Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
cancer-causing chemicals, long-time packing plant workers suffered from
other ailments including arthritis and skin problems. In addition, Esper-
anza recalled that when she began working in the late 1960s, bathroom
facilities were crude and inconveniently located, and the water available
for drinking tasted like ''pure salt.'' The 1974 collective bargaining agree-
ment signed by Standard Fruit and the workers union SUTRASFCO in-
cluded clauses requiring the company to install toilet facilities, drinking
water, electric fans, and wall clocks in all of its empacadoras. The com-
panyalso agreed to provide places for workers to eat lunch and a room for
women to change their clothes.
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The extent to which the company com-
plied with these clauses is unknown, but the terms of the contract suggest
both that a significant number of packing plants lacked basic amenities
as late as 1974, and that union o
cials and company executives sought to
address at least some women employees' concerns.
Becauseonlymenfilledsupervisoryrolesintheempacadoras,women
were potentially vulnerable to sexual harassment. However, former work-
ers indicated that cases of blatant abuse were rare. On the other hand,
women's memories point toward a more subtle tension created by the
tendency for women in the empacadoras to be viewed simultaneously
as possessing stereotypical feminine qualities (e.g., delicate hands) and
potentially threatening levels of autonomy—the madre soltera. The lim-
ited numberof women's testimonies presented here point to the existence
of a fine line between ''liberated'' and ''libertine,'' and ''outspoken'' and
''troublemaker.'' Finally, if women viewed their packing plant jobs as the
best way to ensure a secure future for their families, they also regretted
spending entire days away from their young children who would often be
fast asleep by the time they returned home.
By the mid-1960s, United Fruit o
cials declared the Chiquita mar-
keting campaign a success. The company enjoyed record sales' volumes
and rising profit margins. Miss Chiquita had helped to save the day for the
company's new management who watched profits rise from $1.7 million
to $25 million between 1963 and 1966.The successful financial turnaround
led to a dramatic takeover attempt by Wall Street trader Eli M. Black that
culminatedinthemergerofUnitedFruitandBlack'sAMKcorporationin
1969.
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The following year, the new company changed its name to United
Brands. After nearly seventy years, the tight relationship between United
Fruit and Gros Michel bananas was irrevocably severed.
The rebirth of Miss Chiquita, therefore, provided an aura of con-
tinuity to a period of political, economic, environmental, and social