March 7 - Work Faster! Work Faster!

On this day in labor history, the year was 1974.

That was the day workers at Farah Manufacturing finally ratified a first contract.

Workers went on strike in May 1972 demanding union recognition.

Owner Willie Farah had said he’d rather die than have his company go union.

It was said he rode his bicycle through the plant screaming “Work Faster! Work Faster!”

Management had imposed increasingly unattainable production quotas that bred dangerous working conditions, until finally workers had had enough.

The organizing drive to bring in the American Clothing Workers of America began in 1969.

It spread to five plants throughout El Paso, Texas. Workers often met in secret.

Though male cutters had initially sought out representation with the ACWA, the workforce was overwhelmingly comprised of Mexican-American women.

They became some of the union’s best leaders.

Workers staged a walkout in March 1972 and many were fired on the spot.

By May 1972, the firing of workers at the San Antonio plant for union activity prompted the strike.

Declared an unfair labor practice strike, the AFL-CIO began a national boycott campaign of Farah products.

The ACWA organized public support and strike relief.

Women strikers embarked on nationwide speaking tours as part of the Justice for Farah Strikers Committee, to build the boycott and public support.

By early 1974, the NLRB ordered reinstatement and union organizing.

The contract included wage increases, seniority rights and job security, and grievance procedures.

But long-term lessons of the strike proved that the work of organizing could never stop with winning recognition and a first contract.

Workers continued to battle for years against quotas, firings and weak representation in a historically Right-to-Work state.