For More Context:
How did the Philippines contest Spanish Rule?
The Spanish American War
American Imperialization
In order to fully grasp the extent of Filipino involvement and participation in the American labor movement, the historical context which placed Filipinos in America during this time needs to be addressed. First, the annexation of the Philippines shortly after the end of the Philippine-American war made the flow of migrants from the islands to America much easier. This encouraged two main groups of Filipinos to enter America during this time; the pensionados and the Alaskeros. The pensionados were Filipinos usually coming from the wealthier and more affluent families of the Philippines to further their schooling in the U.S. through government sponsorship under the 1903 Pensionado Act. This group was specifically being trained to embody American values take up political/civil servant positions back in the Philippines. The Alaskeros were lower class Filipinos who came to work at the Alaskan canneries over the summer, many were studying throughout the year and used the job for extra money since they were funding their studies out of their own pockets, rather than the government. Here, we will focus on the way that the Alaskero cannery workers and West Coast farm laborers built a platform for themselves to combat the oppressive conditions of capitalism and how they laid a foundation for the rest of the American migrant labor movement.
The Alaskero program was one of the few low-level jobs available to Filipinos, others being farm work in California and plantations all the way in Hawaii. What these jobs shared aside from their workload was that they paid cheaply, had terrible working conditions, and surrounding communities that were opposed to the presence of Filipinos. These circumstances are what pushed the establishment of the Cannery Workers’ and Farm Laborer’s Union (CWFLU) in 1933 and encouraged the Alaskeros, Filipino farmhands and other workers to take legal action against their discrimination and improper working conditions.
Additionally, the ambiguous status that Filipinos held as “nationals” under the U.S. from the annexation meant that although they were not citizens, they had more privileges than most migrant workers and were able to legally contest their rights as workers and as a minority group living in America. The unique position they held also put Filipino migrants at a crossroads of experiences, as Stephanie Hinnershitz explains below:
“Although many Filipinos fully identified with America and Americans while in the Philippines, once they came to the United States, they quickly realized that not only were they “Asians” and deemed part of the “yellow peril” by Americans, but they were also identified as colonial subjects, “nationals” without full rights. As a result, Filipinos often juggled three different identities in America: American (based on their own self-identification as part of the American empire), Asian, and colonial subject. This triple consciousness had a profound effect on the ways in which Filipino members of the CWFLU approached battles for civil rights.”
(Hinnershitz 2013)
The “yellow peril” mentioned can be traced to the Chines Exclusion Act in 1883 which prevented specifically Chinese laborers from entering the country following Americans fear that they were overtaking the job market with their numbers. This encouraged an already popularized negative opinion of Asians, which then translated into the treatment of Filipinos in American communities. As a Filipino-led organization, the CWFLU’s efforts towards fighting for the rights of Filipino migrant workers weren’t limited to the conditions of their working environments. The union recognized the multiple levels of oppression faced by Filipinos, especially those who intended on remaining in America to start a new life.
Hinnershitz argues that the CWFLU functioned as a civil rights organization as well as a labor rights union, as they were able to legally address the discrimination and violence faced by Filipinos throughout their stay in the U.S. (2013). As one of the early actors in the American migrant labor rights movement, the intersectionality demonstrated by leaders within Filipino-led organizations like the CWFLU, likely contributed to its success in mobilizing and building its base. The historic creation of a labor rights organization dedicated to Asian, migrant and labor rights is largely forgotten most likely because it highlighted the hypocrisy of the American government and the pre-existing labor unions. If the CWFLU was fighting to earn and maintain rights for Filipino workers, then it would expose the way that the U.S. took advantage of the Philippines location and resources to make a profit as well as interrupt the local economy so that there was access to cheap labor. It would also pull into question what rights migrants and laborers are entitled to, and for the Filipinos, it questioned the legitimacy of U.S. annexation/imperialism.
