#OTD on June 9-10, 1969, the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor met in Washington DC to examine labor abuses on migrant workers. The post meeting report, “Migrant and Seasonal Worker Powerlessness” exposed Ranger abuse of striking workers in Starr County.

The meetings and report focused on the southwest and esp Texas. One of the first to testify was Esther Krueger, wife of Rev. Ed Krueger, who spoke about the incident in which her husband, Pancho Medrano, and Kathy Baker were assaulted by Ranger Allee.

She also noted that her employer had fired her for working with her husband to advocate on behalf of farmworkers. She had also been arrested by the Rangers for supporting the strike in Starr County, something she referred to as “double-standard justice.”

William Kircher, AFL-CIO Director of Orgs, also commented on Ranger abuse of strikers and collusion with growers. He explained “there is, and has been for many years, a massive effort to keep farmworkers from organizing.” That effort in Texas relied on the Rangers.

In sum, like other government reports discussed in RTF’s #OTD tweet threads, this one again shed light on Ranger violence and how it intersected with strike and union busting.

This thread is a part of the #OTD in Ranger history campaign that @Refusing2Forget is running this year. Follow this twitter handle or https://refusingtoforget.org/ranger-bicentennial-project/, and visit our website https://refusingtoforget.org to learn more.

Refusing to Forget members are  @ccarmonawriter @carmona2208 @acerift @soniahistoria @BenjaminHJohns1 @LeahLochoa @MonicaMnzMtz and @Alacranita, another co-founder is @GonzalesT956

@emmpask @sdcroll @HistoryBrian @LorienTinuviel @hangryhistorian, @ddsanchez432!, @elprofeml, and @littlejohnjeff are other scholars working on this project.