

banks have for sale signs on them. I mean, it's like there's nobody there anymore. And of course when they're empty, then the, you know, the crackheads come in and they get vandalized, you know, it's, it's, it's, yeah, yeah, it's sad. Um Oh, I'm sure there's some

01:37:05.470 - 01:37:14.779

stuff I should have asked you, you know, probably, I, would you be willing to talk again at some point? I think what I'm, what's gonna happen is.