Byline: Dale Wright; 1961-10-11; New York World-Telegram and Sun; pages 1, 29
Report: "The Forgotten People" - Dale Wright - New York World Telegram & Sun
Tags: worked as migrant
On a warm, humid morning last April, a rickety old bus jolted along at its top speed between rows of carefully manicured estates along route 1 from Miami south to Homestead, Fla. Although the vehicle had seats for 35 persons, it was crammed with 64 passengers. I was one of them. I was on my way to my first day of work as a migrant farm laborer in the lush tomato fields of southern Dade County. I had shaped up (reported for assignment) earlier that morning on a Miami street corner and was hired - with no questions asked - by a fat character known as a "labor contractor." In the South, labor contractors round up crews of workers for transport and assignment to farms where crops are harvested.
Description:In the context of four migrant worker deaths in a labor farm fire, Dale Wright continues his reporting based on six months undercover as a migrant laborer with this second article in "The Forgotten People" series.
Rights: "The Forgotten People..A Report on Migrant Labor" by Dale Wright. Reprinted with the permission of the Estate of Dale Wright, c/o K.E. Wright-King ©1961, New York World-Telegram and Sun.
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