The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl (a period of drought that destroyed millions of acres of farmland) forced white farmers to sell their farms and become migrant workers who traveled from farm to farm to pick fruit and other crops at starvation wages.
Why was there a need for migrant workers?
Many countries rely on migrant workers to help them plug their labour shortfalls, while migrants’ remittances provide a vital source of finance and foreign exchange for households and governments in their countries of origin.
Where did the migrant workers come from in 1930?
During the 1930s, more than 2.5 million people migrated to California. Most of those who migrated were from Great Plains states, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. The migrants left their homes due to a mix of ecological and environmental issues.
Why did migrant workers move to California in 1930?
Migration Out of the Plains during the Depression. During the Dust Bowl years, the weather destroyed nearly all the crops farmers tried to grow on the Great Plains. … Many once-proud farmers packed up their families and moved to California hoping to find work as day laborers on huge farms.
Who were the migrant workers during the Great Depression?
Although the Dust Bowl included many Great Plains states, the migrants were generically known as “Okies,” referring to the approximately 20 percent who were from Oklahoma. The migrants represented in Voices from the Dust Bowl came primarily from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri.
What did migrant workers do in the 1930s?
The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl (a period of drought that destroyed millions of acres of farmland) forced white farmers to sell their farms and become migrant workers who traveled from farm to farm to pick fruit and other crops at starvation wages.
Why do migrant workers migrate?
While the factors that create the demand for migrant labour may vary, those behind the supply of migrant labour tend to be constant: in most cases, migrant labourers come to their work because of unfavourable economic and social conditions in their home regions.
What do migrant farm workers do?
Did You Know? The term “migrant farmworker” include people working temporarily or seasonally in farm fields, orchards, canneries, plant nurseries, fish/seafood packing plants, and more.
What kind of work did migrant workers do?
The report finds that foreign-born workers are employed in a broad range of occupations—with 23 percent in managerial and professional occupations; 21 percent in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations; 21 percent in service occupations; and 18 percent working as operators, fabricators.
How much were migrant workers paid in the 1930s?
As a result, wages throughout the nation fell during the Depression. Migrant workers in California who had been making 35 cents per hour in 1928 made only 14 cents per hour in 1933. Sugar beet workers in Colorado saw their wages decrease from $27 an acre in 1930 to $12.37 an acre three years later.
What happened in the 1930s in California?
California was hit hard by the economic collapse of the 1930s. Businesses failed, workers lost their jobs, and families fell into poverty. … In spite of the general gloom of the decade, Californians continued to build and celebrate their Golden State.
Why did migrant workers travel alone?
Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other (Steinbeck 35).” Migrant workers often travel alone not only because of being on the constant move, which makes it difficult to make and keep friends, but because finding work is a competition.
What crops did migrant workers pick in the 1930s?
Beginning in the early ’30s, migrants from the states of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri came to California in ever-increasing numbers. Farmers, who hired the migrant workers at 20 or 25 cents an hour to pick cotton, oranges, and peas, initially welcomed them.
What were working conditions like for migrant workers?
Migrant workers lacked educational opportunities for their children, lived in poverty and terrible housing conditions, and faced discrimination and violence when they sought fair treatment. Attempts to organize workers into unions were violently suppressed.
What do you mean by migrant workers?
A “migrant worker” is defined in the International Labour Organization (ILO) instruments as a person who migrates from one country to another (or who has migrated from one country to another) with a view to being employed other than on his own account, and includes any person regularly admitted as a migrant for …
How were the migrant workers affected by the Great Depression?
How did the Great Depression effect the migrant worker? … Migrant workers were subjected to harsher working conditions and lower wages because people were desperate for work. Workers were replaceable. Too many people looking for work reduced living conditions.