It was Aug. 31, 1939, the height of the peach picking season. Four hundred workers (out of 430) at a major canning factory walked off the job to protest discrimination and to fight for recognition of their union. The strike was extraordinary because it was one of women led by women. Dorothy Healey was an organizer and vice president with the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA). UCAPAWA stood out at the time as a union willing to organize workers whom other unions were reluctant to touch: Asians and Mexican-Americans. The workers striking against California Sanitary Canning Company in Los Angeles were mostly Mexican-American women. UCAPAWA had a history of bringing workers together across and gender, racial and ethnic boundaries and focused on women, all of which made it rare for a union. Women organizing women had become the union’s trademark. The company owners refused to negotiate, but the workers stood firm and continued to press their demands of union recognition, a closed shop, higher wages and firing of all supervisors. They knew they’d face a fight from the company and they did, a lengthy one, but they were ready. They even had their children picket outside the elaborate homes of the owners with signs that read “I’m underfed because my mama is underpaid!” After two and a half months, the company owners recognized UCAPAWA Local 75 and agreed to all their demands, including the wage increase and supervisor layoffs. The success, unfortunately, was short-lived, but the UCAPAWA continued to wield influence over the years with its forward-thinking approach to representing women and minorities. #PROUAW #UnionHistory ... See MoreSee Less