Contends that investigation of the past may contribute to a generic understanding of labor rhetoric and examines the rhetorical dimensions of the 1972 election contest for the leadership of the United Mine Workers. (MH)

Argues that persuasive qualities in the Plan of Delano (a powerful persuasive document in the interrelated Chicano and farm worker's movements of the 1960s and 1970s) are illuminated best from the perspective of its own ethnic legacy. Demonstrates that the Plan's Mexican-originated generic form and Mexican-American cultural context reveal sources…