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In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farm workers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert to challenge unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.
Farm workers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.
So the group is encouraging the unemployed — and any Washington pundits or anti-immigrant activists who want to join them — to apply for the some of thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.
Quote:
"The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren't taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations," Rodriguez said. "I don't think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let's see what happens."
To highlight how unlikely the prospect of Americans lining up to pick strawberries or grapes, Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" plans to feature the "Take Our Jobs" campaign on July 8.
Immigrant farm workers' challenge: Take our jobs - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_en_tv/us_immigration_take_our_jobs - broken link)
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,772,368 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SLCPUNK
Immigrant farm workers' challenge: Take our jobs - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_en_tv/us_immigration_take_our_jobs - broken link)
I so agree! In fact they should spread the campaign to dishwashers, hot roofers and construction labour. Thye fact is Americans do not like to sweat and would not touch those jobs. Even if you found an American to take a sweat job, he would complain, demand smoke breaks every hour and call in sick at least once a week. The Mexican will come to work everyday on time, give you a days labour and all he needs is a cooler of ice water and he will work all day with no complaint.
I've done farm work in Vermont before. There's plenty of Americans here willing to do these jobs. Some of the big corporate farms out West though like to use illegals so they can even pay below min. wage.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,772,368 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by arctichomesteader
I've done farm work in Vermont before. There's plenty of Americans here willing to do these jobs. Some of the big corporate farms out West though like to use illegals so they can even pay below min. wage.
Even if the job paid $15 an hour I doubt that more than a few Americans would want it. Americans like to sit down in air conditioning to work. I will tell you from personal experience because I know many people that work for the phone company and cable TV company as techs and they are paid about $25 an hour after 5 years and it is hard to get people for that job because it requires working on poles and in hot attics and crawl spaces under homes. Lots of people quit it after a short time. Americans do not like to sweat or get dirty (unless they are at a mud bogging truck show).
Thye fact is Americans do not like to sweat and would not touch those jobs.
Not for what they offering because the wages for these jobs is driven down by illegals. They will need people to fill these jobs, they will have no choice in the matter but to raise rates to attract people to them. This in turn will raise rates at other low paying jobs so they can retain their work force.
In addition to that it will also spur technology advances as companies seek to lower costs. For example a robot that picks tomatoes may become less costly than the manual labor, this will fuel jobs in the technology sector as well for people building and maintaining such machines.
Not for what they offering because the wages for these jobs is driven down by illegals. They will need people to fill these jobs, they will have no choice in the matter but to raise rates to attract people to them. This in turn will raise rates at other low paying jobs so they can retain their work force.
In addition to that it will also spur technology advances as companies seek to lower costs. For example a robot that picks tomatoes may become less costly than the manual labor, this will fuel jobs in the technology sector as well for people building and maintaining such machines.
Absolutely! In countries like Sweden, Japan, etc, where illegals are low in number, all the work - including low end stuff -IS done by locals since the wages are better. We can do this here too. (Edit): since we are a service economy, our GDP will grow as will our standard of living. This money will stay here and not be remitted overseas.
Immigrant farm workers' challenge: Take our jobs - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_en_tv/us_immigration_take_our_jobs - broken link)
"""The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren't taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations," Rodriguez said. "I don't think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let's see what happens."""'
The REALITY is AMERICANS should not HAVE to work in unbearable situations....and those that do are idiots! (and that this country allows it is a shame and horrible disgrace)
Their cringing cowardice CAUSES the acceptability of unbearable situations.
AND
THIS AMERICAN has shoveled animal excrement, cleaned human excrement, cleaned blood off ceilings, vomit off floors and other people's toilets. I was PAID for it with good wages and benefits...Americans do, and HAVE DONE , EVERY KIND of WORK in this country since it began!
Now if only we can say to the UNSKILLED unemployed... go there and take their job or we cut you off of welfare...
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