This Hawaiian village once witnessed eight nationalities unite against plantation owners’ cruelest tactic

The 1920 Sugar Strike That United Hawaii’s Workers

Hawaii’s sugar plantations once kept workers split by race to stop them from joining forces. That all changed in January 1920.

Filipino workers struck first, then Japanese joined them, along with Portuguese, Chinese, and Spanish laborers – 8,300 strong across six plantations.

They fought for better pay while bosses kicked 12,000 people from their homes during a flu outbreak.

Though the strike ended in July, something bigger was born: the Hawaii Laborers’ Association, the islands’ first union that crossed ethnic lines.

This groundbreaking moment shaped Hawaii’s unique "local" identity you can still feel today at Plantation Village.

Plantation Bosses Played Workers Against Each Other

Hawaii’s sugar plantation owners used sneaky tricks to stop workers from joining forces.

They paid different wages based on where workers came from – Japanese workers got only $18-20 monthly while Portuguese and Puerto Ricans earned $22. 50 for the same work.

Workers lived in camps split by nationality, making it hard to talk to each other or become friends. Plantation life was strictly organized by background, with white Americans keeping all the boss jobs.

War Prices Left Workers Struggling to Survive

World War I hit Hawaii’s plantation workers hard in their wallets. The cost of living jumped by 115% while their pay stayed frozen.

Workers making $20-24 each month could barely afford food and housing. Many families fell into poverty as prices for everything kept climbing.

The gap between what workers earned and what they needed grew wider every month.

Sugar company profits soared during this time, but none of that money went to the people cutting and processing the sugar cane.

Two Separate Unions Stood Up for Better Pay

The Filipino Labor Union and Japanese Federation of Labor started organizing workers in their own communities. On December 4, 1919, they brought their demands to the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association.

They asked for wage increases from 77 cents to $1. 25 daily for men and from 58 cents to 90 cents for women.

The unions also wanted paid time off for new mothers and fair wages for everyone. Plantation owners refused to take them seriously.

Filipino Workers Walked Off First

The Filipino Laborer’s Association started the strike on January 19, 1920, without waiting for Japanese workers to join. Plantation owners weren’t too worried at first.

They planned to use Japanese workers as strikebreakers, just like before. The Filipino union had little money saved up, so owners thought they could wait them out.

What the bosses didn’t expect was that workers from different backgrounds now saw each other as friends rather than rivals.

Japanese Strikers Joined the Fight

Japanese workers officially joined the strike on February 1, though many had already stopped working.

The combined strike force grew to 8,300 workers across six plantations: 5,000 Japanese, 3,000 Filipinos, and 300 others including Portuguese, Chinese, Puerto Ricans, Spanish, Mexicans, and Koreans.

For the first time in Hawaii’s history, workers from different ethnic groups stood together. This united front made up 77% of Oahu’s plantation workforce.

Families Lost Homes During Deadly Flu Outbreak

Plantation owners fought back by kicking strikers and their families out of company housing.

More than 12,000 people suddenly became homeless and crowded into whatever spaces they could find – friends’ homes, hotels, empty buildings, and temples.

Making things worse, a Spanish flu epidemic hit during these mass evictions. About 150 evicted workers and family members died from the flu.

Christian churches often turned away the homeless strikers, while Buddhist and Shinto temples opened their doors.

Money Ran Out for Filipino Strikers

The Filipino union’s plan relied on donations from Filipinos working on plantations not affected by the strike. This plan failed quickly.

In less than a month, Filipino strikers faced starvation as their funds dried up. The Japanese union had prepared differently, saving up a huge $900,000 strike fund before walking out.

As Filipino workers grew hungry, plantation owners saw their chance to break the strike by using these money differences between the groups.

Shared Strike Fund Kept Unity Alive

In a bold move, the Japanese union shared their strike fund with the struggling Filipino workers. This money prevented the strike from falling apart when Filipino resources ran out.

Plantation owners had always counted on ethnic divisions to break strikes, but this time workers refused to be pitted against each other.

The shared funding showed a level of teamwork between ethnic groups never before seen in Hawaii.

Leaders Sent Mixed Messages But Workers Stayed United

Confusion spread when Filipino leader Pablo Manlapit told all Filipinos to return to work. The local newspaper Star-Bulletin quickly claimed the strike was broken.

But many Filipino workers ignored Manlapit and stood with their Japanese coworkers. Five days later, Manlapit took back his statement, admitting he had misjudged how his people felt.

The workers’ commitment to each other proved stronger than ethnic divisions or leadership confusion.

Workers Won Higher Pay Despite Heavy Costs

After more than six months, the strike ended on July 1, 1920, with a compromise. Workers got a 50% pay raise and extra benefits, though not everything they asked for.

Many strikers felt let down because the results weren’t as big as they hoped.

The cost of the strike was high – many Japanese workers never got their jobs back, and union leaders were "blacklisted," meaning they couldn’t get work anywhere on the islands.

Plantation owners made sure to punish those who led the resistance.

Hawaii’s First Mixed-Race Union Changed Everything

The most important outcome came after the strike ended.

In 1920, Japanese organizers teamed up with Filipino, Chinese, Spanish, and Portuguese laborers to form the Hawaii Laborers’ Association.

This became the islands’ first multiethnic labor union, permanently breaking the plantation owners’ divide-and-rule tactics.

The Hawaii Laborers’ Association created a model for what locals now call Hawaii’s inclusive "local" identity.

This groundbreaking coalition laid the foundation for the successful 1946 sugar strike that completely transformed labor relations throughout Hawaii.

Visiting Plantation Village, Hawaii

Hawaii’s Plantation Village at 94-695 Waipahu Street in Waipahu shows how workers from different backgrounds came together after the 1920 sugar strike.

You can tour 25 real plantation homes from eight ethnic groups including Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese families. Tours run daily at 10am, 11am, noon, 1pm, and 2pm in English and Japanese.

Admission costs $13 for adults and $5 for kids 4-11. Each 90-minute tour covers the multiethnic workforce experiences.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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