Posted on 07/10/2006 7:40:22 AM PDT by SJackson
WOODLAND --- A third of Jerry Dobbins' 155-acre strawberry crop rotted on the vine this year. His blueberry bushes are so heavy with fruit that the branches are hanging near the ground.
There is no one to pick them.
Dobbins Farm in Woodland is one of many farms across the state facing a huge labor shortage this growing season, as tighter security along the U.S.-Mexico border has crimped the supply of Latino migrant farm workers.
The strawberry harvest, one of the hardest fruits to pick because of it's low proximity to the ground, has already come and gone at Dobbins' farm, the largest of its kind in Southwest Washington. Now Dobbins is worried that his other crops will suffer a similar fate.
"We won't pay any of the bills on our strawberry crop this year," Dobbins said.
The labor problem is not unique to this region, either.
Production at the Bell Buoy Crab Co. in Chinook is down 50 percent since Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids in April, according to the Washington State Farm Bureau. Growers across the state are feeling the void left by the worker shortage, said Dean Boyer, spokesman for the Farm Bureau.
"This is a rolling problem. As various harvests come, farmers are going to feel the effects," Boyer said.
Dobbins was short about 100 workers on his farm this year, or about one-third of his workforce.
Extreme temperatures in late June worsened the problem. Strawberries ripened faster than usual. An acre of strawberries usually requires around two workers per acre, but this season Dobbins needed three workers per acre.
However, numbers were closer to one worker per acre.
The workforce on the farm is almost entirely made up of Latino migrant workers, and Dobbins speculates that many of his usual workers simply did not show up this year because border crossing has become too dangerous and too expensive for those who have to hire "coyote" guides to help them.
Dobbins says added security is not the answer to the nation's immigration controversy.
"It seems to me like if they would have some kind of guest worker program in place before they put pressure on the borders. It would make a lot more sense to farmers. There's got to be a better solution than what they're doing," he said.
Down the road, fellow farmer George Thoeny faces the same labor shortage. Like Dobbins and most farmers across the state, he depends on the migrant workers to stay in business. The Hispanic population, he said, is a necessity because white people are unwilling to do agricultural work.
"I personally can tell you, where I need 300 workers a day, I haven't had one Caucasian person knock on my door and say, 'I want to work for you.' I couldn't do this without the Hispanic people," Thoeny said. "Fifteen years ago we would have a steady stream of young people coming to us to ask for a job. This year, we didn't have one Caucasian person come to us," added Dobbins.
Handpicking berries is necessary for the farmers to turn a profit, because foreign competition keeps prices low. Both Dobbins and Thoeny own machines that can pick raspberries and blueberries, but they're too expensive and inefficient, Dobbins said.
Machine picking costs him about 85 cents a pound, where handpickers make about 35 cents a pound.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see its going to be a disaster," he said.
Berry-picking machines also pull green, unripened berries off the bush, making more work for farmers who have to spend more time sorting and wasting thousands of berries that won't ripen. The machines also damage fragile raspberries and create a much lower-quality product.
"The price of machine-picked fruit is almost not worth picking," Dobbins said.
The farmers are quick to defend the Latino population they employ. They mention hearing radio and TV talk show hosts portray Latinos as drug dealers and criminals, or claim that immigrants are stealing jobs from the workforce. They turn the shows off in disgust.
"I think that most of these people who work in the fields are some of the hardest-working people I've ever seen in my life. They're no different than people who live here and go to Alaska to work in the summer," Thoeny said.
Bob Baker, a Mercer Island airline pilot, takes exception. He is the author of state Initiative 946, which would have denied medical benefits, including prenatal care, to illegal immigrants. It failed to get enough signatures by Friday's deadline to get on the November ballot.
"After doing I-946 for the last three months I've talked to enough people who have lost their jobs to illegals. We keep hearing this mantra of 'doing jobs Americans won't do.' It's not true," Baker said Friday.
"I've talked to a mother in Yakima who wanted her teenage sons to get agriculture jobs and they couldn't," he said, adding that he believes employers are hiring illegal immigrants to drive down prices and avoid having to pay taxes on workers.
Baker believes that stricter law enforcement would discourage illegal immigration.
"If they knew we were serious about enforcing our law, they'd go back," he said.
Baker, though, agrees with Dobbins, Thoeny and Boyer that a guest worker program is needed for migrant workers.
Such a program would grant migrant workers a permit, for a fee, to come into the U.S. for the harvest months, and then return to Mexico for the rest of the year.
"That way, the government will know who's here, employers will have to pay FICA (tax) and benefits on workers," Baker said.
One of Dobbins long-time Latino workers, however, gets angry when she hears comments like Baker's.
Minerva Alparacio, 28, started as a migrant worker on Dobbins' Farm six years ago and now lives there permanently, sending money home to her family in Mexico.
"The only reason I'm here is to help my family," she said.
Alparacio is one of the few bilingual pickers on the farm. She learned English during night classes at Lower Columbia College.
Immigrant workers don't take jobs away from American citizens, she said.
"It makes me sad because it's not true. I never see Americans out here picking strawberries. It's not true. Besides that, we're doing the jobs they don't want to do," she said.
Alparacio also supports a guest worker program for migrants.
"A work permit would work better, if they would just work and then come home. That's not reason not to let them in," Alparacio said.
Vincente De Jesus is one such migrant who works on Dobbins' farm for the harvest and goes home to Oaxaca, Mexico, for the other eight months out of the year.
De Jesus says that he comes to America to raise money for his four children in Mexico. The work is hard in Mexico, and they don't pay enough, he said.
Crossing the border was tougher this year, too, De Jesus said.
"I knew lots of people, about 20, that tried to make it across. Only two made it," he said.
The shortage of workers is also creating extra pressure on the workers who remain here, according to employees and volunteers at the Woodland Community Service Center.
The center gives out food to low-income families in the area, and serves several farm-worker families.
"We stay open until 7 now, because they can't get away from the farms for the 5 p.m. distribution," said Agnes Schmitz, an office worker at the Community Service Center.
For Dobbins and Thoeny, who struggle to come up with a working solution for this problem, a future for farming seems bleak.
"Usually farmers can improvise and come up with a plan B," Thoeny said. "The depressing part is, there is no plan B."
Great summer jobs for kids.
Hey, now is the time for the uber anti-immigrantors to rush in and show they are willing to do the work and get the harvests in - put some action behind the rhetoric
You are exactly right, well said.
Yup, I understand this as we've seen it in other industries as well. I think many do not care.
It isn't low cost labor. It is publicly subsidized labor. The fruit farmer is underpaying these people, and throwing their social and large parts of their basic costs on the taxpayer to support in whole.
Traditionally, these jobs were filled by young people, teens not yet on their own who depended on their families for shelter, clothing, education and medical support. Now, these teens have been undercut by social services leeches, who get those supports from the U.S. taxpayer.
But the costs are still there, even if they aren't a line item in the fruit farmer's ledger book.
I picked berries and beans starting when I was about 10.....on my own at 12/13.....nowadays they probably would say a CAUCASION had to be 16 years old, have a work permit, etc....before they would even consider them.
When I was young - and I mean 8-10 - we used to get out of school two weeks in the fall to pick potatoes.
We LOVED it = (and I'm a 'girl') - two weeks out of the classroom, getting paid according to our individual efforts, the camaraderie of being together as a community and being included with the adults as equals, the health benefits of fresh air, sunshine and exercise, etc. AND, our schoolwork didn't suffer. The little one-teacher, one-room, "8 grades plus sub-primary" school resulted in REAL education. When my brother and I left to go to big city schools in Boston - we were a full year ahead.
But the gov't decided such opportunities for children as potato picking was cruel child labor - and outlawed it.
I live 35 miles from Woodland. The illegals are here, trust me. They don't do agriculture anymore. The latest survey in the local paper indicated only 3% of illegals work in ag. The rest who work are in construction (49%) and services (48%). The illegals have found better wages out of the fields by undercutting U.S. workers in all blue collar job fields. This has nothing to do with a tighter border.
Try driving to central California around Modesto. The ATM machines are in Spanish first - you have to press a key for English. You can't get a job at an auto supply house unless you are bilingual.
This is all about illegals sinking their teeth deeper into the U.S. job market. This has nothing to do about the number of illegals.
Wrong. there are plenty of people available to pick their berries. Just not at the low illegal immigrant wages they are willing to pay.
I have no sympathy for failing agri-business' which are only failing because they are finding it more difficult to BREAK THE LAW.
Like both of you, I worked in the fields many, many summers (and winters). It's good hard work. Unfortunately, we've taken that opportunity away from the kids "for their own good."
BTW, this entitles us to be called "migrants."
Why not simply place a classified ad and hire Americans?
"It seems to me like if they would have some kind of guest worker program in place before they put pressure on the borders. It would make a lot more sense to farmers. There's got to be a better solution than what they're doing," he said.
The government used to have a guest worker program in place. It was called the Bracero program.
Unfortunately, it was killed because greedy farmers, such as yourself decided to hire Mexican migrant workers and pay them less wages than were being paid to American workers. Then, farmers, such as yourself, told the American workers to work for Mexican wages or find another job, which they did. But, not before complaining to their unions, who lobbied Congress to kill the program, which they did.
Down the road, fellow farmer George Thoeny faces the same labor shortage. Like Dobbins and most farmers across the state, he depends on the migrant workers to stay in business. The Hispanic population, he said, is a necessity because white people are unwilling to do agricultural work.
No, Americans are unwilling to do agricultural work in America and be paid Mexican wages.
"I personally can tell you, where I need 300 workers a day, I haven't had one Caucasian person knock on my door and say, 'I want to work for you.' I couldn't do this without the Hispanic people," Thoeny said. "Fifteen years ago we would have a steady stream of young people coming to us to ask for a job. This year, we didn't have one Caucasian person come to us," added Dobbins.
Well, Mr. Dobbins, how much money did you offer them?
Baker, though, agrees with Dobbins, Thoeny and Boyer that a guest worker program is needed for migrant workers.
Such a program would grant migrant workers a permit, for a fee, to come into the U.S. for the harvest months, and then return to Mexico for the rest of the year.
Again, the USA used to have such a program, called the Bracero program, but it was killed by greedy farmers who wanted to maximize their profits by driving down the wages of the American workers. Pay a fair (American) wage and you'll find no shortage of workers.
Then, there's the problem of stoop labor, but I'm sure strawberry farmers, like Mr. Dobbins and Mr. Thoeny don't want to talk about that subject.
Years ago my Aunt had a raspberry farm. They used to hire kids to pick berries, and paid them 25 cents per basket (25 baskets per crate, which takes less than an hour to pick). Kids would come and pick until they made enough money to buy what ever they wanted that day, (usually spending it all on candy and pop). Kids would show up at all times of the day on their bikes and pick. When the small town fair was on, they would all show up early, pick and make money then go spend it at the fair.
Those days are long gone however.
I'm ready to start paying $10 for a head of lettuce.
These growers simply have to start paying higher wages.
That is the case. I think it is false to say U.S. workers aren't willing to do these jobs. In reality, it is that U.S. consumers aren't willing to pay for the produce at the prices that would enable the farmers to hire legal U.S. workers. Hence, the public instead will pay for Chilean grapes or Brazilian oranges picked by the cheap labor there while the U.S. farmers go out of business. An immigration crack-down won't affect the prices for produce, just where the produce originates. Construction will be a different matter unless we start seeing pre-fab homes "Made in China." Expect prices in construction to rise.
Sounds good. I'd never heard of that!! Do you have any links with pictures? I just love applications of mechanical ingenuity :o)
Guest Worker Requirements
By Peter Mitham
Guest worker requirements. Tree fruit growers in the British Columbia's Okanagan Valley typically require about 3,300 seasonal workers annually. But working with foreign migrants who come to Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) is different than working with domestic migrants.
Participating farms must demonstrate an inability to find suitable local workers, for example, usually by showing ads placed, correspondence with employment centers and similar documentation.
Growers must: —provide at least 240 hours worth of work to a minimum of two workers with SAWP;
—provide housing that meets government standards and passes muster with either a municipal inspector, commercial inspection service, or third-party inspector;
—pay workers' return airfare from Mexico (usually about Can. $1,100), and provide rides to and from job sites, if necessary;
—provide medical insurance and access to medical care;
and —pay wages of at least $8.60 an hour, plus 4 percent for vacation pay.
Growers cannot transfer workers to another grower more than once a season. Growers are allowed to recover the cost of visas ($150 per worker, Canadian funds); 6 percent of each worker's accommodation costs to a maximum of $450 per season; a portion of meals; and health insurance, which is granted by a private insurer at a rate of 50 cents a day.
Workers are obliged to pay workers' compensation fees and premiums for employment insurance and government pension plans".
sw
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