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HISTORY OF MIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES
HISTORY OF MIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES
For much of the early history of the United States, farms were worked to feed a family or provide a family’s income. During the late nineteenth century, agriculture changed and became an industry. Crops were larger, and more workers were needed at certain times during the growing season. Workers began traveling to different areas to find work at specific times. For example, they harvested tomatoes across the country in the summer and picked apples in the fall in the North.
MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE TIME OF STEINBECK
MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE TIME OF STEINBECK
During the Dust Bowl, more than half a million people left the American Plains and migrated to the western United States. John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) describes vividly the large migration of poor whites from Oklahoma to California during the 1930s. His book captures how individuals were affected by dramatic changes in agriculture.
“Now farming was an industry.... They imported slaves although they did not call them slaves” (Steinbeck 1939, p. 298).
John Steinbeck
This quotation from Steinbeck’s novel points out that industrialization in the late nineteenth century set the stage for changes in agriculture during the early twentieth century. Farm sizes grew across the United States, and farming became mechanized. Crops that previously required hand labor for harvesting, like cotton and beans, were being harvested by machines, which resulted in fewer jobs. These new mechanized farms were described as “factories in the fields.” At the same time, the need for hand labor became increasingly seasonal, creating a high demand for migrant labor that could follow specialty crops, like berries and grapes.
Steinbeck had a unique perspective on the life of migrant workers. In 1919, he dropped out of Stanford University without taking a degree. To support himself, he worked with migrants on California ranches. Those relationships, coupled with an early sympathy for the weak and defenseless, deepened his empathy for workers, the disenfranchised, the lonely and dislocated.
While discussing Of Mice and Men during an interview, Steinbeck said, "I was a bindlestiff myself for quite a spell. I worked in the same country that the story is laid in. The characters are composites to a certain extent. Lennie was a real person."
A book cover for of Mice and Men depicting the two characters as farm workers.
MODERN MIGRANT WORKERS
MODERN MIGRANT WORKERS
The migrant worker system is still a large part of the American economy. As of 2015, there were between one and three million American migrant farmworkers
Many migrant workers come from developing countries where it is difficult to find work. Developed countries often have more jobs to fill but fewer workers, especially for unskilled labor, or jobs that do not require any special training. Many migrant workers take on these types of jobs and send remittance, or money, back to their families in their home countries. According to the World Bank, the United States was the country with the highest remittance, with more than forty-two million migrants sending $48.3 billion to families in their home countries in 2009.
Migrant farm workers in California, 2021.
Most migrant workers in the United States work in agriculture. Many farm jobs are seasonal, meaning workers are needed for only part of the year—for example, when crops need to be picked. The average annual individual income of a farmworker, including migrant workers, was $15,000 to $19,999 in 2011.
In 2007, the majority of migrant laborers in the United States were of Mexican descent. Their poor treatment is compounded by racial/ethnic discrimination and xenophobic attitudes. Migrant farmworkers and their families are among the most vulnerable groups in society. Migrant workers face dangerous and poor working conditions. Basic necessities, like adequate drinking water, are not provided by employers, even though laborers may work in extreme heat. Many are forced to work without access to toilet or hand-washing facilities, even though washing hands regularly is important to avoid pesticide poisoning.
Living conditions are also difficult for migrant farmworkers. Wages for farmwork have not kept up with inflation; consequently, it is difficult for families to afford basic necessities like housing, food, health care, and education for their children. In 2006 the United States Department of Labor findings from the National Farmworker Survey (collected in 1994 and 1995) reported that farmworkers have low individual earnings; the median annual income is between $2,500 and $5,000, and about three-fourths of all workers earn less than $10,000 annually.
Statistics about American migrant workers.
The children of farmworkers are often found working with family members, despite laws outlawing child labor. It is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 800,000 child farmworkers in the United States. Children work an average of twelve hours a day, and have difficulty getting paid minimum wages; some earn as little as $2 an hour. Children are routinely exposed to harmful pesticides, and report experiencing rashes, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. In addition to the demanding physical conditions, the children of migrant laborers lack access to education. When children work in the fields, it is nearly impossible for them to attend school. Children who do not work but migrate with their families have their education disrupted because of the constant need to relocate.
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