September and October, 1953, 1953

The union's lawyers made an unsuccessful attempt to settle the Louisiana anti-trust case by arranging for a consent decree; see the report by Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. and Daniel Pollitt on their negotiations with the Justice Department (Sept. 21; Oct. 30), and the draft of the proposed consent decree (n.d. [Oct.]). On Oct. 12, the NAWU Sugar Workers Union began a strike of 1,200 workers in Louisiana to demand union recognition. There are press releases and bulletins throughout October on the strike; see also the summaries of telephone reports from Galarza on what was happening in the strike area (Oct 15,17), a statement on the strike by the Catholic Committee of the South (Oct 16), and a report by Mitchell on "The Denial of Constitutional Rights to Sugar Cane Plantation Workers in Louisiana" (Oct. 27). Finally, there is a letter from Mitchell to members of the USES Farm Labor Advisory Council on a new plan to issue work permits to Mexican Nationals at the border (Oct. 14)