Review: 'The Union of Their Dreams' (THE grape boycott etc.)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/68262447.html

By Elaine Ayala - Express-News

The Union of Their Dreams: Power, Hope and Struggle in Cesar Chavez's Farm Worker Movement
By Miriam Pawel
Bloomsbury, $28

Those who supported the United Farm Workers — who boycotted grapes and lettuce on its behalf and mythologized the man who built the union — might wonder what happened to the organization, after all these years.

The short answer is the union ultimately proved unsuccessful. U.S. farm workers — largely undocumented, unrepresented and vulnerable — toil in similar conditions to those who joined the union during the peak of CÈsar Ch·vez's leadership.

In her new book "The Union of Their Dreams," author Miriam Pawel attempts to answer that question from the perspectives of eight people — lawyers, students, clergy and farm workers — who were there alongside its charismatic leader.

Instead of being glorified, Ch·vez is remembered in ways some readers may not be ready to hear.

"Everyone saw the story from his or her own perspective," Pawel, a former Los Angeles Times investigative reporter, said in a recent interview. "They didn't see the story in its fullness."

Her most prominent protagonist is Chris Hartmire, a young Protestant minister and community organizer who was one of Ch·vez's earliest supporters. His role was key, Pawel says, because he helped mobilize the faith community when it was more sympathetic to growers, then regarded as pillars of the community.

Part of Ch·vez's early inner circle, Hartmire supported the movement financially through his Migrant Ministry. He also recruited students and summer interns, who also played crucial roles.

FULL story at link.