262:. Cannery locals in Sacramento, Stockton, and Modesto who hadn't been consulted, hadn't voted, and didn't trust the Teamsters, staged strikes and work stoppages. About 1,200 workers in the Sacramento Libby, McNeill and Libby plant refused to pay dues to the Teamsters, effectively striking with signs that read, “We Will Work—But Not One Cent of Tribute to the Teamsters." The
71:
in 1864 on a barge in the
Sacramento River near West Sacramento. The salmon were packed in salt water (later the salt was replaced with a pickle) and the cans were then boiled for about one hour. Packing companies built twenty salmon canneries over the next two decades, with peak production in 1882
231:
In
Sacramento, the seasonal canning industry was the first industry affected by the Great Depression. In September 1930, the California Cooperative Producers Canning Company (the predecessor operator of Bercut-Richards cannery) laid off 153 cannery workers as demand for canned goods plummeted. The
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built one of the largest canneries in
California, a nine-acre facility at 31st Street, R Street, and Stockton Boulevard. Strategically situated near a wagon road and the Southern Pacific and Sacramento Northern railroads, fresh produce generally arrived at the cannery by wagon or truck and canned
34:
thanks to its situation on the intersection of major transportation routes and proximity to large fertile growing areas. Sacramento’s canning industry has prepared a large variety of agricultural products, but is best known for canned tomatoes, earning
Sacramento the nickname, "The Big Tomato."
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company would eventually owe over $ 25,000 to 600 workers who filed petitions to the State Labor Bureau but were unsuccessful in recouping their stolen wages. Following a
December 1932 freeze, cannery officials began hiring desperate workers for as little as $ 0.20 an hour By 1930, the radical
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in 1869 providing access to a national market, Sacramento growers took advantage of the region’s ample water supply and favorable climate and expanded their operations into more profitable fruits and vegetables. In 1870, a railcar could reach
Chicago in seven days, but it was still difficult to
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Beginning in 1931, Peter and Henri Bercut and Thomas H. Richards, Sr. developed what became the largest independent cannery in
California, located just south of the American River on North 7th Street. Bercut-Richards became one of the largest producers of tomato products, producing their own
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began organizing farm and food production workers throughout
California. Between 1918 and 1920, a series of strikes affected cannery operations in Northern California. In 1920, workers at the Libby, McNeill & Libby cannery in Sacramento went on strike.
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formed in 1901, incorporating 123 smaller can companies, and operated manufacturing plants across the United States. In 1926, the company built in
Sacramento one of its largest factories, on 33 acres between the American River and McKinley Park.
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in 1914 dramatically increased demand for
California canned goods and spurred further development of the industry in the Sacramento area. Numerous cannery operations were built in the Sacramento area around that time.
185:
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The Capitol Packing Company built the first successful fruit and vegetable cannery in Sacramento in 1882 on Front and K Streets. By 1886, the company employed 450 people and produced 100,000 cases per year.
84:, logging, and the construction of railroads, dams, and water-diversion projects. By 1886 packing companies had closed all their salmon canneries along the Sacramento River and relocated plants north to
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After the second World War, cannery operations became increasingly automated and less reliant on labor. Since then, demand for canned goods has steadily declined, resulting in further job losses.
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and its allied urban commercial and industrial interests, police raided the CAWIU headquarters in Sacramento and charged 17 of its leaders with criminal syndicalism. Several leaders, including
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who worked in the depot’s warehouses. The Bercut-Richards cannery operations continued until 1993. In 2009, the historic structure was demolished to build apartments and other development.
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brand, opened four canneries in Sacramento: at Front and P Streets, Third and X Streets, 19th and R Streets, and 17th and C Streets. The facility located at 17th and C Streets, known as
17:
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preserve fresh produce. These circumstances fostered an industry for canning produce, but the nascent canning industry had to compete with the newly invented
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251:, were sentenced in 1935 to several years’ imprisonment. After 1935, Sacramento cannery workers organized under the AFL as Cannery Workers Local No. 20324.
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The second World War greatly increased demand for canned goods, but it also reduced the domestic supply of labor. Sacramento canneries benefited from the
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opened the last major cannery in Sacramento, located on Franklin Boulevard. The plant was Campbell’s oldest facility when it closed in 2013.
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goods left in railroad boxcars. The cannery operations ended in the 1980s, but the complex has been preserved and is listed on the
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when 200,000 cases were packed. After this peak, there was a dramatic decline in salmon population around Sacramento because of
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273:, which supplemented cheap migrant labor from Mexico. With the Bracero Program, cannery work became increasingly racialized.
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took over operation of the Bercut-Richards cannery to supply the war effort. The Bercut-Richards facility housed German
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The success of the canning industry also brought about secondary industries like the mass production of tin cans. The
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The California Packing Company, a combination of five West Coast canning companies, best known under the
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In the 1800s, white Pacific fisherman organized with cannery workers to exclude non-white workers.
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426:"Historical Abundance and Decline of Chinook Salmon in the Central Valley Region of California"
382:"Historical Resource Inventory and Evaluation Report, Bercut-Richards Packing Company Property"
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was not yet established in California and most food was imported from overseas. Canning in
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and Bercut-Richards canned the produce with a special “V for Victory” label. In 1942, the
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642:"Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields: Sacramento Army Depot"
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Women's Work and Chicano Families: Cannery Workers of the Santa Clara Valley
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172:, employed at its peak 2,500 workers and continues in operation, now by the
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Sacramento en El Movimiento : Chicano politics in the civil rights era
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intervened, escorting scab replacements and checking for Teamster cards.
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176:. Plant 11 is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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National Park Service Fish and Wildlife Service (August 29, 2018).
30:, United States, has been an important location in the history of
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turned over jurisdiction of all California cannery locals to the
31:
424:
Yoshiyama, Ronald M.; Fisher, Frank W.; Moyle, Peter B. (1998).
333:"Del Monte canneries had many successful years in capital city"
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85:
379:
542:"The Story Behind The Wood Rodgers Headquarters On C. Street"
442:
10.1577/1548-8675(1998)018<0487:HAADOC>2.0.CO;2
444:– via California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
567:"Campbell's plant closure could mean 2,000 jobs lost"
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236:(CAWIU) was organizing Sacramento cannery workers.
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234:Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union
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380:JRP Historical Consulting, LLC (December 2006).
739:. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub. pp. 97–98.
188:1946 Bercut-Richards Sacramento Brand trademark
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430:North American Journal of Fisheries Management
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159:
55:began with salmon, which was abundant in the
617:"Trademark Status & Document Retrieval"
715:United States Department of Labor (1945).
179:
411:"First Pacific Coast Salmon Cannery Site"
717:"Labor Unionism In American Agriculture"
482:History of the Sacramento Valley, Vol. 1
460:Northwest Power and Conservation Council
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67:in North America was established by the
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196:During World War II, Sacramentans grew
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591:McKay, Darlena Belushin (2018-09-21).
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260:International Brotherhood of Teamsters
18:History of Sacramento Cannery Industry
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736:Sacramento : indomitable city
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648:. California State Military Museum
593:"A Look Back: Every Worker Counts"
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831:History of Sacramento, California
773:Márquez, Lorena Valdivia (2010).
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241:Associated Farmers of California
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143:Libby, McNeill and Libby Cannery
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219:After the first World War, the
836:Economic history of California
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668:"Township 9 Project Overview"
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63:. The first industrial-scale
801:. Cornell University Press.
528:Sacramento: Indomitable City
497:"California Packing Company"
307:Burg, William (2011-03-11).
264:Sacramento Police Department
225:American Federation of Labor
7:
841:Labor history of California
571:Sacramento Business Journal
337:Valley Community Newspapers
104:With the completion of the
100:Fruit and Vegetable Canning
76:and loss of habitat due to
10:
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795:Zavella, Patricia (1987).
733:Avella, Steven M. (2003).
239:In 1934, pressured by the
160:California Packing Company
501:Sacramento Public Library
106:transcontinental railroad
479:McGowan, Joseph (1961).
149:Libby, McNeill and Libby
666:Carter Burgess (2006).
526:Avella, Steven (2003).
254:In 1945, AFL President
180:Bercut-Richards Cannery
807:10.7591/j.ctt1wn0qrh.5
646:www.militarymuseum.org
202:U.S. Army Signal Corps
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28:Sacramento, California
530:. Arcadia Publishing.
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137:Campbell Soup Company
111:refrigerated railcar.
693:depts.washington.edu
193:“Sacramento” brand.
174:Blue Diamond Growers
129:American Can Company
69:Hapgood-Hume Company
597:Sacramento Magazine
485:. pp. 379–383.
119:The opening of the
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389:City of Sacramento
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689:"Fishing Workers"
16:(Redirected from
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309:"The Big Tomato"
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575:. Retrieved
573:. 2012-09-27
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550:. Retrieved
548:. 2019-11-01
546:Wood Rodgers
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505:. Retrieved
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341:. Retrieved
339:. 2015-07-17
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121:Panama Canal
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456:"Canneries"
74:overfishing
49:agriculture
43:During the
820:Categories
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652:2021-05-31
626:2021-05-31
602:2021-05-31
577:2021-05-31
552:2021-05-31
507:2021-05-31
465:2021-05-31
436:(3): 499.
343:2021-05-31
318:2021-05-31
280:References
90:Washington
57:Sacramento
53:Sacramento
826:Canneries
166:Del Monte
147:In 1912,
45:Gold Rush
755:53485546
223:and the
170:Plant 11
32:canning
805:
753:
743:
503:. 1925
94:Alaska
92:, and
86:Oregon
803:JSTOR
720:(PDF)
671:(PDF)
385:(PDF)
47:era,
751:OCLC
741:ISBN
247:and
59:and
438:doi
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