Vocabulary for Farmworkers and the Struggle for Economic Justice

These words and phrases (some in Spanish) are used as part of the Farmworkers and the Struggle for Economic Justice activity, which includes portions of the documentary The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers' Struggle.

activist: someone who works with others to achieve social change

agitators: people who urge others to protest or rebel allies: people who support a movement, but are not directly affected

AWOC: Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee of Filipino farmworkers

boycott: refuse to spend money on a product or service, or at a place of business

“campesino”: Spanish word for farmer or farmworker

“corridos”: Mexican folk songs that usually describe aspects of the immigrant experience

“esquirola”: Spanish term for scab worker (see below)

“la huelga”: Spanish term for strike

“la causa”: Spanish term for the cause; how farmworkers involved in the strike and boycotts referred to their struggle

liberation: freedom from oppression militant: aggressive in support of a political or social cause

radical: fundamental changes to social structures and values

Reds: Communists, radicals

reform: movements seek to change or modify existing laws and practices

scabs: workers hired to replace workers who go out on strike

social movement: any formal or informal organization of people who are actively trying to change society

strategy: overall approach you take in your efforts to reach a goal

strike: refuse to work in an effort to improve wages, working conditions, or benefits

tactic: specific action you take toward achieving a goal

target: a person or institution responsible for the problem; who or what the movement is trying to change

United Farmworkers of America: a labor union created in 1966 when the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) merged with the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA).