Migrant Workers in North America - Research Proposal Example

?  Migrant Workers in North America           Migrant Workers in North America Introduction Migrant labor is a phrase used in the United States to refer to workers who move from one place to another harvesting product that need to be collected as soon as they are ripe. Migrant labor refers to a situation where unskilled and casual workers move steadily from a single area to another providing their services on an impermanent, normally recurrent, basis. Migrant labor in different forms is found in North America, South Africa, India, Western Europe, and the Middle East. In both the Middle East and Europe, migrant labor habitually has been employed for urban instead of agricultural work and entails prolonged durations of residence (Foner, 2001). In contrast, in Northern America, migrant work is inclined for agricultural work, largely during times of harvest. The necessity for agricultural migrant labor develops from the cyclic nature of yielding (Williams, 2004). Problem Statement The purpose of this study is to highlight the status of migrant workers in North America. Despites migrant labor patterns being present in different parts of the globe, not any can be compared with the magnitude and extent of the labor patterns in the United States. Migrant laborers may be moved to their work areas by a contractor who is charged with the responsibility of supplying the farm owners with the required workers or the migrant laborers may go to the farms by themselves (Frum, 2000). Therefore, this study will investigate all aspects of migrant workers in North America (Hanson, 2006). Significance This study should be conducted so as to help people become familiar with the topic of migrant workers on North America. This study is also significant to law makers when formulating labor policies. Finally, the study is essential in enhancing the lives of migrant workers (Villarejo, 2003). Background Migrant laborers in North America have emerged from a number of different areas, and have encountered dissimilar working situations. Before the restraints against the slave trade, agricultural activities in North America significantly depended on the slave labor force. In contrast to common belief, slavery, while more outstanding in plantations in the South, was both employed in the South and North as a means of providing workforce to agriculture. Nevertheless, during the period of 18th and 19th centuries, when slaves were set free and the slave trade was outlawed, workers from the foreign areas started to be recruited to compensate for the need for low-priced labor (Wright, 2003). In addition, there were a large number of sources for cheap workforce. Laborers from China were among the first people to be transported to North America in considerable numbers. Nevertheless, the federal administration restricted movement migration from this area with the 1882, Chinese Exclusion Act. During the start of the 20th century, individuals from the Philippines and Mexico started to enter North America to work in the farms as cheap laborers. In addition, different sources of low cost agricultural labor in this period came from untrained European migrants (Borjas, 2007)Unlike Philippine, Mexican, or Chinese laborers who came to North America purposefully to provide cheap labor in farms, European migrants did not come to North America to precisely work as laborers (Zimmermann, 2005). Nevertheless, they were employed as laborers in these farms. In addition, numerous a large number of Chinese, European, Philippine, and Mexican immigrants who moved to North America as laborers did so with the objective of finally buying their own lands and farms. Nonetheless, because of the complexity encountered in getting sufficient capital, this objective was frequently not attained. Literature Review In the Northern part, migrant labor travels regularly from south to north after the harvesting period, while in the Southern part migrant labor moves from north to south after harvest. The majority of agricultural laborers travel in well defined models within a common direction, and their responsibilities normally constitute duties that are easily learned, repetitive, and manual (Rothenberg, 2000). In the midst of the economic situations that enhance the need for migrant labor are a tremendous deficiency in the composition of farm workers and a swift raise in farm yields in a specified area. This situation is frequently instigated by increased wages out of the agricultural area. While the issues that cause the need for migrant labor may be different, individuals behind the provision of migrant workforce tend to be steady. In many instances, migrant workers go to their work places because of adverse social and economic circumstances in their home areas. In North America, during the winter season, migrant laborers may move to Florida to harvest citrus plants and then, connected with other from Puerto Rico and Texas, travel north into New England, collecting apples, potatoes, tomatoes, and other farm products (Cronon, 2003). Another sizeable group of laborers from Texas travel towards the Pacific, mountain, and north-central states during the spring period, collecting cotton, fruits, sugar beets, and vegetables. Also, there is another group of migrant workers who gather vegetables moving from southern California towards the north via the Pacific Coast states. Moreover, the brief relation between employer and migrant laborer establishes an unmanageable labor market. The majority of migrant workers have minimal access to the employment market, are not members of registered unions, or have do not have reemployment entitlements. Nevertheless, crew leaders, middlemen, labor contractors, and job brokers put in some form of organization to the system (Flores, 2003). For instance, labor contractors will hire laborers, move and administer them, and hand out their payment. In addition, labor contractors also negotiate working conditions and payments with the employers. In contrast, the standards of living, conditions of work, and wages for migrant laborers are usually less than those of other workers, and immigrants are in most cases compelled to work for extended periods and under harsh conditions (Cooper, 2008). In a number of states, child labor is rampant among migrant workers, and also in North America, those young individuals who do not form part of the workforce may not go to school. This is because in numerous areas schools are only open to legal citizens (De La Torre, 2009). There can also be inefficient housing for immigrant laborers, and their political involvement rates, social cohesion, and literacy levels are minimal. Immigrants are essentially unknown to the society in which they provide their services whether they are foreign-born or native (Borjas, 2003). Consequently, immigrant laborers may face challenges when they want to access communal social and health services and may be denied of rights because they either do not have straightforward access to the courts or their illegal standing (Taylor, 2007). In addition, the traveling nature of immigrant laborers makes the management of their living and working situation demanding and may work against government and union labor conditions that are applicable to normal work environments (Borjas, Grogger & Hanson, 2010). Objectives The objectives of the study include; 1. Determining the number of immigrant farm workers in North America. 2. Establishing the duration in which the immigrant farm laborers remain in North America. 3. Finding out the countries of origin of the migrant laborers. 4. Determining if there are any tendencies with regard to the regions where the migrant agricultural laborers are originating from (Wright, 2003). 5. Ascertain the age of the immigrant farm workers coming to North America. 6. Finding out if there are existing concerns with the wellbeing of migrant laborers in North America. 7. Establishing the safety measures in place so as to ensure the wellbeing of the migrant laborers in North America (Myers, 2007). 8. Determining the specified dangers associated with the shipping of migrant laborers in North America (Massey, Durand & Malone, 2003).  Methodology This study will take an investigative method, considerably looking into works on migrant laborers in North America. The study will also undertake a survey-based investigation. This investigation will look at the effect of migrant workers on North America, generally. The study will also utilize interviews so as to attain the objectives (Bommes & Andrew, 2000). References Bommes, M., & Andrew G. (2000). Immigration and welfare: Challenging the borders of the welfare state. New York: Routledge.  Borjas, G. J. (2007). Mexican immigration to the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Borjas, G. (2003). The Labor Demand Curve is Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impact of Immigration on the Labor Market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), 1335- 1374. Borjas, G. J., Grogger, J., & Hanson, G. H. (2010). Immigration and the Economic Status of African-American Men. Economica, 77(306), 255–282.  Cooper, M. A. (2008). Moving to the United States of America and Immigration. Pennsylvania: Infinity Publishing. Cronon, W. (2003). Changes in the land: Indians, Colonists, and the ecology of New England. New York: Hill & Wang. De La Torre, M. A. (2009). Trails of hope and terror: Testimonies on immigration. New York: Orbis Press. Flores, W. V. (2003). New Citizens, New Rights: Undocumented Immigrants and Latino Cultural Citizenship. Latin American Perspectives, 30(2), 87–100. Foner, N. (2001). New immigrants in New York. New York: Columbia University Press.  Frum, D. (2000). How we got here: The '70s. New York. New York: Basic Books. Hanson, G. H. (2006). Illegal migration from Mexico to the United States. Journal of Economic Literature, 44(4), 869–924. Massey, D., Durand, J., & Malone, N. J. (2003). Beyond smoke and mirrors: Mexican immigration in an era of economic integration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Myers, D. (2007). Immigrants and boomers: Forging a new social contract for the future of America. New York: Sage. Rothenberg, D. (2000). With these hands: The hidden world of migrant farmworkers today. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & Company. Taylor, M. (2007). The Drivers of Immigration in Contemporary Society: Unequal Distribution of Resources and Opportunities. Human Ecology, 35(6).  Villarejo, D. (2003). The health of U.S. hired farm workers. Annual Review of Public Health, 24(1), 93-175. Williams, M. E. (2004). Immigration. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Wright, G. (2003). Slavery and American agriculture history. Agricultural History, 77(4), 527-552. Wright, R. O. (2003). Chronology of labor in the United States. North Carolina: McFarland and Company Incorporation Publishers. Zimmermann, K. F. (2005). European migration: What do we know? New York: Oxford University Press. Read More