Posted on 11/09/2011 8:12:31 AM PST by bkopto
Apple growers say they could have had one of their best years ever if a shortage of workers hadn't forced them to leave some fruit on trees.
Growers in Washington state, which produces about half of the nation's apples, say the labor shortage was made worse by a late start to their harvest. The growing season got off to a slow start because of a cold, wet spring, and some migrant workers didn't stick around to wait for it.
But farmers say an immigration crackdown by the federal government and states such as Arizona and Alabama scared off many more workers. They have tried to replace them with domestic workers with little success and inmates at a much greater cost. Many growers have resorted to posting "pickers wanted" signs outside their orchards and asking neighbors to send prospective workers their way.
SNIP
About 15 billion apples are picked in Washington each year, all by hand. Orchards line the hillsides and valleys east of the Cascade Range from the Canadian border in the north to the Columbia River in the south.
Growers have struggled for years with labor shortages, but they say this harvest season is one of the toughest yet. Typically, about 70 percent of the state's farmworkers are in the country illegally. But many Mexican and other migrant workers stayed away this year after some states passed tougher immigration laws and the federal government cracked down.
"We've been dealing with this for a number of years now, and until something changes at the federal level, growers are going to struggle having enough workers," said Mike Gempler, a farm labor contractor for Washington growers.
(Excerpt) Read more at columbian.com ...
Why don’tthey use prison work release program?.
We have the same thing here in NY.
Are these jobs Americans won’t do? Or are these jobs Americans are paid by their Gov’t NOT to do? I know plenty of bored suburban teens just down the road from orchards here, who would NEVER consider a job picking apples. I know several unemployed men who would rather collect unemployment than consider picking apples.
remind me, just what is the unemployment rate in Oregon???
We don't need foreign labor. Like I said, we're paying millions of dollars for welfare recipients to do nothing. It's not like they can't find the time to go to Washington and do something productive for once in their miserable, useless lives.
Get those lazy SOBs off their butts. The country, as well as the world, would be a much better place because of it.
Government dependency is a national crises. Something has to be done about it. Welfare sloth is worse than any plague this country has ever had to deal with before.
Oregon did not have any problem with pickers for fruit this year.....hhhmmmmm....wonder what the difference is? (I really do not know)
WA doesn’t need to import welfare recipients to pick apples; we have plenty of our own. Maybe some Americans should get off their lazy asses and do some work instead of collecting 99 weeks of unemployment and welfare and sitting at home doing nothing. Why do we have to bring in illegal Mexicans to work when the Obama regime has driven unemployment past 9%? Because we’re lazy and have entitlement mentalities? Because generations of liberalism has destroyed our national work ethic?
I hear ya....however, being part of a family that owns a commercial orchard there was a time when the grandfather tried going to Skid Row to hire guys (in the 50’s?) and it didn’t work too well. Welfare people (long term) are welfare people for a reason...not sure forcing them to be on a 100 acre farm would make things any better...can you imagine the rules? the threats of lawsuits?
Stupid, stupid lying...
There’s been no ‘crackdown’ in Washington.
Immigrants are staying away because of our economic problems. The jobs are just not profitable enough for them.
Some one should look at why instead of propagandizing.
Hard to sell apples at $10 a pound.
What would be great is to trade Mexico our welfare losers for the hard working Mexicans.....
Waaaah, they are just whining because they may actually have to pay a decent wage to attract pickers.
Oh, so the answer is to open up the border and let the free flow of illegal immigrants pick our apples, huh? You know how liberals force auto makers to meet CAFE standards arguing that the same auto makers will figure out (pay for) new technology to meet the currently unattainable standards? Well, the same applies here. The apple growers will develop technology to offset illegal immigrant pickers.
By the way, why is it okay to pay American workers one wage, and then pay a substandard wage under the table to an illegal immigrant? How is that justified? That means two things. First, paying a differing wage scale in this instance is an attempt to take advantage of others and is hypocritical. Second, this proves that Unions and Union wages have destroyed much of the economy in this country. With a minimum wage near $8 an hour no wonder apple farmers can't afford to hire Americans, but then Conservative have long made this argument, haven't they?
How was the end of slavery dealt with? They invented machinery to pick the cotton....as they say, "Necessity is the mother of invention."
I have a Pickled Pepper Picker.
It’s neat when two news stories converge. OWS should Occupy Washington State orchards-I understand they want lefty academia to provide them with free apples....maybe growers could make student loan payments instead of wages...
One solution might be to pay cash under the table. Plenty of welfare recipients would take a short term job if it posed no threat to their benefits.
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