Thread: "They say, in 15 years, I'm out of here anyway ... &

Workers may not always wish to stay near work

By Ivy Farguheson
For the Marshfield News-Herald
http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com
Immigration, migrant labor and the farming industry are connected in a way that means changes in one will cause changes in the others.


UMOS, a state and national agency that provides services and programs for underserved populations including migrant communities, understands this well.


Throughout the county, much of the former migrant population is staying close to work, including within Wisconsin. And to improve the working potential of those workers, UMOS works with the National Farmworker Jobs Program.


"One of the objectives of the programs is to help farmworkers learn other types of skills so that they can get out of the migrant stream," said Rod Ritcherson of UMOS. "They will be able to learn other types of skills that will allow them to get other jobs, which will allow for employment year-round."


With new skills, these workers will be more likely to stay. But will they want to?


A large misconceptions regarding migrant labor, especially immigrant labor, whether legal or illegal, is that these workers want to stay close to where they work.


Based on what's seen in California, that may not be the case.


"Most of them want to stay here for 10 or 15 years, and then they want to go home," said Victor Rodriguez of A. Rodriguez and Sons in Kern County, Calif. "The reason why I'm assuming this more than anything else is because a lot of these farmers have tried to secure some money for them through retirement programs ... and most of them reject it. They say, in 15 years, I'm out of here anyway ... they just want to go back."


That doesn't mean that they will, however. As children are born and marriages take place, what may have been a 15-year plan becomes a 40-year plan, or maybe a plan that never comes to fruition.


But changes are happening every day, especially in terms of illegal immigration.


Part of the reason Rodriguez doesn't hire illegal immigrants has been a change in California policy. When given a Social Security number, he must call a hotline where a cross check is made to ensure that the potential employee and the numbers match.


UMOS, which receives some federal funding, has also seen changes that allow only documented migrant workers to receive their services, with the exception of emergency services.


But no one knows how long the system will stay the same.


"We do ask for documentation," Ritcherson said. "But so far to date, we have not been required to take any further steps to verify the accuracy of the documentation. With the new immigration reform, that may change."

Part of the reason Rodriguez doesn't hire illegal immigrants has been a change in California policy. When given a Social Security number, he must call a hotline where a cross check is made to ensure that the potential employee and the numbers match.

All employers have to do is call a hotline number to check for no-matches? How hard is that? I applaud Mr. Rodriguez for doing it the right way. One phone call...how hard can that be?

Here's more on those articles from the Marshfield News:

Immigrant laborers a boon to farms
http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/app ... 23079/1980
By Ivy Farguheson
For the Marshfield News-Herald

Editor’s note: This is the first of a five-part series about farming misconceptions in Wisconsin.

For the farming industry, the more things change, the more they stay the same.


When comparing and contrasting the issues and controversies for farmers in Wisconsin with farmers in California, similarities abound and are focused on one major issue: labor.

At present, though, those in and out of the farm industry discuss labor in relation to one of America’s hottest political topics: immigration.

“(The misconceptions are) that all farm workers are illegal and that all farm workers are a drain on the economy, as far as welfare, health care and so forth,â€

Article Quote:[b]“The direct spending of funds by and on migrants and the indirect, or re-spending by 5,541 migrants working in Wisconsin and spending part of their wages, results in about 417 jobs for Wisconsinites created annually, generating about $14.9 million in income to Wisconsin residents and businesses per year and the creation of $8.7 million in revenues flowing to Wisconsin state and local governments,â€