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violently suppressed strikes of the early 20th century in the United States. The sheriff who suppressed the largely
Mexican 3,000 citrus pickers was himself a citrus rancher who issued a "shoot to kill" order on the strikers. The aftermath of the strike effort led to 400 citrus workers being arrested in total, while others were forced to either face jail time or possible deportation back to Mexico. It has also been referred to as the
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The living conditions for
Mexican workers were characterized by small, often substandard structures made of materials like wood, adobe, or hollow brick. One of these settlements, known as "Tiajuanita," in Fullerton was constructed using materials like scraps of sheet iron, discarded fence posts, and
100:
On June 11, 2,500 men and women workers left the orange groves of The
Pressel Orchard, where the strike began. Local media attempted to downplay the strike, portraying it initially as a farce. By early July, law enforcement was stopping anyone who "looked Mexican" and was near the orange groves. In
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The
Condederacion de Uniones de Camesinos y Obreros Mexicanos (CUCOM) was an organization consisting of various Mexican farmers. The first strike organized by CUCOM took place in 1933 under the leadership of William Velarde. CUCOM led strikes in Orange County and in March 1935, presented demands to
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Prior to the strike, wages dropped from $ 4 a day to $ 3 for extremely back breaking labor. Orange pickers could be identified by "his single drooping shoulder, deeply scarred from the strap of the bag he was required to fill with fifty pounds of oranges while perched on a precarious ladder." Men
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Women in the labor community organized the Cuerpo
Auxiliar de Mujeres (the Union Women’s Auxiliary) as an organization to prevent growers from hiring scabs. The strike ended on July 25 with workers gaining a "20-cent-an-hour wage for a nine-hour day plus three cents for each box picked over 30"
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Orange County
Sheriff Logan Jackson deputized orchard guards, equipping them with weapons, and the authority to make arrests. By the end of the strike over 250 arrests were made. Outside of arrests the authorities turned to federal immigration authorities, tear gas, and physical attacks citrus
164:
The strike has been credited with ending the myth of
Mexican laborers being content with poor working conditions at the time, which was a myth heavily promoted by the Anglo agricultural industry, as well as for inspiring a conservative hostility against labor organization in Orange County and
59:
from June 10 to July 25. There were multiple factors that led the citrus workers to strike including their paid wages, working conditions, living conditions, and overall social dynamics. The strike itself was significant for ending the myth of "contented
Mexican labor." It was one of the most
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sign-boards. The living conditions in
Tiajuanita were challenging, with only one water faucet and a few makeshift bathrooms serving the entire settlement. Housing segregation was part of the broader discriminatory practices and unequal treatment faced by Mexican laborers in the region.
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some cases, strikers were severely beaten, with their injuries being disregarded in court as "sympathy propaganda." Strikers were intentionally characterized as "communists" who were engaging in a "little
Mexican revolution" to stoke fears in the Orange County population.
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Camps featured segregated schooling built with the goal of Americanizing the citrus pickers children while focusing on vocational skills that translate to the orange groves and assimilation into American culture illustrate the desire to eradicate Mexican culture.
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The citrus growers responded with fliers and support from conservative newspapers. Orange County's newspapers downplayed the strike, claiming that labor conditions were already amicable and that the demands were made by labor agitators and not valid.
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Inexperienced high school and college boys were also enlisted to replace the Naranjeros (Citrus pickers). The growers' association released statements praising the replacement workers and their ability to do just as good as the citrus pickers
150:(1939), stating that "No one who has visited a rural county in California under these circumstances will deny the reality of the terror that exists. It is no exaggeration to describe this state of affairs as fascism in practice."
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farmers and their supporters. At the height of the labor strikes, Sheriff Jackson formally issued a "shoot to kill" order claiming this was a battle between the entire county and communist citrus pickers.
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worked as pickers while women worked in packing houses. The growers persuaded the Orange County Board of Supervisors to outlaw any form of picketing or protest in Orange County.
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In 1939, a congressional investigation found that the growers had illegally blacklisted people and used violent tactics to crush the strike. However, no charges were filed.
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Gonzalez, Gilbert G. (January 1994). "The Mexican Citrus Picker Union, The Mexican Consulate, and The Orange County Strike of 1936".
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The strike has been noted as largely forgotten, such as in a 1971 dissertation on the subject and in a 1975 article for the
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organized groups of vigilantes to attack those striking, who used physical violence while law enforcement simply observed.
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orange growers, including higher wages, free transportation, abolition of a bonus system, and the right to form a union.
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745:"Shared Spaces, Separate Lives: Community Formation in the California Citrus Industry during the Great Depression"
157:, which referred to it as "one of the least-chronicled incidents in the history of the citrus belt." According to
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659:"The Citrus War of 1936 Changed Orange County Forever and Cemented Our Mistrust of Mexicans – OC Weekly"
610:"The Citrus War of 1936 Changed Orange County Forever and Cemented Our Mistrust of Mexicans – OC Weekly"
586:"The Citrus War of 1936 Changed Orange County Forever and Cemented Our Mistrust of Mexicans – OC Weekly"
507:"The Citrus War of 1936 Changed Orange County Forever and Cemented Our Mistrust of Mexicans – OC Weekly"
451:"The Citrus War of 1936 Changed Orange County Forever and Cemented Our Mistrust of Mexicans – OC Weekly"
427:"The Citrus War of 1936 Changed Orange County Forever and Cemented Our Mistrust of Mexicans – OC Weekly"
226:"The Citrus War of 1936 Changed Orange County Forever and Cemented Our Mistrust of Mexicans – OC Weekly"
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Citrus workers additionally faced forced repatriation or deportation as tensions grew between races.
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635:"The Roots of Inequality: The Citrus Industry Prospered on the Back of Segregated Immigrant Labor -"
329:"The Roots of Inequality: The Citrus Industry Prospered on the Back of Segregated Immigrant Labor -"
251:"The Roots of Inequality: The Citrus Industry Prospered on the Back of Segregated Immigrant Labor -"
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among citrus workers for better working conditions that took place within various cities within
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Labor and community: Mexican citrus worker villages in a Southern California county, 1900-1950
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356:. Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Centennial series. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
161:, the event continues to be left out of historical chronicles of Orange County history.
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THE ORANGE COUNTY CITRUS STRIKES OF 1935-1936: THE 'FORGOTTEN PEOPLE' IN REVOLT
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689:(Thesis). University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL).
475:"How Farmworkers Fought for Their Rights in OC's Last Orange Groves"
402:"How Farmworkers Fought for Their Rights in OC's Last Orange Groves"
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referenced the strikes in a chapter of his nationally released book
18:
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despite the growers refusing to recognize the union's right to
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Agriculture and forestry labor disputes in the United States
378:"UCI Libraries - Immigrant Lives in the OC and Beyond: Work"
202:"UCI Libraries - Immigrant Lives in the OC and Beyond: Work"
536:"Blood Orange: The 1936 Citrus Strike in Orange County"
300:"Blood Orange: The 1936 Citrus Strike in Orange County"
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Labor strike in Orange County, California in June 1936
840:Hispanic and Latino American history of California
805:History of labor relations in the United States
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685:RECCOW, LOUIS (2014). "History, Modern".
795:Agricultural labor in the United States
768:"The Great Depression in Orange County"
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755:(7): 33 – via Digital Commons.
835:1930s strikes in the United States
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23:Orange fruit pickers, Santa Ana,
560:Staff, OC Tribune (2014-07-23).
820:1936 labor disputes and strikes
72:Citrus picker living conditions
766:Jensen, Chris (January 2021).
275:"Orange County's lost essence"
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830:Citrus industry in California
696:10.25549/usctheses-c17-217960
633:Tour, Jesse La (2019-12-17).
352:Gonzalez, Gilbert G. (1994).
327:Tour, Jesse La (2019-12-17).
249:Tour, Jesse La (2019-12-17).
29:California Historical Society
810:Labor disputes in California
800:Labor history of California
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562:"A citrus 'war' in the OC"
778:(1): 5 – via Issuu.
724:10.1080/00236569400890031
175:Cantaloupe strike of 1928
25:Orange County, California
743:Shanta, David (2013).
148:Factories in the Field
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749:History in the Making
639:fullertonobserver.com
566:ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE
333:fullertonobserver.com
255:fullertonobserver.com
107:collective bargaining
41:Citrus Strike of 1936
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45:southern California
815:1936 in California
130:Associated Farmers
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363:978-0-252-06388-6
279:Los Angeles Times
155:Los Angeles Times
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66:Citrus Riots
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772:OC Archives
165:elsewhere.
88:The strikes
27:, c. 1900 (
789:Categories
668:2022-12-05
644:2022-12-05
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595:2022-12-05
571:2022-12-05
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310:2022-12-05
285:2022-12-05
260:2022-12-05
235:2022-12-05
211:2022-12-05
186:References
62:Citrus War
51:, such as
35:, CHS-154)
136:Aftermath
53:Fullerton
540:UFCW 324
304:UFCW 324
169:See also
64:and the
57:Anaheim
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479:KCET
406:KCET
358:ISBN
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39:The
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