Posted on 03/31/2015 12:02:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
This immigration story takes place far from the southern border and actually hits rather close to home for me, since it’s set in upstate New York. What’s that you say? We don’t have an illegal immigrant problem in the northeast? Think again. Apparently the use of illegal farm labor is still all the rage up here, but it just doesn’t get the same sort of press coverage. Particularly hard hit by a lack of “comprehensive immigration reform” are the dairy farmers.
When Mike McMahon’s Latino employees need to go to the bank, the pharmacy or the grocery store, he makes sure someone drives them to town, waits while they run errands, and then brings them safely back to his dairy farm.
Even then, there is no guarantee law enforcement in their small, rural community won’t spot the workers, ask for their IDs, and put them on a path toward deportation if they cannot prove they are here legally. It is a risk that dairy farmers in this agricultural region have faced for years, but it is hitting them harder as immigration reform languishes in Washington and the nation’s demand for milk-heavy products like Greek yogurt soars.
“It’s just crazy,” said McMahon, who has several hundred cows at his farm more than 200 miles north of New York City.
“I’m a lifelong Republican,” he said, shaking his head. “But I’m telling you, there are days when I think about switching.”
Reporters interviewed a number of farmers who complained that they couldn’t get the “locals” to sign on to do the dirty, manual jobs which are required on a dairy farm. Also, there are regulations which allow bringing in legal immigrants with temporary guest worker visas, but those are only useful for agricultural work during harvest or planting season. Dairy farms run year round, so those types of guest workers are not viable. Still, there’s a bit of denial of reality when they come right out and admit that they are breaking the law.
Without new immigration laws, he and other farmers say, the nation will lose dairy producers, because farmers will switch to growing crops whose workers are eligible for temporary guest-worker visas.
“The U.S. dairy industry absolutely cannot survive without this,” said Dale, a dairy farmer who has moved toward robotic milking to avoid the labor problem. Like many dairy farmers, he did not want his full name or his farm’s name used because he was concerned that immigration officials would target his business.
There aren’t many cases where common ground is found on the immigration reform question, but this actually might be one of them. If we already have agricultural workers who have qualified for and are issued temporary visas for agricultural work, switching that to a year long visa contingent on the sponsorship of a farm owner who is employing them twelve months per year might be doable on a limited scale.
But I’m still stuck on the idea that we can’t find workers to do these jobs. As one of the farmers interviewed in the article states, he’s been paying the dairy workers in his employ an average of $2K per month plus housing on the farm with all utilities paid for. (Also meals in some cases.) Particularly in a tough economy, we can’t find citizens to take that deal? I worked on family farms in the summer growing up doing exactly that sort of work from time to time. It’s hard, no doubt about it. But it’s an honest job, and a lot better than starving. Perhaps the farmers need to raise their milk prices slightly and bump up the wages a bit? I don’t know, but it really seems like this could all be accomplished without being “forced” to hire illegal aliens.
The silver lining to NY’s proto-socialist, East-german style economy run by unions is that so far, 1) in upstate NY there is no need for “cheap” foreign labor, plenty of locals need jobs and 2) unions are so strong, and they know what illegal labor could do to their gravy-train, they are the biggest policers of job-sites for illegals.
It wasn't magic it was the welfare state. Why bust your ass on a farm when you can collect the same check sitting on your couch?
” Funny, the dairy industry survived just fine without Illegals fro quite a long time.
But now we are supposed to believe something magically changed?”
Yeah, what changed is that dairy farmers became whores, like so many other industries. Americans be damned!
> dairy farmer who has moved toward robotic milking to avoid the labor problem.
This is EXACTLY the result that labor policy in this country should be aiming for. Substitution of machinery for manual labor.
If these businesses and farmers would pay a decent hourly wage then Americans would take the jobs. They don’t even seem to be trying to get Americans to work the fields and milk the cows. It is hard work and paying 2 dollars an hour for an American is not going to cut it. You can get away with that with an illegal but not a citizen. Instead of complaining that you can’t have your cheap labor, start paying 10 bucks an hour and you will see Americans start to jump on the work train. Heck it might have to be 15 dollars an hour while we are at it, but that is not the workers problem, it is the owners problem or they won’t have any workers as is the case now. It is supply and demand....sorry farmers but you are on the losing end of this one....you are going to have to open up your wallet and pay what Americans are willing to work for. Otherwise continue complaining.....see where that gets you.
In other news, Southern plantation owners are still disappointed that they can’t use slaves for picking cotton.
“Milk is too expensive, we need them to work cheap to lower the cost.”
I trust this is sarcasm.
Milk last month was $14.48 cwt (per hundred pds). There is 8.6 pounds per gallon. Farmers are paid .1448 per pound I paid $5.50 a gallon the other night (CA, I gather it is under $2.50 in CO Safeways).
Yes, there are a lot of middle man costs, pasteurization, shipping, etc, but farmers don’t see that. They do see subsidies but as a result, the price of milk is set by government. Essentially, you pay for you milk through your taxes. If the government got out of it and the EPA got off their backs we would see milk prices change. Let others pasteurize, let farmers sell direct, etc.
We see a lot of the same about illegals here in wine country. Regardless, Australia produces wine without a border for illegals to cross, as do many other producers. Still, as minimum wages rise as well as increased regulation, insurance costs, forced benefits etc you are seeing more and more vineyards mechanize.
I do not know a lot about dairies, but they are already pretty well automated but cut them loose from government, free the market, and they probably can pay what needs to be paid.
These are jobs that kids used to do. They would earn some money and the dairy farmer would get the cheaper labor. Child labor laws are what they need to push be reformed, not the immigration laws.
So true. My son works at Walmart....just turned 17. He can’t even request additional hours because of laws that won’t allow it. Although there are days when he comes home after working 4 hours and acts like he is finishing a 24 hour shift....lol. I just laugh when he acts like that....oh poor you......4 whole hours of money that you get to keep for spending money.......the rest of us are lucky to keep an hour of our money for spending......kids....
Idiot. The more accepting society is of illegals the less likely they'll be to take those menial jobs. They're moving into the trades where they can earn a better living and work fewer hours.
RE :”“Milk is too expensive, we need them to work cheap to lower the cost.”
......
I trust this is sarcasm.”
Americans love cheap prices, that’s why they go to Walmarts, Coscos and Sam’s Club, as well as use Amazon.
But they also want the workers to be well taken care of , so they support rises in minimum wage and lots of other employer mandates.
Illegals are the only way we can ‘drink our milk and have it too’, with cake, to support expensive employer mandates but still have cheap prices.
“Hard working” Hispanics are just as reluctant as slackard whites to work when you pay them for doing nothing. Who knew?
I’d say 2K a month plus room and board ain’t bad.
The hours suck, the dairy smells, but hey..
They can always chase cowgirls and drink cervezas to unwind.
I suspect that what has changed ‘i.e. is changing, is that there is more interest in becoming very rich along with all the others from Obamas down. With all this going on within the US economy I wonder how much of this kind of problem other nations are having. As a specific point does Canada have these labor problems.
I wonder if he has thought about setting up a call center in India? ;-)
No you can’t find citizens that are willing to do “the dirty, manual jobs” of any kind, it’s beneath them. Particularly when benefits will pay out the same income plus healthcare etc without working.
What a joke. Everyone knows they just want to pay less.
If the enterprising guy had the wolf at the door, he would train it to bring the guy some food. :-)
Mr Rowe, please pick up the courtesy phone with the Gateway 2000 pattern...
Sell milk for $8/gallon then or get out of the business. Oh wait, that’s right Fedzilla fiddles with the price of Milk on the open market.
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