On September 30th, 2014, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM) will launch Contratados, a social justice initiative that uses technology and art to increase transparency and combat abuse in U.S. guest worker programs.
The project, whose name refers to the process of being contracted under a temporary work program, is specifically directed to H-2 and J-1 workers from Mexico but can be used by workers of all backgrounds and visa categories. With an interactive website, a hotline, pocket-sized comics, audio novelas, and a transnational radio campaign, Contratados is a groundbreaking tool that provides workers with resources to more securely navigate the recruitment and employment process. Using the crowdsourcing website similar to Yelp.com and the accompanying hotline, workers themselves can write reviews of recruiters and employers and collectively fill critical gaps in publicly available information about international labor recruitment.