H2-B workers

At Slate, Michelle Chen writes about the experiences of hotel housekeepers in Miami during spring break. The story starts with Adelle Sile, a housekeeper at the four-star Fontainebleau Miami Beach: Around this time of year, thanks to the influx of spring break and Easter break vacationers, the time (Sile) has to clean each room during her eight-hour shift gets squeezed as guests stretch their mornings to the final minutes before checkout. When she does finally get in, she sometimes opens the door to find vomit, empty bottles, crack pipes, marijuana buds, and makeshift mattresses of cushions…

Outdoor carnivals, with their thrill rides, the carousel, cotton candy and arcade games, connote fun and happiness.  But for the immigrant workers employed in the U.S. carnival and fair industry, happiness and fun don't describe their employment situation. "They treat us like dogs." "Sometimes we work 20-hour days, and even if it's raining...there's no time to rest doing this kind of work." "He called us '[f***ing] Mexicans or [f***ing] tortillas." "I worked 98 hours a week, and earned $2 per hour.  I could take a brief break during the day, but only to go to the bathroom or eat." "We couldn'…