ustxtxb_obs_1983_04_22_50_00010-00000_000.pdf

and Associates 502 W. 15th Street Austin, Texas 78701 REALTOR Representing all types of properties in Austin and Central Texas Interesting & unusual property a speciatty . 477-3651 at’s It s 1 c About? Parisian Charm. Omelette & Champagne Breakfast. Beautiful Crepes. Afternoon Cocktails. Gallant Waiters. Delicious Quiche. Evening Romance. Continental Steaks. Mysterious Women. Famous Pastries. Cognac & Midnight Rendezvous. In short, it’s about everything a great European style restaurant is all about. he Old Cafe St 310 East 6th St. Austin, Texas Ron Mullen For Mayor A MESSAGE TO AUSTIN’S PROGRESSIVES You have been the heart and soul of the movement for open government in our city. Much of what I have accomplished on our Council from the Barton Creek Ordinance to a new Affirmative Action Plan could not have been done without your participation. My positions on issues are taken openly and with candor. I have never pretended to be something I am not. You know I am not part of a statewide machine, or the local elite who tried to defeat your friends on the Council. My priority as Mayor will be to work with the Council you elected to listen to the people, to be open, honest and fair. Sincerely, Ron Mullen Pol. Adv. Pd. for by Ron Mullen For Mayor Comm., Joan Higgins Treas., 1501 Lavaca, Austin, TX 78701 Rep. Barton said, “You mention the cost of labor. What about the cost of interest? It’s a great deal higher than in the past. Wouldn’t you say one of the enemies of the farmer is the interest rate? I suggest you change your name to Chrysler and get some federal money. If we could get parity prices for your products, then you could pay people. There’s something stepping on both of us. No reason for one of us to step on the other.” “You said it’s really the harvester who sets the rates?” Barrientos asked. Dyer answered, “There are no strikes. The little lady walks out in the field with a crew and can tell right away how big the field is, how clipped, etc. Then she tells the field foreman what they want to be paid. The foreman calls in to the shed and tells them what she wants. They tell the foreman that that’s one cent too much or two cents too much or whatever and to offer her less. The foreman offers her less, and right away the whole crew starts to walk off the field. You can come out there and see them walking off. Then the foreman calls into the shed and says they’re walking off. So the shed tells the foreman to give them what they want. Then they get to work.” “Why is it called the Valley of Tears?” Barrientos asked Dyer. “This is where they first came across the river,” Dyer answered, “or their ancestors did. Good harvest crews are hard to find. The beer halls are the only thing today that’s flourishing.” “We’re talking about American citizens,” Barrientos said. “Yessir, and they take their kids out of school at the end of the year and put them in late at the start, but they still get a good education the way the school year is set.” Dyer’s testimony was later addressed by Estela Salinas, a member of the Texas Farmworkers Union. “I served as a Carter delegate,” she said. “I went to the inauguration. I have been a Democrat all my life. I have been a teacher. I have belonged to the Texas State Teachers Association and the National Education Association, and I have never been asked Ronnie Dugger: “Heard’s accounts of the Bees in hiding are the pure gold of real history.” Bryan Woolley \(Dallas Times “It ought to be right beside the Alamo books.” “The Miracle of the KILLER BEES: 12 Senators Who Changed Texas Politics” by Robert Heard Honey Hill Publishing Co. 1022 Bonham Terrace, Austin, Texas 78704 $7.95 plus $1.03 tax and shipping to identify my political affiliation . . . If it were so that we could decide what we were going to earn in the field and the foreman were nice enough to call the shed and give us what we wanted, we wouldn’t be here . . . The farmworker must have a voice in the way his life will be conducted.” Cautious Optimism A bill that proposes to establish a floor for the wages of farmworkers is being fought by the representatives of large growers as if they were fighting for the rights of small growers and as if they were fighting a unionizing effort. There is no question that the smaller farmers are being hurt by the state of the economy. “Small farmers and farmworkers are in the same shape,” says Rep. Barton. “They’re broke and on the brink of extinction. The intent of this bill, according to Rep. Moreno, is not to hurt any farmer but to pay a living wage. They ought to get together and work something out.” According to the UFW’s Lafe Larson, the bill \(along with several other farmwhich controls the market and most of the production in the Valley. “Contrary to popular belief,” says Larson, “growers in the Valley are still making money and are some of the few farmers finding farming profitable today. There are exemptions for small farms, but many of these small farms are actually small paper corporations fronting for big corporate owners. The funny thing about the wage in Texas is that California produce markets are comparable to Texas markets, yet California workers often make three times what Texas farmworkers make. “I am cautiously optimistic some kind of wage package will pass with a floor set so workers will be compensated on the job while not harvesting. This session looks a whole lot better for us [than previous sessions of the legislature]. The makeup of the legislature now more directly reflects the people of Texas.” 0 10 APRIL 22, 1983