Jornalero : being a day laborer in the USA / Juan Thomas Ordóñez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ordóñez, Juan Thomas, 1976- author.

Series:

California series in public anthropology.

California series in public anthropology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Day laborers--California--Berkeley.

Day laborers.

Foreign workers, Latin American--California--Berkeley.

Foreign workers, Latin American.

Undocumented immigrants--Employment--California--Berkeley.

Local Subjects:

Undocumented immigrants--Employment--California--Berkeley.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (281 pages)

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"The United States has seen a dramatic rise in the number of informal day labor sites in the last two decades. These sites, typically frequented by immigrant Latin American men---mostly taken to be 'undocumented' immigrants--constitute an important source of unskilled manual labor that sustains building, landscaping, and moving activities in the country. Despite their ubiquitous presence in urban areas, however, much of the research on immigration overlooks day laborers' very existence. While standing in plain view, these men live and work in a precarious environment: As they try to make enough money to send home, they are at the mercy of unscrupulous employers, doing dangerous and underpaid work, and, ultimately, experiencing great threats to their identities and social roles as men. Born and raised in Colombia by an American mother and Colombian father, Juan Thomas Ordóñez spent two years on an informal labor site in the Bay Area, documenting the harsh lives led by some of these men during the worst economic crisis the country has seen in decades. Another Latin American among mainly Mexican and Central American day laborers, he gained a vantage on the immigrant experience based on close relationships with a cohort of men whose lives unravel in a setting of competition, stress, loneliness, and resilience. Both eye-opening and heart-breaking, this account offers a unique perspective on how the informal economy of undocumented labor truly functions in American society"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

La parada de Berkeley

Friendship and the inner workings of day labor

Abuse and the absurd bureaucracy of small things

The "other" among others

Bittersweet nostalgia, sexuality, and the body at risk

Belonging

Terror and the May migra panic.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780520277861

0520277864

OCLC:

907067934