This strike involved almost all of the plantations in Hawaii, creating a cost of over $15 million in crop and production.
Immigrant workers and their families flooded in from China, Korea, Portugal, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Japan.
The companies owned all living quarters and stores near the plantations, which kept the workers isolated from the rest of the island.
The field managers were all armed, would ride on horseback carrying whips, and would follow the workers relentlessly.
With such poor living conditions, low pay, demanding labour, and harsh oppression, strikes were not unusual.
However, because of the heavy segregation, the strikes mainly consisted of one ethnicity and were extremely unorganised, thus always doomed to fail.
In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act was passed, allowing for legal union organisation in United States territories.
Soon after the passing of the law, union activists began to enter Hawai'i to help activate its workers.
When tear gas, bayonets, and hoses failed, the police resorted to using firearms on the unarmed protesters.
This tragic day became known as the "Hilo Massacres" or "Hawaii's Bloody Monday" and led to further organisation in the islands.
[2] In order for the leaders of the worker communities to learn how to better represent the needs of their fellow employees, a committee of 10 was selected to go to the mainland and attend the California Labor School.
The committee members attended strikes around the US west coast to observe other leaders and unions in action.
[2] Because of the martial law during World War II, the companies faced major labour shortages.
Once it was lifted, they returned to the old tactics of recruiting poor, uneducated, immigrant workers, this time mainly from the war-torn Philippines.
They wanted a 65 cent per hour minimum, a 40-hour work week, a union shop, and for the perquisites (the system used to keep wages low by providing health care, fuel, utilities, etc.)
Most importantly, the union leaders organised the strikers who were entitled to vote to help gain political support.
All attempts at 'red baiting' by the companies failed miserably, and laws were passed to help the workers rather than the employers.
[2] Because so many employees were no longer receiving wages, the unions made deals with landlords to keep the workers in their shacks.
With 19 cents per hour more (depending on paid wages), a 46-hour work week, and end to the perquisite system, the union declared victory.
http://www.hawaii.edu/uhwo/clear/Pubs/HiloMassacre.html Frank Thompson, "Breaking feudal power in Hawaii (some historic interviews)."