Se

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

“GRAPE GYPSY”

By TOM FAWKES

Nancy Welch calls herself a
Gypsy, and she’s probably
right. Four years on the road
for the United Farm Workers
of America would qualify her to
be called Gypsy. She talks of
dedication to cause and the
hard work she is doing with a
constant smile on her face, not
just a grin, but a broad smile
that shows she is happy with
the dedication and hard work
she is doing. But four years on
the road is a long time. A long
time to be lonely, a long time to
be without close friends, and
the years are taking their toll.

“Four years ago I abided by

the boycott because I thought ©

the cause was just,’’ she says.
“I didn’t buy California grapes
and I didn’t shop at stores that
carried them. Then one day I
passed a picket line around a
store and asked the guys if they
wanted any help; when the day
was finished they asked if I
would come back tomorrow.”’
Well, it’s been a lot of tomor-
rows for the California native,
and now she talks of settling
down and making some friends
and working, and, well, being
like other working people. She
talks of a dream and the loneli-
ness and she stares out in a
way that is almost sad; you
want to stop trying to convince
her that the boycott needs a full
time organizer in Vancouver
and that the organizer should
be her.
Forty-five minutes later she
is hugging a friend she hasn’t
seen for eighteen months.
Another UFW Organizer who
she has walked the picket line
with in many places, many
times. Immediately the loneli-
ness is gone and the dedication
comes back as strong as ever
as the two talk of friends,
statistics, quality of product,
and the general success of the
boycott that both have
dedicated many years of their
lives to. They discuss the
schedule for the next day, and
the day after, and maybe they
can slip in an appearance on a
local talk show, we’ll see later.

What happened to the-’

serious, distantly lonely
woman of a few minutes
before? Well, perhaps the
gypsy came back, or the talk of

SOME WATER FACTS

The importance of keeping
control of all Canadian water
and never again duplicating
the folly of the Columbia River
giveaway by British Colum-
bia’s former Social Credit gov-
ernment is seen in the amount

of water required for develop- _

ment and production in this

country.

© To produce one ton of
cement requires 750 gallons
of water.

© A barrel of refining oil
needs 770 gallons.

© One car requires between
12,000 and 16,000 gallons.

© A ton of finished steel needs
up to 65,000 gallons.

settling down is really just
something nice to dream about
when time permits.

For most of us the long UF W
boycott on California grapes
has been nothing more than a
nuisance. Sure, we followed the
boycott religiously, avoiding
scab grapes and lettuce. We
voted in favour of resolutions
supporting the: UFW at so
many conventions and
meetings that we have long lost
count. Some of us have even
joined the boycott organizers
on the picket line in the com-
munities where we live. But
none of us have really thought
about those organizers we
walked with, those people who
have dedicated a good part of
their lives to the boycott.

The Gypsy brings the story - »

of the UFW struggle in terms
of personal sacrifice. . . ‘I’m
going to have to get a new coat
one of these days. Today some
guy called me Brother, I guess
this coat makes me look like a
guy,”’ and it does.

.. . “I don’t take any money
for the work I do on the’
boycott. If you’re on full time
staff you get room and board,
travel and five dollars a week
spending money.”’

. . . “I was only busted once.
The cops kept telling us where
we could picket, then they’d
change their minds and move
us somewhere else, then
change their minds again;
finally I got so frustrated I put
the picket sign down and stood
in the center of the entrance
and flagged cars past the
shopping center.”

... “I’ve never been really
scared except for the time we
were marching through a town
and the high buildings on both
sides of the street made it like
a canyon with no way out.
Someone set off a firecracker
and scared the hell out of
everyone. It sounded like a gun
going off and we had been told
that someone had _ been
arrested on the way to try and
kill Cesar. My heart stopped
for about two whole beats
before we realized it was just
the firecracker.”

In terms of personal
sacrifice, the struggle of the
United Farm Workers takes
on a whole new significance.
Certainly if one person can

e Asingle kilowatt of electric-
ity needs up to 170 gallons.

© A ton of coal up to 120,000
gallons.

© A thousand pounds of

woollen fabrics need up to
70,000 gallons.

© A pound of soap needs 7
gallons. A pound of alum-
inum more than 36 gallons.

© A ton of. paper requires
39,000 gallons. A ton of
groundwood pulp needs
5,000 gallons.

© A ton of soda pulp needs
85,000 gallons, and a ton of

sulphite pulp needs 64,000
gallons.

give up so much in dedication
to a just cause then all of us can
work a little harder in our own
way. No matter how insignifi-
cant we may feel our contribu-
tion is, it will help if it is the
best we can do. If everyone had
the opportunity to talk with the
UFW people on a_ personal
level their own dedication to

the cause would become more

impressive. Perhaps it would
become so impressive that
they would become a Grape
Gypsy . . . like Nancy Welch.

DECEMBER, 1974

An inturw tn ana c

Nancy Welch .

acdieated worker

This is Ernesto Gamboa

westé aeinot
Fiowenost. He, .

a

RRs with Rise oe

Sjamily in the gia

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isbbed

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fis an endless

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4

} rg Vitus rds.

Us year ajter YY,

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yeu
Nehitat

eectie Be iat
ver have a
ood. He will

* never know the joy

L oF growing up in
today’s world. His
eutie beganand will
“end in the Grape

Vineyards of California.

?

pee Farm Workers have

Be

by Ro AS
7h i
se
b

en trying to change

cs

langs so Ernesto will go to
i001 and will have the

Your y+

wantages oj other children.

ou can help the U.F.W. jight

Sehildren like Er

.

se oho

et

cud
Regionat C

t buy any Cali ifornia Bienes.’

eis‘eight years old.. eee

~*~

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