Search Help

How does this work?
There are many ways to search the collections of the Freedom Archives. Below is a brief guide that will help you conduct effective searches. Note, anytime you search for anything in the Freedom Archives, the first results that appear will be our digitized items. Information for items that have yet to be scanned or yet to be digitized can still be viewed, but only by clicking on the show link that will display the hidden (non-digitized) items. If you are interested in accessing these non-digitized materials, please email info@freedomarchives.org.
Exploring the Collections without the Search Bar
Under the heading Browse By Collection, you’ll notice most of the Freedom Archives’ major collections. These collections have an image as well as a short description of what you’ll find in that collection. Click on that image to instantly explore that specific collection.
Basic Searching
You can always type what you’re looking for into the search bar. Certain searches may generate hundreds of results, so sometimes it will help to use quotation marks to help narrow down your results. For instance, searching for the phrase Black Liberation will generate all of our holdings that contain the words Black and Liberation, while searching for “Black Liberation” (in quotation marks) will only generate our records that have those two words next to each other.
Advanced Searching
The Freedom Archives search site also understands Boolean search logic. Click on this link for a brief tutorial on how to use Boolean search logic. Our search function also understands “fuzzy searches.” Fuzzy searches utilize the (*) and will find matches even when users misspell words or enter in only partial words for the search. For example, searching for liber* will produce results for liberation/liberate/liberates/etc.
Keyword Searches
You’ll notice that under the heading KEYWORDS, there are a number of words, phrases or names that describe content. Sometimes these are also called “tags.” Clicking on these words is essentially the same as conducting a basic search.

Search Results

Watsonville Cannery Interviews Watsonville Cannery Interviews
Call Number: CV 069AFormat: Cass ACollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Interiews by Chuy Varela about the decertification election for the Watsonville Canning Strike in 1986. Varela interviews strike leader Gloria Betancourt and Teamsters Local 912 Secretary Treasurer Sergio Lopez about the importance of the election, the support for the strike, and the participation of the Teamsters International in the boycott of the plant's products.
One Year Commemoration of the Watsonville Strike One Year Commemoration of the Watsonville Strike
Call Number: CV 070Format: Cass A & BProgram: Women's MagazineCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Ending of retrospective on Lydia Mendoza leads into radio program about the Watsonville Canning Strike and the role of Chicana workers in the success and solidarity of the strike. Program includes interviews of workers, Secretary Treasurer of Teamsters Local 912 Sergio Lopez, strike leader Gloria Betancourt. Includes speeches by Gloria Betancourt at Mecha in Berkeley, and Jesse Jackson in Watsonville.
Radio Havana Cuba Radio Havana Cuba
Date: 11/11/1973Call Number: KP 325Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Radio Havana CubaCollection: Cuba
Series of inserts from Radio Havana Cuba English language broadcast, start with marking of Haymarket martyrs anniversary, then report on Chilean resistance and Latin American news, then reports on the 13th national congress of the Cuban Workers Congress (CTC). ending with news from Vietnam and all of Indochina.
Green Giant Layoff Marcha Green Giant Layoff Marcha
Date: 10/27/1990Call Number: CV 076Format: Cass A & BCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Interviews and speeches recorded at a march in Watsonville, CA in support of laid-off workers from the Green Giant frozen foods packing plant. Interviews in English and Spanish, speeches in Spanish with translation.
Red Star Singers Red Star Singers
Call Number: KP 327Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Claude MarksCollection: General materials
Five less well known songs by The Red Star Singers: Kaiser, Prices Gotta Come Down, Amnesty, Rape Song, and Won't Cross That Line. Recorded in 1974.
Watsonville Green Giant Layoffs and the Earthquake One Year Later Watsonville Green Giant Layoffs and the Earthquake One Year Later
Date: 10/11/1990Call Number: CV 077Format: Cass A & BCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Collection of interviews by Chuy Varela about the Green Giant lay offs as well as the progress and recovery of Watsonville from the 1989 earthquake. Interviewees include laid-off workers, Teamsters Local 912 Sec. Treas. Sergio Lopez, FEMA employees, families living in trailer parks, and other community members. Tape ends with the radio program about free trade agreements and the Watsonville plant closing.
Instituto Laboral #1 Instituto Laboral #1
Date: 9/4/1987Call Number: CV 078Format: Cass A & BCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Annual awards ceremony of the Insituto Laboral de la Raza. Speeches and presentations by various San Francisco labor leaders. Award recipients include Gloria Betancourt and Curt Flood.
Watsonville Green Giant Layoffs Watsonville Green Giant Layoffs
Date: 4/11/1991Call Number: CV 081Format: Cass A & BCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Rally for laid-off Green Giant employees announcing boycott efforts against Green Giant and Grand Metropolitan foods. Workers Yolanda Navarro, Carmen Ruiz, and Lauro Navarro, as well as local members of the clergy speak on behalf of the workers, listing their demands against the company.
NAFTA Debate NAFTA Debate
Call Number: CV 089Format: CassetteProducers: Chuy VarelaCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Raul Hinojosa, UCLA professor, and others discussing NAFTA and its impact.
Colombian Flower Workers Colombian Flower Workers
Date: 4/15/1993Call Number: CV 095AFormat: Cass AProducers: Chuy VarelaProgram: Noticiero LatinoCollection: Chuy Varela Collection
Silbina Torres, a Colombian flower worker, talks about the unsafe working conditions and poverty-level income in the flower industry.