American Guestworkers: Jamaicans and Mexicans in the U.S. Labor Market

by Griffith, David Craig

• ISBN13: 9780271031880
• ISBN10: 0271031883
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr

Summary

The H-2 program, originally based in Florida, is the longest running labor-importation program in the country. Over the course of a quarter-century of research, Griffith studied rural labor processes and their national and international effects. In this book, he examines the socioeconomic effects of the H-2 program on both the areas where the laborers work and the areas they are from, and, taking a uniquely humanitarian stance, he considers the effects of the program on the laborers themselves.

Author Biography

David Griffith is Professor of Anthropology at East Carolina University

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Out of Florida
Introduction: In the State with the Prettiest Name	p. 3
Alleged Shortages at Home, Certain Surpluses Abroad: North American Temporary Worker Programs	p. 29
Occupations Abandoned, Workers Displaced: Seasonal Labor Before and After H-2	p. 45
Jamaican Experiences, 1981-2001
From Beauty to Truth	p. 79
Aspects of the Machete	p. 101
Guests as Hosts: Jamaicans in the Tourist Industry	p. 123
Mexican Experiences, 1988-2003
When Owls Die, Ellos Nos Hierieron	p. 153
Bodies on Hold: Gender and H-2	p. 179
Conclusion: Lasting Firsts	p. 199
References	p. 219
Index	p. 231
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