Viewfinder; Los Braceros; B-Roll of Mexico - IV's

Why. It's.

Well. Yeah.

A. Yes

actually we can do it here. Talk to briefly about the project your project and if you have it. Our

history at the University of Texas at El Paso. It's. Interesting about community about the processing center. And we need it. We need it to find money to help restore the buildings. And kind of notice that many of the people that had actually been processed. Through the Ford Foundation to actually do a survey but instead of doing a survey we took it a step further because the men were getting older. And so we went all over the country and into Mexico and capture their stories. It's important to capture. Stories besides the fact that these men are. With. Them. I don't think people know the sacrifices that happen for their themselves and their families and the impact on the families and the economic benefits for

the U.S. and Mexico and these are stories that will be lost if they're not captured right away on business and he has to tell us this. So it was wonderful if they take it to a different level. We joined a collaboration with the Smithsonian and other universities throughout the country in April and we are hoping to get a traveling exhibit if not a permanent exhibit at the Museum of American history. And so we're going around the country having town hall meetings and actually gathering the stories and collecting any items or two or relics from that era. It's really interesting some stories and examples of things that you would like. I think the biggest thing that I've learned is that the people the children and the grandchildren really did not know the story of their family of their father that he was there but didn't know the details and they were overwhelmed about the conditions and about the

hardships that these men are so proud and they're so thankful that they had this opportunity. You know memory plays that a different you know on each person and these people remember it as a good time because they were able to give them opportunity. And I although the hardships were evident and are documented. These men remember it as a time that they were given a chance. And so that's been wonderful. And it was something we talked about it. Opportunities to a person they are so grateful for the experience despite that. Some of the hardship despite some of the abuse which didn't seem to be ran. Nearly well they like to come to Texas. That was that was the place they did not like to come specially in the East Texas but everyone that I've spoken to I think maybe one person is that you know is bad but we are just so grateful and so thankful.

Like east Texas some place which is not especially friendly to us. I believe that the racism was very very strict there I think that the conditions the living conditions were just a lot worse there and I believe also that the treatment was bad in east Texas but no one wanted to go to East Texas. Texas and west southwest things be fair. It was. Absolutely people with I mean come over. They would try to come over and cross over in any means possible they wanted to come to the US and work. I mean they would use any means possible whether it's coming legally or illegally and they would get this certain skill for certain crops and this would enable them to go back to this farmer that was a good relationship. They would come back year after year and people don't do that if it's not a good. Situation. Lester's discussions in the second century mysteries are set in parts of California. Arizona New Mexico and West Texas. I.

Think. That. Having. Sort of a round about Hispanic culture here. I think it helped in some way I think language was not as big an issue here and I think that acceptance was it was much easier here in the Southwest than it was anywhere else. And so I mean it was the cultures are national now and so I think it was just an easier acceptance in the communities. People don't realize that you are going. Backwards and forwards across the borders. Is the. Sense of it's new. Oh absolutely. People I mean showing papers is new and some people still remember when they will just walk across it was nothing. It was just like going over to getting something coming right back and it was nothing and now it's a different different time. Anything like that. Richard I think just I mean capturing the stories any story is important I think people need to capture that. Learn about their history and about their family because you know once what's your relatives have passed away and you lose that story and you'll never know it I think that's just really.

Excellent. No. Thank you. No thanks that is right. Yes. You. Are. Yeah. Oh.

But.

You. Got it. When I were director of foreign relations

right now operating a program like this I'm sure that part of your program. So I just got back in early 50s at that time. I've been a forage member under. I want to talk to you. We're here for the workers labor program. I hadn't thought much about it. We made a deal that was my first job and it was about it's

about time. Well there was a procedure. Our job was to go to real beast which was the reception center down below El Paso and we would conduct interview or interview the workers that we wanted and we made a contract with a bus company to haul him up here and once we got him up here then we had orders from the farmers a number of workers they would need and so once we got them here we had notified the farmers to meet them there and so we signed them out to the workers of course they had a card that identified them and so we'd write on the card who they were assigned to us.

Well you know by and large most of the people that came over wanted to work here because they were enthusiastic about the job. Some of it never for example picked cotton. They were always ready and willing to to work so we were real selective choosing and eliminating picking. We kind of took on the game and it worked out really well. We did have a few of those but very few that was by far the exception rather than the rule. For example we had a guy came over whose job it was to write a paper. It is university on this program and he just came over for a few days and then he went home and we had occasionally other people that came over for specific reasons other than to work but very few of them. One night one for me. Tell me about that. Well yeah. Occasionally we've had people come over for a day or two because they couldn't accept the environment or because they were lonely or

homesick or for whatever reasons they would they would return but again it was the exception rather than the rule. I'm going to place them in an attic for Sarah making things I think that would be difficult to say because some of them are working on piece rate which was pound for cotton. Some are working hourly You know hoeing cotton or irrigating or picking chili but piece rate different jobs. So the law under the old program required that they make at least the minimum wage and if they didn't make the minimum wage piece rate then the farmer had to make up the difference between what they made and the minimum wage and I think without exception they exceeded almost all of them exceeded the minimum wage. Was there pretty good oversight on the part of the government to make sure they're treated fairly. There was something like that.

The program was administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and the headquarters at that time probably still is was Denver and they had local compliance man with the department labor and as I recall there were about three of them here and they were Hispanic Spanish speaking people who had a good feel for both farming and for breasts. And these guys responsibility was to handle complaints. And to take care of any disputes that might arise either from the job or the living conditions or whatever. Were you aware of any that were successful. I mean these guys were awesome. They could go out and they would look at both the farmers side of the issue and their workers side and and they would negotiate between them and almost always come out with a satisfactory solution where the worker stayed and remained happy and we rarely had a repeat of those same disputes.

But on life saying you're doing really well by the way and I think you're hot see this. Yeah that's not too much but you know it's a real life for you. That. Last. One was just again that's how it was that farmers provide financial to provide housing for the US. What were they required to give people. That was one of the requirements of the farmers furnish the housing and you have to remember that the housing that they provided sometimes was remote from farmhouse and were scattered all over and these were older buildings that were only occupied

a few months a year or few days so they were subject to vandalism and it was hard to keep up. A lot of those houses they were required to put screen doors and screen and Windows and have a comfortable farmers are required to provide certain perquisites among those who has health insurance. Cooking utensils eating utensils bedding quilts beds transportation and utilities and things like that so they were provided a lot of perquisites which were a real benefit to the workers and they and their arrangements were made so that they would could go to the store on weekends to do their grocery shopping or whatever other shopping they needed to do and I would think that specially for those people who came from perhaps indigenous cultures or very villages in Mexico. That said I remember one case where a farmer came in came in and he was irate because

they had started a wood. They put wood in the oven and started a fire in the oven they didn't know how to use a wood stove. But they were exceptions rather than the rules and usually they learned how to operate a propane butane kerosene or wood stove. So. Yeah you have to remember when these folks came over they were mostly seem like they were destitute. They were made out of old tires with straps on them. They had just the clothing on their back maybe a straw hat shirt and pants that they had on and they had no money and no income. So farmer would usually set him up with the groceries to begin with and then deduct it as they earned in the course one of the things that these workers wanted to do so badly was to make money so they could send it back to their family in Mexico that was their purpose for coming here. And they work very hard at saving and sending this money back so that their style of life for them and their family in Mexico would be better. And

so they offered probably almost no problem with the law enforcement people they were good citizens and they came and did their job and they left and for the most part I felt they were happy as well as farmers being happy. Guest worker programs. It filled a tremendous void at the time. We brought in like 6000 workers here in this county. One time to pick cotton. That was when cotton was all picked by hand. And these guys were very good at that. They picked clean and the quality of their work was good. But through the years the Department of Labor had the responsibility for managing the program seem to use this program in my opinion to establish higher wages for all workers. So you had a situation where the press said it was given all these perquisites the local people got none because they were living at home. So the Department of Labor say OK because the local people don't get these things you've got to pay them

more. So they'd run a survey and say these guys are getting more so you've got the way you raise the wage for the brasero So this was an escalator that that I think finally helped to destroy the program in the early 1960s. Right now there's so much talk right now. I think it could be successful. I think it certainly has a place. If if the right things are done if the legislation is right but most of all if the agency that has a responsibility for administering a program you have to remember that if it's the Department of Labor once the legislations established they come in and write the rules and regulations and they actually become. Kind of a law and order. And if Congress doesn't have an oversight on the Department of Labor whoever is going to run this program it's doing for failure in my opinion. Right. Right. And actually.

I mean I mean I think that's our big question. It's difficult for me to say but I think there is a place for a guest worker program. But you have to remember that here in this valley we have farmers who are small operators and unlike California Arizona where they have huge corporate farming where they have the ability to pay wages and provide perquisites are small operators do. So you need a program probably but. We've got to get this thing under control somewhere and of course everybody recognizes. I can't think of any. Thank you. Plastic.