California Peach Farmer: Americans Won't Reliably do the Work

The National Ledger ^ | 06-07-06 | Debra Saunders

[Coastal]

"Everybody has an opinion, although most people think food comes from Safeway," muses Ken Hajek. A dentist three days a week, Hajek offers me his opinion as a peach grower the other four days. We are talking as he stands near his white pickup on 25 acres in Lodi, where he grows peaches in an orchard tucked behind a house and a yard full of cars.

Hajek had contacted me because he objected to my call for the Bush administration to get tougher on those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.

[DumpsterDiver]

These businesses want sky-high profits through employing dirt-cheap labor.

These two have the entitlement mentality that far exceeds those of a welfare queen.

Hajek and Goehring tell me they want to follow the law, but they also need laws that ensure them access to cheap immigrant labor.

It sounds like they want legal permission to exploit "immigrants."

[dennisw]

I am against importing produce and meat from pits like Mexico/Central America. That's why I support a guest worker program for agriculture and food processing. 1.5 million illegals can join. Kick out the rest via employer sanctions and build a fence

[janetgreen]

So, now we add "reliably" to the work that Americans won't do.........

Substitute the word "cheaply" for "reliably", and that would be the truth. The employers get cheap labor, we pay the bills for everything. American taxpayers get screwed again and again by Mexico, and the slavemasters get richer and richer.

[BobinIL]

How about this, Stop producing peaches, When the demand for peaches goes up so will the price paid for said peaches. Then you can pay an american worker a wage he will be willing to work for to pick the peaches. What is it about supply and demand that people in this country do not get!!!!

[GrandEagle]

We agree my FRiend....

[mysterio]

I bet you if Ken Hajek knew that he would be fined $10,000 for every illegal he employed, those peaches would still get picked, and there would be Americans who would do it.

[oldenuff2no]

Honesty just took a trip to never never land. Other people will not do the work at the slave wages he wants to pay. I do lots of odd jobs on the side and there is always someone that will do the work a few dollars cheaper than I will. They all talk a good story and claim to know what they are doing. When they can't get the job done correctly and I get called back I charge extra to clean up the mess they made. I also tell the homeowner not to pay the bogus worker and to file a complaint. They usually don't because they haven't checked for papers. The next time I get the job and the migrants don't.

[namvet66]

When I was young, we used to pick strawberries in the summer. We were paid 5 cents a basket.

It was hard, dirty, work, but including all the berries we could eat and the fact that we could earn $4 - 5.00 in a day (and we didn't do it day in and day out all summer) was not so bad (when considering that the average hourly wage for non skilled labor was about $1.00/hr.

Would not want to pick fruit, but bet if farmers paid $10/hr they could get a lot of help from "Americans."

Saw an interesting show on (I think) History Channel not long ago.

Amazing as to mechanization that is currently available for farming. They can even harvest nuts, tomatoes and even, grapes

Would not be surprised if there was machines to do so (pick peaches) now.

So we all have to pay a few pennies more for vegetables as opposed to several hundreds of dollars extra each year in tax burden for all illegal aliens.

I say its a no brainer!

Oh by the way, HATE peaches! LOL

[Shimmer128]

No, it's that nothing is this guy's fault, in his eyes.

[Zathras]

Anyone but me remember the Lodi-terroist connection ?

[calex59]

Every day another new lie from the MSM to try and support ILLEGAL ALIENS. Nice try but I don't buy it.

[calex59]

I remember Lodi, I live 31 miles from there and pass through there at least once a month.

[Gabz]

I have cleaned toilets and restrooms that would be on the EPA's Superfund Clean-up site list if they were around today. I have tarred roofs and slung hash.

You and me both.........as recently as this past Saturday night. And the bite of it.....it was a private party where the hall at the Moose Lodge was rented out and the majority of the "guests" were - YUP - illegals.

Doing work Americans won't do? My big toe......those people trashed the hall. And they don't tip the bartender........

[Red Badger]

We have illegal Mooses?..........

[HungarianGypsy]

I have a peach tree in my back yard. Well, peach twig at the moment. Guess I'm supposed to ask the Mexicans in the neighborhood to pick the fruit in a few years, since they'll do it better than my kids? /sarcasm

[Sarajevo]

With 25 acres he isn't a farmer, he's a back yard gardner.

That depends on the utilization of the acreage. I'm farming on 5 acres.

Freeze the Papaya!

[PLMerite]

I dunno about legality but on one episode when they were bringing in crabs to a packing station the captain had to hail the dock in Spanish. That really impressed me.

[Red Badger]

Freeze the Papaya!......and pour over it the spiced rum!............

[McGavin999]

Well, all he has to do is provide his illegals with a school for their children and a full time doctor so they will stay out of the emergency rooms and he can have all the workers he wants. BTW, just how long does it take to harvest peaches and what do those people do the rest of the year?

[Red Badger]

Are you sure it was Spanish and not Portugese?.............They sound a lot alike.......