Images – Duke AADS Symposium

Morrie Camhi photographs, 1970-1990 and undated.

Archive of Documentary Arts, Rubenstein Library

The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) was the first recognized farm workers union accepted into the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in 1972. The UFWOC began in 1965 after Filipino and Mexican migrant workers went on strike against grape growers in Central California for better wages and working conditions. This strike grew after it was joined by the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. This effort began a five-year strike against grape growers, which became one of the most significant labor movements for agricultural workers in US history. These images were taken by photographer Morrie Camhi, who referred to his works in this series as “environmental portrait photography.” The subjects, captured between 1972 and 1977, are farm workers and supporters who participated in strikes led by the UFWOC/AFL-CIO. To see more photographs taken by Camhi across his career, please visit the Archive of Documentary Arts at Rubenstein Library. All captions provided by the artist.

Accounts–ILGWU (International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union), 1975-2004, undated.

Paula Green papers, 1940-2013.

John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History, Rubenstein Library.

With the influx of new immigrants from Latin America and Caribbean, unions and advertisers begin to realize the power of recruiting and marketing in Spanish. These materials from the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) attest to this power. The song “Look for the Union Label” (Spanish version: “Union Label”) ran in television ads through the 1980s and encouraged US consumers to purchase clothing made by these workers. You can view a 1978 English ad here.