Many were returned World War II veterans whose parents had been plantation laborers. The two organizations established contact. All told, the Planters collected about $6 million dollars for workers and equipment loaned out in this way. As Japanese sugar workers became more established in the plantation system, however, they responded to management abuse by taking concerted action, and organized major strikes in 1900, 1906, and 1909, as well as many smaller actions. The Legislature convened in special session on August 6 to pass dock seizure laws and on August 10, the Governor seized Castle & Cooke Terminals and McCabe, Hamilton and Renny, the two largest companies, but the Union continued to picket and protested their contempt citations in court. They reminded the Hawaii Sugar Planters' Association that the established wage of $20 to $24 a month was not enough to pay for the barest necessities of life. Although the planters claimed there was a labor shortage and they were actively recruiting from the Philippines, they screened out and turned back any arrivals that could read or write. taken. People were bribed to testify against them. Late in the 1950's the tourist industry began to pick up steam. Sixty plantation owners, including those where no strike existed banded together in a united front against labor. Congress, in a period when racism was more open than today, prevented the importation of Chinese labor. On June 10, the four leaders of the strike, Negoro, Makino, Soga and Tasaka were arrested and charged with conspiracy to obstruct the operation of the plantations. This was estimated at $500,000. Part Chinese and Hawaiian himself, he welcomed everyone into the union as "brothers under the skin.". Dole Pineapple Plantation's Legacy in Hawaii - Edge Effects An article in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser of 1906 complained: SKILLED TRADE UNIONS: With the War over, the ILWU began a concerted campaign to win representation of sugar workers using the new labor laws. Workers were forbidden to change jobs without permission from the employer.
Anthony Salerno Obituary, Articles H