Magdaleno

I went to work for the union as an organizer in 1970-74 and worked for $5.00 week for wages and $10 for food. It is amazing that thousands of individuals worked for this paltry sum of money.  And we performed miracles with little or no money. Cesar and all the union leadership received the same compensation.

Later in 1992 while working for Amnesty International in Los Angeles I was invited to a UFW convention in Delano. Cesar introduced me to the workers as one of his great organizers from the old days.. I was proud to be recognized by Cesar in this way .. While I did do some good organizing .. I was also a stubborn young man who then had more ego than brains.

Later that day we were picketing a Safeway store in Delano and for a moment I was walking along side with Cesar. He turned to me and said WHY DON’T YOU COME BACK AND WORK FOR US ..I looked at him and asked WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT ???

He smiled at me and said WE DOUBLED THE WAGES

WOW CESAR YOU DOUBLED THE WAGES.. FROM $5 to $10

YES He replied .. By that time he was holding onto my elbow keeping me close to him

Then I was suddenly rescued by an older woman in a flowing colorful skirt and sporting a mane of white hair who wanted to speak with him.. It was great .. I had escaped Cesar without giving him an answer.

The next year Cesar died unexpectedly..Those of us from the farm worker movement were in shock at this loss
I and my daughter Aviva like 50,000 others went to his rosary and then the funeral in Delano. It was the most incredible event. I saw people from my many years with the union.

Some months after the funeral I was invited to meet with the leadership of the Union and some of Cesar’s family. As we ate lunch in Los Angeles I was asked to help them start a foundation in Cesar’s name. After much conversation they asked if would take the job as Director of the foundation.

WHAT ARE THE WAGES??? I asked

$10  a week they responded and they all  smiled.. .

WELL LET ME CHECK WITH MY FAMILY AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW …

6 Weeks later I was at the Union headquarters working on setting up the foundation for $10 a week. I could just see Cesar some place smiling and acknowledging that he got me at the wage he wanted.

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

a.    Immigration reform one taco at a time
b.    March 31st Cesar’s bday
c.    HEALTH CARE PASSES
d.    The Red Rep. John Boehner
e.    Red Rep. Boehner
f.    Meet new friends

Immigration Reform, One Taco At A time

“Through Tacos for Justice the simple act of eating is converted into an act of social justice,” said Erin Glenn, Executive Director of the Asociación de Loncheros L.A. Familia Unida de California. “Our trucks will give a 10 percent discount to every patron as well as donate to the National Immigrant Justice Campaign for every Tacos for Justice coupon used in a purchase of the ‘Justice Menu’ at our participating trucks.” Valley Star, Mar. 17, 2010.

This notice was sent in by Kinza.. Now I am going to LA in April and want to know where to get my TACOS FOR JUSTICE COUPONS..

100,000 plus marched in Washington DC for immigration reform on Sunday the 21st . In addition there were marches in other cities on this day. (mean while the right wing had hundreds in DC under the TEA BAG BANNER trying to stop the historic health care bill) now tell me who represents the people of America.

In Seattle we will have a rally on April 10th and a March and Rally on May 1st.  hope you can participate in events in your community.

We must all raise our voices for COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM.

MARCH  31ST  THE BIRTHDAY OF CESAR ESTRADA CHAVEZ

On the 31st I will take a moment to celebrate Cesar’s birthday. And in doing so I will be recognizing all the men and women who worked with him so many years ago in CSO Community Service Organization. This was the precursor to the United Farm Workers Union. This is where Saul Alinsky student Fred Ross began organizing Latinos.

I also will be recognizing the many Filipino Farm Workers who were the first to go on strike and then joined by Mexican farm workers being organized by Cesar, Dolores, Gilbert, and others.

I also want to take a moment on this day to honor all the strikers, the boycotters, the donors and the many who prayed for success of the union. Every year I run into many who helped to make the union successful.  These heroes and sheroes come in all shapes and sizes and from every imaginable community. And to think that I was part of this historic movement. The UFW spawned many an organizer and that is gooder than good can be.

In the next Ahora a nice remembrance of Cesar Chavez by Martha Garcia

HEALTH CARE PASSES 120-111

This is a historic moment and we must thank not only those who voted but all those who worked for so many months to pressure our elected officials.

Now the tea baggers and the ultra right wing will have to get shriller and crazier in the months ahead.. but those  who will health protected by this new law will not listen to their lies.

We can take a moment to celebrate and then get back to work.
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Rep. John Boehner ..Why the strange skin color and red nose?

The Alcoholic Nose.. While I am not a doctor .. I have seen this before. In my home town we had an old farm worker who had pretty pale skin and as he went through life his skin got redder as did his nose. And his nose began swelling at the end as he continued his drinking of cheap wine… it seems that alcohol shows up early on the skin and the nose.

Now for a long time I thought that Republican John Boehner the House Minority Leader was spending too much time in a tanning salon… now I am beginning to think that his skin color and nose are a result of alcoholism. Just take a look at the tip of his red nose… either he is coke addict, becoming Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer or he is in fact a stone Alcoholic.

With alcoholics their liver goes and or they do something really stupid while under the influence of Alcohol… well Boehner does stupid things already so now we just are waiting on the liver to start acting up…

Jimmy Luna a dear friend and Huelgista/striker when I was with the farm workers union suffered the same outward appearances on him. Finally his liver stopped working and we had to bury him in La Garrita miles outside of Center, Colorado.

Okay .. okay .. I know what you are saying LENO IS NOT A DOCTOR.. But then you give me an explanation for his red nose and orange skin… and no I do not think that he is an alien from another planet… nope.. He is just one very very strange man from this planet.
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DEATH TO THE DEATH PENALTY.

This week, Virginia executed Paul Powell for murdering a 16-year-old girl and raping and attempting to murder her 14-year-old sister. Reading the details of the crime, your instinctive response is utter revulsion and a cry for justice to be done. But state-sanctioned killing — unless it is for reasons of national security — is not something we as a society should be doing. In America, 139 people on death row have been exonerated. And a study on death penalty appeals found two-thirds of all death sentences were overturned due to serious errors, including prosecutorial misconduct. Then there is the cost: it is much more expensive to execute a prisoner than to send him to prison for life. For example, California could save $125 million a year if it eliminated the death penalty. That’s a lot of money for a state cutting social services to the bone. It’s time for the death penalty to be put to death.

MEETING NEW PEOPLE

This past weekend I was a Global Donors conference where I saw some old friends but met many new potential friends. When I got to this conference I went into my INTROVERT SHELL but soon I was taken out of this bunker and I was meeting many new and interesting individuals.. And I had a good time meeting so many interesting spirits.  The hard part was getting started.

Take a moment and meet someone new.. And open the door to another world.

My best
Leno