Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor…On S. 1129 A Bill to Stabilize the Domestic Farm Labor Force

Congressional efforts, ultimately unsuccessful, to improve the lives of the migratory workers during the early 1960s.

This fascinating Congressional report, published by the Government Printing Office in 1962, captures part of the Senate’s extensive debate regarding S. 1129. The bill was designed to authorize the Department of Labor to actively recruit and supply domestic migrant farm workers to farmers through the U.S. Employment Service. It was hoped this would improve the overall condition of the workers by reducing reliance on seasonal laborers (mostly Mexicans through the Bracero program).

Much of the text recounts testimony from the hearings or copies of related correspondence, though there are also interesting sections regarding average pay rates (Alabama at the lowest end), statements from trade organizations (like the National Cotton Council), and a form ‘Agreement for the Employment of British West Indians in Agricultural Work in the United States of America.’

Two fold-out maps are included in the volume. The first (and slightly smaller of the pair), by the U.S. Department of Commerce Area Redevelopment Administration, highlights Redevelopment Areas across the U.S., as proposed by legislation in 1961. The second, issued by the Public Health Services, emphasizes the regional density of migrant laborers in America, with southern Florida, California’s Central Valley, and the Texas panhandle all exhibiting high concentrations in several counties.