Why Guestworker Programs Are Inherently Problematic
Written by Bruce Goldstein Tuesday, 09 March 2010 23:22
Once employers get guestworkers, addiction sets in. With no right to switch jobs, no right to remain in the country beyond the job term, and coming from a poor country where wages are very low, guestworkers will usually be highly productive at wages that are very low by U.S. standards. So even when U.S. workers face high unemployment and desperately seek work in agriculture, the growers still say that U.S. workers are lazy and don't want these jobs. The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Coloradao, on March 5, published a story entitled; "Demand high for orchard jobs: Ads draw big response for seasonal farm work." The article reported on a grower's observation that a large number of local workers had returned to look for agricultural work recently and his reaction:
"One of the area's largest fruit growers, Talbott Farms, 3782 F 1/4 Road, received 400 to 500 walk-in requests for employment this year, co-owner Bruce Talbott said. The company hires about 120 people a year. "We got guys that came in here and say, ‘I worked here 15 years ago. Do you have any work for me?'" he said. "They're roofers, concrete guys, landscapers, all kinds of people who have been laid off from the trade industry." The H-2A "workers are "highly reliable," Talbott said. Local job seekers are usually unaccustomed to the hard work that farm work entails, he said. And local workers are much more likely to quit midseason, or often, after only a day. H-2A workers have incentives to be here, do good work, stay out of trouble and make money to support their families in their home countries, Talbott said. They also know the farm well and "know the difference between putting in time and being an efficient employee," he said. "My very best guys are in the H-2A program," Talbott said. "They don't want to commit to a vehicle. They know they're safe here, and there's a lot less stress than trying to run the border."
The U.S. Department of Labor should not approve an H-2A application when three times as many workers apply for work as there are jobs. The employers must be required to comply with the law: U.S. workers must be offered the job and the job terms must be equal or exceed the wages and working conditions of the U.S. labor market.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
American agriculture is one of the few business that risk everything we have to try a feed the people of this nation and country for so little return on investment let alone the stress, harassment, that we face daily from goverment agencies and worker groups such as this one Godhelp us in the future i would not recommend a career in agriculture to my children much less anyone else just praying for the day that i am able to get out of all of this