ETHNICITY, LABOR AND POLITICS:
The Filipino Experience in
Hawaii
Belinda A. Aquino, Ph.D.
Center for Philippine Studies
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Oct. 3, 2008
California State University East Bay
AN OVERVIEW



Forces that shape political
participation
Filipinos in the fabric of the
American nation
Filipino experience in Hawai’i
America
A Nation of Immigrants
 A “Permanently Unfinished
Society” (Nathan Glazer)

ETHNICITY


Socially Constructed
U.S. Census Bureau –Racial/Ethnic
Categories
 White
 African American
 Hispanic
 Asian American
 Native American
 Other Race
U.S. Racial/Ethnic Distribution, 2006
Estimates
S
White 66%
Hispanics
14.8 %
African American 13.4%
Asian 4.4%
American Indian 0.68%
Pacific Islander 0.14%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 Estimates
Emerging Paradigms on Ethnicity


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Multiculturalism versus
assimilation
Diversity and affirmative action
Political Empowerment
Diaspora – dispersion,
dislocation, globalization
ENABLING LAWS
Civil Rights Act, 1964
 Immigration and Nationality
Act, 1965
 Immigration Reform Act,
1986

The Philippines
THE PHILIPPINES



Colony of the US: 1898 to 1946
Source of cheap, plentiful labor
Starting 1906, US companies
recruited Filipino farmers for
Hawaii and California
Waves of Filipino
Immigration to USA

First wave: 1906-before WWII


sakadas in Hawaii sugar and
pineapple plantations
rice and orchard farmers in
California
Sakadas in Action
(Sugar and pineapple workers)
Waves of Filipino immigration…



Second wave: 1946-1964, Filipino
military in US Armed forces and their
families
Third wave: 1965-1985, Filipino
professionals
Fourth wave: 1986-present, Filipino
family reunifications, global
opportunities
Filipinos in America: Top 10
States, Census 2000

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California – 918,678
Hawaii – 170,635
Illinois – 86,298
New Jersey – 85,245
New York – 81,681
Washington – 65,373
Texas – 58,340
Florida – 54,310
Virginia – 47,609
illion
Nevada – 40,529
TOTAL – 1.61
(out of 2.8 million)
Filipinos in USA
Proportion of Filipinos to
Population of CA & HI
Proportion of Filipinos in CA, 2006 est.
Total CA Population
36.457M
Proportion of Filipinos in HI, 2006 est.
Proportion of
Filipinos 1.093M =
3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 estimates.
Total HI Population
1.285M
Proportion of Filipinos
192K = 15%
Filipinos in Hawaii – 2000

31.7%
21.8%
26.7%
Kauai – 18,522
Oahu – 191,393
Molokai – 1,979
Lanai – 2,007
Maui – 34,445
Hawaii – 31,354
Total – 275,407
63.4%
21.1%
26.9%
LABOR STRUGGLES IN
HAWAII (1909-1930S)
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All men – could not bring families
Early Sakadas worked 10-12
hrs/day, 6 days/week
$1 daily wage
Participated in strikes
1924 Hanapepe Massacre
Filipino Labor Organizing in
Hawaii (1910s-30s)
Sakadas organizing
Pablo Manlapit
Democratization/ILWU

John Burns: led
1954 democratic
“revolution”

Jack Hall: ILWU
regional director
Jack Hall
First Generation Political Leaders
Peter Aduja
 In the Legislature
1954, Peter Aduja first Filipino
American elected to
Hawai'i Territorial
Legislature
In the Judiciary

Justice Ben Menor
1974, Benjamin
Menor appointed
first Filipino
American Hawai’i
State Supreme
Court Justice
State Governor
 1994, Benjamin J.
Cayetano becomes
first Filipino
American and
second Asian
American elected
Governor of a U.S.
state
Filipino-American
Hawaii Mayors

Eduardo Malapit – first Fil-Am to become
mayor in US (Kauai, Hawaii), 1974

Lorraine Rodero-Inouye – first Fil-Am
woman to become mayor in US (Big Island,
Hawaii), 1990
City & County of Honolulu –
Council Members
Romy Cachola
Donovan dela
Cruz
Nestor Garcia
State Senators, 2008-present
Ron Menor [D]
Will Espero [D]
Lorraine Inouye [D]
Donna Mercado Kim [D]
Robert Bunda [D]
State Representatives, 2008present
K. Pine [R]
L. Finnegan [R]
A. Sonson [D]
M. Magaoay [D]
L. Berg [D]
D. Belatti [D]
R. Sagum III [D]
R. Cabanilla [D]
J. Manahan [D]
Reflections on Hawaii
Filipino Experience
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Immigration history
Critical mass: base of support
Labor militancy/organizing
Democratization
Coalitions with other groups
Geographic size
Other US Fil-Am political
leaders



1990, David Mercado Valderrama
elected to Prince George's county
seat, Maryland state legislature
1991, Seattle's Gene Canque Liddell
elected mayor of Lacey City,
Washington State
1992, Velma Veloria elected to the
Washington State Legislature
In San Francisco Bay Area

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Jose Esteves, 3-term mayor,
Milpitas
Michael Guingona, 4-term mayor of
Daly City, now Councilmember
Manny Fernandez, vice mayor of
Union City
Gertrude Gregorio, board member
of New Haven Unified School
District
Critical Questions

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What strategies can increase Fil-Am political
participation?
How can they expand their economic base?
Will Ben Cayetano’s achievement be
replicated?
Will there be a first Fil-Am member of
Congress in the next 5-10 yrs?
What is the future of the Filipino diaspora?
What are its strengths and weaknesses? Will
the U.S. continue to be the no. 1 destination?
Major Sources
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U.S. Census Bureau
Edward Beechert, Working in Hawaii: A Labor
History, Univ. of Hawaii Press, 1985
Roger Daniels, A History of Immigration and
Ethnicity in American Life, 1990
Alejandro Portes & Ruben G. Rumbaut,
Immigrant America, 2nd ed., Univ. of California
Press, 1986.
Ruben G. Rumbaut & Alejandro Portes, eds.
Ethnicities: Children of Immigrants in America.
Univ. of California Press, 2001
Luis Teodoro, Jr. ed., Out of this Struggle: The
Filipinos in Hawaii. Univ. of Hawaii Press, 1981
Mahalo!
Maraming salamat!
Thank you!