Salt of the Earth Strike

The Salt of the Earth Strike was a pivotal time in history for Hispanic men and women fighting for better working conditions. Along with these requests, these workers were asking for basic fundamental rights and for an end to the extreme racism, segregation, and sexism they had long endured working in the mines. They were being paid half of what the white men were paid, seen as inferiors, and were not guaranteed any of the same benefits such as 40 hour work weeks or safe work environments that their white counterparts were receiving. After the mine company refused to budge on any of the striker's demands, they soon voted to strike. After 7 months of striking, a court order was announced that any further striking would not be permitted, and would lead to being arrested.
Like any other social movement, the success of their strikes and demands depended on the repertoires and tactics of disruption used throughout their fight. The characteristic of this specific movement that makes it so unique was the tactic of using women at the front of the picketing lines. When the court handed down its decision, it had outlawed any striking by members of the union. Since at that time women were not able to be members of the union, this meant that the court order did not apply to them and they were “free” to do any picketing that they wanted. Soon after the women took the front lines, police arrived with hostility and violence, but still the women prevailed and returned to the pickets. For the first time in history, not only was there this group of people fighting for racial equality in the workplace, but it was too, a fight of sexual equality. To defend themselves from the violence they would throw chili powder in the eyes of strikebreakers and used items such as eggs, rocks, and needles. They continued to disrupt the companies production means by blocking the entrance of scabs, and was thus causing the company to lose out on tens of thousands of dollars a week. All of this negative and violent publicity was giving the mine company and the state of New Mexico a very bad reputation, which kept the women coming back, knowing the state would have to intervene sooner or later. Their persistence and patience paid off when the state did indeed get involved and the company decided it was an economically better decision to give in to the demands than to continue losing large sums of money. Without the use of the women on the front lines, or their tactics of chili powder throwing and remaining on the front lines no matter what, the movement would not have been possible.
Throughout their entire struggle, the women were not only in an everlasting battle against the powerful for racial equality, but they were fighting issues on sexism in their own backyards. The same fathers and husbands that these women were putting their lives on the line for everyday, just to help them achieve the goals of the union, were the same men that were mad they were out there. The men were in no way supportive or thankful of their wives and daughters for what they were doing, and were angered that they were now the ones at home taking care of the house and children duties. This issue changed the face of the strike and one of the biggest reasons the Salt of the Earth Strike ended so successfully was because it was not just a win for the union or just for the Chicanos, it was a win for women all over the country and a step towards future woman’s suffrage. Without battles such as these, modern day America would be drastically different than the way we know it to be now. These conflicts later led to enormous changes when it came to unionizing, employment, woman's rights, child employment protection laws, working conditions, and the standardization of 40 hour work weeks. Without these uprisings of people who were not happy with their positions in society, without people stepping up to say “the way we are being treated is not okay, and we won't take it anymore”, America would be the very same it was 60-70 years ago.
After reading Salomon it amazes me that I had never heard of the Salt of the Earth Strike or any of the other mentioned movements for that matter. It gets me thinking as to why these stories of rich American history are not more out in the open. When you ask someone about a movement in American history, the majority of people will answer with the Civil Rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr. because that is the only one they know. Growing up through middle and high school social studies classes, that is the only movement we are taught anything about or made to think is important. I know here in America there is a habit of trying not to talk about the horrible things our government did over the last couple hundred years, and the good things are over-publicized while the shameful ones are hidden away. However, that still doesn't explain or make sense to me as to why they teach us so much about the Civil Rights era and how crucial it was to our nation, but then avoid the topics of the Native Americans, Filipinos, Mexicans and other nationality movements. It is books like these that keep the history and struggle alive, and without them these stories would be lost to time, unable to be looked back upon to help new generations learn from the past.