Jornalero - Being a Day Laborer in the Usa

"The United States has seen a dramatic rise in the number of informal day labor sites in the last two decades. These sites, typically frequented by immigrant Latin American men---mostly taken to be 'undocumented' immigrants--constitute an important source of unskilled manual labor that sustains building, landscaping, and moving activities in the country. Despite their ubiquitous presence in urban areas, however, much of the research on immigration overlooks day laborers' very existence. While standing inplain view, these men live and work in a precarious environment: As they try to make enough money to send home, they are at the mercy of unscrupulous employers, doing dangerous and underpaid work, and, ultimately, experiencing great threats to their identities and social roles as men. Born and raised in Colombia by an American mother and Colombian father, Juan Thomas Ordâoänez spent two years on an informal labor site in the Bay Area, documenting the harsh lives led by some of these men during the worst economic crisis the country has seen in decades. Another Latin American among mainly Mexican and Central American day laborers, he gained a vantage on the immigrant experience based on close relationships with a cohort of men whose lives unravel in a setting of competition, stress, loneliness, and resilience. Both eye-opening and heart-breaking, this account offers a unique perspective on how the informal economy of undocumented labor truly functions in American society"--Provided by publisher.

Summary

The United States has seen a dramatic rise in the number of informal day labor sites in the last two decades. This book offers a perspective on how the informal economy of undocumented labor truly functions in American society.

Product details

• Authors: Juan Thomas Ordonez, Juan Thomas Ordaoanez, Juan Thomas Ordonez, Ordonez Juan Thomas
• Publisher: University Of California Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.05.2015
• EAN: 9780520277854
• ISBN: 978-0-520-27785-4
• No. of pages: 280
• Series: California Series in Public Anthropology; California Series in Public Anthropology
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > General, dictionaries; USA, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Labour / income economics, Migration, immigration & emigration, Labour Economics, United States of America, USA, Migration, immigration and emigration, Social and cultural anthropology, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Labor / General, Relating to migrant groups / diaspora communities or peoples