Garcia, Franklin, 1925-1984

Franklin Garcia (1925-1984) was a Texas union member and organizer whose primary goal was to organize workers on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. He first organized Elsa Plastics, the company that manufactured the Styrofoam trays used by butchers, then moved to San Antonio, where he helped organize the meat cutters at local grocery stores.

Garcia was involved in the organization of local chapters of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, United Auto Worker (UAW), Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, National Labor Relations Board, and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union (AMCU), later renamed the United Food and Commercial Workers of North America. Additionally, he was a member of several organizations, including the UAW, the AMCU (he was the South Texas Representative), the Mexican-American Democrats, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the American GI Forum, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), and the National Labor Relations Board.

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