WHY WOMEN? THE HARSH CONDITIONS MEXICAN FEMALE WORKERS FACED DURING THE LATE 20TH CENTURY
MICHELLE NOLASCO
Various ethnic
groups have immigrated to the United States throughout history in hopes of
finding opportunities for economic prosperity and freedom. Industrialization in
the Mexico-U.S. border grew rapidly after 1965 (Camacho Schmidt 2008). Consequently, immigrants were drawn to
Northern Mexican and U.S. cities in hope of finding work opportunities. In this
blog post, I focus on northward Mexican migration towards the Mexico-U.S.
border during the late 20th century. I wish to point out that this
migration, especially for Mexican women did not mean progress over the lives
they left behind. Female workers (obreras)
were “inserted into the industrial labor force” all while their bodies were
“subject to pain by factory discipline” (Camacho Schmidt 2008). What did the
laboring body of the female workers experience during this time period and why
women?
The vast majority
of Mexican female workers found jobs in manufacturing and assembly plants or
factories, which they called “maquiladoras.” These plants were owned by the
United States, and often operated within a free trade zone meaning that no
tariffs were placed on the imported and exported materials (Rosenberg 2008).
Many immigrants mistakenly thought that since these factories were owned by the
Unites States, they would be clean. As eighteen-year factory worker for Kermet,
Maria Guadalupe Torres Martinez points out, the conditions of these factories
were “primitive” (Camacho Schmidt 2008). They never had enough material to meet
the specified number or quota the managers would give them each day. Subsequently,
the workers had to come up with a way to meet these quotas by any means
necessary. They realized that when they took the pieces out of the molds before
they were cured, the quota could be met. The problem was that this strategy
burned their hands everyday and the ovens would overheat to the point that they
would explode. In 1984, the explosions
of these ovens resulted in mass deaths and leaks that killed 8,000 people
(Camacho Schmidt 2008). Additionally, the components were washed with methylene
chloride, a chemical that caused cancer and miscarriages. As another obrera
tells in a testimonial taken by writer Sandra Arenal, her fingers were
“deformed in the bones, with enormous calluses” which she explains as the cost
of working in the maquila for six years. There is no doubt that the laboring
bodies of the obreras suffered pain and deterioration.
Many believe
that men are faster and stronger than women, so why choose women to work for
these factories? A factory supervisor in
the city of Juarez in Chihuahua, Mexico explains that women have inborn
qualities like delicate hands and “nimble fingers” that allow for “greater
precision in carrying out the minute procedures.” He adds that women are also
more “psychologically suited for repetitive tedious tasks” (Camacho Schmidt 2008).
I remember going with my father as a child to pick up my grandmother in a
factory where she worked. I was about nine and curious so I would always ask
her what she did. She would tell me that she made computer chips. It all makes
sense now, since she immigrated to the United States and brought my father with
her. She was a Salvadorian factory worker, who worked in an assembly line
creating the same computer chip over and over again.
References:
Camacho Schmidt,
Alicia. Migrant Imaginaries: Latino Culture in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.
New York and London: New York University Press, 2008.
Rosenberg, Matt.
About.com, "Maquiladoras in Mexico: Export Assembly Plants for the United
States." Last modified 2013. Accessed October 23, 2013. http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/maquiladoras.htm.
Over the past few decades, outsourcing to the “3rd world” has become more prevalent in the United States in order to increase profits for large manufacturing corporations. Despite rampant human rights violations, capitalists continue to relocate their businesses to places such as China and Mexico. There, workers command low wages and American capitalists do not have to adhere to the strict labor laws we have in the United States. Even with the growing disparity between American and “3rd world” workers, it is important to consider the perspective of an economist. The great majority of economists in the world advocate for international trade as a means to create an efficient and thriving global economy. As a result of outsourcing in the 90’s, manufacturing flourished throughout the world, and the American economy saw tremendous growth. Although I do not agree with all of the ideals of the average American economist, it is always important to view a situation from both perspectives. However, as more and more American corporations begin to outsource, the inequities these workers face are beginning to mount. What can be done to help these powerless and destitute workers? Does this mean repealing free trade agreements and imposing high tariffs on imports from overseas as a means to control the products Americans purchase?
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in the effects of technological advances and autonomous workers (robots) in factories with assembly lines, where many of the tasks are repetitive. Although I do not know for certain, I would think conditions in certain places have improved and are not all as horrid as before. For factories that did not want to improve working conditions for cost reasons, then it would make sense for them to replace workers with robots - they're cheaper in the long run. But this makes me wonder if it is a bad thing. These take jobs off the marketplace, but they probably save lives (from on the job related injuries/deaths). I am curious as to what would be more important to workers, especially these female Mexican workers. Would they rather keep a job in harsh conditions where they are risking their lives, or prioritize their health and look for another (safer) job? This goes with what Matthew J (above) said in his response; it is important to view a situation from both the worker and factory owner's perspective. Assuming that the owner's are unwilling to change, it is best to take matters into their own hands and decide what is best for their lives.
ReplyDeleteBelow I have provided the link to an interesting article recently published in The Washington Post about car manufacturers relocating their operations to just south of the United States-Mexico border. The main reason this shift is occurring is because individuals in Mexico are willing to work for lower wages and the low rates of unionization in this area. I found this article especially interesting because in my Microeconomics class, we are currently learning about international trade. My professor lectured about how countries that have a comparative advantage in producing a product (that is, countries that have the smallest opportunity cost or give up the least in production) should produce that given product. He used the example of the production of car seats to demonstrate why Mexico should produce this good over the United States. When comparing the opportunity costs of producing a car seat, Mexico’s is lower. In other words, Mexico has a comparative advantage in manufacturing car seats. Thus, Mexico should produce car seats since it is the most efficient and effective use of scarce resources (land, labor, and capital). It turns out that Mexico has a comparative advantage in producing almost all components of a car. As a result, more and more car manufactures are moving their plants to the “industrial South” in order to increase their profits, the ultimate goal of capitalist corporations. Unfortunately, middle class manufacturing jobs are leaving the United States, and the once booming middle class is slowly dissipating. Consequentially, the gap between the 1% and the 99% is growing. This is an ongoing dilemma that American economists and politicians will need to solve in the near future in order to prevent another economic crisis from occurring.
ReplyDeleteHow Mexico is Upending the US Auto Industry
The fact that we normally associate women coming out of the home and joining the work force as coinciding with their independence and gaining autonomy from the grip of a patriarchal society is the very notion that this post upends. Excellent job highlighting the biological exploitation of women and their bodies by corporations after the passing of NAFTA. I think it is beginning to become clear that although neo-liberal economics are seen as an effective method to let big businesses run with little interference from the government and to incorporate low and middle class workers into the equation, there is always some group that is going to suffer and be exploited and in this case we see that it is the Mexican female factory workers. It is critically important that we remember that these workers have rights too, and that it is the duty of the people who have some sort of political power to give a voice to the marginalized and voiceless. Thankfully, there is a much bigger emphasis on workplace safety and health and we can hopefully continue to move away from this notion of women as body parts and more towards one of women as equally productive members of society who deserve the same rights as everybody else.
ReplyDeleteThat you have such an immediate connection with this immigrant experience is amazing. I am wondering if you could discuss further some of what your mother experienced? Have you talked to her about it since taking this course?
ReplyDeleteThis post was succinct and well written which helped provoke many thoughts. Being a minority male is a struggle, being a woman can be a struggle, being an immigrant is a struggle, but being all three, seems too much. It is amazing that cultures are strong enough to carry people through these tough times. I believe that culture is what employed these women's work ethic, not biology.
I read this article and thought how could something like this happen in a world so advanced like we have today? The rules we have here in the U.S. prohibit this kind of mistreatment, but if you go twenty miles across the border to Mexico conditions like these are rampant. I think it’s our fault as a country for not regulating businesses because our government is the only form of protection these people have. The people working for global manufacturing companies won’t say anything because it would risk them losing their low paychecks that they desperately need. Also, the Mexican government will not step in to protect these workers because it may risk losing these jobs which promotes little income the country has. Most economists agree that having some form of trade benefit is better than not having any. The Mexican government will put up with its citizens being mistreated if it means some gains in their global relationships. I would recommend devising a new trade agreement that includes rules and regulations that make it so these global companies cannot take advantage of the poor citizens in struggling low income countries.
ReplyDeleteI think the one thing holding these people back is their lack of knowledge of the English language. I would be interested to know why these migrant factory workers take these jobs. There are plenty of jobs out there that one with little to no background in much of anything can acquire. Other than a lack of knowledge in English, which some migrant workers do know, they should be able to get a job that would give them at least minimum wage. These people put their lives at risk everyday to make just a small amount of many to support their family. I don't understand why it they feel that those types of jobs are their only option. I come from a white-middle class community therefore I don't know what it is like for these immigrants coming to the cities to find work.
ReplyDeleteI understand your confusion Deborah. Most migrant workers as we learned were not citizens of the United States. Therefore, the luxury of minimum wage was not available to most, they had no rights. Working in these manufacturing jobs seemed to be the only option. For most immigrants, they do what their family members or friends do, so if their family member worked at a manufacturing job it was likely for them to work there too. As I explained to Jerry, the need to make money in order to fulfill necessities such as food, water, and shelter was greater than anything. The availabilities of these jobs were plenty, they did not need papers or proper documentation to work in these jobs, and it would bring in some revenue for their everyday needs. Hopefully this was a little more helpful.
DeleteThe conditions these women worked in are unbelievable. And what is upsetting is that these bad working conditions are not a thing of the past, they are very much prevalent today in Mexico and other third world countries where labor laws are not as developed or followed as strictly as they are here in the USA. I wonder if new technologies and more light on these working conditions puts more pressure on these factory owners to provide better working conditions and wages. It's easy to blame these conditions on the capitalistic society that we are seeing emerging all across the world, where the profit produced is more important than human health and care. But I wonder if we are also in part to blame for allowing these conditions to exist? These women took the jobs as a way to help their family and give themselves a sense of self, but these working conditions seem to be doing more harm than good.
ReplyDeleteHannah B
ReplyDeleteI liked how this post incorporated the importance of the gender struggle in the 1960s within the struggle for independence. While low income minority males were using hip hop, rap, graffiti, and break dancing to express themselves, females were continually being subjected to the discrimination that everyone else was trying to escape. I think that it's unfortunate how much importance we place on negative effects of racism on minorities, yet there is discrimination occurring within it. I personally liked how this blog made me think about how much empathy I feel toward those subjected to bigotry, but for what? When many receiving it are in turn eliciting the same attitudes and behaviors within their own communities and families. It is appalling to think that while in the midst of trying to deal with so much negative energy, human nature still makes us prone to these types of behavior.
i think I meant to post this on the blog about hiphop and gender struggle..oops
DeleteI like that this post showed the struggle of immigrant women into America while at the same time ties it into a more personal experience since it is linked to your family background. I do not understand why only women were chosen to work in the factories under these conditions while men should do the same work as well. I feel that women's 'nimble fingers' excuse for only women to complete this kind of work should actually be an excuse not to do this work since they are working in terrible conditions. No one should have to work under these conditions, especially women as the chemicals they were working with can cause cancer and miscarriages. There definitely should have been more regulation on factories, even back then. No human being should be able to work under these conditions for extremely low pay, especially because most of them had to since they were untrained immigrant workers.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you Jerry. no ONE should have to work under these conditions. Another reason why women were preferred over men to work in these jobs was because the company was able to pay women less than men. Unfortunately for women, if this option saves the company money, the company would probably execute it. Is this fair? No. But at the same time, the company knew that some women had to take care of families and therefore needed this job so even if the women knew they got paid less, there was nothing they could do.
DeleteI agree with Jessica, biological reasons shouldn't put these women in such awful working conditions, this story contradicts itself. If men are more suited for this type of harsh labor, why aren't they working? Why are these minority, immigrant, women working in such terrible conditions when it's been clear that it takes a toll on their bodies? The US thought that these women were culturally inferior, and through today many still think that immigrants in general are; like in the film we watched in class, 9500 Liberty, when the townspeople wanted to rid Manassass County of the hispanic immigrants. It's hard enough in our society to be a minority immigrant, but a women as well. Many of them continued to work, even after they knew that they could no longer bear children, and even when their hands were mangled and calloused, they still worked in these factories, which surprises me. Was the work really worth the physical and emotional cost that these women paid?
ReplyDeleteThis article really helps continue to question the horrific conditions brought about due to the NAFTA trade agreement. You vividly described these conditions so well it felt as if I could see the story played out and it certainly isn't pretty. The NAFTA trade agreement allowed US corporations to come to Mexico and take advantage of low wages and seemingly unmonitored working conditions. While these businesses in Mexico lead to booming profits it also lead to tragedy amongst the Mexican people forced to take on these repetitive and dangerous jobs. This is of course due to the poor state of Mexico's economy and the high level of unemployment. This article does a great job in describing these aspects.
ReplyDeleteHannah B
ReplyDeleteI thought that this post was very interesting. It is horrific to learn how these women were treated and it makes me thankful for what I have today. Reading this made me think about how far we have come as a nation and how far women have come in the fight against inequality. Today women are treated nearly equal to men in the workplace and I think that our past inequality has motivated us even more. Although there is nothing that can change the past, we must learn from it and make the future ours. The fact that these Mexican women most likely came to the United States with a dream for a better, brighter future and then ended up working in these maquiladoras is awful. I can’t imagine the shock and dread that they must have felt upon their arrival. What happened to the “American Dream?”