Travis Du Bry

Although farm laborers continue to work in the worst conditions and earn the lowest wages in the U.S., Du Bry shows that they are reforming rural communities in California and redefining their roles in social and political participation. Due to the increase in high-value and labor-intensive crop production in the state, farm laborers are more than just seasonal laborers. Settlement in rural towns and social mobility have become possibilities for some, and necessitates the reconceptualization of farm laborers from a faceless army of workers to active agents negotiating agricultural labor markets and community social spheres. Du Bry provides a contemporary profile of a community and its residents in an important agricultural region of California.