Thread: ColorLines: Farm Workers Dare Xenophobes to Take Jobs

Farm Workers Dare Xenophobes to Take Jobs

by Kai Wright ShareThis | Print | Comment (5)
Sat, June 26, 10:14 AM Tags: farm work, unemployment
173
Share This is brilliant. Harvest season has begun, and that means legions of crop workers--at least half of whom are undocumented and three-quarters of whom are foreign born--are about to spring into action. That's nearly a million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and presumably just the sort of thing the protect-our-borders crowd is talking about when fretting over undocumented immigrants stealing American jobs. The United Farm Workers of America guesses that's, well, a load of manure and has launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign to make the point: TakeOurJobs.org. Anyone who wants a harvesting gig this summer can go to the site and submit contact info, which will be forwarded to a state job bank.

Of course, there's that pesky fine print about how farm work is consistently identified by the Labor Department as among the 10 most dangerous, due to heat stroke. And the fact that it's exempted from federal rules on overtime pay for the six-day weeks and 10-hour shifts the short harvest season demands. Or the fact that many small farms don't even pay minimum wage. Oh, and when harvest season's done you're out of a job--and there's none of that severance and unemployment insurance stuff, either. So, have at it.

As UFWA head Arturo Rodriguez told the AP, "I don't think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let's see what happens." Yeah, let's see. The Colbert Report's going to feature the campaign on July 8, according to AP.

Photo: Getty/Sandy Huffaker
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Miss Liberty Belle 4 days ago

As an American farmer who is a libertarian (little l, not big L), I'm sick and tired of people claiming these jobs are "too good for me" and therefore too good for the "average American." I have worked on my family's farm since I was a young child and I am PROUD to be carrying on that legacy!

We have farmers who use illegals in our area and I see it as modern slave labor. They are mistreated and paid very, very little. I'm friends with several of these individuals and I have no issue with them. I take issue with the corrupt farmer using them. By hiring illegals, it enables the farmer to cut their costs further than any farmer following the letter of the law can possibly do. We used to hire employees to work during harvest seasons - mostly young high school kids off for the summer. Sadly, the past several years, we've had to turn down so many people. We just can't afford to hire anyone anymore. In order to compete with these corrupt farmers, we've had to "keep it in the family" and not hire any help. Its tough for us and has been increasingly difficult to turn down help from young kids just trying to get a start in the world. Its depressing and frustrating.

Maybe if people actually cared where their food came from and under what conditions they were cultivated, maybe something would change. Sadly, it seems most of society is simply content picking an item up off the shelf and thinking no further. I see some hope within the organic and locally grown movements, but worry these will never become "mainstream."
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Flag Like ReplyReply sabina559 3 days ago in reply to Miss Liberty Belle

I see you points, but do your friends who are farmworkers like when you call them "illegals", Cause I'm pretty sure if one of my friends called me that I'd punch them in the face. Just a thought

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Flag Like ReplyReply Miss Liberty Belle 2 days ago in reply to sabina559

They fully recognize that they are breaking the law. They don't like it and nor do I, but, as I said before, I blame the employer more than I do the person. The employers are using them as a form of cheap labor. If they were required to pay illegals the same as others, I wouldn't have an issue to be perfectly frank. However, as things stand right now, they are able to pay these people $5/day under the table and that make it impossible to compete while abiding by the law.

Also, what other term am I supposed to refer to them on this board? If I called them Harry, Sonia, Heidi, and Larry you wouldn't have a clue who I'm talking about, now would you? And illegal immigration greatly defers from immigration. Labels are idiotic, but somehow necessary within our culture now...

Another thing, I've been called many things in my lifetime without resulting to the use of violence. Its petty, immature, and sophomoric. I'm not quite sure why people feel they have the right to place their hands on another person.
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Flag Like ReplyReply sabina559 1 day ago in reply to Miss Liberty Belle

the punching thing is an expression, what I mean is that I would be really angry if someone calle dme an "illegal". If you want to describe people who are here without papers you could say immigrants, undocumented immigrants, etc. do you also call people "illegals" when they get a speeding ticket or fail to file their taxes? after all they are also breaking the law. It would be a little sophomoric and immature if you did, dont you think? Believe me when I tell you that "Illegal" is a word that means much more to Latino people than "someone who broke the law". It's a racial slur, like others I'm sure youve heard. Where I'm from it's a word that will absolutely positively incite violence, so if youre not a fan of violence, don't use the word. On the other hand if youre ok wit racial slurs, then we probably have nothing else to talk about.
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Flag Like ReplyReply womanistmusings 4 days ago

2 people liked this.

I love this plan and I hope it gets the point across. Undocumented workers are taking the jobs that Americans with the proper paperwork do not want.
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Flag Like ReplyReply Richard 0 minutes ago

I signed up on the UFW site and have heard nothing back. My father and uncles all had high school summer farm jobs. The boarding junior high that I went to owned it's own farm and used us as the labor. I am interesting to see if this UFW program is anything more than a publicity stunt.

Let's just call names and fail to point out that only 3% of illegals work in agriculture. Good plan.

Our family of farm workers learned it was a lot easier to pick stuff by machine, than by hand.