Thread: NorCal Farmers Worry Fruit Will Rot On Trees

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Farmers in and around Northern California are starting to feel the pinch from tighter border security and visa requirements, NBC11's Daniel Garza reported Monday.

Some farmers told Garza they expect some of their fields to remain unpicked. They said the illegal immigrant workers they have depended on to pick their fields are no longer crossing the border because of the tighter security at the border.

WATCH VIDEO: Bay Area Farmers: 'Not Enough Workers' | VIEW IMAGES: Farmers' Fears: Too Few Workers

Some said they believe their fields will end up filled with rotting produce.

The Bush administration has learned of the possible loss of millions of dollars for thousands of farmers throughout the country, and is attempting to loosen visa requirements for workers.

However, farmers told Garza the attempt is "too little too late."

Some said they believe their fields will end up filled with rotting produce.

The Bush administration has learned of the possible loss of millions of dollars for thousands of farmers throughout the country, and is attempting to loosen visa requirements for workers.

However, farmers told Garza the attempt is "too little too late."

The president has blamed Congress for failing to come up with acceptable new immigration laws.

Experts expect the impact on agribusiness to affect Americans' pocketbooks, Garza said.

Working in the fields is a hard job that few will do, according to Pete Aiello of Uesugi Farms in Gilroy.

"We'll have guys out in the field as early as 5 o'clock in the morning and the last guys won't leave the field until six or seven o'clock at night," said Uesugi.

Growers said not only is the supply of workers getting smaller, but the federal guest worker program known as the H-2A Visa is too time-consuming.

"When you submit an application often times they can't turn it around for two or three months and by then half our harvest season is gone," Aiello said.

A White House spokesman said it is important for the farm sector to have access to labor.

"I'm really happy the government is about to raise an eyebrow about the situation," Aiello said. "Unfortunately by the time they actually sit down and put their noses to the grind stone and try to implement something, that could be years down the road before it's finally done."

The owner of JJ&F Food Store, John Garcia, said in the long run consumers will feel the impact of fewer farm workers.

"The supply is going to be down," said Garcia. "Demand is going to be up. It's going to increase. It's going to increase a lot."

Grocery chains Zanotto's and Whole Foods said they have yet to see increased prices for produce because of farm labor shortages.

LAPD Report Faults Training, Tactics In Immigration Rally Clash

A police report released Tuesday blamed problems in planning, training and policy for a May Day melee in which officers in riot gear pummeled news media and demonstrators at an immigration rally.

The 90-page report to the city's civilian Police Commission echoed previous conclusions by the police chief and made a host of recommendations for changes in the way the Los Angeles Police Department handles confrontations.

Police had several chances to stop the violence during the confrontation, the report said.

"Instead, the failing leadership, breakdown in supervision and breakdown in personal discipline caused those without full situational awareness to take action without understanding how their decisions might affect the final outcome," the report concluded.

Beyond the problems with planning and tactics, "the larger issue was the fact that not a single supervisor or member of the command staff involved attempted to intervene," the report said.

The report to the civilian Los Angeles Police Commission recommended that the LAPD improve communication between commanders and officers during public events.

It also recommended putting officers' names or serial numbers on their helmets and vests to make them more easily identifiable.

Police also should annually review crowd control policies "including use of force," the report said.

All of the recommendations will be implemented by the department within a year, the report said.

The report did not address the issue of how officers involved in the melee should be disciplined. That is being handled in a separate LAPD process.

Since the May 1 melee, there has been a staff shake-up at the Police Department. Lawsuits have been filed. Several investigations were launched. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said he was "deeply, personally troubled" by the violence.

The clash in MacArthur Park, near downtown, broke out after officers reported being targeted by as many as 50 "agitators" throwing rocks and bottles.

Police Chief William Bratton has said a breakdown in police command led officers to respond with force, swing batons and fire dozens of bean bags, sponges and other "non-lethal" projectiles to disperse a crowd of demonstrators and journalists in the park.

He also faulted poor communication and planning. "It all broke down," Bratton has said.

No one was seriously hurt, but images of baton-wielding officers knocking people to the ground played repeatedly on newscasts.

The city is facing hundreds of lawsuits stemming from the melee. Last month, a claim was filed against the city on behalf of 164 people who say they were injured by officers.

Since then 10 lawsuits and 94 other claims have been filed as well.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/14296744/detail.html

so eat cake....

Whine, whine, whine.

I'll buy all the fruit I need from independent farmers who don't hire illegal immigrants at bargain basement exploitation wages, or I'll buy imported produce.

you can bet we'll be hearing a lot of these sensationalized Chicken Little sob stories in the coming months.

these businesses that have chosen to prop themselves up on illegal labor are going to be doing their best Woe Is Us play, to try to intimidate us into backing off.

so be prepared to counter this self-serving nonsense wherever you find it.

Wait and Watch for Barbara Boxer go into action

Well you were right on there "Airborne" just today she was in the news


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Well you were right on there "Airborne" just today she was in the news

Just like clock work

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

Well you were right on there "Airborne" just today she was in the news

Just like clock work

for sure, did you hear she wants them to stop enforcing the immigration laws until after 2010 so they can count them in the census, is that not maddess, just who was the lame brain who thought to count illegals in this country!

According to what I hear, California fruit growers have alot more to worry about than hiring cheap illegal aliens.
1st of all, PAY A RESPECTIFUL WAGE and you will get workers lined up and ready to work. Stop trying to save a dime by hiring illegal aliens.
2nd, thanks to special trade deals like NAFTA, our fruit is shipped in from places like China and South America.
So while your fruit "rots on the ground", the grocery stores are all stocked up. SO NOW YOU HAVE PRESIDENT BUSH AND OTHER LEADERS LIKE SENATORS FIENSTEIN, BOXER AND PELOSI TO THANK FOR YOUR LOSSES.

AND P.S. YOUR SOB STORIES ARE JUST THAT - STORIES. TRY HIRING AMERICANS.