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Farm workers say: 'Take Our Jobs'
A farm worker drives a tractor
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TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: Farm workers are tired of hearing that illegal immigrants are stealing jobs from Americans. Now one group is turning the tables. The "Take Our Jobs" campaign is offering
to put Americans to work in the agricultural industry.
Marketplace's Jeff Tyler reports.
Jeff Tyler:Need a job? The United Farm Workers is ready to help.
Arturo Rodriguez: We will assist them in trying to find a job within their area.
That's union President Arturo Rodriguez. He says most agriculture jobs are outside, where temperatures are often above 90 degrees.
Rodriguez: Pay-wise, in most cases, farm workers make minimum wage.
He hopes to demonstrate that these are undesirable jobs. And that the country needs immigrant labor.
Rodrigue: Without them, we would have a failed agricultural economy.
In the first day of operations, Rodriguez says lots of American citizens did sign up to take their farm jobs.
Rodriguez: We've gotten 1,400 applicants.
Does that mean the publicity stunt backfired? Rodriguez says "No."
Rodriguez: If we can help the unemployment situation, great!
Ultimately, the United Farm Workers want Congress to enact a bill known as "AgJobs." It would give undocumented immigrants -- currently in the labor force -- a path to legalization provided they continue to work on farms. The legislation is currently stalled in the Senate.
I'm Jeff Tyler for Marketplace.
well put me to work, and quit leting out of country in, our lands we are here year round to see them work for the people that say they are saving money by giving the unwonted jobs.then go back home and that doller is never seen in the good old u.s.!farms are our hole land.and not one worker is local.
Run the ad in South America, Asia, India, Africa, and the Middle East. Several hundred million people would like the chance to come to America for any job and become real Americans. No illegals are required.
Of course we would have to abandon our racist policy of Hispanic preference in immigration. Embracing real diversity has its price!
This is sickening. The assumption here is that, in spite of the fact that farm work is very very hard and, oh, yeah, ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY if we want to EAT, there is still something rational about farm workers making minimum wage. We need farmers a hell of a lot more than we need stock brokers! There is no longer any logical connection between how much people are paid and how valuable their work is to society. I know that there are lot of complications and nuances to all of this that I'm ignoring for rhetorical purposes, but believe me, I have considered them, and I remain convinced that the way we practice agriculture in this country is neither environmentally nor economically sustainable, for numerous reasons.
This was tried by an orchard in Oregon a few years ago, offering a bonus to any US citizen or legal permanent resident to top out their pay to $1000 a week ... if they lasted the entire week. (That's $52 grand a year, FYI.) Three groups of legal workers came in, nobody lasted the week.
