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California Farm Labor Shortage 'Worst It's Been, Ever'

Lord Tammerlain

Lord Tammerlain

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California Farm Labor Shortage 'Worst It's Been, Ever' - US  Business News - CNBC

The Western Growers Association told CNBC its members are reporting a 20 percent drop in laborers this year. Stronger border controls are keeping workers from crossing into the U.S. illegally, and the current guest worker program is not providing enough bodies. (Related: Massive US Drought Leads to Worst Fears for Corn Crop.)
"We have 100 fewer people this year," said Sergio Diaz, who provides workers under contract for growers. "We're having difficulty finding people to do this work."
The lack of workers is forcing farmers to pay more. In one of Underwood's fields, pickers are harvesting peppers for $9.25 a hour, or $5 a bucket, whichever is more. Craig Underwood said his workforce is aging and starting to retire, and no one is coming in to replace them. (Related: Recession-Proof Industries.)
"Migratory flows between Mexico and the United States have come to a halt," Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, consul general of Mexico in Sacramento, told a California farm bureau labor committee, according to AgAlert.
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Just one question


I do not recall there being a shortage of farm labourers (lega or illegal) 4 + years ago, and yet people are saying Obama has been soft on illegal immigrants? When the boarder security seems to be working better now then 4+ years ago
 
Lets see, California has more than 1.5 million people on welfare and a 10.7% unemployment rate (July 2012). Seems they don't have a farm labour shortage, they have a shortage of people who actually are willing to work.

Here is an idea, take the farmers to the welfare office and start hiring people as they walk in, oh wait, Obama says people on welfare shouldn't have to seek employment. Well, it is California, you know, total lack of common sense and overwhelmingly Liberal. Obama should win that state hands down.
 
DVSentinel said:
Lets see, California has more than 1.5 million people on welfare and a 10.7% unemployment rate (July 2012). Seems they don't have a farm labour shortage, they have a shortage of people who actually are willing to work.

Here is an idea, take the farmers to the welfare office and start hiring people as they walk in, oh wait, Obama says people on welfare shouldn't have to seek employment. Well, it is California, you know, total lack of common sense and overwhelmingly Liberal. Obama should win that state hands down.
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So you're saying that most of the unemployed in California already live in places like Imperial Valley? They just need to show up for work in the fields, right? Or would recommend that unemployed electrical engineers commute daily from Northern California to El Centro?

Your idea sucks eggs.
 
Risky Thicket said:
So you're saying that most of the unemployed in California already live in places like Imperial Valley? They just need to show up for work in the fields, right? Or would recommend that unemployed electrical engineers commute daily from Northern California to El Centro?

Your idea sucks eggs.
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They could relocate. Then the drive to work would be shorter.
 
Risky Thicket said:
So you're saying that most of the unemployed in California already live in places like Imperial Valley? They just need to show up for work in the fields, right? Or would recommend that unemployed electrical engineers commute daily from Northern California to El Centro?

Your idea sucks eggs.
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I don't know about you but I would never live in a place I couldn't afford to live in and there weren't any jobs.So yes they should relocate to where the jobs are.
 
Risky Thicket said:
So you're saying that most of the unemployed in California already live in places like Imperial Valley? They just need to show up for work in the fields, right? Or would recommend that unemployed electrical engineers commute daily from Northern California to El Centro?

Your idea sucks eggs.
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Nah, use some city buses to give them a ride, there would be places to live once they get there. Same places all those previous labourers lived. As to your theoretical electrical engineer, well, if he hasn't heard that Cali is bleeding those type of jobs like someone cut their jugular vein, or is stupid enough to think those companies are coming back to the business enviroment in Cali, then maybe he should start picking tomatos because he apparently isn't smart enough to be a good electrical engineer.
 
For $9.25 an hour no one on DP would pick up and move their family. Y'all can pack that up each other's butts, but I'm not that damn stupid. Nobody here would do enough work to fill a ground slide.
 
Risky Thicket said:
For $9.25 an hour no one on DP would pick up and move their family. Y'all can pack that up each other's butts, but I'm not that damn stupid. Nobody here would do enough work to fill a ground slide.
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Vs. Making $0.00 per hour for years? You bet I would do it.
 
apdst said:
Vs. Making $0.00 per hour for years? You bet I would do it.
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I can imagine the conversation with his wife.

"Honey, we're selling the house even though the mortgage isn't paid off and its underwater since the south Cali housing bubble burst, I'm taking the kids out of school in the middle of the year, I'm ripping you away from the life we've built here, all your friends and co-workers, and we're moving to a small farming town in the middle of nowhere so I can work a minimum wage job that I'm in no way qualified for, experienced in, or posses the necessary physical strength and endurance nor the mental fortitude to do without giving myself an aneurysm or blowing my brains out because I've lost all self respect as a man and provider; all while we burn through our savings trying to maintain a half the standard of living we are used to, while our marriage falls apart and our kids attend worn out schools with no resources and of course lets not forget that this town has no supporting businesses that even remotely require people with my particular skill set which is why we lived in the city in the first place but if a job were ever to open up in our old town I'd have no way of taking it because this minimum wage can't fund another move nor buy our house, or any house, back so congratulations I'm no a day laborer and I hope the kids enjoy to it too because i'll need them to pitch in after school hours so we can afford to eat. And lets not forget to fill out those welfare and other government assistance programs that we know require to survive, but still make us parasite upon the system in the eyes of people like apdst."
 
Wouldn't this be a good job opportunity for young people?

California youth unemployment is over 30%.
 
Wiseone said:
I can imagine the conversation with his wife.

"Honey, we're selling the house even though the mortgage isn't paid off and its underwater since the south Cali housing bubble burst, I'm taking the kids out of school in the middle of the year, I'm ripping you away from the life we've built here, all your friends and co-workers, and we're moving to a small farming town in the middle of nowhere so I can work a minimum wage job that I'm in no way qualified for, experienced in, or posses the necessary physical strength and endurance nor the mental fortitude to do without giving myself an aneurysm or blowing my brains out because I've lost all self respect as a man and provider; all while we burn through our savings trying to maintain a half the standard of living we are used to, while our marriage falls apart and our kids attend worn out schools with no resources and of course lets not forget that this town has no supporting businesses that even remotely require people with my particular skill set which is why we lived in the city in the first place but if a job were ever to open up in our old town I'd have no way of taking it because this minimum wage can't fund another move nor buy our house, or any house, back so congratulations I'm no a day laborer and I hope the kids enjoy to it too because i'll need them to pitch in after school hours so we can afford to eat. And lets not forget to fill out those welfare and other government assistance programs that we know require to survive, but still make us parasite upon the system in the eyes of people like apdst."
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LOL, I am pretty sure that those 1.5 million plus welfare slugs are not really anywhere near what you described. Ok, lazy, inexperienced, without skills or physical stamina may apply to them, but probably not much of the rest.

For the rest, it would probably be more like "well, you know, our savings are already gone because I haven't had enough work in almost 4 years, the house is being repossessed because Obama didn't actual get that fixed for us and well, there is a job that allows me to work, earn at least a minimum living that I actually have pride in earning instead of taking handouts or we could just say the hell with it, take the government hand out, go on welfare and live in the projects. I am for the job, but if you really want, I guess I could somehow survive having no respect for myself living on welfare in the projects if that is what you really want."
 
DVSentinel said:
LOL, I am pretty sure that those 1.5 million plus welfare slugs are not really anywhere near what you described. Ok, lazy, inexperienced, without skills or physical stamina may apply to them, but probably not much of the rest.

For the rest, it would probably be more like "well, you know, our savings are already gone because I haven't had enough work in almost 4 years, the house is being repossessed because Obama didn't actual get that fixed for us and well, there is a job that allows me to work, earn at least a minimum living that I actually have pride in earning instead of taking handouts or we could just say the hell with it, take the government hand out, go on welfare and live in the projects. I am for the job, but if you really want, I guess I could somehow survive having no respect for myself living on welfare in the projects if that is what you really want."
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There was mention earlier of unemployed electrical engineers, that's who I was speaking off and I just went and assumed recently unemployed and not long term unemployed and already on welfare.

Either way, our recovery should not look like thousands or hundreds of thousands of people uplifting from throughout California and moving to Imperial Valley to work not only for minimum wage but also for seasonal minimum wage, farm labor is not a year round job. And we can hardly expect someone to live and support their families off minimum wage, how are we going to expect them to save for the winter months when nothing is growing? They are still going to be on welfare and other government assistance programs, because how else are they going to live off such meager earnings and now in a city/town which now by the way is way over populated for its supportive infrastructure: roads, schools hospitals, police, fire, etc because of this massive wave of people who just moved there.

That's the plot to the Grapes of Wrath, not the solution to our economic problems.
 
Wiseone said:
I can imagine the conversation with his wife.

"Honey, we're selling the house even though the mortgage isn't paid off and its underwater since the south Cali housing bubble burst, I'm taking the kids out of school in the middle of the year, I'm ripping you away from the life we've built here, all your friends and co-workers, and we're moving to a small farming town in the middle of nowhere so I can work a minimum wage job that I'm in no way qualified for, experienced in, or posses the necessary physical strength and endurance nor the mental fortitude to do without giving myself an aneurysm or blowing my brains out because I've lost all self respect as a man and provider; all while we burn through our savings trying to maintain a half the standard of living we are used to, while our marriage falls apart and our kids attend worn out schools with no resourc es and of course lets not forget that this town has no supporting businesses that even remotely require people with my particular skill set which is why we lived in the city in the first place but if a job were ever to open up in our old town I'd have no way of taking it because this minimum wage can't fund another move nor buy our house, or any house, back so congratulations I'm no a day laborer and. I hope the kids enjoy to it too because i'll need them to pitch in after school hours so we can afford to eat. And lets not forget to fill out those welfare and other government assistance programs that we know require to survive, but still make us parasite upon the system in the eyes of people like apdst."
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Take the silver spoon out of your mouth, boy. You obviously have no clue.
 
Wiseone said:
I can imagine the conversation with his wife.

"Honey, we're selling the house even though the mortgage isn't paid off and its underwater since the south Cali housing bubble burst, I'm taking the kids out of school in the middle of the year, I'm ripping you away from the life we've built here, all your friends and co-workers, and we're moving to a small farming town in the middle of nowhere so I can work a minimum wage job that I'm in no way qualified for, experienced in, or posses the necessary physical strength and endurance nor the mental fortitude to do without giving myself an aneurysm or blowing my brains out because I've lost all self respect as a man and provider; all while we burn through our savings trying to maintain a half the standard of living we are used to, while our marriage falls apart and our kids attend worn out schools with no resources and of course lets not forget that this town has no supporting businesses that even remotely require people with my particular skill set which is why we lived in the city in the first place but if a job were ever to open up in our old town I'd have no way of taking it because this minimum wage can't fund another move nor buy our house, or any house, back so congratulations I'm no a day laborer and I hope the kids enjoy to it too because i'll need them to pitch in after school hours so we can afford to eat. And lets not forget to fill out those welfare and other government assistance programs that we know require to survive, but still make us parasite upon the system in the eyes of people like apdst."
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You know I'm an actor by training.

And I couldn't help but read this out loud as a character and I must say... bravo sir.

This may be one of the best posts in DP History.
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
California Farm Labor Shortage 'Worst It's Been, Ever' - US* Business News - CNBC
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apdst said:
Vs. Making $0.00 per hour for years? You bet I would do it.
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No you wont. The cost of moving, both money wise, plus emotionally for you and your family would far far far out weigh the few bucks you might make by moving. Unless you are renting, then chances are you cant sell your home any ways.
 
DVSentinel said:
Lets see, California has more than 1.5 million people on welfare and a 10.7% unemployment rate (July 2012). Seems they don't have a farm labour shortage, they have a shortage of people who actually are willing to work.
Here is an idea, take the farmers to the welfare office and start hiring people as they walk in, oh wait, Obama says people on welfare shouldn't have to seek employment. Well, it is California, you know, total lack of common sense and overwhelmingly Liberal. Obama should win that state hands down.
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That'd be an awesome idea if people didn't have families and homes etc.
We could just pluck people from LA and put them down in the middle of the agricultural region. If people were entirely fungible, it'd be an awesome idea.
 
Oh noes! Those poor agro-businesses will have to dig deep into their farm subsidies and hire people AT COMPETITIVE WAGES!!!! Quickly, apdst, to the Conservamobile! We've got to implement your plan to help these Free Market capitalists out with government subsidized labor!
 
jamesrage said:
I don't know about you but I would never live in a place I couldn't afford to live in and there weren't any jobs.So yes they should relocate to where the jobs are.
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Farm labor is not regular work. A lot of it is seasonal iirc. So it could end up being a matter of uprooting your family etc for a few months work and then being left w/o a place to live or a job.
Not sure that it's the best move on a macro or micro level to uproot your life and family for a couple months work.

Something needs to change as the current system is not working.
But I am not sure that a migration from the cities to the farmlands for a few m,onths work is going to be a good idea for anyone involved. We'd end up with these small rural communities filled with unemployed city-folk for the other 9 months (or w/e) of the year. I suspect that these small towns and smaller cities are not equipped for that sort of an influx.

The current system is built around the migrant labor force who move from town to town following the various harvest seasons.
The current system needs to change. I agree with that.
 
Camlon said:
Wouldn't this be a good job opportunity for young people?
California youth unemployment is over 30%.
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Possibly. The AK canneries make something like that work. Now the canneries paid "well" for the few months you could spend up there in fish guts. I never did it, but I had several friends who did that over the summers.
Idk that the CA farms pay like the AK canneries though.
 
PeteEU said:
No you wont. The cost of moving, both money wise, plus emotionally for you and your family would far far far out weigh the few bucks you might make by moving. Unless you are renting, then chances are you cant sell your home any ways.
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I'll tell you the same I'll tell Wise and Jet: you dont know me. I'm at work now; working my hitch; "on tower"; 350 miles from the house. You must have me mistaken for some lilly livered Libbo that would tatuer sit on the couch and wait for the gubmint to come bail me out.
 
apdst said:
I'll tell you the same I'll tell Wise and Jet: you dont know me. I'm at work now; working my hitch; "on tower"; 350 miles from the house. You must have me mistaken for some lilly livered Libbo that would tatuer sit on the couch and wait for the gubmint to come bail me out.
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So you would be willing to move yourself, your wife (if you got one) and children (if you have any) several hundred if not thousands of miles away for a minimum wage job? You would be willing to take a loss on your home, and move to an area with higher home prices ... for a minimum wage job, that is seasonal and temporary?
 
Risky Thicket said:
For $9.25 an hour no one on DP would pick up and move their family. Y'all can pack that up each other's butts, but I'm not that damn stupid. Nobody here would do enough work to fill a ground slide.
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Not only pick up and move their family, but do so for temporary work.

In a personal cost-benefit analysis, the benefit does not outweigh the cost here.
 
apdst said:
I'll tell you the same I'll tell Wise and Jet: you dont know me. I'm at work now; working my hitch; "on tower"; 350 miles from the house. You must have me mistaken for some lilly livered Libbo that would tatuer sit on the couch and wait for the gubmint to come bail me out.
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Well that's odd since Wise serves in the military and I'm also at work looking after a multi million dollar business by myself at the age of 22 around about 5000km from home.

So I guess you don't know us either because it just seems to me that you seem to think you're so god damn spangled awesome that you're the only one that works around here.
 
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