Jornaleros en la Lucha, 2012

Artist Statement (Jose Barrera): The print was inspired by the current challenges jornaleros face. The police, the minuteman, the racist, the banker, the corrupt boss, and the racist laws such as SB 1070. I chose the Police because Jornalers who do not have the change to go to a day laborer center are often found at corners or in front of hardware stores. The police comes see this as nuisance, and starts harassing day laborers to leave those places. Many of the tacts the police use are tickets and go as far as arresting day laborers. this a constant fight that jornaleros face and bravely stand up and question the police. The minuteman, to the jornaleros represents the people that do not understand the reason why the jornaleros are in looking for jobs in the streets in the first place. Many of these people are misinformed and the jornaleros as scape goats for the current situation of the country. They blame the jornaleros for the economy, the lack of jobs, even some diseases. The Jornaleros tries to avoid confrontation with these people, but if necessary they will come out and dight to inform people of the community about their struggles. The racist or Tea Party believes that the jornaleros are trying to take back the land, and they feel that the only way they coexist is by send all immigrants back to Mexico. We have jornaleros what are form all over the world, these workers are not taking over no one's land. The only reason jornaleros are in this country is to work and be able to help their families. The banker has become a symbol of of greed in our country, and while many people do admit that the banks are responsible for the current economic crisis. There are people that believe that jornaleros should be held responsible for the economy. The banker has also manage to affect the jornaleros; people who use to provide good and clothing to the jornaleros were forced to stop due to lack of funds. The corrupt boss. Jornaleros often find themselves working hard and for long days, hoping to earn a fair salary for their work. Unfortunately many of these workers find themselves not earning a penny for their work and threaten to be sent back if they say anything to the police. Up to date, the number of jornaleros who had had their wages stolen keeps increasing and unfortunately the government has done little or nothing to solve this problem. SB 1070, this law was famous by the state of Arizona as an effort to get rid of the immigrant population. Many jornaleros were forced to leave the state, many where their children had grown up. This law allowed people to come postal towards jornaleros. Fortunately, the people rose up and fought back to make sure this law was eradicated. Lastly, the image has two figures in the bottom; these images represent the jornalero and the jernalera. Jornaler@s wake up every day despite the conditions, the weather, and the odds. They wake up to provide for their family.