Orchards During War: Braceros in the Northwest

Abstract

The American government introduced the bracero program during World War Two which allowed for Mexican laborers to enter the country to fulfill the nations labor demands. Their employment was on a temporary basis as they were usually signed to one-year contracts and sent all over the country. The Mexican and American governments were tasked at looking after these workers well being while ensuring that they fulfilled the demands that the United States government needed. In places like the American Southwest, braceros had little labor issues with their employers while in the American Northwest, labor stoppages and strikes were constant. The bracero workers of the Northwest generally received less oversight from the Mexican government and therefore the workers took matters into their own hands to ensure that they were being treated fairly. It was the neglect of the American and Mexican governments that drove braceros in the Northwest to organize.