Labor in Latin America & the U.S.

There is considerable variation in the situation, and activities, of potentially organized workers in the different Central American countries. All, however, are subject to pressures that do not impact their U.S. peers in terms of violence, intimidation, and competition. They also have a kind of support system that their peers do not have.

There are a number of different countries in Central America, including El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, and Belize. Central America has its boundaries on the north with Mexico and on the south with Colombia. In conjunction with Mexico and America, it comprises Latin America.

One of the more visible aspects of life in Latin America during the past several decades is the constant attempt of the poor in one or more countries to rise up against the elite classes and obtain access to the benefits of the system. There have been various forms of revolution, and attempted revolution, and this ongoing struggle provides a background to any kinds of labor organizing efforts.

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ylum efforts. They tended to cluster in large cities, like Los Angeles, and become an important new exploitable cheap labor population. In looking specifically at Los Angeles, Mydans (1992) indicated that the total Hispanic population of the city grew by over 70 percent during the 1980s. By 1990, the Hispanic population represented 40 percent of the city or close to 1.5 million people. While a large percentage of that total is MexicanAmerican or Mexican, an increasing percentage comes from the striferidden countries of Central America. Penalosa (1986) noted that until recently both legal and illegal entry from Central America had been quite small. It was not until the mid70s and the political chaos of that time that immigration started to increase rapidly. Legal immigration more than doubled in size, while illegal immigration also increase rapidly. As a consequence of this change, the immigrant population of cities such as Los Angeles changed drastically. In addition, there was an increased number of undocumented immigrants who were increasingly at risk for deportation. That has become even more the case with the passage of Proposition 187 and the push to enforce immigration laws more stringently. In looking specifica
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Approximate Word count = 3126
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)