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 ...
Two public policy issues keeping those apples on those tress...
the minimum wage....and welfare-—
Fear of lawsuits is as likely. That and prissy parents raising only sissified spoon-fed X-Box jockeys who would rather die screaming than do an honest Saturday's work in an orchard.
But those are just guesses. I don't actually know.
So don't pay them by the hour. Pay them by the bushel. Those who work will earn more. Those who don't will earn less. That's how it should be.
Yep, and it was 28 or 29 this morning in most of those orchards around here. Going from a warm Section 8 apartment on Heating Assistance to a cold, icy ladder (and being obese to boot) isn’t going to enhance productivity.
Well Laz, sober him up and send him to Washinton!
“....wonder what the difference is?”
WA state is further from the Mexican border, i.e. the end of the line for the seasonal harvests.
“But farmers say an immigration crackdown by the federal government and states such as Arizona and Alabama scared off many more workers.”
Just like many of us have said for years, if the feds do their job and enforce our immigration laws, most of the illegals will leave. Take away the jobs and phase one of the illegal immigration problem solved. Take away their free health care and their access to other free services, and the whole problem with illegal immigration is solved. Then I like the idea of having welfare recipients, food stamp recipients, etc. work the farms to help offset the cost of the otherwise, free services that are given to them. College students could work on farms in the summer months to get a reduction in their student loans, perhaps. There is an untapped work force out there, and they are not illegally here in the country.
There is a magic substance that make men want to work, its called hunger. End the pay for not working and the not working will work for pay. You have pointed out the flaw with trying to get welfare workers to work. I think the solution is not have welfare.
Mankind got along just fine without the welfare department for thousands of years. Not doing well with it.
None, unfortunately. They're cowards. They'd rather see the country in ruins than risk losing a vote. After all, when the poop hits the fan, they can just hop into their tax payer paid airplanes and fly out of the country. They have nothing to lose.
Would you just ship them out to WA and if they don’t pick enough, just kick them out of their dwellings?
Why would I do that when they'd volentarily leave on their own? They'll need to find free housing and food somewhere, right? If they can't scrounge it in Washington state, they can always pitch a tent in NYC for the winter.
They do according to the article but only one grower is using it. The state charges $22/hr per prisoner, and they only pick about half what an experienced picker would.
If the growers offered a piece work price that gave the average picker around $15/hour, I think many people would show up and work fast to earn more.
It’s only 2-3 hours drive between orchards in Oregon and orchards in Washington.....not sure that’s the reason.
I suspect it is easier to pick apples than to properly fill out all the forms, calculate the taxes and payments to the various federal agencys and also make payroll for someone to pick apples.
Me thinks the heavy hand of the Fed is a large part of the problem as it is in all business these days.
Once there was a man, a tree and an apple. Now there is a man, a tree and 100 bean counters demanding taxes to count and document the apples, the men and the trees. Soon they will cut down the tree to make paper for the documentation.
Then there will be no men or apples.
Awww, if only there were a guest worker program that would allow them to import an unlimited amount of immigrants to pick their crops.
Oh wait there is, it’s called the H-2A visa program.
The grower can't be bothered with employees or contractors whose productivity is too low. With the threat of lawsuits and various costs, most of these welfare types actually would have negative productivity and would be ordered off the property. The grower is better off without them. The grower doesn't need to be mainly a personnel manager and can't afford the time (understatement).The 15% or so who would be left would be picking some apples, sure, but the orchard would be mostly unpicked and the crop wasted. I have to conclude you don't have much real world experience in farm labor or any labor with these silly suggestions you're making. You are as far from reality as the OWS
To get to that price, we'd have to pay the pickers $2 PER APPLE.
Don't be ridiculous.
I'll be out there picking them myself long before it gets to that price.
Yeah...and look at the GIRTH of Many on welfare....they certainly do not look hungry.
James O’Keefe needs to dress in farmer garb and take a truck around to the OWS camps and try to recruit some. Could be the video entertainment sensation of the year!
Good idea,it looks like the growers are looking for an easy way out $15/hr is more than a fair price after all no skill is required.It isn’t like a degree in apple picking is required.
My nine year old and I picked around 200 apples in about 10 minutes. She was as fast as I was. So if you paid my nine year old 2 cents per apple, she’d make $12 per hour. If you paid her 3 cents per apple, she’d make $18. If you pass that cost along to the consumer, the consumer wouldn’t even notice.
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