Feds: Georgia Company Favored Foreign Guest Workers Over Americans (So much for the “shortage”)

StandWithArizona.com ^ | 07-30-2011 | John Hill

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For weeks since Georgia passed its outstanding immigration enforcement law HB87, there has been a constant drumbeat of attack from agricultural interests, using a very willing media, claiming that illegals were fleeing Georgia and there was no way to replace those workers with Americans who simply find it beneath them to pick peaches or dig up Vidalias.

Nonsense - just as is the amnesty-pusher's refrain that these are jobs "Americans won't do". In a stunning and unexpected Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) report, one large Georgia grower regularly favored foreign workers over American employees:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a June 20 filing that Hamilton Growers of Norman Park, Ga. was engaging "in a pattern or practice of regularly denying work hours and assigning less favorable assignments to U.S. workers" in favor of laborers from the government's agricultural guest worker program, known as H-2A. It also said there's evidence the company engaged in a pattern of "discharging U.S. workers and replacing them with H-2A guestworkers."

The H-2A guest worker program is a temporary visa program which is regularly abused by both foreign nationals, who typically deliberately overstay their visas (they are only valid for up to 364 days) as well as growers, who very often claim to have "H2As" employed, but know full well their workers are simply illegals who presented phony or no ID when hired. In Georgia, the vast majority of foreign nationals working fruit and vegetable growers are illegal aliens.

But this case demonstrates, as plaintiff's lawyer Leah Lotto said, "the lengths to which growers will go to avoid hiring a U.S. work force in favor of more easily exploitable" foreign workers. This is quite at odds with those complaints about HB87 we heard from Georgia growers after the Gov' Nathan Deal signed it back in June, claiming that such work just "does not appeal to most native born workers." However the roughly 40 American farm workers who sued Hamilton Growers said they were "assigned fewer hours and made less money" than foreign workers, and that some of them were "eventually fired because of their race". They were all thrilled to have the work, but disgusted with how they were treated in contrast to the H-2A foreigners.

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[trebb]

Ever try to gainfully employ an American kid say 20 years old lately? Good luck.

The corruption of our youth (the majority of folks under 50) has had the intended affect - why work when Uncle Sugar can take care of me and tell me I deserve to live comfortable even if I don't work. Besides, I I become successful, I become one of the demons that the government has to take down a notch...

[kabar]

With 25 million Americans looking for full time employment and over 14 million out of a job, there is no shortage of workers.

Thousands of people showed up to McDonald’s restaurants nationwide to apply for jobs on the hamburger giant’s first National Hiring Day, creating lines in some places

[Last Dakotan]

I don’t stand for nonsense.

We employ a few unskilled types in our manufacturing operations - most are skilled. I'd say its a 5:1 ratio. Hire 5, keep 1.