Read more
Between 1870 and 1942, people of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino ancestry toiled in the salmon canneries on coastal bays and streams from central California to western Alaska. Successive generations of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans formed the predominant body of workers in an industry that played a central role in the economic growth of the western states and territories. This book traces the shifts in the ethnic and gender composition of the cannery labor market from its origins through its decline and examines the workers' creation of work cultures and social communities. Resisting the label of cheap laborer, these Asian American workers established formal and informal codes of workplace behavior, negotiated with contractors and recruiters, and formed alliances to organize the workforce. Whether he is discussing Japanese women workers' sharing of child care responsibilities or the role of Filipino workers in establishing the Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers Union, Chris Friday portrays Asian and Asian American workers as people who, while enduring oppressive restrictions, continually attempted to shape their own lives.
List of contents
Maps and Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Spawning Grounds 2. "Satisfaction in Every Case": Cannery Work and the Contract System 3. Cannery Communities, Cannery Lives 4. Competitors for the Chinese 5. "Fecund Possibilities" for Issei and Nisei 6. From Factionalism to "One Filipino Race" 7. Indispensable Allies 8. A Fragile Alliance Conclusion Appendix Notes Index
About the author
Chris Friday is Assistant Professor of History at Western Washington University.
Summary
Between 1870 and 1942, successive generations of Asians and Asian Americans predominantly Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino formed the predominant body of workers in the Pacific Coast canned-salmon industry. This study traces the shifts in the ethnic and gender composition of the cannery labor market from its origins through it decline.
