Fred Ross - Experience in Organizing

Experience in Organizing

In John Steinbeck’s famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes the journey and tribulations of the Joad family, a group of migrant workers looking for work in California. He describes a labor camp that was based on a real camp in Arvin. Fred Ross Sr. was placed in charge of this camp shortly after Steinbeck left the area. Ross was later promoted to cover about 25 camps similar to this one all over California and Arizona. In the camps, Ross saw the poverty and poor working conditions experienced by the workers. He found in his heart the desire to organize, and he did so by earning the trust of the workers and beginning a form of self-government in the camp so that the workers could band together to fight to improve their conditions. He encouraged them to speak up and be heard, despite the fear of confrontation with power holders. After the war, Ross worked for the American Council of Race Relations, whose goal was to “create unity, and end the riots…between whites and minorities.” Ross began organizing and obtained the interest of Saul Alinsky, a well known organizer and head of the Industrial Areas Foundation. In September 1947, Alinsky hired Ross to organize Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles. He organized in Southern California for 6 years before moving on to San Jose, which was the largest Spanish center outside of Los Angeles.