Oxnard strike of 1903 facts for kids

The Oxnard strike of 1903 was an important event where workers in Oxnard, a city in southern California, stood up for their rights. Most of these workers were Japanese and Mexican immigrants. They were upset with how they were treated by the landowners and a company that hired them.

The Oxnard Workers' Strike

Why Workers Went on Strike

In the late 1800s, the Oxnard brothers started a big sugar company in California. They needed many workers for their sugar beet farms. At first, they hired Chinese and Mexican workers. But over time, more Japanese workers were brought in to help. By 1900, about 1,000 Japanese farm workers were recruited.

Soon, a new company called the Western Agricultural Contracting Company (WACC) took over hiring most of the farmworkers. This company made things harder for the workers. The WACC often paid workers with special credit for company stores instead of cash. These stores usually sold things at very high prices. This meant workers couldn't buy what they needed from other places.

The WACC also charged extra fees, which meant workers earned even less. Because the WACC hired almost all the workers, they had a "monopoly." This means they had almost complete control over the jobs and how workers were treated. Both Japanese and Mexican workers were unhappy with these unfair rules. In early 1903, many Japanese farmworkers met to talk about their low pay and bad working conditions.

Forming the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association

On February 11, 1903, about 500 Japanese and 200 Mexican workers decided to join forces. They created a group called the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association (JMLA). This was a big deal because it was one of the first times different minority groups worked together in a farmworkers' union in California.

Even with different languages, they elected leaders: Kosaburo Baba as president, Y. Yamaguchi for the Japanese group, and J.M. Lizarras for the Mexican group. The JMLA had three main goals:

• They wanted fair wages, saying the WACC was keeping pay too low.
• They wanted to stop the extra fees charged by the WACC.
• They wanted the freedom to buy goods from any store, not just the expensive company stores.

To make their demands heard, the JMLA members stopped working for the WACC. This was a "strike." The strike happened at a very important time for sugar beets, which was the main crop. The sugar beet plants needed to be thinned out within a few weeks. If this wasn't done, the crops would be ruined.

By refusing to work, the JMLA challenged the WACC and the farm owners. The company manager, Colonel Driffil, supported the WACC. He even threatened to make the striking workers leave the country. Most white people in Oxnard did not support the JMLA.

The Strike Grows and a Tragedy

By early March, the JMLA had grown to over 1,200 members. This was more than 90% of all the sugar beet workers in the area. The strike stopped almost all work in the sugar industry. The JMLA also held large marches and demonstrations in Oxnard to show their strength.

The WACC tried to break the strike by forming a new group called the Independent Agricultural Labor Union (IALU). This group tried to get workers to go back to the fields instead of supporting the JMLA.

On March 23, 1903, a serious event happened. During a confrontation between JMLA members and IALU strikebreakers, shots were fired. Two Japanese and two Mexican JMLA members were hurt. Sadly, Luis Vasquez, a Mexican JMLA member, was killed.

Newspapers at first blamed the JMLA. But the JMLA said their members were not armed. The only person arrested was Deputy Constable Charles Arnold. An investigation was held to find out what happened. Many people gave different stories. In the end, an all-white jury decided that Charles Arnold was innocent.

Even after this, the JMLA continued their strike. They even convinced some strikebreakers to join their union.

The Strike Ends

After the shooting, JMLA leaders met with farmers and the WACC to talk. The JMLA made it clear they would not stop the strike until the WACC stopped controlling all the hiring. They wanted workers to be able to make deals directly with the farmers.

The strike officially ended on March 30, 1903. The WACC agreed to cancel its contracts and let farmworkers work directly with the farmers. This was a big win for the JMLA.

What Happened Next

The Oxnard strike showed that Japanese and Mexican workers could unite and win. They realized that their main problem was unfair treatment by the WACC, not each other. This success proved that different groups of workers could work together to achieve their goals.

The victory also brought attention to how the main American labor movement, like the American Federation of Labor (AFL), often did not include minority workers or farmworkers. The JMLA wanted to join the AFL. However, the AFL president, Samuel Gompers, refused to accept Asian workers into the union. Because of this, the JMLA decided not to join the AFL.