Posted on 06/25/2010 10:13:56 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farm workers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert in a challenge to unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.
Farm workers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.
So the group is encouraging the unemployed and any Washington pundits who want to join them to apply for the some of thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.
All applicants need to do is fill out an online form under the banner "I want to be a farm worker" at www.takeourjobs.org, and experienced field hands will train them and connect them to farms.
Three out of four farm workers in the U.S. were born abroad, and more than half are illegal immigrants, according to the Labor Department.
Proponents of tougher immigration laws have argued that farmers have become used to cheap labor. The problem with the UFW's proposition, they argue, is that growers don't want to raise wages and improve working conditions enough to attract Americans.
In either case, those who have done the job have some words of advice for applicants.
First, dress appropriately. During summer, when the harvest of fruits and vegetables is in full swing in California's Central Valley, temperatures hover in the triple digits. Heat exhaustion is one of the reasons farm labor consistently makes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' top ten list of the nation's most dangerous jobs.
Second, expect long days. Growers have a small window to pick fruit before it is overripe; work starts before dawn and goes on for 12 or more hours.
And don't count on a big paycheck. Farm workers are excluded from federal overtime provisions, and small farms don't even have to pay the minimum wage. Fifteen states don't require farm labor to be covered by workers compensation laws.
Any takers?
"The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren't taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations," Rodriguez said. "I don't think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let's see what happens."
To highlight just how unlikely the prospect of Americans lining up to pick strawberries or grapes is, Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" plans to feature the "Take Our Jobs" campaign on July 8. Requests to Comedy Central and Colbert for comment on the nature of the collaboration weren't immediately answered.
Another way of tackling the issue is to strengthen immigration enforcement, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports strict immigration laws.
It's an idea that might not end up on Comedy Central, but reducing the pool of farm workers would force growers to improve working conditions and raise wages.
"They're daring the American people to get by without farm workers," he said. "What I'm saying is, 'Let's take them up on that and call their bluff.'"
The campaign is being played for jokes, but the need to secure the right to work for immigrants who are here is serious business, said Michael Rubio, supervisor in Kern County, one of the biggest ag producing counties in the nation.
"Our county, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant and unauthorized workers," he said. "I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and to spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farm workers."
Hopefully, the message will go down easier with some laughs, said Manuel Cunha, president of the California grower association Nisei Farmers League, who was not a part of the campaign.
"If you don't add some humor to this, it's enough to get you drinking, and I don't mean Pepsi," Cunha said, dismissing the idea that Americans would take up the farm workers' offer.
California's agriculture industry launched a similar campaign in 1998, hoping to recruit welfare recipients and unemployed workers to work on farms, he said. Three people showed up.
"Give us a legal, qualified work force. Right now, farmers don't know from day to day if they're going to get hammered by ICE," he said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "What happens to my labor pool?"
His organization supports AgJobs, a bill currently in the Senate which would allow those who have worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days in the previous two years to get legal status.
The bill has been proposed in various forms since the late 1990s, with backing from the United Farm Workers of America and other farming groups, but has never passed.
Politicians' and advocates' perspectives on the matter might change if they were to take up the farm workers' offer, said Rubio from Bakersfield.
"The view and the temperature is much different from a row in a field than from inside an air conditioned office," he said. "Is it a challenge? Most certainly, yes. Come on down."
I'll tough it out here thanks!
Try reading all my posts, before you open your mouth.
All the greedy unscrupulous employers that hire millions of these illegals routinely try to convince others that young Americans are lazy, no good trash.
It's disgusting.
This tactic is used by them to justify hiring low wage illegals aliens....Illegals that think company benefits mean a 5 minute breaks.
These unscrupulous employers love it, and have no problem counting their illegal profits on the backs of American tax payers.
Seen this tactic a thousand times.
They will do and say anything to retain and make excuses for their illegal, low wage labor.
I miss the mountains and the beaches, but I do NOT miss what has been done to everything else. Here, I can live comfortably on $25K a year. My mom had to move out of the home she had lived in longest five years after I left, because the rent got bumped up to $1,000/month. She wasn’t making that much.
Know what they call a guy who makes $50K a year in LA? Homeless. That was almost true in Sunnyvale, up north, within that same five-year period. You want it, you can have it.
Oh, and I couldn't help but noticed you decided not to reveal the paradise you live in now. That's very typical and helps avoid appearing foolish...
Of course you can use the excuse that you are wanting to avoid reveling the secret location of your paradise, so as to avoid others moving there.....lol
Good luck with that.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I noted your in Oklahoma....
Good luck with that.”
Thanks. So far, so good. Not that life is easy, but the problems I have I’ve given myself, not had inflicted on me by a well-meaning-but-totally-clueless government.
None of the people I know well (family and friends) who stayed in California are happy there; my next-youngest brother just moved back to Colorado after 30+ years out there in the construction trade.
If you’re happy there, good for you. Enjoy!
They moved back about 2 years ago, he got his old job back, and my friend told me the best thing he ever did was to rent his home here, not sell it...Today their back in the same home.
In the military, I've lived in frozen, brutally cold wind swept tundra, hellish heat with uninhabitable humidity....No thanks...Not for me..Never again.
Everywhere has it's bad points...But near perfect year round weather, and lots of things to do outdoors, just happens to be worth a small fortune to us.
I always tell people...Watch what you ask for, you just might get it.
Young whites? You think blacks are going to work a job that’s akin to slavery? Bet ya not.
My family moved there when I was 15, I lived there for two years, and went back to California, graduated high school, enlisted, and only went back for the very occasional visit. Last time there was 2004, and my mom died shortly after. Shook the dust from my heels on my way out after seeing her, and never going back. We were on the Western Slope, though, and odds are your friends moved to the Eastern slope, somewhere near Denver. Worse winters, bad smog, and far too many people from California. (I know that, as a bunch of my extended family moved on over there.)
“In the military, I've lived in frozen, brutally cold wind swept tundra, hellish heat with uninhabitable humidity....No thanks...Not for me..Never again.”
Likewise, but with the exceptions of Clovis, New Mexico, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I didn't find the moving about all that bad. Used to tell one of my coworkers in the USAF that if they had to give the world an enema, Clovis (his hometown) was where they would stick it. After we went to Desert Storm, I had to apologize to him, as I'd found the REAL rectum of the world.
“Everywhere has it's bad points...But near perfect year round weather, and lots of things to do outdoors, just happens to be worth a small fortune to us.”
How do you deal with the lines for good fishing spots in the mountains? How do you even SEE the beaches? You've got what, 70 million people there now? When I lived out that way, Whittier was out in the sticks, and now you can't even SEE them from there! We used to go pan for gold in the San Gabriel River. Spend weeks in the Sierras fishing for trout, and hiking, and just generally having a ball.n My dad used to hunt mountain lion in the Whittier hills. As for the weather, I'm not fond of snow, but having to deal with it helps you appreciate good weather while it lasts.
OK, we have tornadoes, but you have earthquakes, and we can outrun a tornado! ;)
“I always tell people...Watch what you ask for, you just might get it.”
Yep. I really wanted to live in a small town. My wife, who is a Navy brat, didn't have a place to call home, either, so when the USAF dropped us here, we looked around. Nice people everywhere? Check. Low cost of living? Check. Decent schools? Check. Low taxes? Check. I live in the OKC metro, within easy reach of good doctors and hospitals, lots of jobs, and all the things that have become important to me, after 2+ decades of beating my body up for Uncle. My retirement check almost covers the basic living expenses, which it wouldn't, anywhere near LA. I can drive for less than 20 minutes, and be out where I can see the stars at night. Last time I drove into LA, it looked like all the stars had fallen from the sky, and landed in the valley. It is funny, isn't it? I'm as happy here as I've ever been, and happier than I ever was in or around LA.
Of course, if the wind ever stops, I am SO out of here! ;)
OS
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I’ve been here in Oklahoma for a bit over 14 years. Still love it! Not bad, considering that the wife and I drove through here 25 years ago, and didn’t see anything to stop for. ;)
Lines of people??
We go the Sierras for fresh water...The lakes we go to ya have to hike in for many miles....Few if anyone there. Ya ought to see it...
Some of the best high alpine freshwater fishing anywhere!
Like this for instance....
How do you even SEE the beaches
Come on now....Show me a nice beach, or marina with near perfect weather, without people..... lol
BTW, we enjoy going saltwater fishing off the the numerous Islands...I can't think of many other things I rather do... Most everything we do is catch and release, except for the largest and best...Everything else goes back.
Oh we also enjoy off roading in the high and low deserts....We go way back in, everything 4-wheel drive or dirt bikes... We go for days at a time, when we can, and sometimes not seeing another human for 2 or 3 days.
Whatever spins your spokes friend!
Oh, one other thing, I've spent time in snow and ice, long winters etc.....Never again...
I'd rather juggle chain saws than deal with that.
Best of luck to ya!
waiting.
Correction - American's aren't LEGALLY PERMITTED to take the job at the wages offered. "Minimum," after all, means "legal minimum."
I have. We go berry picking about three times a year and my wife makes jam. Filling a basket doesn't take that long.
I have. We go berry picking about three times a year and my wife makes jam. Filling a basket doesn't take that long.
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