Southern California drywall strike

Photograph of workers protesting the jailing of fellow drywall strikers in 1992.

The 1992 Southern California drywall strike was a strike by Mexican and Mexican American drywall hangers, many of whom were undocumented, for fair wages and health insurance from contractors, who stole two billion dollars a years in income taxes, social security, and worker's compensation payments from the workers and collaborated with the local police to repress the organizers. Jesus Gomez, leader of the strike, received threats and had shots fired at his home, while key organizers were tailed by the police and even followed with helicopters.[1][2] Eventually aligning with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the strikers succeeded in getting union contracts that ensured fair wages and benefits. The strike left the residential construction industry in a different state. While the industry remained an open shop, contractors were forced to pay Mexican workers with wages and benefits closer to that of the white workers.

  1. ^ Mize, Ronald; Alicia Swords, Alicia (2010). Consuming Mexican Labor: From the Bracero Program to NAFTA. University of Toronto Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN 9781442604094.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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