| Bracero Railroaders: The Forgotten World War II Story of Mexican Workers in the U.S. West Subjects: Foreign workers Mexican -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Railroads -- United States -- Employees -- History -- 20th century; World War 1939–1945 -- Manpower -- United States; World War 1939–1945 -- War work -- United States; Railroads -- Un; Desperate for laborers to keep the trains moving during World War II, the U.S. and Mexican governments created a now mostly forgotten bracero railroad program that sent a hundred thousand Mexican workers across the border to build and maintain railroad lines throughout the United States, particularly the West. Although both governments promised the workers adequate living arrangements and fair working conditions, most bracero railroaders lived in squalor, worked dangerous jobs, and were subject to harsh racial discrimination. Erasmo Gamboa is professor of American ethnic studies at the University of Washington. He is the author of Mexican Labor and World War II: Braceros in the Pacific Northwest, 1942-1947 . |