I have been following the union busting moves in Wisconsin and my heart is with the people of Wisconsin. I am a union member, IBEW Local Union 1186 Honolulu. I wish I could be there with them. All I can do is send pizza!
I remember a few years back reading in the local paper about the Hanapepe Massacre. This was quite eye opening for me as I was usually knowledgable about union history.
More detail below the fold.
Per Wikipedia; The Hanapepe Massacre happened on September 9, 1924. This was a strike of Filipino sugar workers.
toward the end of a long-lasting strike of Filipino sugar workers on Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, local police shot dead nine strikers and fatally wounded seven; while strikers shot and stabbed three sheriffs to death and fatally wounded one, a total of 20 people died.
In the 1920's the Japanese and Filipino sugar workers had been trying to organize into unions. There was a Filipino immigrant named Pablo Manlapit who was a labor organizer working as a plantation laborer in the Hamakua district of the island of Hawaii. He had been instrumental in organizing strikes in 1920 and 1924.
In the Honolulu Magazine there is a good write up regarding this forgotten piece of labor history that was published in January 2010 by Tiffany Hill.
Decades of harsh treatment toward plantation workers resulted in several riotous strikes beginning in the 20th century. One turned deadly. It has since been all but forgotten.
The Japanese laborers were the first to strike in 1909 thus paving the way for unions in Hawaii. In 1920 the Japanese formed the Federation of Japanese Labor. They carried out a strike in Oahu in 1920. The Japanese were joined by Filipino workers led by Pablo Manlapit.
Manlapit started the High Wage Movement in 1922, and made demands of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association (HSPA), which spoke for the Islands’ sugar plantations. The most important objective was doubling the minimum wage from $1 a day to $2 (almost $13 to $25 in 2009 dollars). They also wanted an eight-hour workday—down from 10 to 12 hours—and overtime pay. Lastly, they advocated for equal pay between men and women and collective bargaining rights. These demands were also being sought by the Japanese labor organization.
Sounds like my kind of people advocating for decent wages, 8 hour work days, and equal pay for equal work and collective bargaining rights.
We should not forget where our union roots came from and the sacrifices that people have endured and even giving their lives to better conditions for the rest of us.