The Los Angeles Times has reported in its morning edition (3/25/15) on a substantial strike of farmworkers in Baja California. This strike appears to be a classic example of the differences between a union’s leadership and its rank-and-file members. The farmworkers themselves appear to view their nascent unions, which have sprung up in the wake of a series of articles by the Times about their conditions, as all too pliable extensions of the councils of growers that have organized themselves to secure the interests of wealthy landowners. The farmworkers are demanding immediate changes, whereas the councils are doing their best to stall any change. “Get this year’s crop in,” seems to be their motto. They will worry how to deal with the future when — and only when — the future begins to look worrisome.

As someone who walked picket lines back in the 1970s in support of the United Farm Workers, I am grateful to know that those who are exploited on the job continue to find the courage to speak up and demand better conditions. Unless their stories are heard, however, there is little chance of public support for their cause. I was impressed with the series of articles that the Times ran several weeks ago. That the situation in agricultural labor has reached the point of a breakaway strike indicates that this crisis needed only the slightest bit of attention in order to reach the boiling point.