The Marginalization of Pineros in the Pacific Northwest

Mexican immigrants constitute the majority of forest labor on federal lands in the Pacific Northwest today. These immigrant forest workers, or pineros, do manually intensive forest labor and face unsafe working conditions, with little protection from labor violations. This article compares the varying experiences of social and political marginality among pineros, loggers, and nonimmigrant reforestation workers over time. In particular, I focus on media coverage to indicate the extent to which forest workers' concerns are visible to elected officials and the general public, and on organizations that address or represent various groups of workers. This comparison shows that pineros are more marginal than other groups of forest workers, and that legal status and limited language proficiency contribute to their marginality.