August 1, 1938
Now remembered as the Hilo Massacre or Bloody Monday, more than 70 police officers attempted to disband 200 unarmed, nonviolent protesters during a strike, injuring 50 of the demonstrators. In their attempts to disband the crowd, officers tear gassed, hosed and finally fired their riot guns, leading to 50 injuries, but no deaths. These protesters included Chinese, Japanese, Native Hawaiian, Luso and Filipino Americans and were members of many different unions, including the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU). The different groups, long at odds, put aside their differences to challenge the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company, demanding equal wages with workers on the West Coast of the United States. The Wagner Act, passed in 1935, legalized workers’ right to join and be represented by labor unions but Hawaii — not yet a State — was controlled by five corporations that played the races against each other, which kept wages low.
