Why are migrant fruit pickers paid very little?

Why are migrant fruit pickers paid very little?

• A. The pickers do not want to join unions and strike
• B. The government is keeping wages low
• C. There are so many workers who are desperate
• D. The contracts are written before the pickers come to California

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is how an abundance of available workers can keep wages low. In the migrant labor system depicted, there are many people willing to take work for very little, often because they are desperate to find anywhere to earn money and avoid starvation. When the labor pool is large and workers fear losing their only chance to eat, they have little power to push for higher pay. This surplus of desperate labor gives employers bargaining leverage, so wages stay depressingly low. That’s why the option pointing to the sheer number of desperate workers fits best. It captures the economic reality of low wages driven by supply and the vulnerable position of migrant workers. The other ideas aren’t the primary mechanism: unions’ presence or absence isn’t the direct economic cause described here; government policy isn’t shown as setting wages; and contracts written before arrival don’t, by themselves, explain why wages remain low in a plentiful labor market.

The main idea being tested is how an abundance of available workers can keep wages low. In the migrant labor system depicted, there are many people willing to take work for very little, often because they are desperate to find anywhere to earn money and avoid starvation. When the labor pool is large and workers fear losing their only chance to eat, they have little power to push for higher pay. This surplus of desperate labor gives employers bargaining leverage, so wages stay depressingly low.

That’s why the option pointing to the sheer number of desperate workers fits best. It captures the economic reality of low wages driven by supply and the vulnerable position of migrant workers. The other ideas aren’t the primary mechanism: unions’ presence or absence isn’t the direct economic cause described here; government policy isn’t shown as setting wages; and contracts written before arrival don’t, by themselves, explain why wages remain low in a plentiful labor market.