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Labor's Lost Legacy - College Papers

Labor's Lost Legacy

Labor's Lost Legacy

In his article, Labor's lost legacy, Garance Burke brings to vivid life the plight of several million braceros, men who were recruited from Mexico by the U.S. government to stock farms and rail yards during World War II. Burke points out that it was the "working arms" of these braceros that literally built the Central Valley in the period 1942 to 1964. Yet, today these men are facing old age without even the benefit of the government pension plan that they paid into.

One of the chief provisions of the U.S. bracero program was that the U.S. and Mexican governments would withhold 10 percent of the braceros' wages to finance their retirement. Unfortunately, it ...

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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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"Labor's Lost Legacy." Essayworld.com. November 27, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Labors-Lost-Legacy/105997.
"Labor's Lost Legacy." Essayworld.com. November 27, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Labors-Lost-Legacy/105997.
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PAPER DETAILS
Added: 11/27/2016 03:55:35 PM
Category: American History
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 595
Pages: 3

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