Labor Rights Are Civil Rights: Mexican American Workers in Twentieth-Century America

Labor Rights Are Civil Rights: Mexican American Workers in Twentieth-Century America. by means of Zaragosa Vargas (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Pres 2005 Pp xvi, 375 woven fabric $29.95).

Much has been written about the impact of the Great Depression/ of recent origin Deal and World War II upon American workers and unionism.

For example, the story of by what means some New Deal farm programs (such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act) helped the more affluent and politically influential farmers at the expenditure of their farm laborers is a familiar story, as is the discriminatory way in which relief programs were implemented at the local horizontal It also is well known that World War II exacerbated racist feelings and provided additional occasions for discrimination in the United States while at the same time providing additional opportunities for the improvement of minorities' material lives.

What then does another volume on these topics have to offer? The answer is-a allotment In his book, Labor Rights Are Civil Rights, Zaragosa Vargas takes these well-worn topics and, end abundant primary research, gives his readers a of recent origin perspective on them because his regard is how they affected not workers in general, on the other hand Mexican workers. This is a little known story.

After describing the utterly deprived working and living conditions of Mexican Americans/Mexican nationals in the American Southwest of the 1930 he goe upon to tell the story of by what means the Great Depression and the fresh Deal legislation that came on the outside of it (like section 7a of the National Industrial recuperation Act with its protections for workers) energized Mexican workers into taking unprecedent steps-protesting, striking, and ultimately fighting to organize beneath the banner of the CIO. The organization of Mexican industrial workers was an important milestone, bringing significant improvements to workers' lives (at least until the late 1930s/1940 when the CIO became les interested in combating racism in the workplace). However, as additional worker-oriented laws (like the National Labor Relations Act and the Social security Act) were turned out in the second half of the 1930 it became apparent that they did little to help Mexican workers (the above laws having exonerateed agriculture and domestic work, areas where Mexican workers concentrated). Likewise he documents by what mode World War II affected southwestern Mexican workers, especially the extraordinarily high rate for the drafting of Mexican Americans by the agency of all-Anglo selective service boards, thus intensifying the drive to bring in Mexican nationals to work the fields. Finally, he present to views how the conversion to a peacetime economy undermined and many times destroyed the gains made by the agency of Mexican workers during the war and the ways in which these workers fought back. In his discussion of these topics, he concentrates upon California, Colorado, and Texas, largely discussing agricultural workers, on the other hand also workers in some industries.

Vargas's thesis is clearly stated early on: "In the period encompassing the 1930 and World War II years, Mexican Americans initiated a labor and civil rights change that was the precursor of the early civil rights move of the postwar years, which formed the foundation of the novel Chicano movement." (6) In developing this argument, he documents the connections between the fight for workers' issues and the fight for social justice perceived by the agency of both Mexican Americans and Mexicans working in the United States. Not sole did Mexican workers' struggles provide a foundation for post-World War II civil rights motions they also raised the consciousness of workers in the 1930 and '40 showing in what way for Mexican laborers, workers' issues and social justice issues were too intertwined to be separated. He adds important nuances to this story through highlighting the differences between Mexican-American workers and Mexican nationals working in the United States, including the impact of the latter upon the former. He also numbers the interesting story of by what mode workers and unionists on the two sides of the border worked together upon the same issues. And this inquiry does not ignore Mexican women workers. He makes a point of discussing the character of women throughout these do one's bests emphasizing their passion and commitment to the cause of workers and social justice. He highlights the work of individual especially the talented and determined labor organizer, Emma Tenayuca, telling her story in an almost worshipful tone.

As he relates the stories of Mexican workers in various states and cities and the many local institutions that they used or created in their endeavors the importance of including personal stories when discussing nation in the aggregate becomes apparent. Vargas does do this from one extremity to the other of the book, revealing the stories of not single Emma Tenayuca, but a number of other male and female leaders/protestors as well. This gives a much-need personal touch to the narrative, although ultimately the volume is more about groups and their institutions. As welcome as these personal stories are, there is always the danger, in telling them, that one's admiration for their ideals, courage, and sheer grit will vanquish one's duty to present them as flesh-and-blood human beings who sometimes make mistakes, have their be in possession of set of biases, etc., and at times, Vargas advances close to crossing that line.