The Invisible Workers of the U.S.–Mexico Bracero Program: Obreros Olvidados

As the first and largest guestworker program, the U.S.–Mexico Bracero Program (1942–1964) codified the unequal relations of labor migration between the two nations. This book interrogates the articulations of race and class in the making of the Bracero Program by introducing new syntheses of sociological theories and methods to center the experiences and recollections of former Braceros and their families.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: The Invisible Workers of the U.S.–Mexican Bracero Program Chapter 2: Braceros and the Social Formation of Anglo Racial Frames Chapter 3: The Bracero Working Day and the Contested Terrain of Class Relations Chapter 4: The Making of the Bracero ‘Total’ Institution Chapter 5: Conclusion: The Politics of Reparations and the Contemporary Bracero Redress Movement Appendix I: The Articulation of Race and Class in the Making of the Bracero Total Institution Appendix II: Working in the Field: Historical Memory, Archival Ethnography, and Direct Accounts of Agricultural Migrant Labor Appendix III: The Standard Work Contract and Accompanying Documents Appendix IV: Original Bracero Agreement of 1942 Appendix V: Braceros from Mexican States of Origin, 1942–1946 and 1951–1964

About the Author :
Ronald L. Mize is associate professor in the School of Language, Culture, and Society at Oregon State University.

Review :
Invisible Workers gives voice to the Braceros, whose perspectives have been largely absent from official accounts.... Mize’s writing sheds light on the institutional racism that was woven into the Bracero program’s structure, but also into interpersonal relationships.... Mize gives historical context to a longstanding bipolar relationship in which the United States entices documented and undocumented labor to cross the border to do dangerous, backbreaking, dirty, low-paying jobs and then turns on the Mexicans, making them the face of the law-breakers who must be deported for not standing in line to enter and stay legally.... The author deserves high praise for opening eyes to a program in which the United States asked Mexico to send field workers for almost 25 years. Adopting a broader historical perspective on immigration can inform an understanding of these issues in ways that a purely present-time focus cannot. This is what Ronald Mize does in The Invisible Workers of the U.S.-Mexico Bracero Program. Although ostensibly a detailed analysis of this post–World War II transnational labor program, the book reads like a penetrating critique of current attitudes toward, and the treatment of, Mexican and other Hispanic laborers. Mize convincingly demonstrates that the situation of these workers can only really be understood by considering the interaction of powerful structural forces shaping migration and subjective intentionality. In the Invisible Workers of the U.S-Mexico Bracero Program Professor Mize has written an important book on the former guest worker program and its participants, giving a voice to those made invisible. Indeed, through rich first-hand interviews from former braceros, Mize argues forcibly that braceros were exploited by their class and racial differences and thus ensured their invisibility as recruited guest workers. A well-researched book that adds significantly to the literature on the former guest worker program and challenges readers to re-examine the recruitment of temporary guest workers during today’s current period of anti-immigrant scapegoating. Invisible Workers by Ronald Mize is nothing less than the definitive history of the U.S./Mexico guestworker program…From this history, one gains a much fuller appreciation than from other historical accounts of the intersection of race and class in the exploitation and oppression of these "guest workers." As the United States continues to contemplate new guest worker programs, Invisible Workers should be a cautionary tale of how far such programs may deviate from the ideals of liberty and justice for all. The Invisible Workers of the U.S.–Mexico Bracero Program: Obreros Olvidados by Ronald L. Mize comes to life through the oral interviews of Braceros and their families. By including a US and a Mexican perspective, Mize is able to create a thorough study of the Bracero program that includes US attitudes towards Braceros, the Mexican government’s ideas about Braceros, how Mexican Americans viewed Mexican Nationals, and Mexican Nationals’ visions of themselves and their labor. An excellent book for someone with an interest in the topic or for the college classroom.