The collection consists primarily of printed material used by Stephanie Black in researching the sugar industry in the United States and its treatment of the foreign workers who harvest the crop, for the film "H-2 Worker." Included are FBI files...
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The collection consists primarily of printed material used by Stephanie Black in researching the sugar industry in the United States and its treatment of the foreign workers who harvest the crop, for the film "H-2 Worker." Included are FBI files related to investigations of the United States Sugar Corporation, 1940s peonage petitions filed by the Workers Defense League, and internal FBI files of contractual agreement violations and abuses of individuals contracted to work in the program. These files were retrieved through the Freedom of Information Act. There is also documentation that the AFL-CIO initiated legal action against the sugar corporations, opposing their use of foreign workers for the available jobs and not American citizens, and the treatment of those hired to harvest the sugar cane. The newspaper clippings from the 1940s through 1990s present a view of the media's coverage of the U.S. sugar industry, along with national and regional public and political positions on the "H-2" guest-worker visa program. U.S. federal and state positions on farm/migrant workers, public response, and positions of individual politicians, both in the Caribbean and the United States are documented in the clippings. Also included are notes, transcripts of interviews, and copies of legal briefs prepared by the Farmworkers Justice Fund. The collection is arranged in alphabetical order.
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