An Appraisal Of The Current Status And Future Prospects Of Unionization And Collective Bargaining In American Agriculture

Today, the unionizing efforts of farm laborers have reached the highest plateau of achievement since the beginning of those efforts in the United States. The main reason for this is improved laws, public awareness, and union recognition. A very strong movement is under way, which is being led by Cesar Chavez. Now, as always, there is a three-way squeeze between those parties immediately involved. At one time or another, each of these parties is caught in the middle when the squeeze is vigorously applied. The farm worker is trying to apply pressure on the farmer; the farmer, in turn, is faced with the fact that he is a price taker rather than a price maker; the consumer is constantly fighting against higher prices, so he, in turn, directs his leverage against those parties back down the line who he considers to be responsible for his dissatisfaction. This turns out to be an operation of the market.