UCAPAWA, CHICANAS, AND THE CALIFORNIA FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY, 1937-1950

This dissertation examines the role of Chicanas as workers and union activists in the California food processing industry. It has three main objectives: (1) to delineate the history of a relatively unknown CIO union; (2) to document the experience of Chicanas and other women in this organization; and (3) to contribute to a clearer understanding of the working class experiences of Mexican women.;From the late nineteenth century to the present, California cannery and packing houses have recruited Chicanas (as well as other women) to process fruits and vegetables on a seasonal basis. Many of these women endured long hours, hazardous conditions, and low pay to insure their families' survival. Beginning in 1939 under the banner of UCAPAWA/FTA, Chicana food processing workers joined with their Anglo sisters to form for the first (and only) time successful worker-controlled union locals. These locals provided members with such benefits as paid vacations and day care centers.;The Teamsters assumed control of California cannery contracts during the late 1940s and destroyed the worker-oriented UCAPAWA locals. Although these locals functioned less than a decade, they provided an alternative to mainstream business unionism and demonstrated the active union participation of women workers, particularly Chicanas, when given opportunity and encouragement.;Drawing on a variety of resources from official union documents to oral interviews, this dissertation is a blend of institutional and social history approaches--one which has links not only to Chicano history but also to women's history and labor studies.