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Posted on 05/06/2013 12:34:05 PM PDT by reaganaut1
VIDALIA, Ga. — For years, labor unions and immigrant rights activists have accused large-scale farmers, like those harvesting sweet Vidalia onions here this month, of exploiting Mexican guest workers. Working for hours on end under a punishing sun, the pickers are said to be crowded into squalid camps, driven without a break and even cheated of wages.
But as Congress weighs immigration legislation expected to expand the guest worker program, another group is increasingly crying foul — Americans, mostly black, who live near the farms and say they want the field work but can’t get it because it is going to the Mexicans. They contend that they are illegally discouraged from applying for work and treated shabbily by farmers who prefer the foreigners for their malleability.
“They like the Mexicans because they are scared and will do anything they tell them to,” said Sherry Tomason, who worked for seven years in the fields, then quit. Last month she and other residents filed a federal lawsuit against a large onion grower, Stanley Farms, alleging that it mistreated them and paid them less than the Mexicans.
The suit is one of a number of legal actions against farms with similar complaints, including one against a large farm in Moultrie, Ga., in which Americans said they were fired based on their race and national origin, given less desirable jobs and provided with fewer work opportunities than Mexican guest workers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the farm, Southern Valley, have a consent decree in which the farm agreed to make certain changes.
With local unemployment at about 10 percent and the bureaucracy for hiring foreigners onerous — guest workers have to be imported and housed and require extensive paperwork — it would seem natural for farmers to hire from within their own communities
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
About time.
The pro-illegal media and government have ignored the fact that illegals take lower level jobs from American working poor.
Yes- like do an honest day's work for their pay. Unfortunately for blacks who would do the same, too many of their brethren have not.
Blacks vs. Hispanics is the fault line that will eventually blow the Democrat Party apart. Live by balkanization, you die by balkanization.
ok
This makes no sense
when she said
“Stanley Farms, alleging that it mistreated them and paid them less than the Mexicans. “
can’t have it both ways
the story for years has been that the illegals get paid LESS than American workers
Hmmm, seems that the “low-skilled Americans”, “mostly black”, are not adjusting well to their Obama’s shovel ready jobs.
Cry me a river... I didn’t help that bastard into office, twice.
Illegal immigrant invaders vs. Blacks who cry racism — Do I have to pick one of these groups root for or can I just wish for both groups to stop ruining this country?
Thats a big one to be sure but Muslims vs. the atheist or homo wing is another. The Dems have managed to keep lying to them all with fear of White/Christian right wingers being the cudgel. But it is not possible to last forever. The coalition has ‘polar opposites’ for partners. And when the majority see one getting the goods, they all demand a cut.
“You’re next” can’t go on forever. It just can’t.
>>Blacks vs. Hispanics is the fault line that will eventually blow the Democrat Party apart. Live by balkanization, you die by balkanization.<<
Sadly no. They play race politics like an orchestra and will figure out how to blame Uncle Whitey for the problem for both races.
And let’s face it — these are SLIVs! They voted against their own interests in 2008 and again in 2012. They will just keep squabbling while voting reliably (d) for their entire miserable lives.
Just keep the freebies flowing massah!
Never should an illegal foreign invader be hired about an American.
So much for the illegals doing jobs that Americans won't do myth....
There is certainly a good possibility that the Mexicans and Blacks will fall apart over who gets the gravy. Might even come to blows. There have been published reports the two groups occasionally come to blows here in Los Angeles.
As a one-time manager of a large pecan orchard in Alabama's "Black Belt", I can authoritatively attest that, as a group, the rural black population is a highly inefficient work force.
To perform triage:
1. You can assume that only about 1/3 of any random group will be worth hiring.
2. Further, you can assume that the bulk of that 1/3 will be found in the older age groups (50 and up), the 30-50 age group will add most of the rest...and the under 30 group is hardly worth considering.
3. Reliability is a major problem. Many of your employees will go missing after payday -- for several days or several weeks.
4. At its best, productivity is mediocre.
Understand that I'm speaking of large crews here -- such as for harvest or planting. For permanent jobs, we could sort through and always find good people to handle our permanent labor needs. But large crews for harvest and planting were generally unsatisfactory -- unreliable, unproductive, largely illiterate and sometimes combative (the younger group).
I made several trips to Texas to buy trees from nurseries. Most used Latino labor...probably illegal. In watching them work, I became very envious of the labor advantage the Texas operators had on us because of this work force.
Which is to say, I completely understand why the agricultural industries are in favor of a "guest worker" program to supplant the native work force. I'd have hired the illegals myself had there been an opportunity to do so.
It seems to me there are a couple of moving parts to the problem. Ideally, domestic farmers should be able to raise wage rates in order to attract a better class of legal worker. Unfortunately, they have to compete, price-wise, with (1) imports and (2) other farmers who hire hard-working illegals at a wage that would only attract lazy and disruptive American workers. So they hire illegals like the rest of the ag sector or go out of business. Now, if la migra deterred employers from hiring illegals by imposing heavy fines and other penalties, domestic farmers might go out of business anyway, because foreign produce might undercut the domestic variant on price, given the much higher labor costs that domestic farmers would incur. How close is this explanation to the way you see things?
Pay more, get better workers. Don't hanker for indentured servants. If your business model doesn't work - legally, get out of the business.
You nailed it. This is not about wanting work. It is about some form of class-action reparations for having been mistreated and denied the American dream.
We have managed to raise a couple of generations of people who don’t want jobs at all. The just want benefits, reserving the right to whine about not having jobs.
And good luck putting that horse back in the barn. Plus it’s working out well for democrats — so they’re not likely to take part in the roundup.
It's a fair enough description of the problem.
I assure you that most farmers would prefer to use indigenous labor, rather than employ "guest workers". But, when the indigenous labor is either unavailable or incompetent, one is forced to adapt.
Gee. It's that simple, huh? I guess I should've hired you to do my job.
Go with the American citizens over the illegals
Obviously Americans will do the jobs that Amnesty Liberals claims they won’t
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