©2005 by Julie Covarrubias

Do you ever wonder, while grocery shopping, who picks the fruits and vegetables that you buy? Have you ever considered all the labor that it takes to get produce ready to sell in a grocery store? The life of a migrant worker is not very respected, although it should be because migrant workers make enormous contributions to the well-being of the nation. Have there been any improvements with regard to the way migrant workers are treated? I find it difficult to understand why mainstream society demeans migrant workers when they work hard, lead respectable lives, and make endless contributions to the United States economy.

Society has always disregarded migrant workers and looked down on them. From the 1960s to the present, there has not been enough improvement in the treatment and level of acceptance of migrant workers. Without much change in the way people perceive them, migrant workers have not been able to get ahead in society. The most obvious evidence of this is the migrants’ poor wages and few benefits. Scholarship shows that migrant workers usually make far less than minimum wage. With better wages, they could begin to establish a better future and survive in society. According to Señora Maria Del Rosario Covarrubias, “Many immigrants come to the United States because it is said that here there is a surplus of jobs and good schools to send your children to. You can purchase nice things because you can make a better living.”1 With the sense of success that lingers in the minds of immigrants, they come to the United States in search of “the American dream.” Why can’t migrant workers get ahead when they take the jobs that many Americans would never consider taking? Migrant workers do not take jobs away from Americans. So, why is it that they still receive bad wages and few benefits for working harder than most in the United States? Migrant workers should have the opportunity to get ahead in mainstream society and to have a better future.

My own parents suffered and endured all of the hardships of migrants, which sparked my questioning of the treatment of migrant workers. My parents immigrated from their native land of Mexico in 1979 in order to give my siblings and me a better future. When I first started questioning my mom about her days as a farm worker, she got very tense and straight-faced. I did not realize how much it still affects her. She not only worked ten-hour days for two dollars per basket of zucchinis, but she still had to come home and take care of the family. I asked her many questions regarding her time as a farm worker. My main question was, why did she believe that many farm workers cannot get ahead in society? She responded, “Many Americans do not think very highly of us (immigrants) and sometimes cannot look beyond the stereotypes that are put on us when we come to the United States. I feel that even if a person goes on to do other things in life, once people find out that you were once a migrant worker, they look down upon you.”2 My mother overcame many obstacles to be where she is today. She moved from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then on to Madison. She had to deal with discrimination, a new language, cultural barriers, and poverty. Nonetheless, she found the courage and determination to prove to her children that it was possible to go from having nothing to, in her case, owning a house, becoming a teacher, and supporting her children in college. Having to recapture her past made her aware of other problems that she never considered. When she looked back at all of the difficult, low-paying jobs, she realized that the glass ceiling effect is harder for many immigrants than for white women. The glass ceiling is the idea that a particular group can only attain certain promotions before a cap is placed on how far that group can progress in the workplace. It is based on societal standards. “When you think of farm working, it is not respected in American society. Yet society is so overbearing and does not let us get ahead to have a better future. I feel the glass ceiling effect is seen more with immigrants than with women. Women who were born in the United States are higher in the minds of mainstream society. We (immigrants) are seen as inferior and can never move up in the rankings. If we do somehow make something of ourselves, we still have to prove ourselves every day.”3 Covarrubias had to overcome many obstacles, and today she is a fifth grade teacher at Chavez Elementary School. During the interviews I realized that my mother and father gave up everything in Mexico and came to a foreign land where they were not welcome. Maria Covarrubias is one of the thousands of farm workers who contributed to the well being of the nation. They never came here to steal jobs from Americans; they came for a chance to have a future. Although many Americans assume that immigrants take away jobs, they in fact take jobs that the average American would never consider doing. Out of curiosity, I asked Covarrubias if she had seen any Americans working in the fields picking vegetables. She responded, “I do not recall seeing any Caucasians in the fields with us; I just remember every boss that I had was Caucasian.”4 As my interview with Covarrubias ended, I asked her a last question, hoping that it would clear up some ideas I had about migrant workers. I wanted to know whether or not she thought migrant workers could get ahead in present day society. She responded, “Although many immigrants have been treated poorly, I believe that we (immigrants) can overcome the stereotypes and the negative idea that comes with the territory of being an immigrant. I just hope to God that people see that minorities are not as scarce as they used to be. Minorities can not be avoided any more; we are interacting with them every day.”5 With this idea lingering in my head, I decided to venture off into new territory and see what other immigrant farm workers had to say.

Barefoot Heart: Stories of a Migrant Child describes Elva Treviño Hart’s life as a farm worker who overcame the disadvantages of her economic background and discovered her true talents in the 1960s.6 She had similar experiences to those of Señora Covarrubias. Although they did not work in the same state, Elva Treviño Hart had the same difficulties trying to get ahead as a migrant worker. She was very young when her family took up migrant work. Hart, like many of her generation, was born into a family that worked as migrant workers. When she was growing up, she had to overcome many stereotypes in regards to being a migrant child, one being that she would follow in the footsteps of her parents. Hart’s parents did not make a lot of money, and the whole family was involved in picking vegetables to survive their difficult economic situation.7 Since birth, Elva Treviño Hart was defined by society as a poverty-stricken migrant child. Although she was poor, her parents wanted her to attend school. Once she did start school, Hart overcame many stereotypes. Although she did well in school, she still had to be quiet and not call attention to herself.8 Hart had to follow the guidelines of respect and obedience, yet she learned how to work the system to her advantage in order to get ahead in the society in which she lived. Evidently, many migrants sacrifice for the well-being of their children.

Both Maria Covarrubias and Elva Treviño Hart had similar goals that came with trying to conquer obstacles that society imposed on them because they were minorities living in a new country. For example, they both believed that in order to survive in mainstream society, one must give up many rights that everyone has from birth. The same theme appeared in both their life stories. Covarrubias sacrificed herself to give her children a better future. Hart’s parents had to work and sacrifice themselves to make it in society. Although the two narratives took place in different states at different times, together they show that life for a migrant worker has many obstacles that one must overcome to achieve satisfaction.

After much conversation about migrant workers, I explored how many farm workers there are today and what wages they receive. According to the Farm Employers Labor Service, the average hourly wage of farm workers on 282 farms was $5.61, with a range of $4.75 to $8.50.9 This study was conducted in 1998 and proves that the wages have increased slightly since the 1980s, if we recall that Covarrubias earned two dollars for a full basket of zucchinis working in the fields. Her employers had a mark system, so that when you brought up a full basket, they would put a tally by your name. They did not get paid for a basket that was half-full; it had to be full to count.10 This may seem like the migrant workers’ wages increased significantly because they are now paid at an hourly wage. One must remember that as the years progress, the cost of living also rises. Wages then increase to compensate. Yet, we must also determine if there still are as many migrant workers in the fields at the present time.

Many people argue that the population of farm workers has decreased since the beginning of the century. The farm labor population has decreased over the century from 13,400,000 to 3,000,000.11 If the population of farm workers decreased, then why are the workers’ wages still so low? If there is less competition, should they not have the right to benefits? When we interpret this situation, we see that many migrant workers and non-migrant workers are leaving farm labor. But what the graph does not show is what types of jobs they take after departing from the fields. Many migrant workers leave the fields for jobs in the fast food industry, or, in Covarrubias’s case, washing dishes for a $1.20 an hour. Knowing the number of people working in the fields is not enough to interpret the situation correctly. Given the negative ideas about immigrants, I decided to examine how much they cost the economy and how they help the economy.

A study carried out by Los Angeles County found that immigrants who arrived after 1980 cost the county $2.5 billion in medical services, education, and other benefits.12 But while the examiners were busy worrying about all of the billions lost, they forgot to add how much the immigrants gave back to the county. That same study shows that those same immigrants who made the county lose billions of dollars also contributed more in taxes than they cost the county. So if we think that $2.5 billion is a lot to lose, then how about receiving $4.3 billion in taxes that the immigrants contributed that same year, not only to Los Angeles County, but to the state of California and to the federal government as well? So in reality, the government and the state of California gained $1.8 billion dollars from the undocumented immigrants.13 That is a lot of money, especially when undocumented immigrants cannot use government services because they do not have the proper documentation. If immigrants clearly help the economy, why is there still so much ignorance about the whole idea of immigration in the United States?

Immigrants who come to the United States from Latin America face discrimination because many people do not give them a fair chance. What people need to understand is that they do not represent more poverty. They in fact enrich the country’s heritage and help the economy stay stable or even grow. Without immigrants, the United States would not be a thriving, rich country. I am not implying that the citizens do not help. I am simply stating that to have a prospering nation, everyone who works and contributes to the economy should receive the credit they deserve.

When we look back in history and realize how many people gave their life to farm work, we see that farm workers should be respected for trying to make a living in the United States. My mother gave many years to migrant work, and now she is an inspiration not only to me, but also to all the people who know her. Maria Covarrubias left everything behind to pursue a dream she was not sure was attainable. With the help of only my father, Ismael Covarrubias, she was able to give my siblings and me a future that was nonexistent at the time they immigrated. Many immigrants sacrifice everything they have to come to the United States for a better life. Contrary to popular, belief immigrants are not a burden to the United States. They are a positive contribution to both the social and economic aspects of this nation, without which we would not be so prosperous.

1. Maria D. Covarrubias, interview with author, Madison, WI, November 26, 2004.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Elva Treviño Hart, Barefoot Heart: Stories of a Migrant Child (Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1999), 141.
7. Ibid., 167.
8. Ibid.
9. Farm Workers Labor Service, http://www.fels.org.
10. Maria D. Covarrubias, interview with author, Madison, WI, 26 November 2004.
11. “ U.S. Population Compared with Number of Farm Workers,” http:// www.ctaitc.org/pdf/popchart.pdf.
12. Jorge Ramos, The Other Face of America ( New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 2002), 225.
13. Ibid., 255.

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