Los Caballeros De Labor

The first job of discussion, mining was of significant importance. Within those who were working, sixty percent of the men were Mexican Americans. Part of the issue with mining jobs is the safety hazard. The men put in the most dangerous and unstable areas were the Mexican Americans. The wage though in comparison to their Anglo American counterparts was significantly less and called the “Mexican rate”. Where in addition to low wages, only the mexican and chinese workers were required to pay a tax of twenty dollars. The families could not survive on this amount of income and in turn had to pick up another job in order to have sufficient funds to keep their families alive. In 1914 the miners took a strike against Rockefeller mining and after eviction from
Out of all the migrant workers, ninety percent of them were Mexican American. Then when small farmers wanted to transport goods on the railroads the migrants built, the companies charged outrageous amount of shipping rates that the small owners either could not afford or could barely afford. If the railroads had not already created enough damage on the backs of minorities, the companies would steal land to put their railroads through and the government was with the big businesses not the undesirables. In response to the poor conditions Los Caballeros de Labor were created. Los Caballeros de Labor denounced the “Mexican rate” for any job. Los Caballeros believed the inequality of pay further divided the Anglo americans from the Mexican Americans. In addition Los Caballeros wanted the land of the people to be protected from the businesses who wanted to take their land. However, Los Caballeros de Labor were not the only groups standing against oppression, another group, called La Mano Negra also denounced the oppression. La Mano Negra against all odds demolished 900 railroad ties in demonstration against the institutions taking advantage of the Mexican