There was a very short time period for the grower to get the fruit off the trees, so a larger supply of people was needed for a shorter period of time. Anglo migrants were found less proficient and Mexicans and Central Americans were the pickers of choice.
Crops like cotton, peas, and beans no longer required hand labor because of mechanization. So, with all of the Mexicans eager to find work desperate for employment for money to send back to their families, were required to pick apples.
Mexican workers began to take away jobs from the Okies and they could no longer find work in the orchards. But, when the could find work they could no longer work together because of the new child labor laws.
The newest labor source throughout the sixties were the Mexicans. Most came to the United States illegally along with those from Central America. They worked throughout the orchards and hops, and became the principal labor force later in time.
Many Anglo migrants and Mexican-American migrants from Texas would travel south for the winter months, while many migrants were choosing to work in the defense indurstry of World War two.
Mexican nationals were recruited to work in the fields when everyone else went to work in the shipyards and defense plants. People chose to follow the crops as a way of life, two major crops picked in this time period during autumn were cotton and peas. Those who just chose to settle began picking apples and cherries.
"Okies" and "Arkies" desperate for work would travel from the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, or Texas following the fruit. They were driven out of their homes from factors such as drought, dust storms, and just the depressed economy in general to pick fruit and find any sort of pay.
Workers forced to move with the great depression had been classified as the sons and daugthers of the Dustbowl migrants. Many left the southern states and went west, mainly to California because work was plentifiul picking cotton and peas.
Native Americans and Canadian Indians were a couple of the earliest groups of migratory workers. Kids and their parents would pick fruit in Washington State where they camped out.
Update Sources
