Posted on 01/25/2006 2:01:48 AM PST by television is just wrong
Can workers from Thailand be imported in enough numbers to harvest the Central Valley orange crop?
California Citrus Mutual, an organization of growers, is studying a proposal from a labor contractor to bring in enough Asian workers on a temporary basis to get the fruit off the trees.
Orange growers are the latest Central Valley farmers to complain that traditional sources of field labor are producing fewer and fewer workers.
Blamed are tougher controls of the border with Mexico and higher paying jobs in Central Valley construction luring what workers there are.
A final deal has not been worked out for the Asian workers but is being actively considered according to Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual.
Now we need Thai workers??
maybe Mexican workers want too much money now.
...and when Thai workers want too much money where are we going???
they are getting an attitudico
found this article: Legal work authorized employees to proceed with lawsuit against agricultural employers:
http://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/emprights/emprights054.htm
they are organizing,
.. from that link
MENDOZA ET AL., V. ZIRKLE FRUIT CO., ET AL.: 9TH CIRCUIT ALLOWS WORK-AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES TO PROCEED WITH RICO LAWSUIT AGAINST AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYERS
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 16, No. 6, October 21, 2002
In the second case of this type brought in federal court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a district court decision dismissing a class action by lawfully documented farm workers against their agricultural employers under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The workers alleged that the growers depressed their wages by conspiring to hire undocumented workers at below-market wages through an "illegal immigrant hiring scheme."
According to the documented workers, the two growers named in the suit knowingly hired undocumented workers because they were willing to accept significantly lower wages due to their economic situation and reluctance to assert their workplace rights. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants hired undocumented workers—who can easily be exploited—in order to depress all workers' wages. The plaintiffs also pointed to investigations by the Immigration and Naturalization Service finding that half of the growers' workforce is undocumented. They further alleged that the defendants have been the target of INS raids and worksite enforcement operations. The complaint also alleged that the defendants used a temporary agency, the Selective Employment Agency, Inc., as a front to knowingly hire the undocumented workers and then "loan" them to the growers. The district court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the RICO suit and that it lacked jurisdiction over the temporary agency.
In reversing the district court's decision, the Ninth Circuit stated that in order to bring a RICO claim, an individual must show that his or her business or property were injured because of the defendant's RICO violations. In the present case, the plaintiffs argued that they suffered injury to their property-namely, their wages-because of the growers' scheme to hire undocumented workers to depress the plaintiffs' wages
http://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/emprights/emprights054.htm
I think this is the same case. If so, Zirkle settled rather than go to trial.
Zirkle Settles Job Suit - December 30, 2005
William Zirkle has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit accusing him and two other executives at the Selah-based fruit company of conspiring to hire thousands of illegal immigrants in order to keep wages low.
The executives admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. The corporation, Zirkle Fruit, was not a defendant.
"Mr. Zirkle knows no one did anything wrong," Ryan Edgley, his lawyer, said Thursday. "Mr. Zirkle primarily wanted to put an end to the uncertainty."
The case was set for trial Jan. 9 before U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle.
Edgley said the defendants were concerned that even if they prevailed before a jury, the plaintiffs would appeal and the legal defense bills would continue to mount.
"Frankly my client's confidence in the system was shaken in this case," Edgley said.
Had Zirkle lost at trial, he and the other defendants, Gary Hudson and William Wangler, could have faced triple damages under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The case obtained class-action status in 2004, which increased the number of legal workers potentially eligible for damages to 20,000.
Chicago lawyer Howard Foster filed the case in 2000 using RICO in a novel way. Although Van Sickle dismissed the case in 2001, Foster won at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002.
Foster could not be reached for comment Thursday. But he told a local radio station that the settlement was unique among the types of immigration cases he has brought.
Foster, who writes occasionally for an anti-immigration Web journal called vdare.com, is using RICO with mixed results. The U.S. Supreme Court could bring some certainty to the matter next year when it hears a case against Mohawk Industries. The Georgia carpet company is accused of hiring illegal workers and depressing the wages of legal workers.
Edgley said he wanted to go to trial and thinks the settlement will encourage Foster to sue more employers just to get them to settle.
"I was confident we were going to win," he said. "This only emboldens him to continue with what is really just a misuse of the system, in my opinion."
ping
One of the industries most interested in mechanization is Florida oranges, most of which are processed into juice. There are at least ten prototype harvesting machines, from tree shakers to fingers that penetrate the canopy and pull out oranges. None of the machines harvests all of the fruit, as hand harvesters could, but the potential labor savings are enormous.
snip
ping
Hey, I'm down with more Thai restaurants. Tired of tacos.
Wow...who'da thunk it!
Bookmark/PRINT this link...(http://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/emprights/emprights054.htm)!
The BLIND SQUIRRELS of the 9th Circus actually found a NUT!
MENDOZA ET AL., V. ZIRKLE FRUIT CO., ET AL.: 9TH CIRCUIT ALLOWS WORK-AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES TO PROCEED WITH RICO LAWSUIT AGAINST AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYERS Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 16, No. 6, October 21, 2002
In the second case of this type brought in federal court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a district court decision dismissing a class action by lawfully documented farm workers against their agricultural employers under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The workers alleged that the growers depressed their wages by conspiring to hire undocumented workers at below-market wages through an "illegal immigrant hiring scheme."
According to the documented workers, the two growers named in the suit knowingly hired undocumented workers because they were willing to accept significantly lower wages due to their economic situation and reluctance to assert their workplace rights. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants hired undocumented workers—who can easily be exploited—in order to depress all workers' wages. The plaintiffs also pointed to investigations by the Immigration and Naturalization Service finding that half of the growers' workforce is undocumented. They further alleged that the defendants have been the target of INS raids and worksite enforcement operations.
The complaint also alleged that the defendants used a temporary agency, the Selective Employment Agency, Inc., as a front to knowingly hire the undocumented workers and then "loan" them to the growers. The district court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the RICO suit and that it lacked jurisdiction over the temporary agency.
Wow...what were the Socialist Nazgul smoking this day? Must have been good $%^&, as they were able to remove their heads from their rectums long enough to read the law correctly!
Nice find, television is just wrong!
If the orange growers can't find enough labor they should try raising wages and improving working conditions. There is a REASON why all the Mexicans are working in construction rather than doing field work. If we import workers from Thailand they will soon jump ship to do construction industry too because it is easier and pays better.
I bet a lot of the orange picking job could be mechanized with a little investment. But necessity is the mother of invention. The orange growers won't invest in mechanization until they are faced with the necessity of a tight labor market.
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