The History of Puerto Rican Migration :: Historical Puerto Rico Immigration Essays

The History of Puerto Rican Migration Through out the twentieth century Puerto Rican immigrants have played a major role in the United States’ labor force, cultural identity, and in politics. From the 1920’s, when the cigar makers waged their union battles, attracting the attention of other trade unions to Puerto Rican workers. Today the Puerto Rican Political Action Committee of Connecticut (PRPAC) is a major player in state politics, by supporting candidates and getting the Puerto Rican community involved in the elections of the state, but also the city of Hartford. In the "Memoirs of Bernardo Vega: A Contribution to the History of the Puerto Rican Community in New York", Vega talk about finding a voice for the laborers of the city and fighting for equal opportunity for all workers. In Jose Cruz’s "Identity and Power: Puerto Rican Politics and the Challenge of Ethnicity", he talks about in today’s society how Puerto Ricans must stay together in the battle to be heard by the government. As a result of protests against the imprisonment of Eugene V. Debs, a massive strike broke out in July of 1919. The strike stopped all cigar production in New York City, slowly spreading throughout the United States. Quickly unions began to see the importance of the Puerto Rican worker. This strike had many benefits for Puerto Rican workers. Soon after, Puerto Rican laborers began to enjoy the same wages and hours as other immigrant workers from other countries. However, the most notable result of the cigar makers’ strike was that for the first time Puerto Rican delegates were able to participate in the meetings of the union members. The cigar makers’ strike led to other strikes by different Puerto Rican laborers to call the attention of their owners to the fact that the Puerto Rican labor force was a group that was not going to be pushed around. On December 2, 1922 the Liga Puertorriquena was formed. Composed of an array of social, intellectual groups that had never before taken up the position of the workers’ struggle, Liga Puertorriquena was the first major effort to unify the concerns of the entire community. This new group now had the backing of the Puerto Rican community to make their voice heard in the city. Puerto Ricans were now able to protest and have an impact on what was going on both in the community and back on the island.