[4] As U.S. nationals, the Filipinos were exempt from immigration laws that kept most other Asians, namely the Chinese and Japanese, out and they began flooding in to fill the void.
[4] Many of these young men sought to work part-time while also earning an education in hopes of achieving the American Dream like so many immigrants before them.
[5] However, the Filipino workers quickly realized they were being involved in a dual labor system,[1] one in which they were hired for the least desirable jobs and heavily discriminated against.
Difficulties in receiving fair wages or working conditions and the desire to combat discrimination were some of the earliest reasons Filipinos began to demand union representation.
Democratic elements did exist, however, in that the workers were able to choose strike committees and impact union office elections through campaigns.
While a strong 700 members engaged in the one-day protest, it was broken when Mexican, White, and other Asian laborers came to replace the Filipinos.
[11] This protest highlighted the issue of ethnic disunity in the Salinas region and the powerlessness of isolated unions to act effectively.
On 27 August 1934, they began the Salinas lettuce strike with a coalition of primarily white and Filipino workers in Monterey County.
Reports of mobs attacking Filipino workers became more common, and police often arrested FLU leadership, such as president D. L. Marcuelo, for encouraging pickets.
[19] With the FLU holding tight as the last group to continue the strike, packs of organized vigilantes grew extremely violent.
[20] The police forces had remained neutral until growers ordered them to act against the FLU members for violating the Criminal syndicalism laws that prohibited the advocating of any change to economic or political systems.
[21] Salinas Police forces and the local Highway Patrol began to arrest Filipinos in excess, targeting leaders and organizers most heavily.
Rufo Canete was reappointed as the FLU’s president, and hopes once again arose, as he was a respected leader and friend to many white businessmen and citizens.
[22] Fear among growers returned, as a merge between the two largest ethnic groups in the area would have a devastating effect on their labor pool.
So the next night, a large mob of vigilantes raided and burned down Canete’s labor camp, a key organizational center for the FLU and home to hundreds of Filipino workers.
Ethnic tensions and discrimination continued in the Salinas region, and beliefs in the aggressiveness of minorities were reinforced in the minds of many locals.