California declares May 10 day for Chinese rail workers

California Assembly member Evan Low, author of House Resolution 31, speaks at a presentation at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Monday. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

The California state Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution to declare May 10 California Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Day in honor of the nearly 12,000 Chinese railroad workers who helped build the Transcontinental Railroad more than 150 years ago.

The Transcontinental Railroad, originally known as the Pacific Railroad, was completed on May 10, 1869, linking the West and the East for the first time in American history. The construction, which took six years and stretched for nearly 2,000 miles, was one of the most remarkable engineering feats of the 19th century.

Chinese laborers joined the workforce for the Western section, the most arduous phase of the construction. They comprised more than 80 percent of the workforce of the Central Pacific Railroad Co; however, their role was largely neglected for many years.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, "the assembly recognizes and honors the Chinese railroad workers who labored from 1865 to 1869 to build the Transcontinental Railroad by designating May 10, 2017, and each May 10 thereafter, as California Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Day," according to House Resolution 31 (HR 31).

"The thousands of Chinese immigrants who risked their lives to build the Transcontinental Railroad faced prejudice, unsafe working conditions and low wages. Their sacrifice and courage must never be forgotten," said Assembly member Evan Low, author of HR 31.

In early 1865, the year the American Civil War ended, the Central Pacific Railroad arranged with labor contractors to recruit workers from China, mostly from Guangdong province in South China.

Desperate for work, the Chinese workers left their hometowns, which suffered from poverty and civil unrest, and boarded ships for California to support their families.

The Chinese railroad workers set a world record by laying 10 miles of railroad track in just one workday and were considered indispensible by their foremen.

However, the Chinese workers faced prejudice, isolation and dangerous working conditions. Nearly 1,200 Chinese railroad workers died from work accidents, avalanches, and explosions while working in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

"Through their fight against discrimination, the Chinese railroad workers set an example for the millions of Asian Americans who came to the United States after them," says the resolution.

"Both the descendants of the workers and the wider Asian-American community view the sacrifices of the Chinese railroad workers as being integral to the creation of the vibrant and growing Asian-American community that exists throughout the country today," it says.

In 2014, the US Department of Labor inducted the Chinese Railroad workers into the Labor Hall of Honor for their courageous fight for better working conditions.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com