Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is what companies dream of. Slave wages, no benefits, lousy and dangerous working conditions. Sadly the convervatards seem to be right on that bandwagon as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRockSays
Get a UNION going over there. And then take your breaks!
Agriculture has always been the bottommost rung of an economy -- and always will be. Farming was, until recently, a highly-decentralized, family-dominated sector of the economy, which implies close relationships between owner and (usually-casual) employee. Unions can't affect this because, as with your local fast-food joint, employees have no particular skills, and are easy to replace. And "companies" similarly have no say; the market pays what the economy can sustain -- not much on the lower rungs.
And poultry-processing is simply one notch (slightly) further-removed on that scale.
It doesn't suprise me that the abusive practices cited have been linked mostly to subcontractors already at, or near the bottom of the heap, or that the alarm has been raised (and mostly taken up by) the folks over there in Left Field. You can rant as much as you like from the safety of your little niche. But most of the world lives in a much grittier and sweatier atmosphere.
THAT advantage is one that North Americans could enjoy in relative isolation because of our position after 1945. But the playing field is levelling -- and that's a positive, because the alternative is walls, tariffs and, eventually, conflict. A rising tide lifts all boats -- but not so much when you're already near the top.
You do have a choice -- as we all do. You can learn additional skills, behavioral as well as technical, and try to climb a bit further on a slippery private-sector ladder. Or you can stay down there with the rest of the losers -- and hope you get promoted from plucker to dismboweler down at the chicken plant.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 05-13-2016 at 07:12 AM..
Meat packing/rendering were at one time respectable occupations. Over time, it has fallen down the ladder of prestige and is now at the bottom of the barrel.
Nothing in the article says anything about illegals. There are other threads here about illegal immigrants in poultry processing plants but they are from 2008. It does say people are told if the go to the bathroom to keep going to Human Resources. With the I-9 identification checks and the article saying they pay $9-$10 per hour I doubt they are illegals.
It doesnt have to. Anyone that lives near these plants knows. And I-9 identification is a joke. Under the 1990 immigration act an employer can not request different documentations or refuse to honor documents reasonably appear to be genuine. Guidelines state "The standard is reasonableness. You are not expected to be a document expert." wink wink.
Granted this is disgusting and inexcusable mistreatment and exploitation and I believe there should be harsh punishment for the sick freaks making such working conditions. But... it is illegals who are willingly signing up for this! Don't want to be exploited? Don't come here!
I find it hard to feel sorry for illegals who are exploited by their own volition.
Get a UNION going over there. And then take your breaks!
The company my wife worked at is union! All that seemed to accomplish was making it hard to fire any one so since everybody received the same pay (based on time there up to a maximum) so most were lazy and didn't put in any effort. Example would be most of the line moving slowly that it would always back up and a couple would have to work twice as hard to keep it moving. Pay was negotiated by the union and had a maximum so those who put in the extra effort at least had a chance to move up. But in reality was that was next to impossible as the boss would always hire another illegal from his own country instead of someone else, and those third world **** holes don't have the same workers rights as we do here so they tried to "rule" like their power hungry bosses would back home. I told my wife to just tell them to go *** themselves and threaten to call immigration. That shut them up. Worked every time. My wife's only "perk" for putting in extra effort was that she had no problem taking off a 1 to 2 month period during the busy time to go visit her parents in Colombia during Cristmas. Her direct bosses would always shut her down but she would then go to the top (legal immigrants like her or , GASP! Americans)
Again, a ****hole to work for. I'm sure the other major brands nearby are no different either!
Nothing in the article says anything about illegals.
Journalism 101. They want sympathy for the workers. If they said "Oh by the way, they're illegals" then they would lose sympathy, so they omit that fact.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
