PROJECT BACKGROUND

In March 1999 I began research for a documentary film on immigrants in Austin, hoping to tell several personal stories.

I began to visit the City’s day labor site downtown, where many immigrant workers looked for jobs each day, to talk with immigrants about their experiences. I asked questions like, why they came to the US, where their families were. and what were the problems they faced as immigrants in Austin. I had spent several weeks visiting the site and meeting and talking with immigrants in May of 1999, when the City of Austin announced its plans to relocate the day labor site from downtown to a residential neighborhood just north of the city center.

Up to this point, I had not yet filmed anything at the day labor site, but with the eruption of the site relocation controversy, I was thrown into production, filming the neighbors’ protests and city council meetings. I was struck by what I saw as gross misconceptions of Latino immigrants on the part of the neighbors. While some of the residents objected to being excluded from the city’s decision-making process (a legitimate complaint), others, in my opinion, did not want the large numbers of immigrant day laborers from the downtown site in their neighborhood. Contributing to these misconceptions and fears was the fact that the downtown site’s location had forced an association of day laborers with the crime and vagrancy that had always existed on that corner

In the next several months, the workers themselves began dealing with these issues and found ways to organize in response to the fears and misconceptions. In addition, through the stories of two immigrants Ramon, from Mexico, and Juan, from Nicaragua, the film became, in the end, both a personal and a universal story of struggle and hope. This website brings together the stories from Los Trabajadores/ The Workers with a discussion guide, information on immigration and labor issues, and lists of resources and links. I hope you find it useful, and I look forward to receiving comments and suggestions.

Heather Courtney, January 2002