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A Short History of Migrant Agricultural Labor in Wisconsin
The history of the use of migrant farm labor in Wisconsin begins at the turn of the century. This paper will examine the relationship between the structure of certain sectors of Vlisconsin agriculture and their needs for seasonal agricultural workers. On the basis of these trends, some general projections for the future use of migrant workers In Wisconsin will be made.
Wisconsin statutes (Chapter 17, Laws of 1977) define a migrant worker as:
"any person who temporarily leaves a principal place of residence outside of this state and comes to this state for not more than 10 months In a year to accept seasonal employment in the planting, cultivating, harvesting, handling, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, or storing of fruits and vegetables; in nursery work; in sod farming or in Christmas tree cultivation or harvesting."!
Migrant laborers and their dependents in this state have never numbered
more than 20,000 for any given year, a very small proportion of the overall
2 flow of migrant agricultural workers in the United States. It is difficult,
however, to estimate the number of migrants employed in a given year. Among the problems are rapid worker turnover, temporary workers not hired under con¬ tract, nonworklng dependents (and children working illegally), migrants working nonagricultural jobs, double counting the same worker in different
parts of the state at different times, and migrants who enter, leave, and
3 reenter the state during the same season. In 1978, the total number of
migrants who came to Wisconsin was estimated to be 5,000 to 6,000, of v/hich
4 approximately 4,000 were workers and the remainder dependents.
Despite their small numbers in the state, migrants have made Important
contributions to Wisconsin's agricultural economy, particularly in the production
of numerous vegetables for processing, in which the state has ranked first in
Object Description
| Page Title | Migrant Agricultural Labor in Wisconsin : A Short History |
| Author | Slesinger, Doris P.; Muirragui, Eileen |
| Place of Publication | Madison, Wis. |
| Source Publisher | University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty |
| Source Creation Date | 1979 |
| Language | English |
| Digital Format | XML |
| Electronic Publisher | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | We believe that online reproduction of this material is permitted because its copyright protection has lapsed or because sharing it here for non-profit educational purposes complies with the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Teachers and students are generally free to reproduce pages for nonprofit classroom use. For advice about other uses, or if you believe that you possess copyright to some of this material, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. |
| Electronic Publication Date | 2008 |
| Digital Identifier | TP492000 |
| Description | Although not itself a primary source, this 1979 pamphlet brings together a great deal of historical and statistical data in a convenient form. It traces migrant farm workers from the early years of the 20th century, when workers came primarily from Europe, through their replacement in the 1930s by workers from Texas and Mexico. It also summarizes the use of foreign workers and prisoners of war during World War II. The history migrant workers to harvest major crops such as beets, cucumbers and cherries is discussed in detail. Most of the pamphlet focuses on migrant farm workers between the mid-1950s and 1978, and how changes in agricultural technology affected their employment. |
| Format | Text |
| Recommended Citation | Slesinger, Doris P., and Eileen Muirragui. Migrant Agricultural Labor in Wisconsin: A Short History. (Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty, 1979). Online facsimile at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1704 |
| Document Number | TP492 |
| Size | 22 p. : ill., map ; 28 cm. |
| URL | http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1704 |
| State/Province | Wisconsin |
| Race and Ethnicity | Latin Americans; Mexican Americans; |
| Sub-Topic | 20th Century Immigration; |
| Event Date | 1940-1978 |
| Event Years | 1940-1978 |
| Agriculture | Farms; Harvesting; Vegetables; |
| Economics | Migrant labor; |
| Manufacturing and Industry | Manual work; |
| War | World War, 1939-1945; |
| Type | Text |
Description
| Page Title | Page 1 |
| Author | Slesinger, Doris P.; Muirragui, Eileen |
| Place of Publication | Madison, Wis. |
| Source Publisher | University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty |
| Source Creation Date | 1979 |
| Language | English |
| Digital Format | JPG |
| Electronic Publisher | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | We believe that online reproduction of this material is permitted because its copyright protection has lapsed or because sharing it here for non-profit educational purposes complies with the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Teachers and students are generally free to reproduce pages for nonprofit classroom use. For advice about other uses, or if you believe that you possess copyright to some of this material, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. |
| Electronic Publication Date | 2008 |
| Digital Identifier | TP492102 |
| Format | Text |
| Size | 28 cm. |
| Full Text | A Short History of Migrant Agricultural Labor in Wisconsin The history of the use of migrant farm labor in Wisconsin begins at the turn of the century. This paper will examine the relationship between the structure of certain sectors of Vlisconsin agriculture and their needs for seasonal agricultural workers. On the basis of these trends, some general projections for the future use of migrant workers In Wisconsin will be made. Wisconsin statutes (Chapter 17, Laws of 1977) define a migrant worker as: "any person who temporarily leaves a principal place of residence outside of this state and comes to this state for not more than 10 months In a year to accept seasonal employment in the planting, cultivating, harvesting, handling, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, or storing of fruits and vegetables; in nursery work; in sod farming or in Christmas tree cultivation or harvesting."! Migrant laborers and their dependents in this state have never numbered more than 20,000 for any given year, a very small proportion of the overall 2 flow of migrant agricultural workers in the United States. It is difficult, however, to estimate the number of migrants employed in a given year. Among the problems are rapid worker turnover, temporary workers not hired under con¬ tract, nonworklng dependents (and children working illegally), migrants working nonagricultural jobs, double counting the same worker in different parts of the state at different times, and migrants who enter, leave, and 3 reenter the state during the same season. In 1978, the total number of migrants who came to Wisconsin was estimated to be 5,000 to 6,000, of v/hich 4 approximately 4,000 were workers and the remainder dependents. Despite their small numbers in the state, migrants have made Important contributions to Wisconsin's agricultural economy, particularly in the production of numerous vegetables for processing, in which the state has ranked first in |
| Event Date | 1940-1978 |
| Event Years | 1940-1978 |
| Type | Text |