Labor's Lost Legacy

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that these men are still working instead of enjoying their retirement. For instance, the picture of a 72-year old man, Rodolfo Ferreira, scaling ladders to pick peaches in order to supplement his $200 a month Social Security payment makes one wonder whether there is any justice at all in this world of ours! As such, one can't but help wholeheartedly agree with Christina Gonzalez, the Stockton-based activist, who Burke quotes, "Unless we can teach our children to help struggle for their grandfathers' rights, the injustice just keeps on going."

The braceros may be Mexicans or alien laborers, but Burke succeeds in making his readers feel that the United States, too, must play its role in bringing justice to these men. In fact, a good beginning could be made by allowing the braceros' case to proceed as a class-action suit. Burke achieves this through painting a evocative portrait of men whose love for the land is unmistakable: "There's not an inch of land that I don't know in ...

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