Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Obreros Unidos: The Roots and Legacy of the Farmworkers Movement

Obreros Unidos: The Roots and Legacy of the Farmworkers Movement

Salas, Jesus
González, Sergio

Paperback

Biographies GeneralSocial Movements

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ISBN10: 1976600073
ISBN13: 9781976600074
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Published: Jun 6 2023
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.83
Height: 0.80 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.90
Language: English
Awards: Benjamin Franklin Award
In an expansive narrative, noted labor leader Jesus Salas shares an insider's look at the farm workers movement, from its roots in southern political uprisings to its lasting legacy of activism. During his childhood, Salas and his family joined the migrant workers who traveled from their hometown in Texas to work on farms in Wisconsin, Illinois, and other states. In riveting detail, he describes the brutal working conditions and overcrowded labor camps experienced by the Mexican American workers who fueled the Midwest's agriculture industry.

Taking inspiration from César Chávez, as a young man Salas and others led a historic march from Wautoma to Madison to demand that lawmakers address rampant violations of Wisconsin's minimum wage laws and housing codes. These young labor leaders founded Obreros Unidos--Workers United--to continue the fight for fairness and respect, as well as to provide much-needed services to migrant families. This memoir of a movement details how their work went beyond the fields to have lasting impacts on representation in community organizations and access to education, empowering later generations to demand better.

Winner of the 2024 Benjamin Franklin Award for Multicultural Books

Winner of the 2024 Hamlin Garland Prize in Popular History from the Midwest History Association

In recounting the story of Tejano settlement and struggle in Wisconsin, Salas unsettles this story line and, in the process, demonstrates the power of personal narrative and the lasting political implications of retrieving and restoring Latino history.

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