Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
self. When she is not working [outside the home] a woman is dependent
on her husband. But if she is working, how can the man say no?'' Olivia
described herself as a ''libertine'' in her youth, a characterization that may
havebeenshapedbyherconversionlaterinlifetoevangelicalism.Inretro-
spect,sheviewedthebreakupofcoupleswithchildrenasundesirablesince
the kids ''are the ones that suffer the most.''
112
Juana Meléndez was another madre soltera—in this case a young
widow who worked long days in order to raise her children. Juana never
remarried. She described herself as a ''Tom-boy'' during her childhood, a
characterization confirmed by a long-time male friend who recalled that
Juana had dressed ''like a boy,'' played with boys, and tended to cattle.
113
Juana's physical and mental strength served her well in the packing plant
where she simultaneously annoyed and won the respect of both her fel-
low workers and supervisors for her fast work pace and quick tongue.
She recalled an occasion when she led an impromptu work stoppage in
order to protest the supervisors' failure to maintain sucient water in the
washing tanks (a situation that increased the likelihood of bruising to the
fruit). She subsequently became a union steward, but she ''complained so
much'' about working conditions that she soon found herself back among
the rank-and-file. Juana's strong will may have been exceptional, but her
memories resonated with those of other women packers whose stories
mingled images of maternal sacrifices and personal autonomy.
114
Regardless of their marital status, women who worked in the empa-
cadoras depended upon other women to assist with child-care. In Olivia
Zaldívar's case, she relied upon her mother to watch her son on days that
she worked as a fruit packer. Other women, including ones with spouses
such as Esperanza, hired muchachas (girls or young women) to care for
theirchildrenandattendtohouseholdchores.Havingtopayforchildcare
cut into women's net earnings, but the ability to employ domestic help
alsoreflectedthebenefitsof havingasteady—andinsomecasesdual—in-
come. Esperanza relished the opportunity to earn wages so that she could
''buy things for her house,'' and pay for her children's education. Olivia
Zaldívardescribed packing plant work asmuysacrificadobut added in the
same breath that ''everyone'' wanted to work for the company because it
was relatively steady employment. Women entering the packing plants in
the 1960s benefited from the existence of unions, labor law reforms, and
collectivebargainingcontractsthatwerethelegacyofthe1954strike.They
earned hourly wages and received medical and retirement benefits. How-
ever, ''steady employment'' did not mean a fixed work schedule since the
volume of fruit harvested fluctuated due to the vagaries of weather and
