Thread: Michigan trying to recruit more migrant workers

2/15/2007, 1:12 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — Michigan officials are trying to lure more migrant farmworkers to the state this year, hoping to avoid labor shortages that hurt the agriculture industry last harvest.

The marketing pitch is "Venga a Michigan", which is Spanish for "Come to Michigan."

The slogan is part of a promotional effort that Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Growth is using to try to lure potential workers to the state. Department officials last week visited nine sites throughout Texas, targeting areas with large Hispanic populations that also have high unemployment rates.

The goal was "to promote Michigan agriculture and the various services available," Rick Olivarez, a state monitor advocate, said during a meeting this week of the Michigan Interagency Migrant Services Committee meeting.

The Michigan group met with between 400 and 500 families, according to a story published in The Muskegon Chronicle.

State officials are planning a similar recruiting trip to Florida later this winter.

Agriculture is the second-largest industry in Michigan. According to state census estimates, approximately 90,000 migrant laborers — including their families — come to Michigan each year.

But state officials want to avoid a repeat of last year when some employers had difficulty finding enough migrant workers, Olivarez said.

Some migrant workers went instead to Louisiana for better-paying construction jobs created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Michigan's weather also caused some crop seasons to arrive and finish early, prompting many migrants to leave before other crops came in.

Migrant advocates attending this week's meeting expressed mixed feelings about the promotional effort. Some felt the video presented during the visit painted an overly optimistic view of housing, jobs and social services available to migrants in Michigan.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan ... wsmichigan

Michigan was hard hit by NAFTA, and many businesses left the state.

The state has a high level of "unemployed" people. And the state is promoting mexican's to come in and take jobs that Michiganders needs?

I think goveror Jennifer Granholm should wake up and stop promoting mexican's to go to Michigan when there is so many out of work.

trying import more migrant workers will not work. the work is hard and even criminal aliens don't want to do it if they can get other jobs. Michigan needs to automate their farming not depend on people.

What the hell are the growing up there that requires 90,000...are the tillers and combines broke and they are using mule teams

Mich. doesn't need more farm workers, they have thousands of their own, out of work now!


Pay them a decent wage and help out your own!