This thread has someone to do with illegal immigration but more importantly, this is the reason I posted here, it has more to do with job availability and one avenue to put Americans back to work.
Georgia passed an illegal immigrant bill that goes into effect July 1st and Alabama is passing one even more stringent than Arizona's. As a result illegal immigrants are packing up and leaving the state and with harvest time approaching (it is here already) farmers are finding themselves in a real pickle.
But maybe it isn't so bad? The average field hand earns between $80 and $100 and it is being shown Americans will do that work.
Local labor brings in the harvest *| ajc.com
Quote:
In his air-conditioned office at Weybrenee Farms in Mitchell County, Brent Brinkley totaled the daily take and looked pleased. Thirty-seven crates, 10 tons of sweetness.
His inexperienced work force was getting the job done.
“We’re blessed,” he said.
He felt otherwise six weeks ago. A migrant labor crew that harvested his cantaloupes last year didn’t come to Georgia this picking season. The workers, Brinkley said, stayed away because they feared the state’s stringent immigration law, set to take effect July 1.
Brinkley was forced to turn to an unlikely pool of workers: locals. In an industry that some believe attracts only migrant labor, Brinkley assembled a hometown crew.
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I spent much of last week in hell.
A low tech manufacturing company awarded us a project to provide fire sprinklers for their existing building so they can save money on their fire insurance premiums. It's a nice job, about 75,000 sq. ft., it is existing and it is ready to go as soon as I finish drawing it up which is the kind of work we want.
So I spent two days at the building measuring and as all our pipe is pre-fabricated it is important to get very accurate measurements.
It was miserable. By noon temperatures were in the 90's and the smell of processes used in this manufacturing were enough to make you wretch.
Then the gnats came out and it became ever more miserable trying to fight them off.
For work space I set my laptop up in the employee break room that at least had air conditioning. I would run out, take some measurements, then head back to the break room. At least 50% of my time spent there was spent in air conditioning.
I noticed nearly all the workers were illegal immigrants and out of the 100 people working in this building I would guess 90 were illegals.
People get paid between $9 and $12/hr and there are no benefits. Most workers work for $10. You work 40 hours, collect your $400 payroll check and that is it.
But while I was there I overhead a conversation a Caucasian had with a friend. Apparently he got a buddy a job who started at 7:00 and quit and walked off at 10:00 because the job was "to hard and to hot."
Something is wrong with this picture.
Yes, it was miserable and while I didn't find it that bad I was earning four times what the average worker earned which probably discolored my thinking.
But the company is looking to hire, I guess they are always looking to hire, and being low tech grunt work they hire the bottom of the barrel which is illegals. What would happen if they didn't have illegals to hire?
Picture the work, physically hard working in heat that would crush most Yankees and would you work there for $9.00/hr? Probably not but would you work for $12.00? How about $15.00 or $20.00? How about $50.00/hour, would you want this job then? Work 40 hours and get paid $2,000?
Answer truthfully, if this job from hell was offered to you for $100.00/hour would you take it? The suspect the truth is most of you would. For $200k I probably would if I could physically take it but 63 year olds don't do all that well in the field.
The only reason the company hires illegals is the illegals comprise the least expensive labor pool. Not just this company but thousands like it and farmers too. To keep the cost of your product down a company needs to pay the lowest acceptable wage and they can get this through the illegals but what if there weren't illegals? They would, most likely, have to pay higher wages to attract workers because maybe if you didn't want the work for $10 maybe you would do it for $15?
There is work out there and while it might not be the work you want what if there wasn't extended unemployment or welfare? Isn't $500/week better than no money at all?
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