Though the wages for picking cotton in California were higher than in other states, it was hard for a family to live on. As more migrants streamed in from the Dust Bowl and other parts of the depression laden country it became harder and harder to find higher paying jobs.

Many people protested the falling wages, and many people were unsuccessful. But, some places had success such as in 1933 near Corcoran. More than 18,000 cotton workers with the Cannery and Agricultural Workers Industrial Union (CAWIU) went on strike for 24 days. During the strike, two men and one woman were killed and hundreds injured. In the settlement workers were given a 25 percent raise.

Later years, such as after 1938 featured more success strikes as well.