Mexican Farm Workers

Back when I was a teen, way back,in the 1950's, we had no fast food outlets at all. The route to teen income was either an allowance from parents, or in Summer, the bean fields.

Flashing forward 60 years, the valley that stretched from Renton, Washington to Puyallup, Washington, some eighteen miles, was solid bean fields. There weren't enough teen age workers that could pick fast enough to overcome the youth grab ass tendencies. After all, pursuing the opposite sex was paramount in our minds, bodies, and dreams. What to do?

Braceros. Braceros were Mexican farm workers that could pick three times as fast as we slothly teens.  They were paid by the hour, since by our scale it would have cost the farmers more than they wanted to pay. First mistake, but then this was the 1960's where our sense of justice did not extend to our neighbors to the south.

From time to time I spoke with some of the Bracero's I much admired them for their ambition and productivity. The way it worked, was that the Mexican farm worker were imported for a season's work in he fields. When that season was done thy could, if sponsored,  follow the crops north to fruit orchards. etc. The bottom line here, was they were imported by employers, then taken back by them as well. When winter came, they rejoined their families in Mexico.

I do not know what happened to that program. Perhaps it was the farm workers union of the 1960's. That is a valid concern. Importing alien workers must not be allowed to undercut the living wage of resident farm workers who are here legally. Importing lesser wage workers would first not be right, and secondly, would create wars in the farm community.

Why hasn't ts occurred to our government?