Oxnard Strike of 1903
Encyclopedia
The Oxnard Strike of 1903 describes a labor rights dispute of that year in the California
coastal city of Oxnard between local landowners and the majority Japan
ese and Mexican
labor force.
to capitalize on the growing agricultural economy of the late nineteenth century. In 1897, following the enactment of the Dingley Tariff Bill
that heavily taxed foreign sugar, Henry, James, and Robert Oxnard formed the American Beet Sugar Company. Although the seasonal Chinese and Mexican laborers already in place in the county easily satisfied agricultural labor needs early in the factory's history, decline in Chinese populations due to Chinese Exclusion Acts and use of Mexican workers in other agricultural efforts led to an increase in Japanese worker recruitment. By 1902 nine major Japanese contractors saw to the seasonal needs in the area.
Seeing how these contractors had already caused minor slowdowns and protests over wages, recently arrived bank owners and merchants organized an owner-interest oriented contracting company called the
Western Agricultural Contracting Company (WACC). The WACC quickly replaced the Japanese contractors as principal contractors to the Oxnard Plain
and even forced some of them to subcontract through the WACC. Comprising more than 90 percent of the work force, the WACC had a near monopoly
of the workers.
and 200 Mexican
laborers became the charter members of the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association (JMLA) joined together and formed their organization based on the grievances of the Oxnard laborers. Overcoming obvious language barriers between the two constituent groups, they immediately elected Kosaburo Baba (president), Y. Yamaguchi (secretary of the Japanese branch), and J.M. Lizarras (secretary of the Mexican branch); Baba and Lizarras were both labor contractors and Yamaguchi has been recognized as a boarding student recruited from San Francisco. Their immediate concerns opposed the WACC on three conditions:
In order to remedy these issues, the JMLA membership ceased working through the WACC (essentially declaring a strike). The strike came at a serendipitously precarious time in the sugar beet season, the staple crop of Oxnard Plain agriculture, since the labor-intensive and yield-defining work of thinning the seedlings needed to be done within the scope of a few weeks.
By the first week in March, the JMLA recruited a membership larger than 1,200 workers (over 90% of the labor force of the county's beet industry). The JMLA's increased recruitment pulled the WACC's former contracted workers from it and essentially brought the sugar industry to a standstill.
On March 23, 1903, the strike reached its turning point. Although an official investigation blamed the violence and sole death of Mexican laborer Luis Vasquez on the strikers, witnesses certify that Anglo
farmers shot into a crowd of strikers thus killing Vasquez and wounding four others. With the highly negative press reaction to the incident, the WACC conceded to most of the laborers' demands.
Japanese and Mexican laborers, formerly pitted against each other, had unified to achieve their labor goals. The success JMLA achieved showed the effectiveness of a multi-racial labor front and showed that class, and not race, could be the unifier in labor organizing. Nevertheless the JMLA was unable to hold on to its victories as it lost authority due to the American Federation of Labor
(AFL) under Samuel Gompers
denying them a charter due to their large Japanese membership.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coastal city of Oxnard between local landowners and the majority Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese and Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
labor force.
Before the strike
In 1887, Henry, James, Benjamin, and Robert Oxnard sold their Brooklyn sugar refinery and moved to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to capitalize on the growing agricultural economy of the late nineteenth century. In 1897, following the enactment of the Dingley Tariff Bill
Dingley Act
The Dingley Act of 1897 , introduced by U.S. Representative Nelson Dingley, Jr. of Maine, raised tariffs in United States to counteract the Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act of 1894, which had lowered rates....
that heavily taxed foreign sugar, Henry, James, and Robert Oxnard formed the American Beet Sugar Company. Although the seasonal Chinese and Mexican laborers already in place in the county easily satisfied agricultural labor needs early in the factory's history, decline in Chinese populations due to Chinese Exclusion Acts and use of Mexican workers in other agricultural efforts led to an increase in Japanese worker recruitment. By 1902 nine major Japanese contractors saw to the seasonal needs in the area.
Seeing how these contractors had already caused minor slowdowns and protests over wages, recently arrived bank owners and merchants organized an owner-interest oriented contracting company called the
Western Agricultural Contracting Company (WACC). The WACC quickly replaced the Japanese contractors as principal contractors to the Oxnard Plain
Oxnard Plain
The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California bounded by the Santa Monica Mountains, the Santa Susana Mountains, and Oak Ridge to the east, the Topatopa Mountains to the north, the Santa Clara River Valley to the northeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south and...
and even forced some of them to subcontract through the WACC. Comprising more than 90 percent of the work force, the WACC had a near monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
of the workers.
The Strike and the JMLA
On February 11, 1903, 500 JapaneseJapanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
and 200 Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
laborers became the charter members of the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association (JMLA) joined together and formed their organization based on the grievances of the Oxnard laborers. Overcoming obvious language barriers between the two constituent groups, they immediately elected Kosaburo Baba (president), Y. Yamaguchi (secretary of the Japanese branch), and J.M. Lizarras (secretary of the Mexican branch); Baba and Lizarras were both labor contractors and Yamaguchi has been recognized as a boarding student recruited from San Francisco. Their immediate concerns opposed the WACC on three conditions:
- they accused the WACC of artificially suppressing wages;
- they opposed the subcontracting system arguing that it forced workers to pay double commissions; and
- they called for the freedom to buy goods rather than be subjected to the inflated prices of the company store.
In order to remedy these issues, the JMLA membership ceased working through the WACC (essentially declaring a strike). The strike came at a serendipitously precarious time in the sugar beet season, the staple crop of Oxnard Plain agriculture, since the labor-intensive and yield-defining work of thinning the seedlings needed to be done within the scope of a few weeks.
By the first week in March, the JMLA recruited a membership larger than 1,200 workers (over 90% of the labor force of the county's beet industry). The JMLA's increased recruitment pulled the WACC's former contracted workers from it and essentially brought the sugar industry to a standstill.
On March 23, 1903, the strike reached its turning point. Although an official investigation blamed the violence and sole death of Mexican laborer Luis Vasquez on the strikers, witnesses certify that Anglo
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...
farmers shot into a crowd of strikers thus killing Vasquez and wounding four others. With the highly negative press reaction to the incident, the WACC conceded to most of the laborers' demands.
Japanese and Mexican laborers, formerly pitted against each other, had unified to achieve their labor goals. The success JMLA achieved showed the effectiveness of a multi-racial labor front and showed that class, and not race, could be the unifier in labor organizing. Nevertheless the JMLA was unable to hold on to its victories as it lost authority due to the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
(AFL) under Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
denying them a charter due to their large Japanese membership.
Further reading
- Daniel, Cletus E. Bitter Harvest: a History of California Farmworkers, 1870-1941. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Daniels, Roger (1977). The Politics of Prejudice: the Anti-Japanese Movement in California and the Struggle for Japanese Exclusion. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Fletcher, Bill Jr., and Fernando Gapasin (2008). Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path Toward Social Justice. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 9–18.
- Flores, John H. (2006). "Oxnard Strike, 1903." In Arnesen, Eric (ed.), Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-Class History, Volume 1. New York: Routledge, pp. 1051–52.
- Ganz, Marshall (2009). Why David Sometimes Wins: Strategy, Leadership and the California Agricultural Movement. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Gompers, Samuel, and Herman Gutstadt (1902). Meat vs. Rice: American Manhood vs. Asiatic Coolieism: Which Shall Survive? American Federation of Labor.
- Ichihashi, Yamato (1932). Japanese in the United States. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 160–192.
- Ichioka, Yuji (1988). The Issei: The World of the First Generation Japanese Immigrants, 1885-1924. New York: The Free Press.
- Jamieson, Stuart Marshall (1946). Labor Unionism in American Agriculture. U.S. Dept of Labor, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., Washington; reprint, New York: Arno Press (1976), pp. 43–58.
- Mapes, Kathleen (2009). Sweet Tyranny: Migrant Labor, Industrial Agriculture, and Imperial Politics. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.
- Murray, John Jr. (1904). "A Foretaste of the Orient." The International Socialist Review, July 1903–June 1904, vol. IV, pp. 72–79.
- Saxton, Alexander (1975). The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in California. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Street, Richard (2004). Beasts of the Field: A Narrative History of California Farmworkers, 1769-1913. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 405–524.