FLOC was founded in September 1967 by Baldemar Velásquez and his father. Velásquez had been deeply influenced by the ideas of Gandhi,
César Chávez and
Martin Luther King Jr. But the effort largely failed, and in September 1968 Velásquez called a strike against 10 tomato growers in Ohio. Five growers signed contracts recognizing the union, agreeing to a minimum wage and limited health insurance, and promising not to discriminate against union members or union organizers. But in the following year, sustained anti-union opposition from the growers (backed by the
American Farm Bureau Federation), the withdrawal of some growers from the tomato market, the refusal of some growers to honor their contracts, and the efforts of some growers to raise wages and improve working conditions caused Velásquez to rethink his organizing strategy. From 1970 to 1983, Velasquez implemented a long-term strategy to build public support for the farmworkers, publicizing the discrimination, low wages, and often appalling working conditions they faced. In 1976, workers at a tomato cannery in
Warren, Indiana, struck over the employer's tactic of overrecruiting workers in order to force down wages. The workers spontaneously barricaded themselves inside the cannery, refusing to allow the perishable crop inside until their grievances had been addressed. Velásquez decided that the union's first target should be the
Campbell Soup Company. The goal was three-way bargaining: The produce buyer (Campbell's) would pay slightly more for produce, which would allow growers to pay farmworkers much higher wages. Velásquez asked migrant workers in 1978 to strike growers with contracts with Campbell's, and 2,000 farm workers walked off the job. Velásquez required that all strikers be trained in nonviolent protest techniques, and he worked closely with local churches and religious groups so that large numbers of clergy and nuns were present (which inhibited violence). Campbell's denied any involvement in the strike (claiming the union's dispute was with the growers and not the soup company), and Velásquez announced a boycott in 1979. At the
1984 Democratic National Convention, Velásquez strategically positioned farmworkers in the audience with signs reading "Boycott Campbell's." Cameras focused on the signs during a
prime time speech by Democratic presidential candidate Rev.
Jesse Jackson, which raised the profile of the boycott. It covered 600 workers at 16 tomato growers in Ohio and 12 cucumber growers in Michigan, an additional 71 growers agreed to hold union organizing elections in the summer of 1986. Once more, Velásquez decided on a boycott when initial attempts to secure a three-way collective bargaining contract failed. Velásquez personally led a four-day, march from
Mount Olive, North Carolina, to
Raleigh. On September 16, 2004, FLOC signed a collective bargaining agreement with Mount Olive and the growers which covered more than 8,500 of the state's 10,000
guest workers. It was the first union contract for farmworkers in the state, and the first to establish a union
hiring hall in Mexico to supply the state with guest workers. The same year, he was one of only 15 individuals appointed to a committee of the
International Labour Organization to create global working condition standards for farmworkers. ==Other service==