September 22, 2006 - The Southern Tenant Farmers Union was established in Tyronza, Arkansas in July 1934 by 11 white men and seven black men. Two of the key organizers were H. L. Mitchell, who owned a dry cleaners in Tyronza, and Clay East, who owned a service station in the adjacent building.

Much of the union’s historic importance comes from its bi-racial membership and the fact that it included black and white tenant farmers, men and women, in leadership positions. This integration was rare at that time and place.

The union grew out of tenants’ concerns about unfair practices in implementation of the federal Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) of 1933. The AAA was passed to help support cotton prices by reducing production as part of New Deal legislation to lift farmers out of the Great Depression. Government support checks were paid to farmers to offset the loss of income, due to plowed up cotton.

These checks were made payable only to landowners, who were supposed to share income with tenants, but many did not. Because the AAA program reduced cotton acreage in the Delta by one-third to one-half, the need for tenants was reduced as well. Many were evicted. Some had the option of eviction or becoming day labors, who were not eligible for support payments.

As the Depression deepened, tenants met informally to search for ways to improve their miserable living conditions, avoid evictions and gain a fair share of AAA payments. These meetings led to formation of the union. The Union’s mission statement pointed out that “Our sole purpose…is to secure better living conditions…and higher wages for farm labor and to help build a world where there is no poverty…for those who are willing to work.”

The STFU received many pleas for help from evicted tenants and interceded on their behalf. Major union successes included a cotton pickers’ strike in 1935 that brought higher picking wages throughout the region, establishment of STFU locals in surrounding states, and a Missouri Bootheel demonstration that focused national attention on the plight of tenant farmers. STFU leaders also helped support strikes by fruit canners in California and cane harvesters in Louisiana.

In the late 1930s, the Southern Tenant Farmers Union affiliated with United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA) chartered through the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The merger soon became a focus of STFU dissent. In March 1939 state conventions were held to determine which members wanted to stay with STFU and who wanted to remain with UCAPAWA-CIO. This split seriously depleted the ranks of both organizations.

During the 1940s the STFU changed its name to the National Farm Labor Union, and in 1946 became part of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Along with continuing internal issues, the decline of the tenant farmers union was accelerated by loss of workers to northern industries gearing up for World War II. Mechanized farming methods also contributed to the migration of labor out of the Delta. Seven million persons, black and white, fled the South after 1940. By the 1960s the National Farm Labor Union (STFU) ceased to exist.

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