712:
appealed to the
Chambers of Commerce in the Valley to act as intermediaries in adjusting their complaintsâ, but it was to no avail. On May 7, Mexican cantaloupe pickers at the Sears Brothers Ranch spontaneously walk-off the jobsite. On May 8, cantaloupe pickers at other Imperial Valley ranches refused to work. According to scholars, there does not seem to have been any pre-planning of the strike by the union, but was a spawned by spontaneous actions of dissatisfied workers that decided to take a stand. Employers feared the loss of profit because of the limited time span of harvesting season, so they enlisted the help of local law enforcement. âThe County Board of Supervisors ordered Sheriff Gillett to arrest agitatorsâ, which the Sheriff took to mean arrest any Mexicans gathered in public spaces. Sheriff Gillettâs exploits left many workers in jail on trumped up charges of vagrancy or disturbing the peace. According to one story, on May 8, âhe saw a group of Mexicans gathering outside the county Courthouse...fearing the worst, the sheriff arrested the group, only to discover that it was a delegation of workers invited to discuss the crisis with District Attorney Healdâ. The Los Angeles Times reported that at least forty eight Mexicans had been arrested by May 10 and the police had shut down pool halls, after another incident involving the ever entertaining and horrible Sheriff Gillett. The newspaper reports that the Sheriff was thrown out of a local pool hall where thousands of Mexican agitators were congregating. However, a patron and witness at the pool hall explained that there were only six people in the establishment and only six that threw him out. With many workers languishing in jail and no organized momentum behind the strike, it died out and pickers returned to work. The strike ended as quickly as it had started, on May 12, 1928. The strike was considered a victory because employers conceded to a wage increase for cantaloupe pickers.
694:
Southwest within the next 100 years.â Senator Harrisâ xenophobic and racist statements reflect popular sentiments of the local communities in 1928 that took issue not with the employment of
Mexican immigrants, but with the fact that many of these laborers were settling down in the Imperial Valley area. âAlthough the valleyâs Mexican population originally came to the United States as temporary migrants, by 1928 the great bulk of that population had become year-around residents of Imperial County. About twenty thousand people, one-third of the countyâs total population, were persons of Mexican descentâ. The Mexican immigrants were integrating themselves into American society and many people in the United States harbored hostilities towards them for just that fact alone.
587:
681:. Many Mexicans sought economic opportunities and a seized the opportunity to leave the tumultuous nation during the ongoing Mexican Revolution (1910â1920). âBy 1920 Mexicans dominated the valleyâs harvest work and, at the time of the 1928 strike, persons of Mexican descent comprised about ninety percent of Imperial Countyâs labor forceâ. While Mexican immigrants provided a much needed service for their employers, others were publicly critical of the mass influx of Mexican workers.
40:
729:, where hundreds of thousands of American citizens of Mexican descent and Mexican immigrants were forcefully and unconstitutionally deported to Mexico. Despite, the tragedy that befell many of these workers, many scholars suggest that the spontaneous actions of these cantaloupe pickers helped spur other agricultural strikes in California in the 1930s.
703:
retain 20 to 25 percent of the workersâ wages, then give the wages to a contractor to hold in trust, to ensure that workers finished out the cantaloupe season. With the grievances mounting and fervent anti-immigration rhetoric in the
American discourse, many Mexicans sought labor organization as a solution.
720:
The strike had revived anti-Mexican immigration fervor. Efforts to pass an immigration bill that would put a quota on the number of
Mexican immigrants allowed into the United States, were revitalized in Congress. The quota for Mexicans, âwould permit entry of approximately 12,000 the first year, 7000
711:
The workers unionized in order to protect their interests. In April 1928, Mexican workers in
California formed the Union of United Workers of the Imperial Valley that boasted a membership of 2,754 workers of Mexican heritage. The union sought a remedy to their grievances, so on May 3, 1928, âthey
702:
Cantaloupe pickers had three main demands for their employers: âbetter housing conditions, safeguards against defaulting contractors, and proper insurance under the
Workmenâs Compensation Actâ. The major issue was defaulting contractors because the workers were losing their wages. Growers would
693:
newspaper reports on
Senator Harrisâ anti-Mexican fervor. âHarris said he wants Mexican immigration restricted because he considers it âthe least desirable of all immigrationâ...he predicted that if it is allowed to go on unchecked there will be ten Mexicans to one native-born American in the
650:. On May 7, 1928 cantaloupe pickers walked off of the job and the strike lasted to May 10 of the same year. The strikers had hardly any outside support and many were effectively imprisoned by local police for gathering together in any public space during the strike. The strikers were mostly
721:
the second year, and 2900 a year thereafter...in the case of Canada... would permit 60,000 immigrants a year without any sliding scale or other restrictionsâ. The
Mexican produce laborers would soon have to deal with job competition, as well as anti-immigration policies. The dawn of the
658:
descent because they comprised the vast majority of produce laborers in
California, about 3,500 to 4,000 Mexicans worked as cantaloupe pickers. While the strike was short-lived and seemingly unorganized, it stands as a victory for the workers.
610:
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Most of the agricultural workers in
California at the time were Mexican immigrants. Mexicans had been immigrating to the United States since the mid-1800s, however several factors led to the surge in Mexican labor immigrants. The
725:, âcreated a disastrous drop in wage rates and caused the introduction of hundreds of thousands of Anglo workers into the field-labor marketâ. Anti-immigration policy and job competition culminated in the
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In 1928 an immigration bill before Congress would impose strict restrictions on the numbers of immigrants allowed into the United States from Mexico. The
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created a need for a new source of cheap and exploitable labor. This labor shortage was exacerbated in 1917 by the United States entry into
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Mexican Agitators Arrested: Imperial Valley Officers Act to Break Strike of Fruit Pickers, Los Angeles Times 11 May 1928 pg.10
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774:"Mexican Quota Fight to Go On: Senator Harris Promises to Rush Strict Bill".
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Testimonio: A Documentary of the Mexican American Struggle for Civil Rights
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Huelga, 1928 Style: The Imperial Valley Cantaloupe Workers' Strike
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Agriculture and forestry labor disputes in the United States
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Mexican Quota Bill Prepared, Los Angeles Times 25 Feb pg.18
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24:This article is part of a series on the
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903:"(California Senate Bill 670, 2005)"
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518:DHS v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal.
462:Espinoza v. Farah Manufacturing Co.
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1012:1920s strikes in the United States
929:Rosales, Francisco Arturo (2000).
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1002:1928 labor disputes and strikes
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455:San Antonio I.S.D. v. Rodriguez
137:California agricultural strikes
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675:Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
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297:Occupation of Catalina Island
107:1913 El Paso smelters' strike
987:History of Mexican Americans
972:Labor disputes in California
924:. Pacific Historical Review.
920:Wollenberg, Charles (1969).
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87:Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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977:Agriculture in California
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632:Cantaloupe strike of 1928
307:Plan Espiritual de AztlĂĄn
132:Cantaloupe strike of 1928
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592:United States portal
347:1985â1987 cannery strike
490:Flores-Figueroa v. U.S.
18:California labor strike
937:. Arte Publico Press.
469:U.S. v. Brignoni-Ponce
386:Great American Boycott
267:Las Adelitas de AztlĂĄn
237:Conferencia de Mujeres
504:Mendez v. Westminster
441:Botiller v. Dominguez
357:2019 El Paso shooting
340:Post-Chicano Movement
312:Plan de Santa BĂĄrbara
212:CatĂłlicos por La Raza
142:Citrus Strike of 1936
77:San Elizario Salt War
50:Early-American period
32:and Mexican Americans
727:Mexican Repatriation
497:Leal Garcia v. Texas
403:Justice for Janitors
272:Los Siete de la Raza
227:Colegio CĂ©sar ChĂĄvez
152:Mexican Repatriation
67:MexicanâAmerican War
716:Aftermath of Strike
668:Mexican Immigration
433:Supreme Court cases
352:1992 Drywall Strike
327:United Farm Workers
277:Los Seis de Boulder
262:Land grant struggle
252:Hijas de Cuauhtémoc
172:Sleepy Lagoon trial
30:History of Chicanos
1007:1928 in California
448:Hernandez v. Texas
247:East L.A. walkouts
222:Chicano Moratorium
117:Bisbee Deportation
62:Las Gorras Blancas
778:. 2 October 1928.
776:Los Angeles Times
691:Los Angeles Times
654:immigrants or of
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565:DallasâFort Worth
511:Bernal v. Fainter
483:MedellĂn v. Texas
202:Black-brown unity
167:Porvenir Massacre
162:Plan de San Diego
157:Operation Wetback
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679:World War I
642:pickers in
547:Los Angeles
374:Castro 2020
362:Abolish ICE
992:Cantaloupe
956:Categories
733:References
663:Background
648:California
640:cantaloupe
552:Michigan (
317:Quinto Sol
217:Chicanismo
147:La Matanza
82:Sonoratown
72:Mutualista
538:Arizona (
532:by region
100:Juan Crow
914:Sources
656:Mexican
652:Mexican
570:Houston
554:Detroit
941:
707:Strike
540:Tucson
420:Xicanx
197:AztlĂĄn
738:Notes
560:Texas
292:MEChA
939:ISBN
634:was
630:The
392:IRCA
380:DACA
302:PCUN
287:MAYO
282:MANA
232:CFMN
638:of
242:CRP
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