Original subtitles

Hello, I'm calling from the trip. I'd like to confirm a quote.

How much money was involved?

Was it over $1 ,000?

Was it over $10 ,000?

No,

because they're illegal, it doesn't matter.

United, we all triumph.

The grower slipped him in last night.

Where's this group from?

Chiapas.

Oaxaca? A long way to come.

I tried to explain our problem to them. They don't understand. They won't

listen. They used to pay $200 to get across the border.

Right. For the privilege of coming here and doing this work.

We're beat, Tommy.

Hey, we're not beat.

We've been fighting this thing for a long time, and we're not beat.

Sure.

We've been on strikes so long, nobody even realizes it.

Nobody cares.

That's why we gotta heat this thing up again.

Hernandez,

Hernandez.

Gee, this is embarrassing. I'm sorry.

I just don't remember you. You sure we were friends? No, you didn't know me.

knew of me.

Yeah, you covered sports for the school paper.

I was the running back.

That Tommy Hernandez.

Yeah, 65 -yard TD run against Stanford.

Uh, 72 yards, yeah.

I did an interview with you. That was a really good piece.

Yeah, I had a really good season.

So, uh, how's it going?

Not too bad.

I've seen your byline in the paper.

Yeah, I see you're doing pretty good.

Listen, I came across this story. I thought you might want to hear it.

Sure, sure.

You still with Oakland?

No, no, I'm not in football anymore.

I'm up here in Ortega doing some union work with the farm workers.

Have you heard of the reference to you, Bolster?

Uh, it rings a bell. Uh, fill me in.

Do it. You can put this in today. What do you got?

A peeping tom out of some condos in Woodland Hills. Someone drilled a hole

the ceiling of a couple's bedroom.

They complained to the police who still haven't caught him.

Or her.

Well, why can't the peeper be a woman?

Peepers are never women.

Women just aren't as turned on by visual stimulation.

Oh, who says?

That's pretty well accepted.

Is it?

I just got a very interesting call. Do you remember Reverend Hugh Holstrom?

I think so. That cult up in San Francisco?

No, no. He was a farm labor activist in the Central Valley. He was active in the

early 60s. He's still alive?

I hope so. He's making an appearance at a rally in a little town near Fresno. I

got this call from Tommy Hernandez, who's a buddy of mine from school. He

big football star.

I remember him. Tommy Hernandez.

Great scrambling tailback. Terrific moves.

Isn't he the guy who ran 80 yards for a touchdown against Stanford?

72, yeah.

What about him?

This isn't about him.

He's an Ortega with a farm worker strike.

What farm worker strike? Where's he striking now?

Bellary, I think, in the area around Ortega.

Exactly. Anyway, Tommy tells me things are heating up and Holstrom's coming out

of retirement, if that's the word for it, to join in the effort. So, what do

think about me going up there to cover this Holstrom thing?

Not too much.

You could be missing a bet here, Lou. I'll tell you what does interest me,

friend Tommy Hernandez.

Here they were talking about a great career and approach for him.

And now he's up in Ortega, striking so farm workers can earn 20 cents an hour

more. Get me something on that.

Okay, right.

Who used to cover farm labor around here?

Different guys over the years.

When Holstrom was active, we had a kid just out of college.

Hard worker, real bright.

Great sense of humor.

What happened to him?

He was so good, they put him behind a desk.

He's a few years older now, dressing tastefully, losing his hair.

You.

What attracted you to it?

Corky Miller.

She was a college girl, volunteer helping a farm worker.

Tall, long leg, blonde hair down to her waist.

Champion of the underdog.

pickets stranded for two hours in the hot sun.

You don't pick them up.

You don't tell anybody anything.

All you want to do is hang around an ice air conditioned bar, stuffing your face

with burritos, drinking cold beer, and telling all your friends what a

organizer you are.

Tommy, I'm sorry.

Look, those are our people. We don't let them down.

Forgive me. Ask your priest to forgive you.

Then I'm out?

No.

I can't afford to lose the best man I have.

As long as you know that this can't happen again, you understand?

I understand.

How come you got so old and I didn't?

How come you got so fat and I didn't? I broke training about ten years ago, and

if some people found out, it could break some hearts.

So what happened? You had such a great career going. Sports writers drive you

nuts?

Nah, that didn't bother me at all.

So what was it then?

Violence get to you?

Contact? Being on the road all the time, playing hurt?

I liked all that.

I got cut.

Oh.

Why are you going to write that down for me?

Well, it's part of the story about a jock who had great potential and is a

leader in the Central Valley.

Man, that's no story.

It's a story I was assigned to do.

Oh, man, it's no good.

But if you have to, maybe you want to see me in action this afternoon at a

rally with Reverend Olsen?

Yeah, I think that's part of the story.

Good. And why don't you wait for me in the car, and I'll give you a lift to my

pickup. Okay. All right? Yeah.

Yeah, he bought it. Yeah.

How many does that make now?

Okay.

It's going down today, then.

The couple was amorously involved?

They were.

That sounds so stilted. Okay, I'll say it. Stilted is fine. I like stilted.

Okay, then you got Mrs. Schiller felt a tingling sensation.

Oh, gee.

Off her back from the sawdust.

Sawdust? Yeah, you see, they were... No, no, you're telling the readers more

than they want to know.

I don't want to tell her what's wrong with that.

Nothing.

Okay, let's put it this way. You're telling me more than I want to know.

Her first thought was, quote, it's never felt like this before, close quote.

That's out. Lou. We're not saying that.

His first thought was termite, then mice.

Then when her husband investigated, he knew whatever had been looking down

through the hole was human.

How? Because a mouse wouldn't leave a pillow to prop his elbows on and a jar

peanut butter in a box of crackers.

Oh, this is good.

It was the owner of the apartment house.

Yeah, they found little holes in the ceiling of several apartments and little

microphones in the crawlspace with wires leading to the owner's apartment. That

way he could hear when there was something to go watch.

Look. Maybe this is a generational thing, okay?

But you two look at this differently.

I'm sorry.

This is a woodland health paper?

Yeah, Charlie, I was just thinking twice about it here.

Cute. We'll run it in a box on page one of the Metro section.

just going to have a lot of decayed salary.

I'd be the first to feel the loss.

I love celery in my tuna salad.

You pick it all you want.

But you leave the workers in the field alone, okay?

They won't listen to me anyway.

Of course, I might try to find someone they will listen to.

Who is that guy?

Paul Gaius. He owns this farm.

I don't let that fool you.

Reverend, watch your feet out here. We sure appreciate your coming.

Let's do it!

progress.

But we have not won the fight.

I well remember that the growers used the same tactics then that they use

now.

They exploit the difficulties our brothers and sisters from Mexico face in

to break the strike.

I believe if we can get them to understand...

My Spanish is a little rusty, but I'm going to walk out into the field.

guys you go to college with each of them third did you get each of them this hot

exclusive tip

lou

grant will continue in a moment here on a and e

I never said this was an exclusive.

Yeah, but you did give me the impression it was a news story happening.

Hey, if you were me, Joe, trying to accomplish the same goals, you'd do the

thing.

I just don't like it done to me.

Look, we've been on strike for six months now.

The public could tell that.

Not my problem.

Look down there, Joe.

What do you see?

I see a road going back to L .A.

I don't even know what you're looking at.

Three miles down that road is a labor camp, where maybe 500 people are living

below the poverty line, literally starving.

You ever been to a labor camp?

No.

You know what a speed -up is?

A speed -up?

Yeah, that's when the grower puts out a call for three times the amount of

workers he'll need. Everybody shows up, competes with everybody else.

Meanwhile, the fastest ones stay.

The rest of them, they're out.

Is this a standard thing?

Have you ever seen a 10 -year -old kid working all day in 100 -degree heat?

Still not your problem, right?

You know, if you took the time to understand what was happening out there,

know why it's everybody's problem.

It's my favorite time of year, the spring.

Everything's coming up, pristine, clean, no insects, no dust.

Listening to new growth.

A lot of promise, Jim.

From what I can see, it isn't an easy life.

Yeah, you're up before dawn, and the work all day is back -breaking.

The money.

I don't know. The money's not always that good.

You sound like a union man.

They tell me how tough it is for the farm workers.

Well, I'm not talking about a farm worker. I'm talking about myself.

My day.

It's hard.

When you add in the risk factor, last year's drought, strike now, you're

killed.

My crop, it won't wait.

It's got to be picked.

This is why you need the illegal workers you've got out there now.

That's right.

I lose them, I lose it all.

You mean people say they're scams?

I don't.

To me, they're just part of the workforce.

I pay those people huge in minimum, you know.

Well, if you're paying union wages, why don't you sign the contract?

I have to run my own business. I have to control who it is I hire.

Picking celery is fairly easy, but I've got other interests.

Fruit trees, for example.

There's trimming the trees, picking to maturity, sinning.

These things take skill.

Some are good at it and some aren't.

The union, I just can't afford to have them forcing unskilled people on me.

And that's what they want to do.

Hernandez says that you'd rather hire illegals. It keeps wages low.

What else do you think he's going to say?

You don't get along, do you?

I've known Tommy for years.

We used to be friends.

Oh, that's true.

We played football together.

Hello.

Yeah.

Oh, what's going on?

No, no thanks. I'll skip that parade.

All right, well, I'll see you later.

Bye.

My best in the union is demonstrating down at the jail.

Yeah?

Why don't you go on?

You don't have to be polite. Besides, it sounds like a better story than you're

probably getting here anyway.

Thanks.

Onions?

You're kidding.

Fuck. I'm not going to kiss any of you guys. What do you care?

I can't believe you're going to sit there when we're in the middle of this

worker strike blithely eating an onion.

I'm not eating it blindly.

Billy, I think it's okay. That onion boycott's over.

Really? Yeah.

I'm pretty sure.

Oh, great. They sent me all this stuff in the mail telling me to boycott

but they never even send me a postcard telling me it's over.

Is ketchup okay?

Is relish okay?

Meat okay?

They're okay.

They're just bad for you, that's all.

I gotta send somebody else up to our ticket to help Rosalie. Who we got?

We're real tight with reporters right now, Lou.

How about you?

You got the experience.

Oh, no.

I like working these stories from here.

People call in on the telephone.

News comes in on the wire.

Coffee machine's only a couple of steps away.

You never get the feeling you'd like to be out in the field again.

Only if it's an air -conditioned field.

No, no, they won't let anybody

will continue in a moment here on A &E.

I remember because it's the last Super Bowl bet I won.

I think Rossi's getting too close to the story.

Say yes.

Yeah, I'll accept.

Rossi, you're in jail.

I heard.

Wyatt's got it, huh?

Mm -hmm. What is it about a riot?

It wasn't really a riot. Things got out of hand when a... Rumors started about

Holster having a heart attack in jail.

Picked me up when I lost my press credentials.

What about Holster?

Well, he must be okay. He's still in here somewhere.

But things are getting tense.

Spring me, Lou, will you?

Go on, say you've got a chance to get to Holster.

You're the only reporter inside and you want us to get you out?

Eventually. I mean, get me out eventually.

Eventually we will.

Yeah.

Lou, I don't have much time. Can I give you my notes?

Give them to Rosenthal.

Rosenthal, Rossi, line one.

I need two reporters to get up to Ortega.

Why two?

You gonna bail Rossi out or carry him out?

The story's heating up and I want him to stay put for a while. Who's available?

Just you would be good.

Perfect. Speak Spanish. Who else?

I guess we could send Billy.

Nah, nah.

He's still on the injured reserve list.

What about that kid who used to cover the farm?

Right.

Sensitive. Not a reporter anymore.

Did a heck of a job for a kid fresh out of school.

That was years ago.

He wouldn't give up his desk now if it begged him.

How about if I threaten him?

Buenos dias, pajaritos.

Joe Rossi, Los Angeles Tribune.

Rossi, you say.

Congratulations on being in here with the good guys.

It's not the way it looks. I'm in here by mistake.

Maybe, maybe not.

How you doing?

Real question is, how are you doing? We heard you had a heart attack.

very tired. They let me spend the night in the infirmary.

Reverend, I'm curious.

How come you came out of retirement after all these years?

The workers were losing. The strike was dead in the water. So Tommy called me.

You know how persuasive he can be.

Do you really think you can win?

Should I translate

that for you?

No, no. I think I understood that.

The thing is, while you're in here, the crops are being picked by undocumented

workers. Now you can't stop them.

We'll stop them.

We'll talk to them, explain things, and they'll understand.

He says we'll be firm.

I'm sure.

What we're trying to say, Miss Pinchot, is that some toes are bound to get

stepped on.

Well, that's never deterred us before.

What's the problem?

They're your toes.

Really?

Well, do continue.

It's about our series on farm labor.

Well, we're in the clear there. We've never gone in for stoop labor in the

room.

Mrs. Petchon, you sit on the University Board of Regents.

That's correct.

Well, it seems the regents through the university are among the world's biggest

developers of new agricultural machinery.

We approve money for research in that area. There's nothing wrong with making

farming more efficient.

Farm workers think there is. More mechanization means fewer jobs.

More mechanization means more food.

As I see it, food is the issue.

Miss Pitchon, the Board of Regents is being sued on this issue.

I'm aware of that, Mr. Hume. I attend the meetings.

Some public interest groups claim that there is a conflict of interest, that

some regions will benefit directly from the new machines.

They and you seem to forget the West Coast is thousands of miles away from

East Coast markets. That puts the California grower at a tremendous

because of...

Our high shipping costs. Now, we owe our farmers all the help they can get.

Actually, we're not here to debate the merits of this situation.

We just wanted you to know that we're publishing this story so it wouldn't

as a surprise.

I appreciate that.

In other words, your story will include names of regents in a potential conflict

of interest.

In fact, my name among others.

It's unavoidable. Then don't avoid it.

Just be sure that the regent's point of view is fairly presented.

Mrs. Pinchon, since you are involved, perhaps you'd like to make a statement?

No comment.

Rise and shine, Mr. Rossi. You're leaving.

grab your bedding.

Oh.

Hey, can you just give me a minute? I want to say goodbye to the boys.

All right, go ahead. Just make it snappy, will you? Adios, amigo.

Reverend.

Wish I could say I was going to miss this place.

Good luck, Joe.

I know you write what you see.

Don't forget to write what you feel.

The gentleman from the press is leaving, amigos.

Let's give him a union send -off. Hey, let's hear it for the press!

Come on!

Probably the guards hearing the process being released.

A

little

something for your scrapbook?

What did Lou decide to do, open a bureau up here? Or did he think it takes three

of you guys to replace me?

It's good to see you. What took you so long? We had to stop at the Prune

Festival in Lodi.

You need anything?

Yeah, a shower and a good night's sleep.

And I think I'll talk to some illegals. Oye, no vas a saber notar si no les

entiendes.

How's that?

My Spanish needs a little work.

You can't quote them if you don't understand what they're saying.

I'd better do it.

Uh, I don't think so.

Rossi, your story is still Hernandez.

And will you go with Castillo and I'll cover the growers.

Oh, thanks for everything.

Well, I'll tell you what I love. That's these out -of -town newspaper men who

come up here and two days later they're in for an expert.

Hold it, Fisher.

You got the wrong guy.

I know you from years before you took over the Cutler's place.

I knew Red from when he was on the Rodriguez parcel.

Well, we're still butting heads with the union.

Nothing to say.

You newspaper and TV guys supported the union then, and you support it now.

Now the union just knows how to manipulate the press better than we do.

I think if we argued our case more effectively, you guys would come up with

pretty clever ads.

Nobody cares about us.

We care, or we wouldn't be here.

The thing that I don't understand is why you small growers are so strongly

aligned with the big corporations.

What have you got in common?

Hey, look.

Big growers, small growers, we're all in the same business.

We all have to stick together against the enemy.

Aren't the farm workers in the same business as you are? Don't you have to

with them? At least negotiate with them?

Look, I have worked my land a long time, and I care what happens to it. Now,

I'll be damned if I'm going to let some outsider from Baja or Chihuahua come in

here and negotiate it out among me.

I don't think that's fair, Bill. What?

I mean, Hernandez, he's local.

I mean, sure, he's a little hard -nosed, but I think he's just looking out for

his people.

His people.

Here's people who have it made.

They've got nothing invested in the land.

Something doesn't work out, they move on. Free as a bird.

No responsibility.

Personally, I can't wait until a whole bunch of them are replaced by machines.

You ought to admit it, you know. What?

You're not going to get along any better with those machines.

I was covering this story 15 years ago. You said exactly the same things then.

The only difference today is there are fewer of you.

And the conglomerates are getting bigger.

I just think it would be in your best interest if you spoke up for yourself

a change.

He says his father was a farmer in Sinaloa. They had a little land.

But there was a big drought and they lost everything.

So there was nothing left for them to stay for.

There was no place left to go, so they came north to work.

Do they understand they're working on a struck farm?

He says they gotta eat.

But they could join the union.

Well, they'd be the last in line to work.

The union has nothing to offer them.

Cuidado, amigo.

Habiéndose de libros.

Escóndete, mujer.

Escóndete.

What's that?

Trouble.

Goons work for the growers. Come on.

Don't you want to talk to some of the others, sir? These guys are nothing but.

Come on. Let's get out of here.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

Yeah.

Uh -huh.

A really big part?

How soon do you think?

What do you mean you can't get by with only one photon?

Are you covering a story? You're trying to start your newspaper up there.

Sorry, Rossi, but you just have to make do.

Yeah, I understand.

The growers won't budge.

That's not news anymore, Art.

Here?

All the usual.

So far we haven't missed a day yet.

Good, I'm glad it's calm because we're going to hold your peace for a day and

I'll give you time to rework it.

Well, I don't like to tell you how to do your job, Art, but that stuff on the

growers is great, only there's not enough of it.

We just want to know what makes those people tick.

You're right, I guess I do like to tell you how to do your job.

Yeah,

but... That was Donovan. He said everything's quiet.

That was Rossi. He says it's explosive up there.

We tried to make them understand.

Our brothers in the field won't listen.

We've got to go out there and convince them to stop working.

Now, a man who's been with us...

Since the beginning, more than a supporter, he's a friend and a brother.

Reverend Hugh Hallstrom.

We're tired of hearing how the farmers, the wholesalers, and the grocers aren't

making enough money.

They're starving.

When did you last see a farmer?

to sign a contract for a living wage, they better be prepared to watch their

salary rot.

This is a struggle we deserve to win.

This is a struggle we must win.

This is a struggle.

wants to talk. Sure. About how we should pick his plot on his terms.

Forget it.

This will look great in print. Union leader refuses to negotiate with grower.

Why did Geyer call you, Rossi?

I mean, whose side are you on?

And what do you gain by me meeting Geyer?

I get his story either way, Hernandez.

What do you gain by not meeting with him?

It's not a strike anymore.

The parade is turning into a war.

People get hurt in wars.

Are you threatening me?

You know me better than that. I'm just trying to avoid the war.

You can do that with a flick of your wrist. Just sign the contract. Tommy,

been thinking about that. Your damn association has done nothing but think

that. I am not talking about the association.

Just me.

I'm willing to negotiate separately.

Why?

I don't feel that my interests and the rest of the growers' interests are the

same anymore.

So, you want to sign the contract?

I need some time.

There's a lot to talk over.

How about a cooling off period?

Sure. So you can get your crops in and then forget about us.

You must think you're dealing with some dumb little wetback or something.

Tom, there isn't any reason we can't work this thing out together.

I mean, just like the old days. You always said I was the best tackle in the

league.

I opened a lot of big holes for you once.

You're not playing games anymore, guy. You signed the contract.

That's it?

I mean, there's no room for movement?

That's it.

I thought we were friends. I mean, friends don't back each other into

Friends? Where do you get that from?

Come on, Tommy, we grew up here together.

That's not the same thing as friends.

When did you ever invite me to your house, huh?

Or come over to dinner at mine.

That's friends, not just people that know each other.

That's personal, isn't it?

That's what this is all about.

You're not thinking about this thing objectively anymore.

I'm going to beat you, Geyer.

Hernandez!

Your membership would be a lot better off without you.

Blue Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

Yeah, to guy -a -thon people with charge.

Involuntary manslaughter. They're out on bail.

Can you dictate to someone?

Yeah, why not?

A couple of state senators, congressmen.

Yeah, Tommy finally got the media coverage he wanted.

is killing.

Why do you say that?

It's a grand old tradition.

Farm worker gets killed, somebody gets slapped on the wrist.

There's one good thing, though.

Geyer signed the contract.

Maybe there'll be peace for a while in Ortega.

Okay, well, she ran it up.

I'm not going to borrow your quotes on the growers.

My quotes are your quotes.

Castillo, give me something on the migrants.

Where do they go? What happens to them?

Well, the group that's up there is moving out.

You don't know where they're going, but... We do know that there will be

coming. Well, we better jump on this fast. Since Hernandez's death, things

already started to cool down. Am I right?

Right. And the farm workers probably won't be news again for another six

This is it, Mr. Gregorio.

Let's go.

They're men and women who've created some of the world's biggest financial

empires. Wealth and Power Week begins with the biography of Leona Helmsley

tonight. Now, a tough cop goes after a serial rapist on Police Story, next on

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