History Commons^™

Interview No. 1754, Ortega

Combined Interviews

Her last name is Ortega, she was part of the Farah Strike at El Paso, Texas. She says that the Union was getting stronger because more people were getting involved. When she was working, she will notice cases of harassment and she says that many of the supervisors were trying to get advantage of other workers. She was part of the strike that many other people participated because they were fighting for their rights and for a better wage. When she was working at the company, she says that many workers will get fired for no reason or reasons that …

Interview No. 1755, Gandara

Combined Interviews

He says that he stared working with his father after returning from the ARMY. He says that when he was working, they had a union that sometimes will fire people for nothing and they will have to legally open a case against that and he says that in order to get a response you needed to wait a long time. He says that one of his duties in the job was cutting ropes into different sizes. There is another woman interview that is his wife and she says that women were a minority in their job and they had to …

Interview No. 1756, Eva Valdez

Combined Interviews

Eva was offered to join the strike during her time working at Farah Manufacturing Company, she first felt kind of scared because she didn’t want to be part of a strike. Eva didn’t understand what the union strike was about but she would later find out.

Eva’s first days at the Farah Manufacturing Company were filled with patches and jeans. She mentioned that she had to put patches in clothing items all day for long periods of time. For her work she would get pay less than $1.60 an hour. Some of her women coworkers had been working there for …

Interview No. 1761, Rios

Combined Interviews

Everyone at Farah hated their job, that’s how Rios described it when she first started working there. She didn’t understand the problems happening at Farah at Paisano that made every worker hate going to work every day. A couple of days pass, she received her first check and realized that she got payed very little, when the manager told her that she would be getting payed more. She realized that she started her work there as a lie and that the contract that she sign was also a total lie that the managers didn’t respect.

At first, she thought that …

Interview No. 1765, Garcia

Combined Interviews

Garcia has lived and worked in El Paso, Texas. She mentioned that poverty in Mexico is worse than the poverty in the United States. Garcia left Mexico 5 years ago to get a better life in the USA. She left her children with her mother and got on the train to get to El Paso, Texas. She first arrived to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and stayed with a family during a couple of weeks, while she gathered her papers to get a passport. After she got her passport she went to El Paso and started working and sending money back to …

Interview No. 1768, Arieta

Combined Interviews

When Arieta initially started working there, she said that everyone at Farah detested their jobs. She didn't get the issues at Farah in Paisano that made every employee dread reporting to work each day. After a few days had passed, she received her first check and found she had been paid very little before the manager informed her that her pay would be increasing. She came to the realization that the contract she signed when she first started working there was also a complete fabrication that the bosses didn't regard.

She initially believed that Farah employed anyone who was willing …

Interview No. 1770, Del Hierro

Combined Interviews

Nearly all of Farah's employees were exhausted and tired of work. That was when Del Hierro started working there. She didn’t understand the problem in Farah of Paisano that was causing all workers to be reluctant to go to work every day. A few days went by and she received her first check and when the manager told her she would be paid more, she realized she had barely been paid, and realized that the contract she signed was also a complete lie and not respected by her manager.

At first, she thought the hiring process would be so easy …

Interview No. 1775, Jaramillo De Palacio

Combined Interviews

She mentions that the companies were demanding the same quality of work and they were not realizing the amount of work they were giving to the workers, and it was an excessive amount of it. She says that the strikes separated people because it was a movement that had different opinions, but in the end they were fighting for the same thing. The union was created to support employees but the workers realized that that wasn’t true at all. When the strike first started she couldn’t ever imagine that the strike was going to be as big as it was, …

Interview No. 1776, Paraa

Combined Interviews

She says that everything is back in busisnes at Farah and that the new president of Farah is not fighting with the union any more. She says that many people are getting left off and many people just like her she was let off and came back 3 times in a row and she says that she is thinking that is better for her to start studying. She says that Willy Farah, the owner, was very hated and loved at the same tiem and she says that many people will give them gifts such as bringing him mariachi and workers …

Interview No. 1778, Herrera

Combined Interviews

She said her husband worked for Farah, but they treated him very poorly, and were told to keep working with the bad consditionds. All they could do was keep working, but eventually tired of the abuse. She says that his His job at Farah included cutting metals that left a lot of metal debrie, which were labor intensive and heavy jobs. She claims that before the union there was no one to turn to for help and his husband was part of the union. They believed a union would improve their situation, but it didn't work. When you were hired, …

Interview No. 1783, Avalos

Combined Interviews

Avalos grandmother is from Mexico. Her father was always on duty and her mother passed away when Avalos was four years old. After her mother passing, her grandmother adopted them and she became their mother. Avalos considers her grandmother her real mother, because she did everything for them. Avalos thanks her grandmother for everything she did for them even when she was an older woman struggling with her health. During her childhood before living with her grandmother she was at an orphanage for a couple of months. Once Avalos and her siblings went to stay with her grandmother their lives …

Interview No. 1751, Hernandez

Combined Interviews

Hernandez began working at Farah on April of 1972. Everyone at Farah left 2 moths after and she mentioned that those two months were enough for her to know what was right and what was wrong. Hernandez saw and experience many unjust things in those two months. She didn’t know how bad the situation inside the company was until she started to work there and realized that what the people were saying was right and even worse than what they described it as.

The worse part of the Farah company were the managers and their lack of experience in retail …

Interview No. 1753, Sanchez

Combined Interviews

Sanchez began working at Farah on April of 1969. Everyone at Farah hated their job and at first, she didn’t know why but 2 months after entering she realize what was right and what was wrong. As many others Farah workers on Paisano were tired of the unjust treatment and bad wage, Sanchez felt the exact same way in just a week of getting hired.

At first, she thought that it was so easy the hiring process and that Farah hired anyone who was willing to work. Soon after Sanchez realized that Farah hired many people, because of the amount …

Interview No. 1758, Saucido

Combined Interviews

Her last name is Saucido and she was working at Farah and she was part of the strike. Some of her duties at Farah was cutting and cleaning which was a very demanding job. She says that before the union there was no one that could help them and they thought that the union was going to make things better for them, but it wasn’t that way. When they were working, they will have supervisors that were making sure you did your job correctly, but sometimes they were extremely demanding and they will fire many people for either taking long …

Interview No. 1752, Valenzuela

Combined Interviews

Her last name is Valenzuela and she was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. After she graduated from high school, she got her first fulltime job at Farah. She was working in setting pockets, that involved a lot of hard work and many hours of work. The training that she was, was how to use the machine but like her many other people wants trained well. She says that many supervisors where over them all day long. She says that thru out the day they get 2 breaks from their job and they can rest on site and can …

Interview No. 1762, Leyva Bustamante

Combined Interviews

In April of 1970, Leyva started working at Farah. Everyone at Farah despised their job, and she didn't understand why at first, but after two months, she realized what was right and what was wrong. Leyva, like many other Farah employees on Paisano, was fed up with the unfair treatment and low pay after only a week on the job.

She initially assumed that the hiring process was simple and that Farah employed anyone who was willing to work. Soon after, Leyva recognized that Farah had employed a large number of individuals, and that they needed to balance the number …

Interview No. 1777, Tarango

Combined Interviews

Tarangos fathers’ parents were from Mexico and they passed away when she was very little. She never got to meet them. Her grandparent where from Leon Guanajuato, Mexico as well as his dad. Tarango mentioned that most of his family on her dads’ side were shoe makers back in Mexico, which was all he talked about to Tarango about. Sometimes he would talk about God or the Bible, but mostly about the shoe repair shop they had in Mexico. When Tarango’s dad came to the United States in the 1911 and he didn’t know English very well, but he managed …

Interview No. 1780, Arieta

Combined Interviews

Arieta started off her interview by mentioning that she had always wanted to study to be a nurse. Her husband didn’t believe in her because she was 30 when she began trying to get into nursing. She even mentioned that she felt old to be studying, but she really wanted to be somebody and have a life other than just being a housewife.

Arieta was tired of being at home and not knowing anything about the world. She ended up not being a nurse because at that time they started to ask for people to have a high school degree …

Interview No. 1779, Del Palacio

Combined Interviews

Del Palacio was a worker at Farah during the 1970’s. She first started to work for the company when the working conditions were not as bad. Soon things in the company starting to go South. Her quota became higher and higher every week and she was not able to meet the quota many times. Her boss didn’t care if it was literally impossible to complete that many tasks in a short period of time, he just wanted the work done no matter what.

Many of the workers at Farah during that time lived in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Those workers had …

Interview No. 1784, Hernandez

Combined Interviews

She was born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, May 12, 1929. She had a very big family and she got to meet her grandmother and she was living in Ciudad Juarez, so they moved from Alamogordo to Juarez to be with her. Her grandmother used to have a son that had an accident in a mine, and they got a lot of money for compensation, but the son of her uncle spent everything. She was only 6 years old, and her grandmother died when she was 10 years old, they weren’t living with her, but they lived close, so they visit …

Interview No. 1785, Telles

Combined Interviews

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Interview No. 1704, Kristine Levy Taylor

Combined Interviews

Taylor Levy used to be an immigration attorney and she is now a private attorney. She says that when she first graduated she had no interest on being an attorney but when she realized that being an attorney had its benefits she did not think twice and became one. Some of the benefits they had were that the donations would increase; for example they received food, clothes, wheelchairs, event surgeries that were donated from other people that were willing to help. She says that having to hire an attorney can be expensive and she sees the necessity of immigrant people …

Interview No. 1702, Larisa Veloz

Combined Interviews

Dr. Larisa Veloz explains the bi-national Bracero Program which took place from 1942-1964 which invited temporary workers from Mexico. Most of the workers contributed to the agricultural fields but a few worked at factories. The Bracero Program began as a way to alleviate labor loss during the World War II but continued for over twenty years after congress renewed the contracts.

Over 4 million contracts were granted but only to young Mexican men aged from 18-45 years old who had agricultural experience. Individuals went to contracting centers across Mexico and underwent an interview process including physical exams. Once completed, individuals …

Interview No. 1701, Juven Villegas

Combined Interviews

Juven Villegas was born on November 23rd, 1953 in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua on block away from the Rio Grande. His parents, Alejandra and Juven, were both born in Mexico. His father was a part of the Bracero program and came to the border area in the 1940s. By the time Juven was born, his father was no longer a Bracero. During his childhood, Villegas grew up in the Segundo Barrio off of South Oregon and Fifth Street. While living there, he was active in his community as he was on the board of Mexican American Youth Association which was started …

Interview No. 1714, Cecilia Marquez

Combined Interviews

Cecilia Flores Marquez was born on April 11, 1945, and she grew up in Smelter Town. Her father worked in Asarco for 44 years and her mother worked in JCPenny for 11 years. Everyone in Smelter Town lived a happy life and everyone knew everyone. Back in the day, the houses weren’t in condition like they are now. Cecilia also mentioned that her family and she went to a church named Cristo Rey Church one thing that she remembers was that almost everyone in Smelter Town went to church with their kids.

Cecilia went to an elementary and middle school …

Interview No. 1713, Ismael Holguin

Combined Interviews

Ismael Holguin was born in Smelter Town (a community of people who lived near Asarco) on June 17, 1933, and he had 8 brothers and sisters. He grew up in Buena Vista. At the age of 14, his mother moved to Buena Vista so he went there with him. He worked at the El Paso Independent School district and in Asarco.

Ismael had a pretty calm life in Smelter town. He went to school and to the YMCA to play with his friends. He had the same routine once he moved to Buena Vista. He enrolled in the Navy when …

Interview No. 1718, Alicia Sarmiento Ramirez

Combined Interviews

Alicia Sarmiento Ramirez was born in El Paso Texas, on May 11, 1946, and she recently applied for the renewal of her passport and her birth certificate said that she was born in Smelter Town, Texas because at that time it used to be separate from El Paso it was like a separate county. Her father used to be a supervisor on an American Melter called ASARCO, and her mother was a housekeeper and she had 3 sisters and her mom took care of them. Her dad worked since 1945 at ASARCO as a supervisor, he got the position because …

Interview No. 1720, Ismael Ortega

Combined Interviews

His name is Ismael Ortega he was born on July 7, 1946, and raised in El Paso where he attended school, he went to El Paso High for High School. His mother was a servant for George Dickenson and lived at his house where she worked. He started working in ASARCO when he was 25 years old in the year 1974 on the month of July. He worked at the plant because he wanted to have a good future for his family, and they had good benefits, so he decided to work there. His first job at ASARCO was at …

Interview No. 1716, Anastacio Zavala

Combined Interviews

Anastacio Zavala was born in El Paso Texas, he used to live in an area called Francis. His father was a liver and he used to have a horse and they used to ride it. He started working at ASARCO on June 30, 1965, at the age of mid-30s, he started working because of the death of his neighbor, and they called him and he needed to have a high school diploma and he was able to work there. His first job was in the department and he was going to be transferred but someone had an accident and he …

Interview No. 1712, Jaime Archuleta

Combined Interviews

Jaime Archuleta was born in the lower valley in El Paso (Ysleta), but he grew up in Sunland Park, New Mexico. His mom used to stay home and take care of them, while his dad worked as a carpenter all over the southwest.

Jaime started working at Asarco in 1993 when he was about 38 years old. He wanted to work in Asarco because he left a job in Arizona where he worked on a copper smelter so his experiences helped him to get into Asarco. When he first started there he worked as a maintenance mechanic. He worked there …