Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: Hailed by supporters as an engine of job growth, the maquiladoras along Mexico’s northern border have spurred criticism for low wages and exploitative working conditions. Supporters stress the job-creating benefits of the maquiladoras, while detractors criticize the low wages and allegedly exploitative working conditions. Yet there is little research into the attitudes of factory workers themselves toward the fairness of their wages and working conditions. This research attempts to address this gap in the literature by asking approximately 320 workers in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico about their connections to the United States and Southern Mexico and their perceptions of the fairness and exploitation of Maquiladora work. We use multiple logistic regression to examine several factors that may shape workers’ perceptions of their pay and the transnational factories that employ them. In addition, we explore how these perceptions may be related to a willingness to engage in worker resistance and cross-border migration. Preliminary findings suggest some support for these hypotheses.