Sophie Gonzales
Sophie Gonzales (January 30, 1920 – January 1, 1995) was an activist and
Early life
Gonzales was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1920 and raised on a ranch outside of Von Ormy, Texas.[2] She was one of two daughters among the four Gonzales children. She attended high school in Somerset, Texas, near modern-day San Antonio, and enjoyed sports, including volleyball and basketball. Her siblings became her earlier influences by joining the Amalgamated Butchers of America Union.[2] She dropped out of high school after tenth grade when she turned eighteen. She then moved to San Antonio with one of her brothers.
Career
In 1956 Gonzales began working for a sweater company in San Antonio. After 3 years she became involved with
Instead they sent down voodoo dolls with stick pins.[3] The doll was dressed as Gonzales and she posed for a photo for the local newspaper to taunt the workers. However, the state's anti-union tendencies along with increasing counteraction from the owner and dissenting employees caused Gonzales to withdraw from the strike one year before its unsuccessful end in 1963.
Gonzales' talents were next deployed by the ACWA and the Federation of Union Representatives. From El Paso, Texas Gonzales became involved in important strikes against companies including Hortex Manufacturing Company, Levi Strauss and Farah Manufacturing Company over an 18-year span from 1965 to 1983 when she retired. During this period, she helped lead, organize, and implement effective boycotts. Her tenacity is said to have played a role in inspiring female strikers to join strikes and testify, overcoming their hesitancy to incur criticism from their male managers.[2]
Personal life
Little is known of Gonzales’ personal life other than that she was married to George Gray for 4 years in 1941 and, later, to Tony Moreno in 1955. She first married at age 21 and bore two sons, George Jr. and Dannie who served in the Air Force. Her second marriage to Moreno lasted for 15 years until 1970. In an interview with Irene Ledesma, Gonzales divulged that Moreno was jealous and possessive, even requesting that she drive more often, rather than sit in the passenger seat, so that she would not wave to other men on the street. Gonzales lived in El Paso until her death in San Antonio in 1995.[4]
Legacy
Gonzales is remembered as an innovative union organizer and champion of female participation in labor union activities. Hailed with a plaque bestowed upon her by the