Farmers Strain to Hire American in Place of Migrant Labor

[MKULTRABOY]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/u...orkers-in-place-of-migrant-labor.html?_r=1&hp

[h=1]Hiring Locally for Farm Work Is No Cure-All[/h]

Six hours was enough, between the 6 a.m. start time and noon lunch break, for the first wave of local workers to quit. Some simply never came back and gave no reason. Twenty-five of them said specifically, according to farm records, that the work was too hard. On the Harold farm, pickers walk the rows alongside a huge harvest vehicle called a mule train, plucking ears of corn and handing them up to workers on the mule who box them and lift the crates, each weighing 45 to 50 pounds.

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Comments?
Thotz?

 

[iliveonramen]

They won't work for the wage offered, which means wages go up in order to bring in willing workers.

The bad thing is that they are competing against neighboring states employing low wage labor in the form of illegals. I have no problem with work visa's or whatever. I have a problem with illegals coming in and getting Chinese slave labor wages driving down wages of all American unskilled workers.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/u...orkers-in-place-of-migrant-labor.html?_r=1&hp





Questions?
Comments?
Thotz?

Pay more, it's that simple.

 

[MKULTRABOY]

Pay more, it's that simple.

BAH its SO simple. :roll:

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

BAH its SO simple. :roll:

Seriously though, the farm jobs posted on the DOL website list that they're seasonal, pay less than $10 an hour and there is pretty much no room for advancement.
Plus you have to compete with things like unemployment insurance, which makes it really not worth working so hard for the same money.

The only way to get around those things is to pay more.

 

[MKULTRABOY]

The only way to get around those things is to pay more.

How to compete with the farm that hires mexican labor then?
What about competing in a market?

 

[liblady]

How to compete with the farm that hires mexican labor then?
What about competing in a market?

how about fining those employers who hire illegals?

 

[Kandahar]

How to compete with the farm that hires mexican labor then?

how about fining those employers who hire illegals?

That wouldn't change the fact that there are plenty of farms employing Mexican labor in Mexico which can produce the same stuff much cheaper. Fines, protectionism, immigration crackdowns, and other ways to artificially make prices more expensive are not good for the economy. And the people harmed most of all are those who can least afford it.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

How to compete with the farm that hires mexican labor then?
What about competing in a market?

That is competing in a market.
Farmer can't hire illegal Hispanic laborers, so they must employ legal local laborers that require more pay for the same work.

Of course we could always end unemployment benefits, because they are also in direct competition for those workers as well.

When unemployment pays the same as what a job would, or nearly so, there is no benefit to working.

 

[iliveonramen]

That wouldn't change the fact that there are plenty of farms employing Mexican labor in Mexico which can produce the same stuff much cheaper. Fines, protectionism, immigration crackdowns, and other ways to artificially make prices more expensive are not good for the economy. And the people harmed most of all are those who can least afford it.

I'm not overly familiar with produce. Like the cost of shipping fresh produce. Can you grow everything in Mexico that's currently grown here?

I do know not all illegal labor is in farming and there are jobs not transportable to Mexico that they are doing. I had my house reroofed and the contractor had about 8 illegals (guessing but I would bet a majority were) work on the roof. That's work Americans could do, would do (have done in the past) but can't compete with under the table workers.

 

[conservativeguy]

If you sleep with dogs you will get fleas. I have no sympathy for a farmer that has illegally employed illegals for decades and is now having a hard time finding legal helpers. If it winds up costing us more, so be it......I don't want the benefit of cheap food if it was priced using illegal aliens as laborers.

 

[mike2810]

Maybe some of these farmers should learn to use

"The H-2A temporary agricultural program establishes a means for agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature.
Employment Law Guide - Temporary Agricultural Workers (H-2A Visas)

 

[AdamT]

If you sleep with dogs you will get fleas. I have no sympathy for a farmer that has illegally employed illegals for decades and is now having a hard time finding legal helpers. If it winds up costing us more, so be it......I don't want the benefit of cheap food if it was priced using illegal aliens as laborers.

You won't pay more -- you'll just buy produce that was grown in South or Central America instead of Georgia or Alabama. Mission accomplished.

Wassup, CG? :2rofll:

 

[MKULTRABOY]

You won't pay more -- you'll just buy produce that was grown in South or Central America instead of Georgia or Alabama. Mission accomplished.

Wassup, CG? :2rofll:

No No! We can subsidize agriculture to keep prices low and bring them back.

 

[MaggieD]

Questions?
Comments?
Thotz?

My thoughts are that the farmer's going to have to pay more. Which means we'll pay more. But that's okay with me if it keeps illegals out of the country.

Having said that, there's no reason why the Temporary Workers Program can't be expanded to include more workers...

Edit: I think field workers are paid for their production; that means that newbies could get frustrated until they learn their own shortcuts. That may well account for "starting in the morning and walking out at noon."

 

[lpast]

My thoughts are that the farmer's going to have to pay more. Which means we'll pay more. But that's okay with me if it keeps illegals out of the country.

Having said that, there's no reason why the Temporary Workers Program can't be expanded to include more workers...

My thoughts precisely...and fruits and veggies will remain priced at what the market will pay...farmers and not POOR this isnt the early 1900s...they get subsidies and just look at the price per pound were paying with ILLEGAL labor
Bring in more LEGAL immigrants pay them a bit more...and the price would remain fairly constant

 

[1Perry]

This year, though, with tough times lingering and a big jump in the minimum wage under the program, to nearly $10.50 an hour, Mr. Harold brought in only two-thirds of his usual contingent.

Here is how I read this......the government told him that to bring in workers from outide the country legally, he was going to have to pay them $10.50 an hour. Not wanting to do that he thought he would hire locally for less. He is now having a hard time finding workers for less than what the government has decided is what foriegn workers should be paid.

The arguement that illegals will work for less is actually even misleading. If you pay an illegal $7.00 an hour, he gets $7.00 an hour. Pay someone here legally $7.00 an hour he gets less than that because of taxes.

 

[nijato]

How about giving a legal status to resident aliens so they can't be used as a second-class labor force with no access to the protection of the law and no employer responsibilities?

 

[jamesrage]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/u...orkers-in-place-of-migrant-labor.html?_r=1&hp





Questions?
Comments?
Thotz?

Apparently they need to up the wages. The Job is very unattractive due to to the following

1.Its out of the city which means long drive and more money spent on gas which could translate into you making less that minimum wage after the cost of gas and taxes.

2.The job is seasonal which means you have to find a new job once the season is over, Which finding a new job can be a a bitch.

3.Lot of manual labor. Just because that farmer places little to no value on manual labor does not mean the person doing that labor sees it the same way.

I am pretty sure that someone could find a job that is close to that in pay, in the city or close to the city,less manual labor,possibly some extra benefits and permanent which means over time they may be making more than $10.50 an hour. Which sounds like a better deal? So logically those farmers need to make those jobs more attractive. More pay, pay for gas or provide transportation, add some benifits and if they are really in dire need of employees then they can try to promote farm work to highschoil students

 

[jamesrage]

You won't pay more -- you'll just buy produce that was grown in South or Central America instead of Georgia or Alabama. Mission accomplished.

Wassup, CG? :2rofll:

Allow farmers to hire illegals and no American has a job. Have farm work outsourced in a sense and no American still has no job. Can't say that allowing farmers to get away with hiring illegals is a good thing.

 

[jamesrage]

How about giving a legal status to resident aliens so they can't be used as a second-class labor force with no access to the protection of the law and no employer responsibilities?

Wouldn't those that hire illegals just find more illegals? One of the benefits to hiring illegals is that you can pay them substandard wages and, you do not have to provide them them benefits. Are you going to legalize every illegal that has hopped over the border or deliberately overstayed a visa?

 

[OpportunityCost]

ERS/USDA Briefing Room - Farm Income and Costs: 2011 Farm Sector Income Forecast

Net Farm Income Forecast Up 31 Percent in 2011

Net farm income is forecast at $103.6 billion for 2011, up $24.5 billion for a rise of 31 percent from 2010. Net farm income reflects income from production in the current year, whether or not sold within the calendar year, and is a measure of the increase in wealth from production. The 2011 forecast of net farm income is the highest inflation-adjusted value recorded since 1974.

Yeah...pay more.

 

[American]

No No! We can subsidize agriculture to keep prices low and bring them back.

You mean tarriffs right?

 

[Temporal]

Glad that some people have honed in on the key factor to solve this problem.

Higher wages will attract more American workers. Our standard of living is higher and we have social services that pay more than working full time with these companies would as a laborer. What incentive is there to go looking for those jobs if there are other choices?

Look at the grand scheme here. Companies are saving money, and politicians get kickbacks for giving those companies more free reign. All those border patrols and security also creates jobs to keep some illegals out (but never all of them, of course).

Our government is not serious about cracking down on illegals. This should be plainly obvious by now. And it's not only Obama who is responsible either... it was Bush before him, and every President before that. Southern business and illegal workers go hand in hand, always have.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Allow farmers to hire illegals and no American has a job. Have farm work outsourced in a sense and no American still has no job. Can't say that allowing farmers to get away with hiring illegals is a good thing.

Except if hiring illegals to do work no American wants to do keeps prices low so consumers can spend more money elsewhere and allows food to be produced in the United States and even forms part of your exports, then it would actually have the same effect as a... TAX CUT! :lamo