What was the Bracero Program and what is its significance?
What was the Bracero Program and what is its significance?
An executive order called the Mexican Farm Labor Program established the Bracero Program in 1942. This series of diplomatic accords between Mexico and the United States permitted millions of Mexican men to work legally in the United States on short-term labor contracts.
How much did braceros get paid?
The bracero program guaranteed workers a minimum wage of 50 cents per hour, insurance and safe, free housing. However, farm owners frequently failed to live up to these requirements. Housing and food routinely was well below standards, and wages were not only low, but also frequently paid late or not at all.
How much money were families of braceros entitled to if a bracero died during their contract?
Some remain pending, but the Mexican government created a fund to compensate Braceros and their survivors with up to $3,500 if they could prove, with pay stubs, work visas, labor contracts or other documents, that they worked in the US between 1942 and 1964.
What is the legacy of the braceros?
This program enabled Mexican citizens to come to the United States on temporary labor contracts predominantly to work in the agriculture industry. During the 22-year period of the guest worker program, millions of Mexicans came to the United States to work.
What did the Bracero Program promise?
Under this pact, the laborers were promised decent living conditions in labor camps, such as adequate shelter, food and sanitation, as well as a minimum wage pay of 30 cents an hour. The program began in Stockton, California in August 1942.
Who benefited most from the Bracero Program?
Throughout its existence, the Bracero Program benefited both farmers and laborers but also gave rise to numerous labor disputes, abuses of workers and other problems that have long characterized the history of farm labor in the Southwestern United States.
How do I find Mexican workers?
Many companies find these folks in the Latino community….8 ways to recruit Hispanic workers
- Apartment building promotions.
- Talk to a priest.
- Spanish language radio advertising.
- Hispanic newspaper ads.
- Bulletin boards around town.
- Festival booths.
- Referral bonuses with a caveat.
- Open house.
How many Mexicans stayed after the bracero program?
5 million Mexicans
The program was very popular with U.S. farmers, and was extended well past the end of World War II, not ending until 1964. More than 5 million Mexicans came to the U.S. as braceros, and hundreds of thousands stayed.
Why did agribusiness lobby for the bracero program?
The fact that the state-sponsored contract labor Agreement lasted well beyond 1945 indicates that more than a wartime labor shortage prompted the lobbying effort. Yearly extensions after 1945 finalizing in Public Law 78 in 1951 guaranteed the Program’s operation till 1964.
What were the braceros sprayed with?
Participants of the Bracero Program “were often subjected to humiliating exams and bureaucratic procedures” (Smithsonian). They were told to strip and were sprayed with the pesticide DDT as they passed through the stations they were herded through.
How did the Bracero Program impact Mexico?
Under the 1942-64 Bracero programs, between 1.5 million and two million Mexicans gained experience working legally in US agriculture, and at least 100,000 became legal immigrants when their employers sponsored them for immigrant visas in the late 1960s.
What is the Bracero Program and why is it important?
The Bracero Program, which brought millions of Mexican guest workers to the United States, ended more than four decades ago. Current debates about immigration policy-including discussions about a new guest worker program-have put the program back in the news and made it all the more important to understand this chapter of American history.
Why are there so many braceros in California?
The availability of Braceros permitted labor-intensive agriculture to expand to meet a growing demand for fruits and vegetables, creating a demand-pull for Mexican workers in California. Many areas of rural Mexico became dependent on money earned from US jobs, and networks were soon established to link rural Mexican villages with US farm jobs.
What can we learn from Bracero narratives?
The Bracero narratives provide first-hand insight to the implications of the ‘guest-worker’ program, challenges experienced, and the formation of their migrant identity.
What is the pl-78 Bracero Program?
The PL-78 Bracero program sowed the seeds for later Mexico-US migration. The availability of Braceros permitted labor-intensive agriculture to expand to meet a growing demand for fruits and vegetables, creating a demand-pull for Mexican workers in California.
