Curious Unions: Mexican American Workers and Resistance in Oxnard, California, 1898–1961

— —

Frank P. Barajas

Curious Unions

Mexican American Workers and Resistance in Oxnard, California, 1898–1961

Frank P. Barajas

$63.95 $54.74

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

University of Nebraska Press
01 December 2021

History of the Americas; Social & cultural history; Ethnic studies; Industrial relations; Local history

Series: Race and Ethnicity in the American West

Cesar E. Chavez came to Oxnard, California, in 1958, twenty years after he lived briefly in the city as a child with his migrant farmworker family during the Great Depression. This time Chavez returned as the organizer of the Community Service Organization to support the unionization campaign of the United Packinghouse Workers of America. Together the two groups challenged the agricultural industry's use of braceros (imported contract laborers) that displaced resident farmworkers.

The Mexican and Mexican American populations in Oxnard were involved in cultural struggles and negotiations long before Chavez led them in marches and active protests. Curious Unions explores the ways in which the Mexican community forged intriguing partnerships with other ethnic groups within Oxnard in the first half of the twentieth century and the resulting economic exchanges, cultural practices, and labor and community activism. Frank P. Barajas examines how the Oxnard ethnic Mexican population exercised its agency in alliance with other groups and organizations to meet their needs before large-scale protests and labor unions were engaged. Curious Unions charts how the cultural negotiations that took place in the Oxnard ethnic Mexican community helped shape and empower farm labor organizing.

By: Frank P. Barajas
Imprint: University of Nebraska Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781496229038
ISBN 10: 1496229037
Series: Race and Ethnicity in the American West
Pages: 277
Publication Date: 01 December 2021
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Frank P. Barajas is a professor of history at California State University Channel Islands. He is the author of Mexican Americans with Moxie: A Transgenerational History of El Movimiento Chicano in Ventura County, California, 1945–1975 (Nebraska, 2021).

Reviews for Curious Unions: Mexican American Workers and Resistance in Oxnard, California, 1898–1961

""Curious Unions is a pioneering work. It should be recognized for its detailed research, including its extensive use of community-based oral histories and its proposed new theories regarding how Mexican workers strengthened their own community and survived the economic transformations of the region.""—Margo McBane, American Historical Review “An outstanding portrait of a cross-tribal international region prior to its incorporation into the United States. . . . Subsequent chapters are a wealthy mix of local and national documents alongside personal narratives from those who lived in the community.”-S. M. Green, Choice “Enriche[s] our understanding of how labor organizers, community members, strikes, and forms of resistance have helped improve the lives of Mexican and Mexican American workers and families.”-Luis H. Moreno, Journal of American Ethnic History