Standard Fruit Company facts for kids
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| Industry | Fruit |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by Castle & Cooke in 1968 |
| Successor | Dole Food Company |
| Founded | 1924, in the United States |
| Founder | Vaccaro brothers |
| Defunct | 1991 |
The Standard Fruit Company was a major fruit company that started in the United States in 1924. Today, it is part of Dole plc. The company was founded by the Vaccaro brothers.
Their journey began even earlier, in 1899. Joseph, Luca, and Felix Vaccaro were immigrants from Sicily, along with Salvador D'Antoni. They started bringing bananas from La Ceiba, Honduras, to New Orleans.
By 1915, their banana business had grown very large. They bought many ice factories in New Orleans. This allowed them to keep their banana ships cold. Joseph Vaccaro, the company's president, became known as the "Ice King" because of this.
Contents
The Story of Standard Fruit Company
A Big Influence in Central America
The Standard Fruit Company, along with another large company called the United Fruit Company, became very powerful in countries like Honduras. These companies had a big impact on the economies of many Central American nations. They created many jobs and controlled a large part of the fruit trade. This led to these countries sometimes being called "banana republics," meaning their economies were heavily influenced by these fruit companies.
Becoming Dole Food Company
In 1926, the company changed its name to Standard Fruit & Steamship Company. Later, between 1964 and 1968, a company called Castle & Cooke Corporation bought Standard Fruit. Around the same time, Castle & Cooke also bought James Dole's Hawaiian Pineapple Company.
In 1991, Castle & Cooke changed its name to Dole Food Company. A separate real estate company, Castle & Cooke Inc, was created in 1995. This real estate company is now owned privately by its managers.
The 1954 Workers' Strike in Honduras
In 1954, a big workers' strike happened in Honduras. It involved workers from the Standard Fruit Company and other companies. This strike was a very important event in Honduran history.
Why Workers Went on Strike
HONDURAS:
- May 5: Workers at the United Fruit Company went on strike. They demanded higher wages. Soon after, Standard Fruit workers joined them. This strike stopped all banana operations. About 25,000 workers, or 15% of the country's workforce, were on strike.
- May 7: The manager of United Fruit said the company would not talk while workers were striking. On the same day, the strike spread to La Ceiba, where Standard Fruit had its main operations. Unlike United Fruit, Standard Fruit offered to talk with its striking workers.
- May 9: Some officials believed the strike was influenced by other countries.
- Second week of May: About 11,000 Standard Fruit Company employees joined the strike. Workers in other industries also went on strike. These included miners, brewers, and textile workers.
- May 16: The striking workers gave their list of demands to the manager in La Lima. They mentioned basic human rights and asked for higher wages. At the same time, Coca-Cola workers in La Ceiba and Puerto Cortes also went on strike.
- Soon after the protests began, the Honduran President Manuel Galvez sent away two Guatemalan officials. He accused them of encouraging the strike.
- May 18: Standard Fruit started talks with its workers. The government helped to find a fair solution. The company agreed to increase wages and make working conditions better. This was the first time a private company in Honduras agreed to a collective agreement for all its workers. The workers promised to return to work on May 21.
- May 21: After Standard Fruit workers went back to their jobs, United Fruit workers became more determined. The number of United Fruit strikers grew to 100,000.
